# Eat mostly junk food? Here is how I'm trying to gradually change



## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

I have lived most of my life on large portions of unhealthy foods. Just thought I would share the way I'm trying to change my diet. Thought it might help people who absolutely despise healthy foods. I have health problems that mean I should be quitting bad foods cold turkey, but I keep failing. I'm hoping a gradual change will work better for me.

My method starts out by eating one healthy portion the first week and then each successive week increasing the amount of healthy portions by one. This of course will take months to become a large part of your diet, but I'm intending it to be a gradual lifestyle change. You can always start at a higher number of portions for your first week(I actually started with 3 and then 6) or just try to do more than your goal calls for if you can. Just make sure you get the minimum in no matter what.

I define a healthy portion as a decent amount of a healthy food. It has to be enough of an amount that I don't feel like I'm cheating. So I would consider eating only 1 or 2 grape tomatoes as cheating but say 6-8 as a decent portion. If you eat an amount you don't consider worthy you could count it as a 1/2 or 1/3 of a portion. You basically determine what you consider a healthy portion and what foods you consider healthy. I've been mostly using fruits and vegetables as my healthy portions, but plan to start adding things like baked fish, oatmeal, etc.

I actually started with 3 healthy portions the first week and then 6 healthy portions the next week. From there I went back to adding an extra portion a week. This week is the 4th week and my goal was 8 healthy portions. I've already gotten 10 healthy portions in but plan to try for a few more today. Next week my goal will be up to 9 but I'll eat more if I can. 

I'll keep you updated with how this goes. My aim is for at least 28 healthy portions a week. That will probably not be enough but its a big start.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

I had quit soda for awhile by drinking seltzer water with lemon juice instead. I've been having a relapse and drinking soda again, so this is something I'll have to work on as well. I like the seltzer water and lemon juice combo, but I worry it is even more acidic for my teeth than soda and it seems to be harsher on my stomach. 

Maybe, I'll try sticking with the seltzer water with lemon juice and try to switch to plain water and unsweetened tea gradually like I am doing with healthy food.

-------------------------------

Another thing I have been doing is trying to get at least 3 and a half hours of exercise in each week.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Great goal Sly. I will be tuning in to see how you do. Isn't it mandatory you eat better because of your liver or something?


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## Red October (Aug 1, 2016)

slyfox said:


> I had quit soda for awhile by drinking seltzer water with lemon juice instead.


Try regular water with a slice of lemon or lime in it, it's pretty good


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Kevin001 said:


> Great goal Sly. I will be tuning in to see how you do. Isn't it mandatory you eat better because of your liver or something?


I have a fatty liver. A lot of sources online seemed to say I should go on an extreme 100% healthy diet. My doctor claims I don't have to drastically change my diet, just lose weight in general. I think both are probably somewhat right. I think I should be eating much healthier foods, but not as extreme as some sources say. My doctor says a fatty liver is a problem that gets worse slowly over many years, so hopefully my gradual change will be enough. Because when I try to change to completely healthy overnight I end up giving up.

Have to admit since the topic about my fatty liver I went back to my old unhealthy eating ways (aside from quitting soda for awhile). I think gradual change is the key for people who have only known living unhealthy. The exception would be a health problem that requires an immediate change. Not sure if, despite what my doctor says, mine really requires an immediate change, but I wasn't sticking to it anyway. Issues with depression and stress were making it even harder.

My fatty liver is why I consider the goals a minimum and try to do better than the goal amount if I can

Thanks, I'll try to update this weekly. Despite the exercise and some diet change I haven't really lost any weight yet. I think if I stick with it and continue to crowd out unhealthy foods with more and more healthy foods I should see improvements eventually.



Afreen88 said:


> Hi Slyfox
> 
> I'm actually doing something similar at the moment, too! I'm hopeless when it comes to food - years of really bad eating habits (severe restriction/bingeing and tons of junk food) and I finally got fed up. I've never needed to lose weight but I was convinced I did, so I got radical and gave my weighing scales away. Now, I'm just focusing on what I eat and being mindful of portions. I started by simply adding more fresh fruit and veg to my diet but keeping everything else the same, and now I seem to crave and naturally seek out them! I also have the desire out of nowhere to cook stuff right from scratch instead of getting a ready meal/takeaway.
> 
> ...


Glad your changes are working. Sounds like you are on the right track, so keep up the great work 

Thanks for the tip with the water. I definitely should be drinking more water to crowd out the pop.



Red October said:


> Try regular water with a slice of lemon or lime in it, it's pretty good


Thanks I've tried that before with chopped up lemon and lime, but I can give it a try again. Tastes pretty good but I think I have a tendency to add way too much lemon or lime. Lately, I've been using bottles of lemon juice. Do you think it is ok to continue to do it that way? Having actual pieces of lemon is nicer, but I find the bottled juice more convenient. I can easily take it on trips with me and just pour some into a bottled water.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

4th Week
Goal = 8 healthy portions

I ended up eating 12 healthy portions total. Everything was pretty healthy except for about half of of the portions being watermelon. Not sure if I should include watermelon anymore because while it has some health benefits I end of having to eat the whole melon over time, because I'm the only person in my house/family who will eat it. Other healthy portions were onion greens, garlic greens, Brussels sprouts with a light sauce, plain unsweetened oatmeal, and baked cod that I seasoned only with herbs.

Next weeks goal = 9 healthy portions and since it was suggested a glass of water everyday


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## Red October (Aug 1, 2016)

slyfox said:


> Thanks I've tried that before with chopped up lemon and lime, but I can give it a try again. Tastes pretty good but I think I have a tendency to add way too much lemon or lime. Lately, I've been using bottles of lemon juice. Do you think it is ok to continue to do it that way? Having actual pieces of lemon is nicer, but I find the bottled juice more convenient. I can easily take it on trips with me and just pour some into a bottled water.


I guess keeping the juice for travelling, and using fruit when you're at home would be a good compromise :smile2:


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## kalicush (Jul 10, 2016)

I would still keep watermelon on my list of very healthy food portions. Yes watermelon contains more sugars than other fruits but its natural fructose. Not to mention its over 90% water and has a wealth of nutrients and minerals.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

kalicush said:


> I would still keep watermelon on my list of very healthy food portions. Yes watermelon contains more sugars than other fruits but its natural fructose. Not to mention its over 90% water and has a wealth of nutrients and minerals.


Ok might get some more


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Started the week out strong but let stress and depression get me off track. Got in 11 healthy portions. Only got in a hour and 22 mins of exercise of my usual 3 hr and a half goal. Also didn't keep up with the glass of water advice.

5th Week
Goal = 9 healthy portions
Accomplished 11 portions

9/3
1/3 healthy portion walnuts just to get up to a whole number. Might still eat more healthy portions.

9/2
18 min exercise

8/31
1 2/3 healthy portions (2/3 lime, 1/3 walnuts, 2/3 green onion/garlic greens) 

8/30
4 healthy portions (baked cod with herbs, grape tomatoes, strawberries, 1/3 collard greens, 2/3 lime)
24 min exercise

8/29
40 min exercise
1 healthy portion (strawberries)

8/28
4 healthy portions (grape tomatoes, strawberries, onion greens, tomato) 

Goals for next week = 10 healthy portions, 3.5 hrs exercise, glass of water per day, and brush teeth 3 times a day.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Try sardines and boiled eggs. Sardines are an acquired taste but they're very good for you and they don't taste as bad as they smell if you mix them with something they go well with. They do go well with eggs but you might not want to fry them that way because it stinks up the place pretty bad. Just take my word for that. When I was first trying to get myself used to sardines I decided to go hog wild one night and tried to fry them with eggs and the stink was just so bad I couldn't eat. Lately Ive been mixing them with a boiled egg, chop it all up and put in the microwave just long enough to heat it all up. If you don't mind the smell too much, garlic is good on there too. 

I guess other kinds of fish are just as good and probably not as stinky but sardines are good because they're relatively cheap and they last in the can until you're ready to eat them. And if you like greens there are all sorts of things you can mix with this. Spinach, broccoli, sprouts, asparagus. Pretty decent and healthy meal.

When you try to eat healthy one thing that will discourage you quick is the cost if you're not careful. You can eat relatively healthy relatively cheap but you've got to spend the time to do a lot of the prep work yourself. Junk food is not really all that cheap but it's really tasty and convenient and that's why it's hard to stop. I probably spend 5 hours a week preparing stuff like rice and beans and chicken breast and steamed broccoli. It's just something you have to get used to.

If you don't already have diabetes or even any of the symptoms, still be careful with carbs. Even if it isn't stuff like Doritos carbs can still bite you if you overload on them. Once you have diabetes you're pretty much stuck with it even if you change your diet. I still feel like crap way more than I feel good even though I'm eating better and exercising some. And that's simply because once you have diabetes, you don't get bonus points for eating well. If you eat great 95% of the time and eat garbage 5% of the time, it'll punch you in the forehead every single time.


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## Virgo (Jun 27, 2016)

I want to do this too, and I know this isn't an excuse, but I really don't know what to eat that's healthy. Unless I replace meals with just fruits and vegetables (which sounds like what you're doing right?). I grew up my whole life with my household stocked with horrible microwave food, my mom rarely ever cooked. I remember eating it all even though I was sick of it but it was all we had in the house. I do realize that I am 100% responsible for my diet now. I'm looking for healthy meals and not just plain fruits and vegetables. I know I'll have to do some research because I hardly know where to start. Even things I think are healthy always turn out to be not-so-healthy.

I have been successful at almost completely cutting soda from my diet. I've been doing great for a month now at least. The trick is you need to just allow a couple of sodas a week. It's hard to quit cold turkey, although I did that successfully once in middle school -- a year later, the addiction came back to me way worse than it was before. Now I just have one soda in a day, then I go days without drinking soda. I'm just glad I'm done with the soda for right now. My soda consumption was really dangerous.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Atheism said:


> I have been successful at almost completely cutting soda from my diet. I've been doing great for a month now at least.


 I wouldn't worry about soda. As long as you stick to diet soda it's not nearly as bad for you as stuff you might be eating like anything with tons of carbs or sugar or super high cholesterol. Diet soda is nothing and it's actually kind of helpful because it's flavorful. When you're trying to eat better you're going to miss the feeling of tasting something that is just pure pleasure and diet soda works well for that and won't hurt you at all.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

WillYouStopDave said:


> Try sardines and boiled eggs. Sardines are an acquired taste but they're very good for you and they don't taste as bad as they smell if you mix them with something they go well with. They do go well with eggs but you might not want to fry them that way because it stinks up the place pretty bad. Just take my word for that. When I was first trying to get myself used to sardines I decided to go hog wild one night and tried to fry them with eggs and the stink was just so bad I couldn't eat. Lately Ive been mixing them with a boiled egg, chop it all up and put in the microwave just long enough to heat it all up. If you don't mind the smell too much, garlic is good on there too.
> 
> I guess other kinds of fish are just as good and probably not as stinky but sardines are good because they're relatively cheap and they last in the can until you're ready to eat them. And if you like greens there are all sorts of things you can mix with this. Spinach, broccoli, sprouts, asparagus. Pretty decent and healthy meal.
> 
> ...


Ok might try to add sardines. I've had sardines before and can tolerate them. Not sure I would like them mixed with anything though. Rather eat them out of the can and get it over with. Lately, I've been eating frozen cod fillets from Walmart. I can't remember the price but might be comparable to sardines for how much you get. Not sure if cod is as good for omega3. Know I've read sardines are great for that. Not sure how accurate this is but the chart of popular fish claims sardines are way better at least as far as omega3 http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/fe...anking-seafood-which-fish-are-most-nutritious

Thanks for the food advice. Actually recently have been planting asparagus, but it might take another year or two before I can collect any for eating. Just hope there is enough time for it to establish good enough roots this year before the frost. Know I like canned green beans but haven't tried canned asparagus. Know I've seen fresh asparagus pretty cheap, but have no idea how much it costs out of season.

Did you mean sprouts or Brussels sprouts? If you did mean sprouts in general, know I've gown some of my own before using a jar method and seed mix(radish, red clover, and something else) I bought from a health store. Might still have the big bag of seeds somewhere but they are 2-3 years old.

Haven't tested positive for diabetes yet and get tested semi regularly. But have had symptoms/sudden sickness feelings that make me wonder. And these feelings sometimes come after eating or eating helps me to feel better.



Atheism said:


> I want to do this too, and I know this isn't an excuse, but I really don't know what to eat that's healthy. Unless I replace meals with just fruits and vegetables (which sounds like what you're doing right?). I grew up my whole life with my household stocked with horrible microwave food, my mom rarely ever cooked. I remember eating it all even though I was sick of it but it was all we had in the house. I do realize that I am 100% responsible for my diet now. I'm looking for healthy meals and not just plain fruits and vegetables. I know I'll have to do some research because I hardly know where to start. Even things I think are healthy always turn out to be not-so-healthy.
> 
> I have been successful at almost completely cutting soda from my diet. I've been doing great for a month now at least. The trick is you need to just allow a couple of sodas a week. It's hard to quit cold turkey, although I did that successfully once in middle school -- a year later, the addiction came back to me way worse than it was before. Now I just have one soda in a day, then I go days without drinking soda. I'm just glad I'm done with the soda for right now. My soda consumption was really dangerous.


More like replacing parts of meals at this point. I have the same problem. I know obviously healthier stuff like fruits and vegetables, but am not sure what else I can include. I think fish is a safe bet too, if you don't fry or bread it. Probably chicken too if you treat it like the fish and grill or bake it. Have heard breads and cereals with whole grains are better. I think some lesser fat cheeses and eggs(like mentioned by Willyoustopdave) are good in moderation. All of this seems really bland though. While my portions are low I'll try with bland, but might be good to research healthy recipes if you want to greatly change your diet.

Yeah my soda consumption was and probably still is dangerous. I love seltzer water with lemon juice as a substitute but it is too hard on my stomach

Good luck with eating healthier!


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## naes (Nov 1, 2013)

This thread is blasphemy. Cookies for life.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

slyfox said:


> Did you mean sprouts or Brussels sprouts?


 Either. Both are great. I'm one of the few people I know who could eat brussels sprouts until I burst. :lol


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Didn't do that great this week. If I wouldn't have counted the canned salmon and smoked fish I had, which I just happened to eat, I wouldn't have made it. Also portions seem to vary too much in size. I guess as long as I'm not trying to cheat, that's all that matters. Might start using a measuring cup for some though. 

Think I'll get rid of fraction of portions unless I actually consider the portion really pathetic. For example, I think most people would consider a whole lime a decent portion of lime, even though it was smaller than some of the other portions I ate this week. I've been counting whole limes as 1/3 of a portion.

6th Week

Goal = 10 healthy portions
Accomplished 10 portions

9/10
1 healthy portion (smoked fish)

9/9
6 healthy portions (x3 blueberries, 2/3 walnuts, 1/3 lime, 1 baked fish, 1 brocccoli)
A glass of water

9/8
A glass of water
2 healthy portions (2x canned salmon)

9/7
A glass of water

9/6
A glass of water

9/5
1 healthy portion (grape tomatoes)

9/4
1 hr 10 mins exercise (Walking)

Goals for next week = 11 healthy portions, 3.5 hrs exercise


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

7th week
Goal = 11 healthy portions
Accomplished = 15 healthy portions

9/17
4 healthy portions(grape tomatoes, walnuts, x2 baked cod)
9/16
1 healthy portion (carrots)
9/15
3 healthy portion (walnuts, grape tomatoes, boiled eggs)
9/14
1 healthy portion (walnuts)
9/13
3 healthy portions (limes, broccoli, and canned green beans)
9/12
1 healthy portion (smoked fish)
9/11
2 healthy portions (smoked fish, canned green beans)

8th week
Goal = 12 healthy portions
accomplished = 13 healthy portions

9/24
2 healthy portions(baked cod, broccoli)
9/23
3 healthy portions(x2 apple, pepper)
9/20
4 healthy portions (shredded wheat cereal, limes,x2 salmon)
9/19
1 healthy portion (walnuts)
9/18
3 Healthy portions (walnuts, baked salmon, peas)

Goal for next week = 13 healthy portions


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

9th week
Goal = 13 healthy portions
accomplished = 14 healthy portions

10/1
7 healthy portions(nuts, baked salmon, 2x apples, salad, cranberries, green pepper)
9/30
1 healthy portion(nuts)
9/28
4 healthy portions(baked salmon, lima beans, nuts, apple)
9/27
1 healthy portion(apple)
9/26
1 healthy portion(apple)

Goal for next week = 14 healthy portions


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## Trooper (Apr 29, 2011)

WillYouStopDave said:


> Either. Both are great. I'm one of the few people I know who could eat brussels sprouts until I burst. :lol


Sprouts and Brussels Sprouts are one and the same.


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## In The Shade (Jun 26, 2016)

I need to do this too man

I gauge on too much food that has no benefit for my health, infact I have even started getting a bit fat due to eating high calorie foods and doing no exercise to burn it off.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

10th week
Goal = 14 healthy portions
accomplished = 18 healthy portions


10-8
3 healthy portions (cranberries, green pepper, mixed vegetables)
10-7
3 healthy portions (turkey sandwich, salad, turkey sandwich)
10/6
1 healthy portion (salad)
10/5
2 healthy portions (low fat cheese, turkey sandwich)
10/4
3 healthy portions (2x cranberries, turkey sandwich)
10/3
3 healthy portions (low fat cheese, apple, cranberries)
10/2
3 healthy portions(low fat cheese, cranberries, green pepper)

Goal for next week = 15 healthy portions

The cranberries are raw ones with no sugar added. Just mentioning because I know most people don't eat cranberries that way. I personally like how sour they are but probably not the best thing for my teeth.

The turkey sandwiches were just turkey, reduced fat provolone cheese, and rye bread. Since I used no sauce or dressing, I think they were pretty healthy.

The salads weren't the healthiest because they had grilled chicken, cheese, and ranch dressing. Added them to my portions though because I was making the decision of having them over eating several hamburgers, etc at the fast food place.


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## GoldenDawn (Oct 3, 2013)

I want to go vegan but I don't know how to start it, I'm kind of depressed, low energy/motivation so it's hard for me to start. I'm not overweight but I think I am unhealthy since I like eat a lot of sweets/ sugar. It's kind of upseats me I want to change it, its hard for me to change habits but I have to.


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## Cascades (Jan 16, 2013)

I know you've been at it 10 weeks now but can I ask..have you gotten any headaches or feeling slugglish/no energy since doing this especially in the first few weeks?


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Cascades said:


> I know you've been at it 10 weeks now but can I ask..have you gotten any headaches or feeling slugglish/no energy since doing this especially in the first few weeks?


Not really, because I ate normally in between the healthy portions. Probably will become more of a risk when I get to the point where I have to average 6+ healthy portions a day. That won't be for quite awhile(28 more weeks I think), so maybe I'll be more adapted to it by then.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

GoldenDawn said:


> I want to go vegan but I don't know how to start it, I'm kind of depressed, low energy/motivation so it's hard for me to start. I'm not overweight but I think I am unhealthy since I like eat a lot of sweets/ sugar. It's kind of upseats me I want to change it, its hard for me to change habits but I have to.


Maybe try gradually to change your diet like I am. Just try to eat more of the food you want to start eating each week. Not sure if you are going vegan for moral reasons, but it seems to me a lot of people who are vegan for moral reasons expect people starting the lifestyle to quit all animal products cold turkey. Some people just have a hard time quitting things cold turkey. I would think doing it gradually would be better than trying cold turkey and failing. Just set a small minimum you are going to change your diet each weak and if you accomplish more than your goal fantastic, but don't be upset as long as you do at least the minimum.

Good luck on eating healthier either way


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Just thought I should mention I haven't been losing much weight so far. I've only lost a couple of pounds at most. I mostly blame it on eating too unhealthy in between healthy portions and not exercising enough. 

I do think this is working great as far as gradually making permanent changes to my diet though. I should probably focus on exercising more and accomplishing more than the minimum healthy eating goal each week.


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## TreeOfWolf (Oct 17, 2016)

Way too much math for me, I'd give up.

The problem with junk food isn't the calories. It's the lack of nutrients and added toxins to make it look edible and addict you.

What I did is to make sure to add nutrients. I have a salad on the side with cucumbers and apples. I also have a side dish of a bone broth soup with lots of veggies. I grind them with a stick, it looks like baby food. I add a lot of healthy greay celtic sea salt, with 80 minerals instead of added chemicals. This week it's lots of mushrooms and spinach. I also added celery, squash, broccoli feet. I usually add carrots but I'm eating them on the side this week to make the mushroom and spinach take more dominant. My soup never tastes the same. I made one with onions, red pepper, squash, celery, broccoli that tasted awful until I added tomatoes. 

Veggies will nourish you and detox you.

You're not fat because you have too much energy reserves. That's all the artificial flavors, colors... TOXINS... that can't be burned for energy and certainly not converted into muscles. Without fat to seal the poison, you'd have so much toxicity that your vital organs would melt or get cancer. Don't blame the fat, and not your body asking you to preserve energy in a starved state instead to exercise, you're not lazy, you're in survival mode... starved... because what you eat isn't food... they're artificial addictive toxic drugs.

When you crave sugar under stress, your adrenals are asking for the NUTRIENTS that are found in sweet foods. Not the sugar itself. Vegetables and fruits tastes sweet (once your brain starts to forget what refined garbage tastes like) and they are full of vitamin C, absolutely necessary to handle stress. Sugar will just make it worse. Toxins will make you feel worse. You need fat, but fresh like raw almonds and cashews (I eat cheese and nature yogurt, sour taste is awesome). 

Craving cola is a sign of dehydration, craving electrolyte minerals, but cola's sugars, caffeine and acids will deplete them even more. You need water. It's about thirst, not tasting liquid candy for fun.

The sugar in cola is absorbed too quickly because there's no plants and fat to slow it down... so you get a rapid high... too high to be healthy... then a rapid crash... you have to give up to high to be freed from the crash. When you get the high, it exhausts your pancreas to store the excess... and as you run out fast, it exhausts your adrenals to make adrenalin to releases the storages... which feels like anxiety. On a roller coaster of hell... Requiring lots of vitamin C and B... and minerals... so your vital organs can do that... but the junk doesn't have any. So you waste away... your body cannibalize itself to find it... forced to spend energy when being unable to... as if not having the nutrients to renew cells wasn't bad enough. Neglect PLUS abuse.

BUT artificial sugar is WORSE!!! It was discovered by a guy who licked his fingers by accident while handling industrial products that were never meant to be eaten. He found it to taste sweet. And that doesn't belong in your body... So it destroys your kidneys and brain. People got really sick on artificial sugar... Pilots know to avoid it because it messes up their vision (hallucinate?) and can crash the plane.

While eating veggies, meat, and fresh fat like raw nuts... It will be absorbed slowly... without needing the pancreas to store anything, your blood sugar, energy level and mood will be stable. So it will also rest your adrenals, while nourishing it back to health... and allowing detox... instead to have to store toxins in fat, they will come out as poop.

Vitamin C repair things and make them stronger... when that's not available, something else must be used... The fat in your liver is probably trying to patch damage from toxin exposures. Maybe you stored too much fuel until it overflows... but the reason why you did that... is because you are starving for actual food.

I searched for what craving means and it's always for nutrients.

I did the test to see if taking more vitamin C supplements could get rid of a sugar craving... and it did. 
Chocolate = magnesium.
Alcohol = B complex, especially B3
Fat... probably just actual food. But probably B complex too.

Don't force yourself to exercise. That will just deepen your nutritional needs. But if you nourish your body with what you need to function, you'll have so much energy you'll have to find yourself new hobbies.

Enjoy~


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

11th week
Goal = 15 healthy portions
accomplished = 16 healthy portions

10/9
2 healthy portions (Pumpkin seeds, cranberries)
10/12
3 healthy portions (baked fish, broccoli, cranberries)
10/13
4 healthy portions (Oat cereal, carrots, pumpkin seeds, cranberries)
10/14
4 healthy portions (Oat cereal, baked fish, broccoli, cranberries)
10/15
3 healthy portions (pumpkin seeds, 2x cranberries)

12th week
Goal = 16 healthy portions
accomplished = 17 healthy portions

10/16
1 healthy portion rambutan
10/19
3 healthy portion (oat cereal, whole wheat English muffin with egg, green pepper)
10/21
4 healthy portions (green pepper, whole wheat English muffin with egg, oat cereal, mixed nuts)
10/22
9 healthy portions (eggs, orange juice, 3x apples, baked fish, 2x broccoli, mixed nuts)

Barely got week 12 in. Almost gave up but forced myself to eat more last minute. Know it kind of defeats the purpose eating when not that hungry but at least I'll be less hungry for my usual late night junk food later on. Need to get better at spreading my healthy portions out in the week instead of rushing to catch up. 

Getting a lot tougher for me. Not sure if I'm going to be able to keep up when the weekly goals eventually get to averaging 6 healthy portions a day. Am really proud of myself for sticking at this for so long. Do feel I should go more hardcore for my fatty liver, but I would probably keep giving up like I did before I started these weekly goals. 

Goal for next week = 17 healthy portions


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

13th week
Goal = 17 healthy portions
accomplished = 7 healthy portions

For the first week since starting this, I have failed. I had a lot of anxiety this weekend with meeting up with a cousin's family and didn't want to bother. I should've worked harder to get healthy portions in earlier in the week though.

I'll try to not let this keep me off track and I'll continue onto next week's goal without reducing it. I'll try to be positive about the fact that a lot of previous weeks I overachieved on my goals and that somewhat makes up for this weeks failure.

Goal for next week = 18 healthy portions


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## cat001 (Nov 1, 2010)

slyfox said:


> Just thought I should mention I haven't been losing much weight so far. I've only lost a couple of pounds at most. I mostly blame it on eating too unhealthy in between healthy portions and not exercising enough.
> 
> I do think this is working great as far as gradually making permanent changes to my diet though. I should probably focus on exercising more and accomplishing more than the minimum healthy eating goal each week.


Hey Slyfox, I've been reading through your thread and I think what you're doing is just great! Keep it up! I'd like to say don't worry too much about your weight not going down as fast as you'd like it to, one thing to consider is that regardless of weight you're certainly making a greater nutritional contribution to your body and positive changes will certainly be occurring as a result, even if you can't perceive them. The scales shouldn't be used exclusively as a gauge for your improvements. Another thing to consider is that these changes have the rest of your life to happen so just remember that in the long term things will work out, even if you don't see the changes in the short term, and you're in the early stages of change, as you go on you'll make adjustments and things will fall into routine if you persist so things can only ever get better!

About a year ago I tried to change my diet through stages too, I started out by banning anything that needed microwaving (ready meals, microwavable snacks etc). Then set certain days I was allowed to buy sugary snacks and set myself time-slots for meals rather than just eating when I felt like it (although I do snack in-between meals on things like dried mango slices, mixed seeds and nuts, soreen malt loaf, etc). I also make smoothies out of whatever fruit we've got in the house, and add some greens to it too (this week I'm adding Kale). My diets not perfect but always be happy with the progress you make and remember you have other days ahead of you to improve. I also started going gym weekly and think that's when physical changes really started to happen. I find that cycling is a good one as you can just go anywhere and cycle around for as long as you like.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Thanks, and great work on your changes as well  Haven't been cutting out microwave dinners enough yet, but have been working on reducing carryout and fast food.

Might consider going to the gym this winter if I get caught up enough on other things in my life. I normally exercise by walking but I really hate it in the winter.



cat001 said:


> Hey Slyfox, I've been reading through your thread and I think what you're doing is just great! Keep it up! I'd like to say don't worry too much about your weight not going down as fast as you'd like it to, one thing to consider is that regardless of weight you're certainly making a greater nutritional contribution to your body and positive changes will certainly be occurring as a result, even if you can't perceive them. The scales shouldn't be used exclusively as a gauge for your improvements. Another thing to consider is that these changes have the rest of your life to happen so just remember that in the long term things will work out, even if you don't see the changes in the short term, and you're in the early stages of change, as you go on you'll make adjustments and things will fall into routine if you persist so things can only ever get better!
> 
> About a year ago I tried to change my diet through stages too, I started out by banning anything that needed microwaving (ready meals, microwavable snacks etc). Then set certain days I was allowed to buy sugary snacks and set myself time-slots for meals rather than just eating when I felt like it (although I do snack in-between meals on things like dried mango slices, mixed seeds and nuts, soreen malt loaf, etc). I also make smoothies out of whatever fruit we've got in the house, and add some greens to it too (this week I'm adding Kale). My diets not perfect but always be happy with the progress you make and remember you have other days ahead of you to improve. I also started going gym weekly and think that's when physical changes really started to happen. I find that cycling is a good one as you can just go anywhere and cycle around for as long as you like.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

14th week
Goal = 18 healthy portions
accomplished = 19 healthy portions

10/31
Zucchini
11/1 
green olives
11/2 
green olives
11/3
Oat cereal, mixed nuts, 2x kiwi, green olives
11/4 
veggie burger, green olives
11/5 
vegetable soup, 2x mixed nuts, 2x green olives, 2x kiwi, oat cereal, cheese 

Barely got this week in. Never learn my lesson about spreading it out in a week. Ended up counting some things I don't normally count like green olives(because of the high sodium) and some things that may have not been the healthiest(veggie burger).

Do you think a serving(jar says 5 olives) of green olives should count as a healthy portion if I rinse or give a quick soak first? Olives have fat, but I've read it is supposed to be a good kind of fat

I have been doing really bad at quitting soda. So to combine my goals, I'm going to start counting each day without soda towards a healthy portion. That is seven less healthy portions I have to eat in a week if I have a great week, but soda is really unhealthy for me and I need to quit it too. I can always try to over achieve on my goal anyway.

Goal for next week = 19 healthy portions


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

*15th week*
Goal = 19 healthy portions
accomplished = 22 healthy portions

11/12 = 4
cranberries, green beans, green olives, mixed nuts
11/11 = 9
2x turkey sandwich, 2x kiwi, green olives, grape tomatoes, mixed nuts, green beans, no soda
11/10 = 1
pumpkin seeds
11/9 = 1 
grape tomatoes
11/8 = 1 
Oat cereal
11/7 = 4
green olives, 2x turkey sandwich, no soda
11/6 = 2
green olives, no soda

*16th week*
Goal = 20 healthy portions
accomplished = 22 healthy portions

11/19 = 6
green olives, 2x green beans, mixed nuts, salmon, oats cereal
11/18 = 6
green olives, 2x mixed nuts, banana, low fat cheese, cranberries
11/17 = 3
green olives, mixed nuts, low fat cheese.
11/16 = 4
green olives, mixed nuts, banana, grape tomatoes
11/14 = 2
green olives, no soda
11/13 = 1
green olives

*17th week*
Goal = 21 healthy portions
accomplished = 24 healthy portions

11/26 = 5
Green olives, Brazil nuts, cherry tomatoes, green pepper, no soda
11/25 = 6 
Guava, cherry tomatoes, green olives, cranberries, green pepper, mixed nuts
11/24 = 1 
carrots
11/23 = 2 
green beans, cherry tomatoes
11/22 = 5
green olives, 2x cherry tomatoes, green peppers, carrots
11/21 = 3
green olives, cherry tomatoes, green peppers
11/20 = 2
green olives, cherry tomatoes

Think I'm doing pretty good, but I should have more days without soda

*Goal for next week = 22 healthy portions
Stretch goal = 28 healthy portions
*


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## CallmeIshmael (Sep 4, 2016)

I need to try this, I suck at dieting. I eat mostly junk, hardly and fruits and veggies because the flavor sucks. I think I need a lifestyle change when it comes to eating. I have tried before but I always go back to the junk foods. It's so easy and convenient to eat unhealthy.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

This is how you do it, gradually over a decent length of time which makes it manageable. Well done on the progress, you'll certainly see the benefits loving forward.


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## NeverknowsbestFLCL (Aug 4, 2016)

How do you find the motivation?


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

CallmeIshmael said:


> I need to try this, I suck at dieting. I eat mostly junk, hardly and fruits and veggies because the flavor sucks. I think I need a lifestyle change when it comes to eating. I have tried before but I always go back to the junk foods. It's so easy and convenient to eat unhealthy.


It sure is. Just pop a microwave dinner in or get some carryout. Doesn't help that some healthy food is less appetizing. Just try to make some small changes to start out with. Especially if you have no serious health problems, you can increase the changes as gradually as you want. Wishing you luck, know it can be tough.



AussiePea said:


> This is how you do it, gradually over a decent length of time which makes it manageable. Well done on the progress, you'll certainly see the benefits loving forward.


Thank you. It is getting tough but I'll do my best to stick with it. Have had a few doctors complain about me not switching to a perfect diet overnight, but I always end up quitting when I try that.



NeverknowsbestFLCL said:


> How do you find the motivation?


It can be really hard. Helps that I still have room for unhealthy foods I like, but as the number of healthy portions go up it will become even more difficult. Know I chose to skip last week because I had a hearing and I was really stressed out. Also didn't want to risk upsetting my stomach the day of the hearing. This week I'm going back at it though. Helps that I've gotten this goal so far, so I don't want to have to restart all over again.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Callsign said:


> This seems less tedious and easier to manage than counting calories or carbohydrates. Well done on the progress.


Thanks  It sure is, but I'm still eating too much unhealthy things in addition to the healthy food I eat. Might try to calorie count a few days while only eating healthy to get an approximation of how many healthy portions I should eat a day.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

*18th week*
Goal = 22 healthy portions
accomplished = 23 healthy portions

12/3 = 5
Brazil nuts, green olives, 2x grilled chicken, no soda
12/2 = 4
Green olives, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, Brazil nuts
12/1 = 3
green olives, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms
11/30 = 2
green olives, no soda
11/29 = 2
green olives, cherry tomatoes
11/28 = 3
green olives, cherry tomatoes, green beans
11/27 = 4
Green olives, 2 x green beans, carrots

*19th week*
Goal = 23 healthy portions
accomplished less than 5 healthy portions

12/4-12/10 Didn't even try this week. Was stressed over a hearing I had.

*20th week*
Goal = 24 healthy portions
accomplished = 24 healthy portions

12/17 = 5
no soda, 2 x tomatoes, green olives, green pepper
12/16 = 7
no soda, green olives, sun dried tomatoes. grape tomatoes, carrots, pepper, pomegranate juice
12/15 = 1
green olives,
12/14 = 4
green olives, green beans, sun dried tomatoes, corn
12/13 = 1
turkey sub
12/12 = 2
Salmon, green olives
12/11 = 4
sun dried tomatoes, green beans, green olives, salmon

*21st week*
Goal = 25 healthy portions
accomplished = 26 healthy portions

12/24 = 3
grape tomatoes, green olives, nuts
12/23 = 7
carrots, salmon, green beans, green olives, green pepper, grape tomatoes, nuts
12/21 = 12
green olives, tomato, 2 x grape tomatoes, 2 x strawberries, cranberries, green pepper, salmon, green beans, nuts, egg
12/20 = 1
green olives
12/19 = 2
green olives, grape tomatoes
12/18 = 1
green olives

I think I've been doing pretty good. It's getting really hard to keep up with. I messed up on week 19. I did get back on track though and that was hard.

I do need more variety and probably shouldn't be counting green olives as a healthy portion as often as I do. I also need to work harder on quitting soda because that would probably be more beneficial than the healthy portions at this point.

Not sure if I'll bother this week, but I should try to eat purely healthy a few days and calorie count to approximate what my end goal on healthy portions should be. I'll have to make sure to include some healthy meats, cheeses, and healthy breads.

*Goal for next week = 26 healthy portions
Stretch goal(+7) = 33 healthy portions
*


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

*22nd week
Goal = 26 healthy portions
Accomplished = 34 healthy portions*

12/31 = 3
green olives, nuts, carrots
12/30 = 6
green olives, cherry tomatoes, dark chocolate, nuts, green pepper, low fat cheese
12/29 = 12
2 x Turkey sandwich, green olives, radishes, no soda, lemon, dark chocolate, low fat cheese, kiwi, nuts, grape tomatoes, green pepper
12/28 = 10
2x turkey sandwich, 2x kiwi, green olives, 2x nuts, grape tomatoes, dark chocolate, lemon
12/26 = 3
2x cucumber, green olives

*23rd week
Goal = 27 healthy portions
Accomplished = 11 (Failed) healthy portions*

1/2 = 9
no soda, low fat cheese, green olives, vegetable soup, 2x turkey sandwich, dark chocolate, mixed nuts, oat cereal
1/1 = 2
green olive, tomatoes

*24th week
Goal = 28 healthy portions
Accomplished = 25 (Failed but close) healthy portions*

1/14 = 6
green olives, grape tomatoes, crackers, 2 x salmon, low fat cheese
1/13 = 8
green olives, no soda, watermelon, crackers, 2 x green beans, 2 x turkey sub
1/12 = 2
green olives, grilled shrimp
1/11 = 5
green olives, no soda, crackers, grape tomato, water melon
1/10 = 2
green olives, no soda
1/9 = 1
green olives
1/8 = 1
green olives
*
25th week
Goal = 29 healthy portions
Accomplished = 30 healthy portions*

1/21 = 6
Olives, crackers 2x watermelon, nuts, grape tomatoes
1/20 = 4
olives, crackers, grape tomatoes, tomatoes
1/19 = 3
olives, crackers, dark choc
1/18 = 4
2x vegetable soup, olives, crackers
1/17 = 6
olives, crackers, 2x subs, 2x vegetable soup
1/16 = 3
olives, crackers, no soda
1/15 = 4
olives, grape tomatoes, crackers, low fat cheese

*26th week
Goal = 30 healthy portions
Accomplished = 33 healthy portions*

1/28 = 2
olives, onion
1/27 = 4
no soda, nuts, green olives, dark chocolate
1/25 = 8
no soda, olives, nuts, lemon, 2x green pepper, tuna, dark chocolate
1/24 = 6
olives, nuts, lemon, green pepper, grape tomatoes, dark chocolate
1/23 = 6
olives, grape tomatoes, nuts, low fat cheese, lemon, green pepper
1/22 = 7
Olives, 2x vegetable soup, grape tomatoes, nuts, low fat cheese, dark chocolate

Starting to find this really difficult to stick with but I'll try. I also am not sure about the quality of my healthy portion choices and feel I should have more greens and grains. Started restricting how much I spend each month on food, but hopefully this won't affect the healthy foods I can buy too much.

*Goal for next week = 31 healthy portions
*


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## Ashley SAB (Nov 2, 2016)

If you're interested in eating healthily, I recommend reading 80/10/10 by Doug Graham.

It' based on a RAW food diet, howeverI prefer plant based.

- This means for Breakfast I'll eat 3 Mangoes or Oats.

- Lunch is 12 Bananas blended with Almond milk and sometimes some flavour in (Dates, Coconut, Cocoa Powder, Blueberries)

- Evening Meal is something plant based, usually cooked sweet potato or rice with a sauce of some kind.

Extremely healthy, delicious and simple.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

I've been doing really bad on this goal lately. I didn't work on it for almost all of February. Last week I did decide to pick it up again. Even though I missed 4 weeks, I decided to stick with the 35 healthy portions I would've been at.

*31st week
Goal = 35 healthy portions
Accomplished = 35 healthy portions*

3/4 = 8
2 x olives, cheese, egg, baked chicken, corn, tuna, grape tomatoes 
3/3 = 10
olives, cheese, 2 x grape tomatoes, 2 x green peppers, 2 x vegetable soup, banana, granola 
3/2 = 6
cheese, granola, peas, 2 x grape tomatoes, olives
3/1 = 2
cheese, grape tomatoes
2/28 = 2
granola, grape tomatoes
2/27 = 4
2 x granola, grape tomatoes, cheese
2/26 = 3
2 x carrots, grape tomatoes

*Goal for next week = 36 healthy portions*


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Ashley SAB said:


> If you're interested in eating healthily, I recommend reading 80/10/10 by Doug Graham.
> 
> It' based on a RAW food diet, howeverI prefer plant based.
> 
> ...


Thanks I'll look into it. Glad your diet is working for you. I think mine would work, but I keep eating too much junk food in between the healthy foods.

While I haven't lost any weight the increase in eating healthier foods has seemed to improve my blood pressure. Before I did this, I used to get high blood pressure results often despite taking medications for it. Now I seem to be getting much better results.


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## AffinityWing (Aug 11, 2013)

I severely cut my soda and spicy food intake and pretty much completely stopped my coffee intake, but even though I shyed away from everything I felt I wasn't supposed to in the beginning, now I feel like I'm getting back full force to eating most of the other things that might not be good for me - like fried foods, chocolate, and fast/fatty/junk food. I've been indulging in those alot again but so far it doesn't seem to have produced any of the horrible gassiness I constantly experienced from my gastritis. I think the gassiness is almost complete gone..don't know if it was from the Prilosec or this honey mixture I had started eating to treat it but I definitely don't have the daily discomforts that I had before, in the past (because the gassiness was *bad*..just like _constant_ farts. lol)

I still want to eat more fruits and vegetables, although fast and spicy food has tempted me on numerous occasions. I'd say the cutting off of those foods has been very worth it one way or another, though. I highly recommend removing or at least reducing them from
one's diet.


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## Ashley SAB (Nov 2, 2016)

slyfox said:


> Thanks I'll look into it. Glad your diet is working for you. I think mine would work, but I keep eating too much junk food in between the healthy foods.
> 
> While I haven't lost any weight the increase in eating healthier foods has seemed to improve my blood pressure. Before I did this, I used to get high blood pressure results often despite taking medications for it. Now I seem to be getting much better results.


What worked for me was learning a little about the food.

For example, I knew junk was bad for me, but not really why. I knew fruit and veg was good but again not why.

When I learned about it and realised how full of essential nutrients good food is and how full of chemicals and artery clogging gunk junk is it wasn't difficult. I didn't need will power, I just automatically made better choices because I didn't see the food the same way. I saw one food as moving me closer to my values and one further away. I didn't want the junk.

The other thing that happened as I ate more fruit was I noticed all the things I love about it. How sweet it is, how juicy it is, how colourful, the taste, the energy I felt, how full of nutrients it is and how good it feels to treat my body well.

Then when I ate junk, I noticed how full of crap it is, how full and bloated I felt, how dry it is (which is why I covered it in sauce) how lifeless it feels.

Finding why I wanted to eat healthy helped, my reasons were: To give my body the best fuel, to make sure it's as healthy as it can be so it can fight sickness, so it has lot's of energy, to not cause cruelty to animals, to not add damage to the planet.

Then recognising how the foods I'm eating contributed to each of my values.

Seems you're doing well with your diet though so this is just for anyone interested in one way to make it work. As I mentioned, this is just the way I made it work.

Hope this helps.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

I'm having a hard keeping to this lately. I started out well this week but had two bad days. So now it would be really difficult to catch up. This is how it has been going. I did achieve my goal for two of the weeks since I last posted. Other weeks have been close but just didn't make it. So I am trying.

I like these weekly goals. If I had tried harder I think I would now be at an amount(6 per day) of healthy portions which would be impacting my life.

If I fail next weeks amount I'll have to re-think the way I'm doing this. Maybe I'll have to divide the week up, so if I fail early on in the week I can just try again without feeling it is hopeless. Or maybe, I'll just abandon this method entirely.

*Next week's goal = 43 healthy portions*


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

*39th week
Goal = 43 healthy portions
Accomplished = 44 healthy portions*

4/22 = 5
green olives, turkey sandwich, banana, yogurt, nuts
4/21 = 11
green olives, mixed vegetables, 3 x grape tomatoes, Greek yogurt, 2 x green pepper, lemon, apple, no soda
4/20 = 4
green olives, nuts, banana, yogurt
4/19 = 3
green olives, low fat cheese, turkey sandwich
4/18 = 10
green olives, ginger/turmeric, banana, nuts, 2 x green pepper, lemon, apple, yogurt, whole grain bread
4/17 = 9
green olives, yogurt, grape tomatoes, turkey sandwich, 2 x vegetable soup, nuts, dark chocolate, low fat cheese
4/16 = 2
green olives, no soda

Wasn't easy but I made it. I'll add some extra conditions for next week.

- 3 days no soda
- 2 portions of broccoli
- 3 portions of oatmeal

*Next week's goal = 44 healthy portions*


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

Just want to say you're doing an amazing job focusing and documenting your diet to improve your health. 

At the moment exercise and diet are big on my mind but it's tough to reign it in. Baby steps to giant leaps. Keep on, keeping on!


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Canadian Brotha said:


> Just want to say you're doing an amazing job focusing and documenting your diet to improve your health.
> 
> At the moment exercise and diet are big on my mind but it's tough to reign it in. Baby steps to giant leaps. Keep on, keeping on!


Thanks! Good luck to you as well! Know it can be hard to stick with things. There have been a lot of weeks lately where I've failed, but I've been trying my best to not let it bother me when I start fresh the next week.


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

slyfox said:


> Thanks! Good luck to you as well! Know it can be hard to stick with things. There have been a lot of weeks lately where I've failed, but I've been trying my best to not let it bother me when I start fresh the next week.


That's the key, you can fail but it's important to begin again despite that, sort of like sports, a team can lose but if you go in to win the next one and always do after losses until it's habit that's what matters most


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