It might be an obvious statement, but the foods we put into our bodies fall into one of two categories – either it’s good for you or it’s not. If we Americans continue along the path of eating foods in the latter category, then being overweight will become the norm.
Foods that cause us to gain weight have common characteristics. Before putting something in your body, think about if it falls into one of the following categories:
• High in calories
• Lots of sugar
• High in fat
• Lots of salt or sodium
• Lots of ingredients
• Little to no nutritional value
I recently came across the website “This Is Why You’re Fat”, 
which serves as the perfect of example of why obesity is such a problem in our country. The site reveals photos of foods laden with fat, sugar and sodium that people actually ingest. Although these are ingredients that appeal to our tastes – and things every fast food restaurant, cookie maker, donut baker and ice cream parlor exploit to reel in business – these very things are our pitfalls when tackeling our weight loss goals.
If you want to become lean and healthy, you need to fight the cravings for the fried, sweet and salty. You can start today by avoiding these “bad” foods:
• Fast food 
• High calorie/fat condiments (dressing, gravy, mayonnaise, cream, etc.)
• Sweets (cookies, candy, ice cream, etc.)
• Soda (including diet drinks, which even with no calories increase your appetite for “bad” things)
• Special coffee drinks (Regular coffee is ok, but add 200 to 500 calories of cream or sugar and all nutritional value is lost) 
• Fried foods
• “Fat Free” packaged foods (You take all the fat, sugar or sodium out of a food and you need more of the other two to make it taste good. Don’t fall for deceptive packaging. 
• “White” foods (All the nutrition has been taken out of processed foods like rice, pasta and bread. In addition, these foods cause an instant blood sugar surge can wreak havoc on your body’s insides.)
This is not a comprehensive list nor will eating these things every once in a while hurt you, but if you are eating these types of foods every day, you will not succeed in your weight loss goals.
In addition, you will probably not feel as good as you should. Eating “bad” foods can cause mood swings, energy swings, headaches, nausea, cravings for more bad food, stomach problems, indigestion and other daily disturbances. 
If we want to lead healthy, productive lives, we need to start replacing the “bad” foods with “good” foods. Additional weight does not fit into an equation for healthy living and the key is to start analyzing your diet now, before fat starts creeping onto your thighs and stomach. To examine how well you’re eating, record these simple things:
• What do you eat?
• When do you eat?
• How much do you eat?
Start your diet makeover slowly, gradually replacing the “bad” foods with the “good.” If you replace one item per week, in a month’s time, you will notice how much better you feel. Keep in mind, you can eat a lot more “good” foods then you can “bad” foods before going over your daily calorie requirement.
Let’s kick fat in its ugly butt, Columbus!
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