Most people who go on a diet believe that they can no longer enjoy their favorite foods. This problem causes many people to quit diets before they have properly started – if they even get out of the starting blocks. If you are contemplating starting a weight loss program, I have good news for you, you can have your cake and eat it. The reason why so many people fail to lose weight is that they cannot do without their favorite foods and they stop following the program within the first week or so. The problem is that your body takes 21 days to adjust to a new routine.

Give your favorite foods a healthy make-over

Where possible, use olive oil or sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil or grease. Bake your potato or sweetpotato fries in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil. This makes your French fries taste fabulous without the damaging effects of regular cooking oil. Cooking your French fries in this way is healthy, tasty and less messy!

This suggestion is backed up by research that was conducted in Spain regarding the cooking habits of more than 40 000 people in that country. The subjects were aged between 29-69, and the research was conducted over an 11-year period. None of these subjects had heart disease at the start of the trial and there was never a link established between cooking with olive oil and heart disease. Needless to say, everyone used sunflower and olive oil to cook with.

Eat your favorite foods raw where possible

The down side to heating starches is that it creates a compound called acrylamide, which has been linked to cancer and heart disease. The good news is that you can reduce this risk.

If you soak the potatoes for half an hour beforehand, you will get rid of about 40% of the acrylamide. Do this for two hours and you can lose close to half the acrymalide. If you are going to bake dough, add rosemary to it and you will get rid of 60% of the acrymalide. You can also counter the effects of acrymalide in fried starches by eating Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli with your deep-fried starches.

Enjoy your favorite foods occasionally, but…

While the above strategies will help to keep you healthy, don’t abuse the privilege. Only eat fried foods on special occasions. Balance the effects with fresh produce and herbs and limit your intake of other carbohydrates. You should also exercise to negate the effects of your favorite foods.

It is all about moderation at the end of the day. If you find a weight loss program that allows you to indulge occasionally then be frugal with your indulgences. Track your weight loss results so that you keep yourself motivated to press on towards your ultimate goal weight.