Weight Loss & Diet Plans

Expert Q&A: The Anti-Cancer Diet

Has eating a healthy diet always come naturally for you? Are there any foods that you find hard to resist?

I actually grew up a vegetable and fruit hater. As a kid, the only ones I’d eat were applesauce, potatoes, bananas, corn, and iceberg lettuce. And even as a teenager, it didn’t get much better than that. But as I got older, the more nutrition I studied,  the more I came to realize how important vegetables and fruits are. I just made up my mind that it was important to eat more of them, but decided I wasn't going to suffer. So I set about experimenting, making all kinds of vegetables in a wide variety of ethnic and other flavorful styles. Now the vegetables are usually my favorite food in the meal. Change is possible!

I do have a sweet tooth, and I especially love chocolate. But I don't try to make it "forbidden,” since I know I'd just crave it more and go overboard. For me the solution comes down to the obvious -- I don't keep sweets around the house. So I get something sweet occasionally when we're entertaining or when I know I will really sit and enjoy it. Or I might order a dessert when we eat out.  But strangely, when something's not here in the home, I rarely crave it.