My diet can be described as specific and random at the same time. If you read any of my other posts, you know by now that I love to eat and that I like variety. Yet, I naturally tend to put on weight, so through trial and error, I have come with a list of a few things that I will avoid eating.

Why do I use the word avoid? Because eventually, I’ll eat some of it. But it’s always an exception, and never the rule. It’s also important to say, that this list is what my body doesn’t respond well to, and everyone’s bodies are different. So what doesn’t work for me, might be great for you.

The list is very short, but it includes more items than I can name. It’s not always easy not to eat it, especially when I am forced to eat out and I don’t have a lot of options, but as a rule, I try not to eat any of it.

Wheat

Wheat doesn’t work for me. I have no problem with gluten, I eat oats every morning for breakfast, and I have no problem with it, but whether it’s whole wheat or blanched, I can see my belly fat increase if I eat it for more than one day in a row.

Sugar

A lot of people tell me they don’t add sugar to their drinks. But sugar goes beyond this. It includes baked goods, most yogurts, processed juices, desserts, condiments, sauces, and so much more. The problem with sugar is that for the most part it is hidden in the ingredient list, so you don’t even know that you are eating it, and the effects in your body are very visible.

Once I stopped eating sugar, my skin looks better, my belly is flatter, I am less tired than I used to feel, and my mood improved considerably. I never thought I would give up eating sugar, but today I can’t see myself eating it again. Or at least not in large amounts.

Processed food

I make 9o% of my food from scratch. Why? Because I want to make sure I know exactly what goes in there. It might sound obsessive, but for me, it’s easier to make something and know exactly what’s in there than it is to pay a lot of money for something that apparently is healthy, but it is full of preservatives, and ingredients that I don’t even know what they are.

The only processed food I purchase is cheese, butter, natural peanut butter, and eventually, whole-wheat bread. Everything else I make at home.

Refined food

This was the first step in changing my eating habits. I switched blanched for whole-wheat flour, before removing it from my diet, and white for brown rice. Today, I hardly ever eat anything with wheat, and I try to eat other grains, but this small change, which basically aims to add fiber to your diet, does make a big difference.

Sweetened drinks

All I drink is water, smoothies, and juices made with whole fruits. I don’t drink anything that comes from a bottle, except for water. In regards to my juices and smoothies, they are sweetened with bananas, apples, or dates. And most importantly, my juices are made of the whole fruit, maintaining the natural fiber, that is so important for a healthy diet.

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I am so used to not having any of this in my diet, that I actually had to think ‘what regular people eat and drink?’ to write this post. Humans are creatures of habit. We adapt. I never thought I would be able to have the eating habits I have today, but it happened progressively. As I started to see results, I kept tweaking my diet, and my eating habits became better. It’s a long path, but it’s doable, as long as you take one step at a time.