It's The Little Things...

As I have said before, you can't change your habits overnight.  Even if you did, the likelihood of that sticking is pretty small.  You need time to train yourself.  Most likely you (and I) are never going to become all out vegans who recycle everything and use ALL all-natural, organic ingredients and only eat out at those hippie restaurants eating tofu and bean sprouts.  Probably not going to happen.  But we can make smarter decisions everyday, even on the small stuff.  I know in this family we love ice cream and are not willing to give it up.  So, for our dessert night, I buy a "healthy" ice cream.  Meaning it's not filled with artificial ingredients or colors, it's not loaded with 3 or 4 different types of sugars, and it doesn't have a list of ingredients a mile long that I can't understand.   You should know what every ingredient is and there should only be about 5 or 6.

You don't have to give everything up to be healthy.  You just need to make healthier choices about those little treats.
*If you are really craving chocolate,  eat some of an all-natural dark chocolate bar instead of a whole candy bar.  
*If you are wanting a hamburger, cook your own all-natural or grass-fed beef burger on wheat bun instead of running to a fast food joint. 
*Really wanting a coke?  Most likely you are either needing the caffeine or want that carbonated, fizzy kick in a drink.  If it's caffeine then choose coffee or tea, that's lightly sweetened tea, not southern sweet tea.  If it's that kick that you need, choose an all-natural fruit soda, like an Izze drink or italian soda.  Don't drink diet coke, it is not any better for you!
*You can still eat breads, just choose whole grain or whole wheat breads.  Again, make sure it's not enriched flour.  It has to say whole wheat flour or whole grain flour as the main ingredient.  
*You can still have pizza, just make your own.  Use whole wheat flour, thin crust dough.  A natural and if possible, organic marinara sauce.  Choose healthy toppings and don't over load it with cheese.  
*For example, tonight the kids wanted hot dogs.  So, I bought Trader Joe's whole wheat buns.  First two ingredients are whole wheat flour and stone ground whole wheat flour.  Then I also bought all-natural, organic, grass-feed beef hot dogs.  No preservatives or nitrites and all natural casing.  Used organic ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup) and mustard. And served it with carrots and ranch dip made from greek yogurt.  Kids, happy. Me, happy. Grant it, it's not the healthiest meal in the world, but it could be a whole lot worse!

You not only need to make better choices with ingredients, but also with portion sizes.  Our portion sizes are entirely too big!  And this is something that really takes time to change.  Our stomaches are stretched from over eating and it takes time to shrink them back up. We are still working on this in our housed, that's for sure! Ways to help with this:
*each time you sit down for a meal eat a little bit less of the least healthy food on your plate than what you would normally eat
*eat more filling foods.  Did you know that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are some of the most filling foods you can eat.  According to Livestrong.com:

Fruits and Vegetables

Fresh, frozen or canned, nearly all fruits and vegetables are low in calories, significantly lower than most other foods, even starchy and protein-rich vegetables, such as potatoes, winter squash and green peas. Yet, because these foods have a high water content and are rich in dietary fiber, they are quite filling. One cup of nearly all fruits and vegetables provides less than 200 calories. The possibilities are endless; other examples of low-calorie, filling fruit and vegetable options include melon, berries, summer squash, carrots, beets, leafy greens, apples and pears, yellow corn, cucumbers and green beans.

Whole Grains

Whole grains, such as cereals, are filling food options. Regardless of whether you choose hot old-fashioned oatmeal or ready-to-eat bran flakes with skim milk, 1.5 cups, even topped with fruit, provide fewer than 300 calories. Whole grains, like fruits and vegetables, are high in dietary fiber, so they expand in your body, encouraging satiety. According to the Healthy Vegan Weight Loss website, certain chewy whole grains have a low calorie density but are incredibly filling. Examples include brown rice, millet, buckwheat groats or "kasha" and/or quinoa. Each option provides less than 300 calories per cup, cooked. Don't forget another low-calorie whole grain that offers maximum volume and is high in fiber: air-popped popcorn.

*Snack in between meals. I'm sure we've all heard this, but how many of us actually do it? Preparing your snacks ahead of time will really make a difference during the week.  Pre-package dry foods in portion sized bags.  Pre-wash and cut refrigerated foods and store in air tight containers that are easy to get to. If you are truly snacking between meals (ON HEALTHY FOODS), you will not be as hungry when meal time comes around.  Especially for dinner.  I'm not sure why dinner has become our biggest meal of the day and breakfast virtually doesn't exist.  It seems like it should be the opposite.  When need our energy from food at the beginning of the day, not at the end when all we are going to do is sleep. 

Trust me. Everything I've said here is stuff that we as a family are working on.  We DO NOT have it down completely and still require a lot of training.  But we continue to work on it daily and have seen and feel an improvement physically.  I highly encourage you to do the same.  It will be worth it. Just take it one step and one day at a time.