Solutions To Kick Those Bad Habits Part 4 - Leaving favorites behind

This one can be tough or it could be simple - it all depends on what it is you love. But there are some favorites that you're going to have to leave behind when you start a low-carb diet. Some things you're better off just saying no to and breaking the addiction so you can get healthy and leave it in the past. But the good news is, some things are super easy to have in an alternative way. It might not taste exactly the same way but once you get used to eating different tasting foods and you've eliminated the unhealthy things, your tastes change anyway and you probably won't miss it.

I can say that I wasn't a huge carb addict before we started this diet so admittedly I might have had an easier time leaving some things behind than others. But there were things that I enjoyed eating, even if I didn't feel like it was something I just couldn't give up, and I had to figure out a way to satisfy that desire.

Chips are one of those things that I think are pretty typical. Chips are so tasty and so versatile that it's hard to imagine giving those up. But there are ways you can still enjoy a "chip" or something crunchy while sticking to a low carb diet. One of my favorite ways to get that crunch and enjoy the dips that I love, like guacamole or cream cheese dip, is to eat pork rinds.  There are some great pork rinds out there  - some that are plain so they're perfect for dips and such and some that are flavored so it's more like eating some Lay's or Doritos. ;) My personal favorites are Mac's brand. They have so many great flavors!

Another thing that many people have a hard time giving up is pasta. I've never been a big pasta eater so I can't give suggestions based on experience but I know there are pasta alternatives out there like egg wraps to replace lasagna noodles, zoodles to replace spaghetti, or shirataki noodles or Palmini noodles can work too. You'll also want to find a low-carb, no-sugar-added sauce for your pasta too. But it can be done!

A lot of the drinks that people choose to enjoy can be detrimental to a low-carb diet but there are alternatives for most drinks as well. Replace dairy milk with unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk, replace sodas with diet sodas or even better - switch to water or iced tea, use heavy cream in your coffee instead of milk and use a non-sugar sweetener rather than sugar. Those are just a few examples.

In the last post we talked about sweets - a huge stumbling block to many. There are so many great options available to us now and it's getting better all the time. You just have to look a little to find some great options!

So all of that to say, it might be hard to give up favorites but it's worth it to make some changes and find healthier alternatives. With a little effort, you can find a recipe or an idea for something different to use just by searching online or looking in some low-carb cookbooks.

Do you have a favorite that I haven't mentioned here? I've got a post all about substitutions with ideas for what to trade things for so check that out for even more ideas. If you don't see it there and you're struggling to come up with an alternative, let me know what it is and maybe I can help you! :)