There are many things that you can have instead of SODAS: teas, coffee, regular & mineral water, low-fat milk,V-8 or Veggie Cocktail or Tomato Juices, pure juices mixed with water: 50/50 ie cranberry juice once a day; plus one diet soda here & there won't do huge damage IMHO ...
Indeed, natural whole foods are best and can be purchased from any grocery store: lots of salads & veggies, low-sugar fruit like berries & melons, lean meats, and whole grains watching your servings amounts (portions).
I agree about small steps for now; you can have a lean hamburger & salad, or one slice of Pizza & a salad once a week for a fun dinner or lunch -- it's really about how much, and how often. One of my favorites is BBQ spit whole chickens: fast food that's healthy -- bring it home and serve it with salad, and new potatoes or brown rice (we're having that tonight).
As for snacks, you can have nosugaradded (NSA) puddings & jello; sugarfree apple sauce, baked or fresh fruit (1/2 cup serving/size), no-sugar fruit yogurts like SOURCE OR ASTRO-ZERO, raw veggies & dip, cheeses (sliced, babybells, cheddar the size of your thumb), pepperettes, lean meats, salads, soups (like cupasoups or broths), hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese with fruit, etc.
Some people like to follow the South Beach Diet, Atkins, WW, Insulin Resistance Diet, or Diabetes Plans. Here's a link to a very easy & simple plan to get you started; as you go along, you can tweak it or change it as you like ...
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/fait...diet-diet.html