I'll be honest, I really haven't given anything up. I really feel that everything can be enjoyed in moderation if you approach it correctly and plan for it. The only thing that I have given up for the most part is fast food. I was never a fast food junkie per se, but I didn't enjoy it occassionally. Now it just makes me cringe and sounds completely unappealing and I know that anything I can make will be a million times better and won't make me feel like crap. If I go out to eat I want it to be really worth it or I want to plan ahead and make healthier choices that I enjoy more. But I do enjoy a decadent dessert or martini from time to time :)

Like many of you, there is NO way i could give up the cheese! :D

i cant give up diet coke. it's so bad for me, but it's so good.. i only buy 1 can though when i go grocery shopping so it's cut down my consumption by like a million.

i also am not giving up anything. I avoid certain foods that are triggers. I absolutely HATE artificial sweeteners. I have one thing i have been able to tolerate splenda in--that is the myofusion drink I bought. However, after it is gone, i will be replacing it with one without a/s. That stuff gives me headaches, and i'm convinced it is poison.

I also don't give up fat. I don't eat low fat anything on purpose. I might tolerate it in some foods, definitely not milk though. my milk, cheese and butter have to be real full fat stuff. I love raw nuts--so that is always on my menu.

like someone else said, our bodies need fat.

2 not-so-good-for-me things I will never be able to give up...

My husband's baja fish tacos with adobo sauce and cheeseburgers. I just make my own cheeseburgers now so I can control how much meat and other stuff goes into them (plus they taste so much better). And as for the tacos, well, I just don't plan on having them every night! lol

I love my red wine! I allow myself a glass on Saturday nights after I weigh in for the week.

Ice Cream. I've tried multiple low fat/low calorie/low carb ice creams... BLECH. I have to have the real thing. Good thing that... normally at least... I don't eat it that often.

Well... I think that's it. I've fallen in love with Soy Milk. Almost everything else, the low calorie/low fat/healthier thing just tastes so much better to me. :p

I agree with just about everything that has already been said - hamburgers (turkey burgers and veggie burgers don't even come close as a substitute!), cheese, full fat dairy products and salad dressings, Starbucks, wine.

Two additional items for me:
Bacon! :ink: Turkey bacon is beyond disgusting so I only eat real bacon, but only 1 or 2 slices a week.

Pizza! :jeno: I know it's going to give me a stomach ache the whole next day, and the calories are just unbelievable, so I seriously limit how much and how often. But, oh how I love a really good pizza from the local pizzeria!

Lol! I agree with everyone on the cheese thing! My mom used to get FAT FREE american cheese. ~gag~ It was so nasty. It wouldn't melt. I would rather never eat cheese again.

And ever since I was PG with my son, I haven't been able to stand artificial sweetners. :barf: I REALLY wish they would make soda with about half the sugar (or less!) and use REAL sugar.

Tomorrow, I am planning to have a cheeseburger... I can't wait. I have been craving them for at least a week now. (so, I know it isn't just a whim that will pass). Don't get me wrong - I enjoy a turkey burger :turkey: or veggie burger :broc: on occassion... but for what they are. They are NOT substitutes for a juicy hunk of cow. Mmmm... :moo:

I'm another one who doesn't believe in giving up anything. I've tried! - and for all my hard work & occasional successes all I truly got was MISERABLE.

All things in moderation, I always say! :carrot: But I do try to cut portion sizes, and also to eat MORE of the healthy foods so I won't be so ravenous for the UNhealthy foods. I have found that "noshing" every couple of hours (eating 5-6x per day) is better for me than 3 bigger meals.

I have been already using things like skim milk instead of whole, 2% cheese instead of full-fat, etc. for decades. So whole milk just seems icky to me, and full-fat cheese seems "too thick" or whatever. I try to substitute the "lesser evil" whenever possible. Such as eating sugar free jello pudding instead of a 1/2 bowl of regular chocolate ice cream. It's that chocolate-y taste I'm after, and I have found that I can get it for cheaper (fewer) calories if I try.

Then there are things like Mountain Dew. My most favorite drink ever! - I tried Diet Mtn Dew, but it was JUST GROSS!!!... so ... I started mixing regular Dew with Diet Dew until little by little I had more diet than regular... and finally now I just drink diet and I like it.

I find little tricks like that help me most of all. ;)

Oh, and Long Live Chocolate!!! :cloud9:

I do not do subsitutes (except coke zero, prefer it to classic). I'd rather have the real thing less often and/or in smaller quantities.

Pizza. I have it every Saturday, just in moderation (I only eat 1 or 2 slices) and I always dab the grease off with a napkin.

:queen: Dhani :queen:

Ice-cream and the very occasional Chinese take-out. For the Chinese food I always pick a healthy, veggie oriented option. However, when it comes to ice-cream I want GOOD stuff. Once every two weeks, only if I've been completely on plan, I have a small blizzard from DQ. If I mess up, even a little, I don't let myself have it. I love ice-cream so this is actually a GREAT method of motivation, plus I don't have to actually keep it in the home.

I have always preferred skim milk so that's not an issue, but here's my list:

Butter
Full fat cheese
White pasta, which is weird because my family enjoys the ww stuff but I am not in love with it.
Artificial sweetners, bring on the stevia!
Diet Pepsi, but not everyday.
Alcohol, whether a light beer or cocktail, I'm going to have 1 or 2.

Everything in moderation, I will make allowances to eat what I want. Life is too short.

Cheese!! & Red wine! :)