The road to health is a process, and often it involves making trades, or as we like to call it “trading up.”

Making changes in what you eat on a day-by-day basis can make a profound difference over time about how you eat. Here are a few examples of trading up for health:

Years ago I use to have a hamburger and French fries for lunch, almost every day. The first trade up was to get rid of the French Fries. That represented 600 calories a day. Over the course of 5 days that was 3000 calories – almost one pound of fat. In three months I lost five pounds. Eventually, the hamburger went, and was replaced with a home-made chicken salad, much healthier, because I was able to include items with increased micro-nutrients.

Another patient of mine struggled with weight loss and finally realized she was drinking wine every night: 3-4 glasses. First she dropped to no more than two glasses and over two months lost 6 pounds. This last year she changed her habit from having two glasses of wine a night. Here’s what she said:

“I would come home every night and want a glass to relax. Then you talked to me about smoothies, and making my own. So I started making a simple smoothie with berries, yogurt, some flax seed, and fiber. I noticed after I drank it I felt more refreshed, and was in a better place to make dinner. I had more energy – and best of all, I lost another 10 pounds in two months and have kept it off.”

She traded alcohol, and its calories, for berries rich in fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and the flax seed with omega-3 fatty acids. It was also a way to get more fiber in her diet.

Trading up to better food, to better quality food, means that you can enjoy life more. It gives you a chance to incorporate some of the micro-nutrients that you might be missing. Ultimately you are empowering yourself for your own health.

Nothing tastes as good as healthy food, and nothing tastes as good as slender feels.