DASH

I don't know if many of you have heard of "The DASH diet", but that is what I started with when I decided to change our eating habits.  A pretty good "starter diet", but I customized it to better fit what I think would work better long-term for my family and I. (also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DASH_diet)

Depending on your caloric intake, you will want to set your sodium intake at
1,500mg - 2,400mg.  My family and I chose to go with 2,400 mg as our max intake of sodium, but we often are below that.

I found that while eating low-fat is good and all, some fats are actually good for you.  Most aren't and I am still in the process of cutting the bad fats out.  But here's a list of food that you DO NOT want to opt for the "low-fat or Fat-Free" option due to their high sodium content and sometimes higher sugar and carbs:

• Most cheeses
• Cream cheese (use real cream cheese and not the "spread")
• Soups
• Breads
• Butter (I use only real, unsalted, sweetcream butter)
• Puddings
• Yogurt

Now this is just my opinion and observation.  I prefer to eat the full fat version of these products and not take in all the extra sodium and other things.  The fat that you are taking in with these products is good for you (dairy fat, ect.).  Just watch the "Saturated Fat"  or "Trans Fat" content in these foods, especially if you are prone to high cholesterol.  All fruits and veggies are great for you and have many medicinal and nutritional benefits, but one veggie that I love, that is not necessarily "fat free", is the Avacado.

Avacados are also a GREAT food and contain good fats.  I eat avacados as much as I can.