I’ve officially been a health coach for just a couple years, but I’ve been passionate about health and well-being for as long as I can remember. I haven’t always known all the “right” things to do and have fallen for my fair share of crazy fads and wellness blunders, but I’ve learned a few things along the way. By eliminating certain habits from my life, I’ve experienced fewer cravings, more energy, maintained a healthy weight and developed a healthier relationship with food without feeling deprived. Here are the three things I almost never do because, as Maya Angelou said “when you know better, you do better”.

I NEVER (or almost never):

1. Eat until I’m overly full. That overstuffed, uncomfortable, thanksgiving dinner kind of full, where you need to unbutton your pants and lay down. Like so many of us, I was taught to finish everything on my plate growing up and that habit is really hard to break. I can’t stand wasting food, plus it just tastes so darn good! I used to consistently overeat when dining out and at home sometimes, too. Digesting all that food is taxing on our bodies. It makes us sleepy, bloated, even nauseous. Over time, overeating like this can disrupt our body’s ability to regulate hunger. When your stomach gets stretched out to this degree over and over, it starts to feel normal and you keep doing it. After one particularly excessive binge, I noticed how rotten I felt and I decided that I disliked that uncomfortable feeling more than I had enjoyed the food. For me, the benefits of eating only moderate amounts of food far outweigh the fleeting pleasure of having second and third helpings. In Japanese culture, they sometimes say Hara Hachi Bu before meals — a reminder to eat only until 80% full. Instead of eating until you are full, eat only until you are no longer hungry. Just that slight shift in mindset can make a huge difference and can help break the overeating habit.

2. Drink soda. Not regular soda, not diet soda. Soda was a big treat in our family when I was a kid, reserved for holidays and birthdays, and I continued to enjoy it into adulthood. In college, I switched over to diet sodas. At some point I realized that sodas were just empty calories, full of artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners that even tasted artificial to me. Both regular and diet soda consumption is linked to an increased risk of diabetes, kidney disease and changes in the gut biome. There’s really nothing in those cans that is good for us, and artificial sweeteners are potentially quite harmful. No more soda for me and I don’t miss it. Try water with fresh lemon, sparkling water with lime, or herbal tea to quench thirst.

3. Eat anything labeled “diet”, “low-fat”, or “fat-free”. Foods that are naturally low in fat, like carrots and oranges, are obviously good for us. But processed low-fat foods are frequently full of sugar and other unhealthy, artificial ingredients to make up for the fat and sugar that have been removed. Take a look at the ingredients in low or fat-free salad dressings, yogurt or cookies. The lists are long and full of things we can’t pronounce. These foods aren’t nutritious or satisfying and can lead to the dreaded afternoon snack attacks we try to avoid. It’s best to eat unprocessed, whole foods and healthy fats for optimal health and ditch the “diet” foods.

So there you have it—three things that I personally never (or close to never) do. Since I stopped overeating, drinking soda and eating “diet” foods, my health has improved, I feel better in my body and I actually enjoy the foods I eat a lot more. And those are things we can all get passionate about.

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