I will admit I have never been a big soda drinker but if I did drink it I usually tried to get the diet version because it was "healthier". Yeah, right. No soda is healthy but the diet ones are usually even worse with more added chemicals and artificial stuff. I stay away from all soft drinks now, pretty much 100%.
I was a sucker for these things. I ate a lot of different granola bars, thinking I was snacking healthy; nope. Most of these bars are full of added sugars, chemicals, and artificial flavors. The only snack bars I eat now are certain flavors of Larabar because I can find ones with minimal ingredients that are 100% real food, and a locally made Paleo bar I found at Real Food Market.
Yes, cereal; and believe me this was a hard one to give up. I was a big cereal eater. Had cereal most mornings and often for snack and even for dinner sometimes. Now when I want cereal I make Granola, Paleo Granola or oatmeal. No more boxed cereal for me until I can find one with only real ingredients and no added chemicals to maintain freshness.
I guess I could have combined this one with cereal above. I often ate those single serving flavored oatmeal packs because they are suppose to be so good for you and they are so quick and easy to make. Well, even the lower sugar ones are high in sugar and can have questionable ingredients. I just make regular oatmeal now and add my own fruit and things to it. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes if you use quick cook oats. Much better tasting and better for you.
I counted calories or points for years and years and loved the idea of these things. Not now. Most of them are not even food when you look at the ingredient list. I now stick to more real food options for snacks and desserts; calories be damned :)
We always bought margarine, healthier brands made with olive oils and having the healthy heart symbol, and thought we were doing a great thing. Hubby has watched what he eats for several years due to his family history. He watches his cholesterol for health reasons and we always thought we were eating pretty well. Now we eat butter instead of margarine. We have for over a year now and all our blood work is great. Now don't get me wrong; we don't eat big mounds of butter on a spoon daily. Again things in moderation, but I would rather eat a natural product like butter with 1 or 2 ingredients instead of a factory-made margarine with a ton of questionable ingredients.