Why don’t people stick to their diets? Well, it’s pretty simple. Let’s see, they got hungry, the taste of diet food usually sucks, or they’re missing their old comfort foods like pizza, pasta and chocolate. Of course if you ask them, their answer would be “I just can’t afford it.”

How about if we identify “diet foods” that don’t taste like cardboard, fill you up and you won’t have to break the bank to pay for it? For starters, give yourself a variety. Crunchy, chewy, salty and sweet are how most people would describe their meals when not on a diet. Make your diet meals more like this with the wide variety and you won’t feel like you’re on a diet.

What about going au naturel? At least as far as your food is concerned. Instead of buying frozen “diet” meals or the prepared ones, try shopping for a change. Get fresh produce, lean meats, and mix together some spices that you’ve never heard of and voila you have a great meal that’s low in carbs and calories but still tastes like REAL food. How awesome is that?!

Want variety? Great! There are tons of recipes online, read them, try them and make them your own. No one ever said you have to stick to a recipe word for word, flavor for flavor. You want more crunch, add it! You want chewy? Add it! Check out calorie and carb counts online to figure out what substitutes you can use. Lean meats are good like chicken, turkey and fish. For the rest, do your research.

Keep an eye on the grocery store ads and coupons. When your lean meats are on sale, buy them! Spilt them up and freeze them. Produce and veges are a bit trickier. You really can’t stock up on them unless you’re great at blanching veges. Don’t forget the buy one get one free! They can save you a lot in the pocket!

If your fridge is bare, you can get great deals from the “discount meat” section. Just don’t go overboard because it won’t last long; same thing with the veges and fruit. Another thing is to get freezer bags. Don’t expect plastic wrap to protect your purchases.