Change your diet in 2012

Want to change how you eat? You've got to do it one piece of food at a time.

Reducing your waist size doesn't take a miracle. It takes a lot of little steps. Wondering about the foods you should get rid of in order to transform your health and your weight through small dietary transformations? Keep reading.

Buttered Toast. It's relatively light tasting and seems innocent, but buttered toast could be adding unnecessary calories to your diet. Wave goodbye to the buttered side of life and welcome in a little honey, jam, or jelly on a piece of whole-wheat toast. It'll burst with flavour - not extra calories.

Chips. Like most every other fried food, Chips are unhealthy by nature. If you've got a hankering for something potato-based, opt for mashed potatoes or a baked potato. To get that French fry flavour, squirt a little ketchup on your baked potato or mashed potatoes and enjoy.

Having trouble trading out all your favorite foods for healthier alternatives? Go for one at a time! It takes lots of little steps to make big progress with your health.

Fried Chicken. It may be finger-licking good, but the grease on your fingers makes it clear that fried chicken doesn't do the body good. Instead of frying your chicken, go for the grill or bake your chicken. Doing this will instantly cut down the amount of calories and fat you consume at dinnertime.

Fudge Sauce. Heated up and dripped on a brownie or a pile of ice cream, fudge sauce is the epitome of delectable dessert topping. Shave off some calories without losing that sought-after chocolate flavor by trading our your beloved fudge sauce for chocolate syrup.

Hamburgers or Cheeseburgers. Don't worry - you don't have to give up the magnificent flavour and savour of burgers. But you will need to change the kind of meat you use to make your burger. Instead of the traditional beef burger, go for a turkey burger or a veggie burger. The meat (or lack of meat) is leaner than beef and has just as much flavour!

Macaroni and Cheese. It tastes amazing, satisfied children of all ages and stages, and only takes a few minutes to make. Unfortunately, macaroni and cheese is not the healthiest option for you or your children. For an equally easy option, cook some pasta and add some light and healthy marinara sauce. You may never want macaroni and cheese again.

Crisps. One of the most commonly criticized snack foods, crisps beg to be substituted with a healthy alternative. In comes popcorn. But not the buttery, fattening stuff you find in movie theaters. Instead, make it low-fat popcorn that is lightly salted. It tastes great and helps you avoid the long-term consequences of crisps.

Traditional Desserts. For the most part, there is nothing wrong with a little cake or ice cream. However, the traditional view of dessert is that more is better. To ward off weight gain from taking this traditional view of dessert, swap out your extra large portion of chocolate cake for a cup of fresh fruit or half a serving of your favorite dessert. Either way, you'll get the sweet you crave without going overboard on calories.

White Bread. No matter what is between the two pieces of bread, a sandwich will never be its healthiest with white bread. An easy way to boost your health on a regular basis is to toss out the white bread and go with healthy, whole-wheat bread. You can also trade out your regular pasta for wheat pasta to get another boost to your good health.