That's Fit

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

One of the first steps in losing weight is figuring out what the vice foods are. That's not to say that I plan on removing any of these fully from my diet -- That doesn't work for me; I end up craving it even more. But it's important to know what my weaknesses are. I'll be honest--I have a lot of vice foods--but here are the main ones, in order:

• Cheese
• Alcohol, particularly wine
• Pasta and Bread
• Chocolate
• Desserts

I'm a bit of a maniac when it comes to cheese. I don't eat much meat, so it's one of my main sources of protein. But I have to be careful -- I can eat a whole block of it without thinking twice. So instead of stocking my fridge with brie and feta and havarti, I'm going to snack on partly-skimmed mozza, and I'll keep some goat cheese around to spice up salads.

As for alcohol. I like my wine. And wine can be healthy, as long as I don't drink too much of it. Excessive imbibing is bad in two ways -- firstly, it adds precious calories onto my daily total, and secondly, it makes me feel a bit worse for wear the next day, and when I'm under the weather, I head the for the fattening comfort food. So the wine has to be restricted to only a couple of glasses on weekends.

I am a carb queen. I love big plates of spaghetti, and I stick to whole wheat, healthy, carbs, but I have to watch my portions. Pasta will only be an occasional indulgence for me.

And sugar, oh sugar. I love sweet things, but I don't love the lack of energy I feel when I eat too much of them. I'm ridding my house of sweets, and I'm going to resolve to say no to dessert for the next little while. It might not be entirely successful, but it's a start.

Like I said, I'm not going to cut these things out--I don't believe that deprivation is the way to go--but I am going to make an honest effort to reduce these things in my diet.

What are your vices?