This is a great strategy for taking the first steps in cleaning up your diet. And it's incredibly simple: If there are any "eat rarely" or "avoid at all costs" treats that you've been having a little too regularly lately and cannot seem to give up, commit to mixing it half and half with something harmless or healthful. Examples? Mix regular soda with diet soda or, better, seltzer or club soda. Mix sweetened yogurt with plain yogurt. Mix any kind of fruit juice with plain water or seltzer. Blend sweetened whipped cream with unsweetened. Mix table sugar with an artificial sweetener, or combine a sweetened cereal with an unsweetened one. You get the idea.

After a few weeks of this ­ if you stick to it diligently with your sweet weaknesses ­ you will find that your tolerance for sweetness declines. Cut the half and half strategy down to three-quarters/one-quarter, and you¹ll be on your way to not only not craving the sweetness but actually finding that the things you used to love now taste cloyingly sweet.

Reviewed by Francine Kaufman, MD. 4/08