People ask me all the time how I've managed to keep off the 75 pounds I lost almost a decade ago. The bottom line is that instead of trying to change every single bad habit I had, I morphed them into better ones. I made peace with the fact that I didn't want to give up emotional eating and I made it work by swapping out high calorie foods for good, better and best choices.

When it comes to breakfast, I know I need it. I know it's the most important meal of the day. I know that breakfast eaters lose weight faster and keep it off longer. And I know I feel better when I start my day with nutritionally dense foods. So now, post size 22, when I'm not traveling my typical breakfast is a Dannon light yogurt –usually Cherry with at least a cup of fruit and two tablespoons of Bob's Red Mill Muslim.

I wasn't always a breakfast eater, especially at the beginning of my weight loss journey. A lot of people just aren't champions of breakfast and "don't have time." For the record, I don't buy that excuse and encourage people to realize it's a choice they're making and to make the choice work for the greater good of their health and the health of their family. Accept it. Own it. Make it work.

No matter how you arrive at what you're going to eat first thing in the morning and who is going to do the cooking, it's critical to fill your nutritional tank with the right stuff. Particularly when I'm traveling or eating out and have to rely on other people to prepare my food, I challenge myself to make good, better and best choices.

The Good, Better, Best Challenge is paramount to achieving healthy weight loss and it's probably the biggest reason I've keep the weight off all these years. I take the challenge almost every time I'm faced with a food decision. If I have to have a cup of coffee and I'm dying for a full fat latte, I challenge myself to think it through. What's a good choice? What's a better choice? What's the best choice I can make right now and still live with?

When it comes to fit fast food on the road I'm a fan of Starbucks. How many other fast food restaurants have been willing to expand their menus beyond the obvious salad and water combo meal to serve consumers in search of nutritionally sound food? These guys are always expanding their menus based on consumer input and demand.

Based on the number of people they serve a day, I truly believe they can single handedly make a dent in helping to cure obesity in America. There are a few healthy sounding landmines on their menus so it's up to you to do your homework. The nutritional analysis for every menu item is on their corporate website.

Starbucks Healthy Breakfast Food Traps
It's easy to get fooled by some of their baked goods, more than ever by the ones that "sound" healthy.

8 Grain Roll (looks like a muffin to me): 350 Calories, 8 grams of fat, 67g carbohydrates, 50 mg of cholesterol, 520 mg of sodium.

Banana Bread: What could be so bad about a slice of whole-wheat looking banana walnut bread, right? How about 490 calories, 19 grams of fat, 75g carbohydrates and 210 mg of sodium with your coffee?

Blueberry Oat Bar: Blueberries and Oats sound healthy enough but these bars don't fill you up and in fact, most sugary foods leave you feeling like you "need" to eat more. According to one nutritional analysis on their website, these blueberry buttery oat treats contain 370 calories, 14 grams of fat, 47 Carbohydrates and 150 mg of sodium.

Curiously, on another page of their website, these very same Blueberry Oat Bars have been renamed and are listed as having fewer calories. They appear on a list of Muffins, Scones, Breads & Other Treats Under 350 Calories and are called Blueberry Oat Bar with Organic Blueberries. The calories are listed as 250 per serving. When you click on that link, you're directed back over to the nutritional analysis page for their Blueberry Oat Bars, which list the calories at 370 per serving.

I'm quite sure this is just a small oversight on their part. But this discrepancy is a prime example of why I do not count calories. It's just not an exact enough science and the numbers are not all that reliable. I prefer to think of the numbers printed on food labels as a reliable guideline—a rough estimate based on honest work.

Anytime humans are involved in food preparation there will be mistakes, shortcuts, inaccuracies and improvised versions. How often do you weigh and measure ingredients when you're in the kitchen cooking? How often do you think the line cooks at your favorite restaurants are back there measuring the amount of oil they're splashing into the pan to keep your chicken breast from burning on a busy night?

Starbucks Good, Better & Best Healthy Breakfast Options
Go to their website for a comprehensive list of drinks under 200 calories. You'll find lists of healthy food options for every meal period too. All of the nutritional information is listed in great detail so you never have to guess or wonder.

I used to love ordering their mochas. But a Venti Mocha has a whopping 340 calories and 10 grams of fat. Here are my Good Better and Best choices for days I'm dying for hot chocolate and coffee…

Good Choice: Tall Mocha, 200 calories, 6 grams of fat

Better Choice: Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Mocha, 170 calories, 0 fat.

Best: KD's Starbucks Mock Mocha…

I'm volume eater. The bigger the better! So a Tall size drink is never enough. Besides, it's all about the ritual of drinking coffee in the morning. Three sips and it's all over with a Tall. So I order a Venti House Coffee of the day (5 calories), add 1/4 cup of skim milk (20 calories), 1 splenda (0 calories,) and about four shakes of cocoa from the shaker they keep over by the condiments (40 calories per teaspoon). Total calories: 65

When I'm traveling, I almost never have time built into my schedule for meals. Instead of ordering super expensive room service at my hotel for breakfast, I phone the concierge and ask for directions to the nearest Starbucks. When I'm staring into their bakery case dreaming of biting into a double chocolate muffin, I snap myself out of it by remembering how many empty calories they contain. Thankfully, there are lots of great breakfast choices on their menus now.

Good Choice: Huevos Rancheros Wrap—330 calories
Loaded with eggs, black beans, cheese, roasted tomatoes and spicy peppers this breakfast has 8 grams of fiber and 16 grams of protein and is loaded with good for you antioxidants because it works in more than a few colors of the rainbow.

Better Choice (with a sodium caveat): Egg White, Spinach & Feta Wrap—280 Calories
If you're counting calories this breakfast is under 300 calories and contains 6 grams of fiber and 18 grams of protein. However if you're watching your sodium or if you have high blood pressure, this isn't the right choice for you because it contains a whopping 900 mg of sodium. If you choose this wrap, watch your sodium for the rest of the day, drink lots of water and don't skip your workout!

A Best Choice: Fruit Cup & Bowl of Hot Oatmeal—230 Calories
By now most people know nutritionists recommend our meals and snacks include both healthy carbohydrates and lean protein. I can tell you from experience that when I skip one or the other my meal is never "enough". I'm always looking for something else to eat which is never a good idea. One of my favorite new additions to Starbucks menus is their hot oatmeal. It's great for breakfast and it's a great anytime snack especially around 4pm when you're looking for that something to keep you going till dinnertime.

Because one serving of their oatmeal isn't big enough for my giant appetite, I usually order it plain with a fruit cup. That way, I've stretched my calories into a meal that's a little more substantial volume-wise. The fruit cup has 90 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 10 mg sodium and 23g carbohydrate. The oatmeal has 50 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium and 13g carbohydrates. If I'm super hungry or have a really long day of travel (and I've been great about exercising), I'll order the oatmeal with the Nut Medley which adds another 100 calories, 9 grams of fat, 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium, 2g carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber and a gram of protein. The total calorie count in my Supersized Fruit & Oatmeal Breakfast @ Starbucks is 210 with 7 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein. Not bad for a fresh start to a new day of good health!

kd@chefkathleen.com