Congratulations to all the folks having success fighting personal expansion. I let myself go for too long and recently dedicated myself to healthier eating and weight reduction. I'm down just over 20lbs in 5 weeks mostly by cutting out junk food and empty calories. I use MFP to track my food religiously which really brings home how much more food you can enjoy if you eat smart.
My favorite substitution is zoodles (noodles made from zucchini) for pasta. Two cups of zoodles have 66 calories, 12 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of fiber compared to 2 cups of traditional pasta with 480 calories, 90 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of fiber. The kicker for me is I actually like the zoodles better!
The hard part is making these healthy choices a new lifestyle while surrounded by foods that aren't. BTW...meats cooked on my pellet grill are definitely a healthy choice!