Medical weight loss will make big changes in what you eat, but it’s also a chance to change the way you think about your diet. Many people have a dispassionate view of healthy eating and do it only out of weight loss necessity. Unfortunately, this makes staying motivated to eat healthy hard, especially after your weight loss program has ended.

If you think of your diet as a chore, you may be missing one important fact about healthy food: it can be delicious and exciting. Often, we dislike the idea of eating healthy not because we find healthy food distasteful, but rather because we haven’t explored the culinary world in enough depth. Even if a full OPTIFAST program has made your dietary decisions easier, now is the perfect time to take another look at the world of healthy food and start finding things you love about nutritious meals.

Help yourself enjoy healthy food during medical weight loss by:

Finding What You Like

The world is full of immeasurable types of healthy food, many of which you’ve never tried before. Keep an open mind and continually test your taste buds with new things. By bringing home a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seafood and lean proteins, you’re sure to find a few things you never knew you’d love.

Of course, you can also retry things you wrote off long ago. Sometimes, we remain convinced that certain foods aren’t for us, even if it’s been years since we tried them. Your tastes may change with time, so perhaps it’s worth giving vegetables you dreaded as a child another shot. The way you prepare ingredients can make a huge difference too—if you don’t like something boiled, consider roasting, grilling or steaming it instead.

Sharpening Your Cooking Skills

Eating healthy means saying goodbye to unhealthy restaurant and fast food fare, but this isn’t something to regret—it’s an opportunity. Cooking is both a valuable life skill and an engaging hobby. By becoming more involved in preparing the food you eat, you can develop a broader palate and have more fun in the kitchen every night.

Take a cooking class. Invest in some new tools or appliances. Try different ingredients, recipes and techniques. Do something every day to improve your cooking ability and start to appreciate the little improvements in the meals you make. Soon enough, you’ll be making nutritious, restaurant-quality meals—and enjoying every minute of it.

Yes, healthy eating is a necessity during medical weight loss, but it can also be a pleasure. Instead of dreading your diet every day, start finding ways to appreciate the nutritious foods you eat.