Eating Healthy

When it comes to healthy eating there are many different aspects to consider. Perhaps the easiest to place to start is by understanding what your food is all about. Your focus should be to try to eat a diet that is balanced and nutritious.

Eating a balanced diet means getting all of the five basic food groups each day. A great guide is the food pyramid which tells you how many servings of each food group you should be getting each day. A balanced diet means eating a wide variety of foods and eating everything in moderation.

The Five Food Groups

The five food groups are grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and meat/meat alternatives. A balanced diet will contain something from each of these food groups every day. Some food groups require more servings than other, for instance you should be eating more vegetables than dairy. There is also another part of the food pyramid, which is oils and sweets, which don’t necessarily need to be part of your daily meals and should be consumed with discretion. Each recommended daily serving depends on several factors such as age and activity level. This should be taken into account when determining your personal daily food pyramid.

It is recommended that to eat a healthy, balanced diet you should have from three to five servings of vegetables a day. Vegetables are a primary source of vitamins and minerals and we cannot live without them. Fresh vegetables are the best choice but cooked vegetables and vegetable juice are also acceptable. Try to eat a large variety of vegetables each day, including many different colors.

Fruits are also full of vitamins and minerals. You should have anywhere from two to four servings of fruit a day. If you are choosing fruit juice make sure it is 100% and has no sugar added. You should also try and choose whole fruits as much as possible since they have the added bonus of fiber.

The dairy group includes milk, yogurt, and cheese. Two to three servings a day is recommended and you should try and choose low-fat options. Dairy is an important provider of calcium and other vitamins. If you are lactose intolerant or vegan it is important that you get these vitamins elsewhere. Soy milk is a great option.

It is recommended that you get anywhere from six to eleven servings of grains each day, depending on your age and activity level. Grains include bread, rice, pasta, and cereal. Try and choose whole grains and avoid the “white” grains such as white bread and white rice. You can find almost all grain foods in a whole grain variety, including pasta and bread.

Meat and meat alternatives are an important source of protein and many other vitamins and minerals. Some foods that fall into this category include fish, poultry, beef, pork, eggs, beans, nuts, and of course tofu. The recommend daily servings are between two and three. Try to choose leaner meats since they have fewer animal fats which aren’t healthy.

Try and limit this food group as much as possible. Remember a little fat is good for you, preferably in the form of vegetable oils such as flax seed oil.

Learn about Losing Weight

At some point in time almost everyone wants to lose a little weight. Whether you have five pounds to lose or a hundred pounds, losing weight can be very difficult and frustrating. Everyone is different but there are certain fundamentals which we must understand in order to lose weight and keep it off.

A good rule of thumb on how much weight you need to lose (if any) is the body mass index, or BMI. The BMI takes into account your height and give you a weight range in which you should fall into. Determining your BMI will give you a good idea of how much weight you can safely lose, or if you don’t need to lose any.

With all the fad diets out there it can seem very confusing which way is the best way to lose weight. Everyone has heard the many diet myths and many of us jump from diet fad to fad in hopes of permanently losing our excess weight. When it comes down to it weight loss is no great mystery. If the calories you consume in a day exceed the calories you use, you will gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. If the calories consumed and used are approximately the same you will stay the same weight.

Many people loath the thought of calorie counting, but getting a good idea of how much calories are in your food is a great way to either lose or maintain weight. Start by figuring out approximately how many calories are in your daily meals, and soon it will actually become second nature. You don’t need to be exact down to the calorie but a general idea should help you. It is also important that you know how many calories your body needs to function properly and ensure you never go below that number.

One of the biggest diet traps is portion sizes. In today’s society our portion sizes are often double what they would have been only 30 years ago. Try taking smaller amounts of food and eating slowly, thus allowing the stomach to signal the brain that it is full. Eating smaller meals throughout the day is another great way to control portion size. Many people eat large meals because by the time their scheduled meal time rolls around they are starving. If you go out to eat, getting half your meal wrapped up for later is a great way to control your portions.

Diet and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to weight loss. Getting some sort of exercise everyday is important for our health. Even if you just go for a 30 minute walk everyday you are still contributing. Losing weight means a lifestyle change for most people that include healthy and nutritious food as well as getting your body on the move.