Healthy Diet

By Trish Powell

To maintain good health, we need to eat a healthy balanced diet. Couldn't be easier could it? Due to our diverse life styles, eating a balanced diet is much harder than we imagine. Most articles dealing with healthy living tend to list food sources that are beneficial and give reasons why we should eat more of them, that's fine as far as it goes, but how do you manage it?

This article is not so much about the right foods, you know what they are, nor is it about a weight loss diet; though if you are overweight, along with some exercise and a healthy diet you will lose weight. This is about strategies that we can adopt to help us eat a more balanced diet long term.

Let's start right there, there are no right and wrong foods. The idea that there are some foods you must not eat is totally wrong. There are though foods you should try to eat more of and those that you should eat less of. You may be able to remain on your diet longer if you realize that you can have an ice cream or chocolate, you just can't do it too often. In other words it is the balance we are after.

Making ridiculous changes to your diet overnight probably isn't a good idea, after a few days your resolve is going to weaken and you will end up reverting to your old ways. It is better to make small changes, this way it will have a more lasting effect.

Before you consider your actual diet, look at your lifestyle. This is very important because you need to plan your meals around your everyday activities. Often people will say "It's hard for me to eat properly because I go out a lot." or "I'm a shift worker and meals are never at the right time." These are valid reasons, but they can be overcome with proper planning.

To overhaul your diet you will need to work out what you are consuming now. Be honest with yourself, if you are drinking ten cups of coffee and eating doughnuts every day then acknowledge the fact. Sometimes it can be a shock when you add it all up, rather like getting home after shopping and you wonder where all the money went. Yes tally it all up and you will be surprised.

Once you have come to grips with your actual diet, as opposed to what you thought it was, you can take steps to improve it. Let's take the ten cups of coffee and doughnuts as an example. The obvious solution is to cut down, but you should have a plan. How many cups of coffee should you have a day? Now if you cut out just one cup per day for the next week, then drop off another cup for the next week etc. although taking some time this will work without being hard work.

Do the same for the doughnuts, and though in the beginning you may wish to supplement with a health bar try to wean yourself of even these and change the coffee and doughnut for a piece of fruit. Just don't go cold turkey and give up everything in the one day, unless you have very good will power, that way leads to failure.

Quiet often our diet is governed by what is easiest, enter soft drink and fast food; instant gratification equals long term problems. Here is another myth buster, it is not always the fast food that is the problem; if you were to have a beef patty with salad and a bread roll laid out on a plate, it would be considered a healthy meal. Why then if you put them together is this bad for us? First did you notice we didn't have the fries with that? But mostly it is the soft drink! When did you last have a burger without a soft drink? And don't think because you have a diet coke it doesn't count. It is the fizz that makes you fat!

Spur of the moment eating doesn't allow for healthy meal planning, try to plan meals in advance. If time is an issue try cooking more than you need for one meal and freezing the remaining portions for another occasion. Don't do your shopping in a hurry, allow yourself time to look at other options that might be quick but healthy, if you are in a hurry you will always pick the same things.

The saying a little of what you fancy does you good is true, the art is in knowing how much a "little" is. Eating is a great social activity and it is easy to end up eating and drinking more than we planned when we get together with friends. To over indulge once in a while is not a problem, but if you have a busy social life, or business requires you to dine out on a regular basis, then you need to work out a strategy so that your healthy eating plan isn't compromised.

Choose the healthier options on the menu, forego the side orders, restrict the number of courses you have, don't have the coffee to finish, any or all of these will keep you on your healthy diet.

A healthy diet won't just happen, it doesn't work just to give up this or that, or to go on some fad diet. If you are in for the long haul, and you could be living to a hundred, you need to be on a healthy balanced diet for the rest of your life. Not a weight loss diet but a balanced one. This will not happen unless you put in the time and effort to plan a strategy and set some healthy eating goals.

Trish is a life coach and author who specializes in health wellness and relationships. For full details of healthy eating and wellbeing visit http://www.wellbeing-information.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trish_Powell

Healthy Dieting in 3 Simple Tips

By Christopher Heffron

Expert Author Christopher Heffron

If you're like me, dieting is a struggle. Chocolate, ice cream, my morning coffee--they are the real enemy. How can we truly make a change when there's such a temptation? Here are a few suggestions for healthy dieting that won't ruin your life.

So, what's really 'healthy'? And how can you change your diet slowly without cutting out your favorite foods? In order for your diet to become your habit, this is essential.

Healthy Diet Tip 1: Keep Your Diet Balanced

This may sound like a no-brainer, but think about what you eat. Do you really eat 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables? Or 3-5 servings of grain? Doubt it. So, start small. Eat an apple every morning, or a banana after your coffee. Nobody is saying that you have to eat perfect, or even eat less, just smarter.

Healthy Diet Tip 2: Cut Out the Extra Sugar

Added sugars are present in items like cookies, candy, cakes, and beverages (especially soda's and juices!). This sugar can add masses of calories, and can substantially increase your needed exercise time. If you knew that a glass of lemonade every day would add two hours of walking in exercise to balance out, would you drink it? Drink water. At the very least, cut down on your extra sugar intake, by a glass or a cookie each week.

Healthy Diet Tip 3: Chill on the Fat

There is fat in almost everything you eat nowadays, but you can be smart about it. When looking at nutritional information, low fat needs to mean low in trans fat and saturated fat. Your total fat intake for the entire day should be between 20-35 percent of your total calories, and most of that fat should be coming from unsaturated fats, like fish and nuts. If you find yourself eating some foods that are high in saturated or trans fat, do your best to cut out those foods before you do anything else. These foods are heart stoppers, literally.

Want to get cutting-edge weight loss and healthy dieting advice? Check out Healthy Dieting [http://www.healthy-dieting.org] and subscribe to our FREE Healthy Living informational series.

Brandon Walsh is considered an expert author in the fields of nutrition and healthy living.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Heffron

Just What is a Healthy Diet?

By Sydney Heiden

There is a ton of conflicting information available today about what is a healthy and nutritious diet, and sometimes it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Basically, it can be easy to follow a healthy diet by making a few minor adjustments to your current diet.

Most people don't realize the incredible impact that a healthy diet can have on our quality of life. The difference between a good diet and a poor diet can mean the difference between having good health and having poor health. Most people would not knowingly choose poor health, but that is exactly what they are doing by following a poor diet.

Along with regular physical activity, a healthy diet is the single most important factor determining your weight. If a person is overweight, the chances of developing including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and other health issues increase significantly.

The first step to a healthy diet is to include food from all food groups, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins in your diet.

It is well documented that a diet containing fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease, stoke and cancer. It is recommended that you eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

The healthiest vegetables are the dark green vegetables like broccoli and lettuces, and orange vegetables like carrots, sweat potatoes and squash, and red vegetables like peppers and tomatoes.

You should eat a variety of fruits each day. Fresh is better, but canned, dried or frozen will still help with your diet. Limit the amount of fruit juices as they can be high in sugar.

Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber, which can reduce you risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes. You should choose whole grain cereals, bread, rice and pasta. Be sure the list of ingredients refers to WHOLE grain.

A diet should include legumes. This includes beans, peas and lentils. These are low in fat, contain no cholesterol and are high in protein. A vegetarian diet needs to include lots of legumes to replace the protein from meats. Legumes are also a good source of fiber.

A healthy diet will limit the amount of meat, and will insure that the meat is lean, containing limited amounts of fat. Limit the amount of red meat, and use more poultry and fish. Do not fry the meat, instead, bake, broil or grill. 

Use low-fat dairy products, such as low-fat yogurt, cheese or milk. Dairy products lower the risk of diabetes and build strong bones.

Limit the quantities of alcohol, sugars, fats and soft drinks. These can contribute to many diseases, including high blood pressure, heart disease and many forms of cancer. 

There are a variety of foods that should not be present in your diet except in very small amounts. These foods, such as sugars, alcohol, and some fats, contribute to diseases and poor health.

Some fats are healthy when used in moderate amounts. Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil, peanut oil and avocados) and polyunsaturated fats (safflower, sesame, and sunflower seeds) will raise your good cholesterol levels. Use these fats when cooking to improve your health.

Other fats are detrimental to your health, and should be limited, if not eliminated entirely. Saturated fat and trans fatty acids raise your bad cholesterol levels, contributing to your risk of heart disease.

Trans fatty acids are found in most cooking oils, shortening and margarine. Trans fatty acids are found in fried foods. Saturated fats are found in beef, veal, lamb and pork, which is why fish and chicken are a healthier choice. Saturated fats are also found in lard, butter, cream and whole milk dairy products.

Always check the labels before purchasing, and make sure the ingredients do not include saturated fats, trans fatty acids or hydrogenated fats.

It is not difficult to follow a healthy diet. A few simple changes to your diet can provide you with better health, a longer life and more energy.

To learn more about dieting and healthy eating go to Sydney’s website, http://weightloss.best-info-online.com which has a wealth of information about losing weight and healthy dieting tips. She recommends [http://healthyweightlossreview.com] for a method that will help you lose weight.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sydney_Heiden

Lose Weight With A Healthy Diet

By Jennifer Koon

Your health is always priority in any weight loss diet.

Healthy eating affects not only your weight loss but your bodies overall development.

Nevertheless, healthy diets can be tricky diets, therefore are often avoided. In conjunction, most people believe that a healthy diet involves foods that most of us do not eat nor ever desire to eat. Contrary to that thinking, healthy eating can be easily achieved with straight forward guidelines.

Knowing what healthy food is is important. Knowing is important because weight loss and your health are affected by the food variety you ingest. To have an optimal healthy diet, you must include three key factors.

1. Incorporate Foods from all Basic Food Groups.

Lots of these fad diets today say that this or that is bad for us. However, all food groups are important for a balanced diet, especially with weight loss as a goal. Cutting foods out entirely limits the amount of necessary nutrients that enter your body. Healthy diets consist mostly of fruits and vegetables. Yet, you still need some carbohydrates, fatty foods, and proteins that are part of a healthy fat diet. So the best option is a wide variety of foods.

2. Wide Varieties of Color.

Different foods have various nutritional significances. Some are loaded with different vitamins and some are filled with antioxidants. So a good rule of thumb is to try to vary the colors of your foods to obtain the most nutrients in any weight loss diet. For instance, when you go shopping purchase a rainbow of fruits and vegetables.

3. When You Snack Make It a Healthy Snack.

Snacking and eating more often are extremely helpful in weight loss and healthy diet. As long as the snacks chosen are part of a healthy regiment, they are extremely beneficial for maintaining energy and suppressing those harmful food cravings. Examples of these are fruits, nuts, seeds or raw vegetables.

In conclusion, healthy eating is important in any weight loss plan. There are numerous healthy varieties of food in all the food groups. Creating your healthy weight loss plan using your food preferences, ensures a successful follow through. These three simple guidelines can help in determining what a healthy weight loss plan entails. If you need more specific nutritional information, you can research or ask your physician. Generally, a healthy and well balanced diet full of a variety of food groups is the healthiest and most beneficial route for weight loss.

As a person who was had previous experiences with weight gain and extremely unhealthy eating habits, I began researching healthy diets and weight loss. I do not endorse shameful promotion, nor would I encourage anyone to use any product or method I consider unknown or unsafe. Therefore, I proudly present one of my more recent websites I am creating featuring various all-natural solutions. I will be adding piece by piece to this to compile the best of the best. Feel free to visit as it will be updated frequently- [http://mybodytime.com/]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Koon

Figure Out Your Healthy Diet Plan

By Roger Michaelson

First it's the Atkins Diet, then it's the Suzanne Summers Diet, then it's the Green Tea diet - are you drowning in a filed of misinformation trying to find your healthy diet plan?

When it comes to a healthy diet plan what you need to remember is that a fad in dieting is just like a fashion fad -here today - gone tomorrow - and usually there is no scientific information that would prove these fads work.

A healthy diet plan never has to be as complicated as many would like to make you believe. I'm a firm believer in simple so if you burn more calories than you eat you are going to loose weight and if you eat more calories than you burn you are going to gain weight. Now how simple is that?

For your healthy diet plan to work it needs to be packed with nutrition and a calorie count that's lower than what you burn. Now you think that would make good sense and fundamentally it does however if you reduce your calorie intake drastically your body is going to panic and go into starvation mode storing everything as fat.

Your healthy diet plan must not reduce your calories more than 500 calories from where you are right now. What you do nee to do however is trade out those fats for healthier choices in the fruits and vegetables category and for heavens sakes remember that if you are having a salad try to keep the dressing calories down.

A healthy diet doesn't restrict any one food group nor does it encourage eating only one food group. Instead you can eat anything you want in moderation including that decadent piece of chocolate cake. But what you do have to do is increase your activity. Increasing activity while reducing calories only slightly is a far more effective way of losing weight long term.

A healthy diet plan will do just that for you. It will retrain the way you think about food it will help you make healthier choices. Calorie count and read labels for awhile but it wont' take long before you won't have to anymore. Once you have retrained your brain you will automatically be drawn to healthy foods and you will know their approximate value. So you see like anything new a little practice and in no time you'll be good as gold.

Of course while you are working on your healthy diet plan you need to also be fine tuning your exercise plan. You need to increase your aerobic workout so that you are burning more calories and you also need to include weight training so that you are toning and building muscle.

A healthy diet plan combined with a healthy exercise program will result in a healthy lifestyle for years to come. You are going to feel great and look fantastic. And with no diet programs to get involved in you'll save your money and your time after all you already have the secret to safe weight loss.

Get all the latest information about Healthy Diets from the only true source at [http://www.1healthydietinformation.com] Be sure to check out our healthy diet plan [http://www.1healthydietinformation.com/healthydietplan.htm] pages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Michaelson

The Basics of Healthy Diet Plans

By Vaughn J Tobes

Expert Author Vaughn J Tobes

Healthy diet plans; what are they all about? The idea of eating in a healthy way is considered to be one of the most basic plans when it comes to weight loss. It is important to note that even though portion control is very vital, an individual should focus on making the right healthy food options. In all the diet plans that are considered to be healthy, a person is supposed to add healthy foods and cut out on all foods that are considered to be bad. You may ask what bad foods are. These foods include sugary foods and those that contain high fats. It is important to give all these red flags in order to come up with perfect healthy diet plans.

Healthy Diet Plans: The Basics

Keep in mind that diet options are very important simply because, through healthy eating, you will have weight loss and at the same time, you will see rapid results which will make you enjoy a healthier life. It is therefore important to stick to specific healthy diet plans to be able to enjoy all the benefits that come with it.

There are several basics of wholesome diet options that are supposed to be adhered to in order to come up with a perfect choice. As such, it is important for an individual to follow these basics in order to achieve the best results. One of the most basic things is to develop a list of meals which are to be taken for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The list of these foods should be composed of all the foods that are nutritious and at the same time easy for you to enjoy. This is important simply because it does not make any sense making a list of foods that are not nutritious and at the same time will not be enjoyed by the rest of the family members.

Don't Make Your Healthy Diet Plans Complex

There are some people who think that in order to achieve the objectives of having healthy diet plans; you ought to have exotic foods or products that are very expensive. Well, this is not true because all you have to do is to have some discipline which will make you go a long way in making healthy options. After you have made the list, ensure that the healthy diet is incorporated with a selection of vegetables, nuts, fruits and legumes among others. The importance of including these foods in healthy diet plans is that, they play a major role in staving off hunger attacks and this in turn helps in keeping the blood sugar regulated. Ensure that you put a limitation on such things as alcohol and salt intake. In addition to this, ensure that you stay away from stressful situations for any of these healthy diet plans to work effectively in your body.

The other basic thing about healthy diet plans is that there should be healthy carbohydrates. When cooking any meal, it is highly advisable for an individual to ensure that she has selected the healthiest carbohydrates such as brown rice and whole grain breads among others. Some other carbohydrates such white rice, white flour and white potatoes among others are considered to be bad carbs and should be avoided when planning a healthy diet.

It is important to include healthy fats in the diet plans as well. This is because they are very important parts of your diet. At the same time, they are filling and satisfying. Stick to monounsaturated fats as they are healthy to the body and at the same time they protect the heart. In conclusion, all the good diet options are supposed to have healthy protein which can be obtained from eggs, cheese, lean meats and turkey breasts among others.

Proven Healthy Diet Plans For You

In order to achieve the better body through healthy diet plans, you need that strict nutrition plan, a proven training program, and solid motivation to make it work. Discover proven diet plans and fitness information including what you need to know about all those diets to go. Click the links for more details.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vaughn_J_Tobes

What Is A Healthy Diet Plan?

By Humberto Chacon

Expert Author Humberto Chacon

What Is A Healthy Diet?

Nutrition

In general terms a healthy diet is a diet that provides your body with all the nutrients it needs everyday.

There are established categories for all the nutrients our body needs and at the top are the macro-nutrients, which are proteins, carbohydrates and fat.

There are also established percentages of each macro-nutrient that our body needs everyday, and although these percentages may vary a bit according to gender, size and age, the differences are not that far apart.

So a healthy diet is one that provides you with the right percentage of macro-nutrients from all food groups everyday.

Calories

The answer to what is a healthy diet when it comes to calories is a diet that provides the necessary calories that your body needs everyday.

According to your age, gender and size, there are also established numbers of calories that you need everyday in order for your body to perform all its activities, sometimes this level of calories is referred to as the maintenance weight caloric level.

What Is A Healthy Diet For Weight Loss?

Nutrition

A healthy diet for weight loss is also a diet that ensures that you take all the nutrients you need everyday and that provides them from all food groups without prohibiting any set of particular foods or groups of foods, like carbs or fat.

Calories

An established healthy level to lose weight is to go below your daily maintenance caloric level by no more than 20 to 30%.

Healthy Lifestyle

The answer to what is a healthy diet only covers a part of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle; a healthy lifestyle entails that you consistently adhere to healthy habits, diet, exercise, mental and behavioral habits that not only don't cause harm to your body but that actually enhance all of its functions.

No matter at what stage on your life you're in or what habits are part of your life right now, you can always pursue a healthy lifestyle that will maintain your weight and overall healthy body.

Healthy Diet Sustainability

To be able to achieve a healthy lifestyle and develop healthy eating knowing what is a healthy diet is not enough, within the parameters of what is healthy there are innumerable combinations of foods to make meals, as well as factors like convenience that will make it easier or harder to consistently follow a healthy eating habit.

What Is A Healthy Diet I Can Follow?

The short answer is a diet that works for you, that contains the foods you like and that has foods, meals and recipes you can actually eat or prepare within your lifestyle, a healthy diet that requires a lot of cooking won't do for example if your current lifestyle requires to be working or away from home most of the time.

Learn nutrition but also learn the food combinations, preparation and tastes that you know you can sustain within your schedule.

One good source for learning healthy eating, cooking and options are commercial diets, most focus on weight loss but most also have options to maintain your weight, from them you can learn what you like or not, taste the combination of foods, find out what you like or not, or what options you can buy in regular places accessible to you when you are at work and with online diet offerings today you can even customize your meals over time.

To learn more about diet options visit Yoyobelly.com, a good source to find out dozens of diets where you can specify your particular needs and find out which diets match your requirements best.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Humberto_Chacon