Article on Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is a balanced diet with foods from all food groups, with lots of delicious fruits, vegetables,
whole-grains, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. It is not enough to
eat the right kinds of food to maintain a healthy weight or to lose weight. Eating the right amount of food at
each meal is just as important.
Do I need to have a healthy diet?
Your healthy and balanced diet is one of the most important things in your life to help your overall health.
Your diet is the key factor that affects your weight. Having a healthy weight for your height is very
important. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of many diseases like: heart disease, high blood
pressure, stroke, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and some cancers.
Having a healthy diet is not easy to follow but a little learning and planning can help you find a diet to fit
your lifestyle.
Dietary Guidelines:
Eat variety of foods to get the energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Choose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products that provide vitamins, minerals, fiber,
and complex carbohydrates. They are generally lower in fat.
Choose a diet low in fat, especially saturated fat, and cholesterol. Fat contains more than twice the calories
of an equal amount of carbohydrates or protein that's why a diet low in fat can help you maintain your
healthy weight.
Use sugars only in moderation. A diet with lots of sugars has too many calories and too few nutrients.
Use salt and other forms of sodium only in moderation to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure.
If you drink alcoholic beverages, do in moderation. Alcoholic drinks supply calories, but little or no
nutrients.
Tips for Healthy Eating:
Eat breakfast every day. When you eat breakfast you are less likely to overeat later in the day. Breakfast
also gives you energy to keep you going until lunch without snacking.
Choose fresh or canned fruit more often than fruit juice. Fruit juice has very little or no fiber.
Select a mix of colorful vegetables each day. Different colored vegetables provide different nutrients.
Choose whole grains more often. Try to eat whole wheat breads and pastas, oatmeal or brown rice.
Use fats and oils sparingly. Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories. Olive and peanut
oils, olives, avocados and nuts provide heart-healthy fat as well as vitamins and minerals.
Eat sweets sparingly. Limit foods that is high in added sugars.
Have low-fat, low-sugar snacks at home and at work to stop your hunger and prevent you from overeating
(low-fat yogurt, dried fruit and nut mix, baby carrots, rice cakes, fresh or canned fruits or low-sugar
cereal).
More Information about FATS:
There are different kinds of fats in our foods. Some can hurt your health, some are good for you!
Monounsaturated fats (canola, olive and peanut oils, avocados) and polyunsaturated fats (sesame,
sunflower seeds, and other nuts and seeds) do not raise your LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels but can raise
your HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. To keep healthy, it is best to choose foods mostly with these fats.
Saturated fat, trans fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol raise your LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol levels,
which can lead to heart disease.
Saturated fat is found mostly in food from animals, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products and cheese.
Some processed foods can be quite high in saturated fat so be careful before purchasing any of these
types of foods.
Trans fatty acids (TFAs) are formed during the process of making cooking oils and margarine, and are
found in commercially fried foods, baked goods, cookies, white bread. Some are found in small amounts in
animal products such as beef, pork, lamb.
What do the "fat free" and "low calorie" terms mean?
If you eat more than one serving, you will go over these levels of calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
Calorie free: fewer than 5 calories
Low calorie: 40 calories or fewer
Fat free: less than ½ gram of fat
Low fat: 3 grams of fat or fewer
Cholesterol free: fewer than 2 milligrams cholesterol and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat
Low cholesterol: 20 milligrams or fewer cholesterol and 2 grams or less saturated fat
Low sodium: fewer than 140 milligrams sodium
High fiber: 5 grams or more fiber
What is a healthy weight?
Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on your height and weight to tell whether you are
at a healthy weight, overweight, or obese. It measures your weight in relation to your height. A BMI of
18.5 to 24.9 is in the healthy range. A BMI of 25.0 – 29.9 is overweight, a BMI of 30.0 and above is obese.
What makes people overweight?
Habits. Eating too much and watching TV instead of being physically active can become a habit and may
lead to weight gain.
Genes. Overweight and obesity tend to run in families and increase the chance that family members will be
overweight.
Illness. Some diseases can lead to weight gain or obesity.
Medicine. Some medicines can lead to weight gain.
Emotions. Many people eat when they are bored, sad, angry, or stressed, even when they are not hungry.
Although you may not be able to control all the factors that lead to overweight, you CAN change your
eating and physical activity habits.
If you need to lose weight:
Losing between 5 to 15 percent of your body weight over 6 months or even longer can improve your health
greatly.
Try some of the below ideas to help your weight loss efforts:
Keep a food diary.
Do shopping from a list and buy when you are not hungry.
Store foods out of your sight.
Eat at the table with the TV off.
Aim for a slow, modest weight loss.
Seek support from your family and friends.
Expect setbacks and forgive yourself.
Add physical activity to your weight-loss plan. Doing regular physical activity can help you control your
weight.
Getting active
Start with something easy and enjoyable like walking 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week and slowly build up
from there.
Try the below listed activities which will help you keep moving more in your life:
Take the stairs instead of the lift.
Get off the bus one stop early and walk home.
Visit museums, the zoo, or an aquarium. You can walk for hours and not realize it.
Take a walk after dinner instead of watching TV.
GOOD LUCK!
A healthy diet is a balanced diet with foods from all food groups, with lots of delicious fruits, vegetables,
whole-grains, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. It is not enough to
eat the right kinds of food to maintain a healthy weight or to lose weight. Eating the right amount of food at
each meal is just as important.
Do I need to have a healthy diet?
Your healthy and balanced diet is one of the most important things in your life to help your overall health.
Your diet is the key factor that affects your weight. Having a healthy weight for your height is very
important. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of many diseases like: heart disease, high blood
pressure, stroke, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and some cancers.
Having a healthy diet is not easy to follow but a little learning and planning can help you find a diet to fit
your lifestyle.
Dietary Guidelines:
Eat variety of foods to get the energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Choose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products that provide vitamins, minerals, fiber,
and complex carbohydrates. They are generally lower in fat.
Choose a diet low in fat, especially saturated fat, and cholesterol. Fat contains more than twice the calories
of an equal amount of carbohydrates or protein that's why a diet low in fat can help you maintain your
healthy weight.
Use sugars only in moderation. A diet with lots of sugars has too many calories and too few nutrients.
Use salt and other forms of sodium only in moderation to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure.
If you drink alcoholic beverages, do in moderation. Alcoholic drinks supply calories, but little or no
nutrients.
Tips for Healthy Eating:
Eat breakfast every day. When you eat breakfast you are less likely to overeat later in the day. Breakfast
also gives you energy to keep you going until lunch without snacking.
Choose fresh or canned fruit more often than fruit juice. Fruit juice has very little or no fiber.
Select a mix of colorful vegetables each day. Different colored vegetables provide different nutrients.
Choose whole grains more often. Try to eat whole wheat breads and pastas, oatmeal or brown rice.
Use fats and oils sparingly. Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories. Olive and peanut
oils, olives, avocados and nuts provide heart-healthy fat as well as vitamins and minerals.
Eat sweets sparingly. Limit foods that is high in added sugars.
Have low-fat, low-sugar snacks at home and at work to stop your hunger and prevent you from overeating
(low-fat yogurt, dried fruit and nut mix, baby carrots, rice cakes, fresh or canned fruits or low-sugar
cereal).
More Information about FATS:
There are different kinds of fats in our foods. Some can hurt your health, some are good for you!
Monounsaturated fats (canola, olive and peanut oils, avocados) and polyunsaturated fats (sesame,
sunflower seeds, and other nuts and seeds) do not raise your LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels but can raise
your HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. To keep healthy, it is best to choose foods mostly with these fats.
Saturated fat, trans fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol raise your LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol levels,
which can lead to heart disease.
Saturated fat is found mostly in food from animals, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products and cheese.
Some processed foods can be quite high in saturated fat so be careful before purchasing any of these
types of foods.
Trans fatty acids (TFAs) are formed during the process of making cooking oils and margarine, and are
found in commercially fried foods, baked goods, cookies, white bread. Some are found in small amounts in
animal products such as beef, pork, lamb.
What do the "fat free" and "low calorie" terms mean?
If you eat more than one serving, you will go over these levels of calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
Calorie free: fewer than 5 calories
Low calorie: 40 calories or fewer
Fat free: less than ½ gram of fat
Low fat: 3 grams of fat or fewer
Cholesterol free: fewer than 2 milligrams cholesterol and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat
Low cholesterol: 20 milligrams or fewer cholesterol and 2 grams or less saturated fat
Low sodium: fewer than 140 milligrams sodium
High fiber: 5 grams or more fiber
What is a healthy weight?
Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on your height and weight to tell whether you are
at a healthy weight, overweight, or obese. It measures your weight in relation to your height. A BMI of
18.5 to 24.9 is in the healthy range. A BMI of 25.0 – 29.9 is overweight, a BMI of 30.0 and above is obese.
What makes people overweight?
Habits. Eating too much and watching TV instead of being physically active can become a habit and may
lead to weight gain.
Genes. Overweight and obesity tend to run in families and increase the chance that family members will be
overweight.
Illness. Some diseases can lead to weight gain or obesity.
Medicine. Some medicines can lead to weight gain.
Emotions. Many people eat when they are bored, sad, angry, or stressed, even when they are not hungry.
Although you may not be able to control all the factors that lead to overweight, you CAN change your
eating and physical activity habits.
If you need to lose weight:
Losing between 5 to 15 percent of your body weight over 6 months or even longer can improve your health
greatly.
Try some of the below ideas to help your weight loss efforts:
Keep a food diary.
Do shopping from a list and buy when you are not hungry.
Store foods out of your sight.
Eat at the table with the TV off.
Aim for a slow, modest weight loss.
Seek support from your family and friends.
Expect setbacks and forgive yourself.
Add physical activity to your weight-loss plan. Doing regular physical activity can help you control your
weight.
Getting active
Start with something easy and enjoyable like walking 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week and slowly build up
from there.
Try the below listed activities which will help you keep moving more in your life:
Take the stairs instead of the lift.
Get off the bus one stop early and walk home.
Visit museums, the zoo, or an aquarium. You can walk for hours and not realize it.
Take a walk after dinner instead of watching TV.
GOOD LUCK!
| Home Page Celebrity Trainer | Yoga London | Weight Loss Program | Stress Counselling |