The Basics of a Healthy Diet

A well balanced diet is critical for maintaining a healthy weight, protecting the body from chronic diseases and providing enough energy to meet life's demands. If fitness and wellness is your goal, it is important to consume a healthy diet every single day. In addition to its weight control properties, a healthy diet can improve our mood, our sleep, our energy levels, and our overall strength and cardio fitness. So what exactly does a healthy diet consist of and how can you get started?

A healthy diet consists of foods that contain very little or no saturated fat, trans fat, sodium or cholesterol. Avoiding these usually means eliminating all fried foods and a host of other surprisingly healthy sounding foods.

Foods which contain trans fat and a high percentage of sodium include crackers, many "fortified" cereals, canned soups, and cheese products. The best way to adopt a diet that minimizes the intake of theses diet no-no's is to become accustomed to examining the labels on the foods you buy.  Analyzing the nutritional breakdown of a product will encourage smart decisions around what foods we stock in our refrigerator and pantry.

A healthy diet should include liberal servings of fruits and vegetables (at least 2-3 servings a day), fat free or "light" dairy products, fish and lean poultry, and whole grains (wild rice, etc).  The intake of raw fruits and vegetables is especially critical as they provide the majority of the vitamins and minerals our body needs on a daily basis.  They also supply fiber, which is an important ingredient in any weight loss plan.  It is a proven fact that consuming foods that are rich in fiber will help us feel full longer, making it less likely for us to snack in-between meals and/or overeat at the next meal.  The same staying full longer behavior is also caused by protein rich foods, such as chicken, fish, and legumes.

Vegetables often get a bad rap in the food world because of the way many people prepare them.  Some people overcook vegetables, leaving them flat and mushy, which definitely creates a dish less appetizing than that picture-perfect steak you could be having. When cooking vegetables, less is better.  Allow them to cook (simmer, boil, etc) until they are no longer raw, but still have a firmness and freshness in them.

Maintaining a stock of cut vegetables in your refrigerator is one of the easiest ways to ensure they are a part of your daily diet.  You won't have to slice or dice every time you want to prepare a dish - just toss the vegies in.  Not to mention they make perfect snacks for those in between meals cravings.

If weight loss is your goal, then it is strongly recommended to include both protein and fiber with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fruits and vegetables provide the best source and effectively assist in hunger control.   But regardless of your specific goals, fruits and vegetables should make up a large percentage of your daily dietary plan.