Healthy Eating is Your Choice

Healthy eating doesn't have to be a drag. There's no need to deprive yourself of the foods you love, but it IS a matter of making healthy choices when it comes to the food you eat. What you choose to eat can contribute to a long and satisfying life or a short and unsatisfying one. There's no truer expression than this. You are what you eat.

If you're looking to lose weight, you can, using any one of the many fad diets currently on the market. But can you keep the weight off? You can if you commit to a healthy eating routine which means eating a balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber and vitamins. An excellent review of Healthy Eating is presented in the aforementioned linked document.

There is a big picture to healthy eating. It isn't just a matter of losing weight. That's just a byproduct. Healthy eating is a means to another kind of end; a life-promoting habit. A body that is not properly nourished is prone to any number of invasions and ailments. There's no shortage of research to show that how we eat and what we eat can contribute to obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and a host of other illnesses and conditions. Establishing a lifelong habit of healthy eating is one of the best ways for staying physically resistant to many of the ravages of life.

Some of the highlights for healthy eating are outlined below:

Establish a Routine - Time for eating should be set aside each day. Eat a minimum of three balanced meals a day. Eat more but smaller sized meals if you find yourself feeling overly hungry between meals. Never skip a meal.

Focus on Your Food - No multitasking allowed. Just as reading and driving don't mix so do eating and driving. Giving attention to the food you eat, rather than to a computer screen, a TV or a conference call gives you time to think about the food you're eating. Sure, you'll want to make certain it's nutritious and balanced, but you'll also want to appreciate the simple act of eating. Eating is such an important and basic need and yet it is one where we cut corners the most. Enjoying tastes and textures of the food you eat should be a sought after goal for any healthy eating routine.

Drink Plenty of Water - Living without food is measured in weeks and months. Living without water is almost always measured in days. We're supremely vulnerable without water and yet a vast number of the population don't get nearly enough water. Getting at least 8 glasses of water a day is absolutely essential to keeping the body working efficiently and it's so easy to do. Substitute a glass of water for that jumbo soda, that fourth cup of coffee, that piece of candy on your desk a few times each day and you'll be making wonderful progress towards 8 glasses of water a day.

Watch the Calories - Here's a fact. Eat more calories than your body uses and you'll be taking the road to certain weight gain. The average recommended daily allowance for calories is right around 2,000. A good range is anywhere between 1,800 and 2,200 but it depends on your age and other physical characteristics especially how active you are. Just think about this. The calories from lunch at one of the many fast food restaurants can easily give you half that amount. Learn how to make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. Even the little frozen pot pie dinner that you nuke at lunch time will contribute a sizable number of calories to your daily intake.

Eat a Variety of Foods - When it comes to healthy eating then 'variety is the spice for life'. Include more fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts, poultry and whole grain food products in your diet.

Read Food Labels - Food labels show the amount of nutrients per serving. Note the number of servings in each container. Then note how much cholesterol, fat, sodium, etc. is associated with each serving.

Go Light on the Portions - Super-sized meals and drinks are being passed off as great economic booms but the only boom is to the increase in calories consumed. Keep your portions moderate. You'll be amazed at just how much good you can do for yourself by going "light on portions."

Limit Sugar - Soft drinks and even some fruit juices are loaded with sugar. Sugar is a carbohydrate which is essential to healthy eating but it's one of the bad kind since it provides little in the way of nutrients and a lot of calories.

Limit Salt Intake - Limit your salt intake to less than 2,300 mg per day (less than 1,500 mg per day if you're African American, over 50 or have high blood pressure). It's a good way to be nice to your heart and maintain a healthy blood pressure. If you need to use salt try sea salt but not the refined kind. Also, try using other herbs to make your food more appetizing. See Salt Content of Your Food

Limit Refined-Grain Products - White flour is a carbohydrate but a highly processed one. Most of the fiber that we need for healthy living has been removed. The same goes for white rice. Many of the crackers, cookies and other snack foods that we eat add nothing to our overall diet.

Careful with Cholesterol - Be mindful of the amount of cholesterol you consume each day. Try to eat no more than 135mg to 230mg of cholesterol each day. Some foods are much higher in cholesterol than others. For, example, one egg alone will wreck your daily average with its whopping 300 mg of cholesterol.

Watch the Fat You Eat - There are good and bad fats. Bad fats are listed on food labels as Saturated and Trans Fats. Try lowering the amount of bad fat you consume. Keep your total fat intake from 48g to 65g per day. Keep Saturated fats from 10g to 17g, Monounsaturated fat from 21 to 24, Polyunsaturated fats from 12g to 20g and Trans Fat to less than 2g per day. See Fats Calculator to calculate fat recommendations into your daily diet.

Eat Plenty of Fruits, Vegetables, Grains and Legumes - These foods are rich in vitamins, carbohydrates, fiber and minerals and low in fat.

Eat at Least Two Servings of Fish per Week - Fish is low in saturated fat. Choose fish that is baked, broiled, grilled or boiled rather than breaded and fried.

Eat Foods High in Fiber - Fiber consumption should be around 20g to 30g per day.

Choose Lean Meats - Lean meats contain less fat. Meat with the skin removed is even less fatty. Grill, bake or broil meat.

In our fast paced, fast-food culture, meals have become yet another task we squeeze in during the day. Healthy eating is becoming obsolete. We've become such a results-oriented society that multitasking has become the rule of the day. Pairing eating with other activities such as driving or working at our desks has taken the focus away from one of the major pleasures of life - eating. This is a dangerous trend because we're no longer focusing on the act of eating but merely eating because it's just another thing that we have to do. When our mind is tuned out during mealtime, we end up "speed eating", causing the digestive process to be much less effective leading to gas, bloating, bowel irregularities and, yes, obesity.

Awareness of what you're eating is the key to eating healthy. So make time for meals. Whether you cook or go out to eat, it's about healthy choices. Your meals should be delicious in variety, rich in vegetables and fruits with whole grains, high-fiber food, lean meats and poultry. Include at least two servings of fish per week and try for fat free or 1 percent fat dairy products.

Use the sample plans below to start changing your eating habits today:

Sample Change Plan - Reducing Calories Per Day

This sample plan shows you how to use the three-step change process of Awareness, Skills and Motivation to reduce calories in your daily diet. It can also be used to reduce other unwanted foods in your diet.