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Eat Healthy

By: Gian Erguiza - January, 2008

Eating Healthy is a lifestyle. Eating healthy prevents all sorts of diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other diseases that can be life threatening. The key to healthy eating is a time-tested advice of balance, variety and moderation, thanks mom. My mom has always taught me to eat a wide variety of foods without getting too much of any one nutrient and to not get too much calories. Here is some advice for you that want to start eating healthy.

Maintain a healthy weight. Your weight should be determined by your height, sex, age and heredity. Having excess body fat increases your vulnerability to diseases and other type of illnesses. Being thin is also not good which increases menstrual irregularities, osteoporosis, and other health problems. You need to develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Doing regular exercises is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.

Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. In order to have good health, you will need 40 different nutrients. Your daily food habits should include whole grain products, bread, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, poultry and other protein foods. How much of these you should eat depends on your calorie intake. The Food Pyramid Guide is a great resource for this.

Eat in moderation. God, I can’t tell you how much my mom put this in my head. By keeping your portion sizes reasonable, it makes it easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Don’t eliminate your favorite foods just because it is high in fat, salt, sugar, and calories, just moderate your choices and eat reasonably. You don’t have to not eat your favorite foods but eat less of it. If you’re the one cooking the food, try to change the ingredients to help balance your choices. The recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards. A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving. Refer to the Pyramid Food Guide for more serving info.

Eat regular meals. Do not skip a meal. When you skip your meals, it leads to out of control hunger which will in turn, lead to overeating. Hunger will also make you forget about good nutrition. Snack in between meals to get rid of hunger but make sure that you don’t eat so much that the snack becomes the meal.

Know your diet pitfalls. To get a better grip on your diet and improve your eating habits, you need to know what’s wrong with them. Do a study on your eating habits by writing down everything you eat in 3 days. Check your list after 3 days and match it with this list. If you are a fan of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings, cut back on the portions. Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.

These health advice/tips should help you find your path to eating healthy. Remember foods are not good or bad. There are no easy answers to a healthy diet. Don’t expect to re-vamp your eating habits overnight, it takes time to learn how to eat healthy. Changing your eating habits too fast can get in the way of success. Modest changes are the best way to remedy excesses and deficiencies. Modest changes will also add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. Eating healthy is a lifestyle, if your lifestyle needs to change to accommodate healthy eating habits, then so be it.

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