Do you think eating healthy means you have to radically change your diet and give up all your favourite foods?

Think again!

The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of calories for how active you are so you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use.

If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you’ll put on weight because the energy you do not use is stored as fat. If you eat and drink too little, you’ll lose weight.

You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

Also read: How sleeping fewer leads to weight gain

It’s recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules).

Here are 13 steps you can take to improve your diet starting today.

Do them all if you can !

1.Base your meals on higher fibre starchy carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over a third of the food you eat. They include sweet potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.

Choose higher fibre or whole grain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice or sweet potatoes with their skins on.

They contain more fibre than white or refined starchy carbohydrates and can help you feel full for longer.

Here is how eating fibre is good for your health

2.Adopt Vegetarianism

No doubt, non-vegetarian foods are rich in nutrients- a very good source of protein, iron but fat also and that is cholesterol- the main culprit of heart disease. Along with this non-vegetarian meal, cooking in any form will always serve you a very dense source of calories. Indigestion that will further lead stress on all organs and will easily deposit around them.

Here are the best sources of plant-based protein

3.Order drinks with skim milk – and skip the add ons

Many people treat themselves to a daily frothy coffee drink in the fall and winter, and when the days turn warmer, they trade in their lattes in for iced or blended coffee drinks. Ordering your daily coffee treat with skim milk instead of whole lets you keep what’s nutritionally great about milk (good-quality protein, calcium and vitamin B-12) while cutting calories and fat grams. Skip the “whip” the baristas squirt generously on top, and you’ll save even more calories and fat.

Here is a healthy alternative to artificial sugar: stevia

4.Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods

For good health, we need more than 40 different nutrients, and no single food can supply them all. It is not about a single meal, it is about a balanced food choice over time that will make a difference!

Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables and dairy products. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs.

5.Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables

Surveys show most people don’t eat enough of these foods. Just take a look at your daily diet plan and found how many times in a day you consume them.

Eating a variety of foods, regularly, and in the right amounts is the best formula for a healthy diet.

Also read : Are you stuck in a FOOD RUT

6.Keep an eye on quality

Eat-in moderation will keep you light and will help your digestive system to work properly.

7.Eat regularly, control the portion size

Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you’re very hungry, it’s also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don’t eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.

Here we have a list of healthy snacks to munch on

Paying attention to portion size will help us not to consume too many calories, and will allow us to eat all the foods we enjoy, without having to eliminate any.

8. Balance your food choices over time

Not every food has to be “perfect.” When eating a food high in calories, salt, or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.

9. Know your diet pitfalls

To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what’s wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips.

10. Make changes gradually

Just as there are no “superfoods” or easy answers to a healthy diet, don’t expect to revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don’t like the taste of skim milk, try low fat. Eventually, you may find you like skim, too.

11.Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

You need some fat in your diet, but it’s important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you’re eating. There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much-saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

On average, men should have no more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have no more than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5.

Here is a guide to choose the healthiest cooking oil.

12.Do did not skip breakfast

Some people skip breakfast because they think it’ll help them lose weight.

But a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet and can help you get the nutrients you need for good health.

Here are the quick & healthy breakfast ideas under 100 & 200 calorie

13.Drink plenty of fluids

Adults need to drink at least 1.5 litres of fluid a day! Or more if it’s very hot or they are physically active. Water is the best source, of course, and we can use tap or mineral water, sparkling or non-sparkling, plain or flavoured. Fruit juices, tea, soft drinks, milk and other drinks, can all be okay – from time to time.

Also read: Best Way to Drink Water for Weight Loss

Further information

• The detoxpri consultation can help you get the right balance of the 5 main food groups. The consultation shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food group.

• Read more about the Winter Nutrition Guide: Natural Food To Keep Your Body Healthy & Warm This Chilly Season

Hope you liked this blog!