Thu 13 May 2010

Free Diet Tips: Top 10 Dieting Scams and Mistakes to Avoid

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

You know we have all fallen for at least one of these dieting scams or mistakes in the past. Just which ones have you been guilty of? They can stop us from really hitting our goals, so if the scales are not moving or you seem to be gaining weight instead of losing it see if you’re making these crucial mistakes and start a better dieting plan today by following our top 10 free diet tips here.

#1 Starting Crash Diets

Diets that require you to cut whole or some foods groups are bound to get you in trouble. Eating just grape juice or soup for a quick weight loss fix is not only unmaintainable but it’s also detrimental to your Health. Yes, you may lose a few pound initially but the huge calorie shortage and lack of variety with really slow down your metabolism. Once you go back to regular foods you’ll burn less and probably gain weight much quicker that before.

#2 Not Snacking

While too much snacking can render your waistline with unwanted fat, controlled and small snacks between main meals can really keep your metabolism higher and allow you to control hunger. The best snacks are those high in protein such as nuts, which are great. Remember moderation however, and just keep it to a handful to replace that pack of potato chips.

#3 Skipping this crucial meal

Just don’t skip breakfast because while it seems like a good idea and you may think you’re cutting calories, you’re actually setting yourself up for failure. Cutting breakfast will make you feel hungrier later on in the day which may lead you to snack uncontrollably or having bigger than moderate lunches and dinners. Make sure you have a high protein high fibre breakfast and be part of the group that are known to maintain a healthier weight overall.

#4 Forget Low Fat

Two lessons here. Just because it’s low fat doesn’t mean that, that muffin you’re about to scoff down isn’t higher in sugar to give you more flavour. While low fat foods are important in any diet, make sure the calories that are removed from fat are not replaced with higher carbohydrate (sugar) content. Lesson two, just because they’re low fat doesn’t mean you can have 2nd and 3rd servings. Moderation is the key to any food you have.

#5 Calorie Drinking

Your drinks can really add up. Luxury coffees, alcoholic drinks and even fruit juices can reek havoc on your diet plans. These drinks can contain more than 500 calories, more than any meal you should have if you’re on a diet. Remember a medium apple would have around 70 calories, and drinking a glass of apple juice can contain in excess of 250 calories. So, which do you think would fill you up more? Plus eating raw fruits will give you much more nutrients then drinking them.

#6 Not Drinking enough water instead

Water, its clean, clear and calorie-less, so drink it and drink enough of it. It’s proven that drinking at least 8 glasses (or more) of water per day will increase your metabolism, keep you hydrated and allow you to burn more calories. Add a glass to each meal and snack to increase your weight loss.

#7 No Dairy

Many diets advocate against dairy products, but a sensible diet will always include it. Dairy has calcium and as you probably already know, not only is it good for bone strength, but it will also allow your body to burn more fat. Research suggests that when the body gets enough calcium it burns more fat then when it doesn’t get enough calcium. Low fat varieties of dairy products are the best to include in a fat burning balanced diet.

#8 Weight Scale Obsession

A daily weigh in is not only unnecessary, but it can also result in incorrect readings. Your body biochemistry changes from day to day, meaning that you could even see a slight weight gain, even if you’ve followed your diet to the tee for the day. This not only leads to frustration but obsession. Have a weekly goal to lose 1-2 pounds and then check yourself at the same time each week, preferably as soon as you get out of bed, with as little amount of clothes on as possible. That should get you the best readings and keep you motivated to see through your diet plan.

#9  Not Setting Goals

Not setting a goal is like going in blind folded. How can you know what you want when you can’t see it? So write down exactly what your ideal weight would be, how you’d like to look, why you want to look like that and when do you want to have achieved your goal weight. Remember to set realistic goals as well, 10 pounds a week is not realistic and is another recipe for disaster. Aiming for a 1-2 pound drop is more realistic, healthy and it would most likely be permanent weight loss rather than water weight loss that you’d get from fad diets such as no-carb diets.

#10 Not Exercising

You may be able to lose weight through just diet alone. However, exercising regardless of what it is will not only work on you muscles and cardio vascular fitness, it will also increase your metabolism and make you feel better in general. Finding an activity you like doing is fine, just as long as your moving actively and regularly. The bonus here is that you will be able to also eat more food as your body will be in need of more nutrients.

Follow these 10 free diet tips today and avoid the mistake made by the majority, while you’re burning more fat than ever. A sensible balanced healthy diet will always get you over the line to hitting your weight loss goals, a fad diet is unhealthy today and then gone tomorrow.


Tags: , , , , ,

 

Fri 7 May 2010

Diet Pill Supplements Scam

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Wow! You will find magic diet pills and supplements available which will melt away body fat although you’re sleeping! You are able to consume all you would like of whatever you would like, take a pill, go to sleep, and all the body fat gets burned up. Is that incredible or what? Incredible, yes; true, no.

The globe has been waiting for that magic pill that might be taken everyday and would trigger us to become capable to consume the whole chocolate cake along with a gallon of ice cream without having attained just one pound. Perhaps someday, somebody will invent such a fantastic small pill; but so far, it doesn’t exist.

A magical fat-burning diet pill does not truly exist, but that does not stop advertisers from attempting to convince you that it does — and charging you dearly. You know what, they’re type of marketing is lying marketing!

There’s only a single point that truly creates pounds reduction; consuming fewer calories than you melt away. And you will find only two methods to accomplish that objective; consume much less, and physical exercise a lot more. It isn’t painless, but it’s rewarding, and it’ll cause you to look much better and really feel much better about your self. Sadly, there’s no pill that will do the trick for you personally.

You will find lots of diet plan supplements available. Numerous of them promise to suppress your hunger and provide you with a lot more power at the exact same time. I also should warn you that the drugs which are in these appetite-suppressing supplements can really do you a lot more harm than great.

The supplements themselves do not trigger pounds reduction. Consuming much less and exercising a lot more causes pounds reduction, and those appetite-suppressant supplements will only cause you to be fidgety and nervous. They won’t Trigger you to shed a single pound.

We’re all eagerly awaiting the discovery of that magic pill which will permit us to consume all we want without having attaining just one ounce. Perhaps someday it will happen but for now, it’s a sound diet plan and physical exercise.

Tags:

 

Thu 6 May 2010

Improve Your Heart Health With Dieting

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Exercise is crucial to our health. The entire body must develop energy, and exercise helps to develop it. Diet is also key point in maintaining, regaining, or improving heart health.

A daily assault on your system of trans fats and high-cholesterol foods can’t be “undone” with exercise alone, research suggests that the goal is to consume nutrient-dense foods good for antioxidants, including Vitamins B, C, and E and folate. These healthy foods have properties that improve nitrate acid levels, and as a result, your cardiovascular health.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you will know high-cholesterol food includes eggs, dairy products, and beef. But including a small portion of these foods in your daily diet is also a must, as they also contain essential minerals and good healthy fats, just don’t ever do it.

It seems that the better food tastes, the more the cholesterol. Potato chips, candy bars, cake, and ice cream are ALL high-cholesterol foods. So definitely limit these foods in your diet if you are trying to lose weight.

Just how does one set about eating a heart-nutritious diet without starving to death? It really isn’t quite as tricky as it might seem at first glance. You might have fresh fruit and fresh vegetables – and fruits and vegetables DO taste good.

You should adhere to fish and chicken, and appreciate a beef steak only on a rare occasion, and then the steak has to be very lean. Wholegrain foods should be the choice you must make. Stick to extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, and avocado oil, and a little butter never really hurt anyone either. Lard and other saturated fats, trans fats should be avoided.

Eating a heart healthy diet means that you may possibly have to surrender (at least drastically cut back on) many of the foods that have dominated your diet. But the substitutions are tasty and the advantages are many. Be mindful of your heart health. It’s the only one you have.

Tags:

 

Wed 5 May 2010

Why Fats Are Healthy Too – List of Healthy Fats

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Keep in mind a few years ago when fat became the enemy supreme? Everything suddenly became accessible in “fat-free” versions. All of us were all supposed to be safe from “demonic” fat and we would all be thin and gorgeous. A couple of months passed and not only were we not thin, we had all gained weight as well.

Seems that getting rid of the fat from these goods did not magically make them calorie free of change then in any way. In reality, the lack of dietary fats left us unsatisfied and eating a lot more than we would have if the fat had been present. The words fat-free lulled us into complacancy considering and our hips and thighs paid the price.

Nutritionists now tell us that some fat is healthful, and really beneficial to a wholesome diet plan. No longer the monster that it when was considered, fat has now earned its own place inside the food pyramid, rather than being stuck in using the sweets and other treats. Fatty acids are not as despised as they once were, and may be a excellent part of a healthy eating habits.

Fatty acids ought to not be arbitrarily dismissed as bad- some of them are really beneficial. The best with the excellent fat varieties are the Omega-3s. These fats can be found in wild fish- (salmon, herring, sardines) flaxseeds and oil, walnuts, other nuts and pumpkin seeds.

One more good fat is monounsaturated fat. You see the benefits whenever you realize that the Mediterranean diet is created up of what might be described at first glance as unhealthy. Nearly half from the total calories are fat calories, ( about 40%), but most of which is monounsaturated fat.

The diet has been touted in books particularly since it has been shown to lessen the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. There is also the chance that olive oil ( the source of most of the fats in this diet plan), can have other helpful advantages from reducing inflammation to reducing blood pressure and blood sugar.

Besides olive oil, great sources of these monounsaturated fat are hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, avocado and seeds for instance sesame and pumpkin.

Despite the fact that saturated fatty acids are usually thought of as negative for you across the board, there are truly some potentially good ones here too. Research suggest that the saturated fats like those observed in coconut and coconut milk may be valuable. For now, the only point that everybody can agree on is that the major sources of saturated fats in the American eating habits should be limited or avoided altogether.

The real fats you should be avoiding is trans fats, and saturated fat found in processed foods. A little saturated fat this is found in Meats won’t hurt you, just cut off any visible fat before cooking it.

It would be very tough to eliminate each and every source of fat from your diet plan. It would also be really detrimental for your well being as you lose the benefits that come from the excellent fats. Your body will not be as satisfied with the low-fat or fat free, and worse still these products are just loaded with more sugar, leading you to eat even more than you would have. Conclusiion, eat the list of healthy fats above, mind your portion sizes and stop considering all fat as bad.

Tags: , ,

 

Tue 4 May 2010

Best Health Snacks For Weight Loss and Dieting

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

If you really want to know what the best healthy snack for weight loss and dieting is then it would have to be blueberries. Blueberries are filled with antioxidants, phytonutrients to name a few. This lovely purple fruit is both a healthy and flavorful snack food. Add them to natural vanilla or plain yogurt as an alternative to the over sugared or over processed varieties varieties. Mix them with some nut and/or seeds as a healthful trail mix. The frozen varieties are fine to snack on as well. Other alternatives to blueberries, with the same nutritional benefits: strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

Our List of Healthy Snacks

Fruit is one of the best healthy snacks available when dieting, however make sure you control your fruit intake as well. Lets take an apple for example just for it’s convenience, does not need to be peeled, simply washed and rinsed well and then tossed into your purse or a back pack. Have fruit instead of fruit juice, as the raw fruit will contain more of it nutrients and fibre. A medium size apple is only 80 calories and is a good source of vitamins and minerals and an excellent source of fiber as well. Just think that you would have to eat about 4-5 apples to make up the calories of a big glass of apple juice, but what do you think would fill you up more? The raw fruit of course.

Let’s not forget vegetables. Almost any vegetable can be cut and eaten raw, with or without a healthy. One of the quickest, easiest and still healthy dips is plain natural yogurt mixed with diced green onions. Tastes just like chip dip, with less than half the calories. Organise a buffet tray of celery, carrots and sugar snap peas and even the pickiest eaters will snack away.

A handful of almonds is another healthy snack and may keep you from overeating later in the day. They are packed with protein and good natural fats. Other nuts are healthy snack foods too, but be aware of portion sizes because they are still loaded with calories, keep it to a handful. An alternative to nuts is peanut butter. Two tablespoons of peanut butter warmed for twenty seconds in the microwave makes an almost sinfully delicious dip for sliced apples, try it as a delicious healthy snack for weight loss.

A truly decadent healthy snack idea is a frozen banana. Use dark chocolate for the antioxidant benefits, but be aware that this is not the lowest calorie snack idea, so keep your serving size to one at a time. Slice the banana in half, insert a skewer and then dip into the melted dark chocolate. Then dip into some chopped up almonds. Place in the freezer for at least an hour and then enjoy. It is almost like a creamy popsicle, but it is all natural and tastes so good.

Some of the best healthy snacks for weight loss and dieting is of course for the savoury lovers out there. Take a thinly sliced turkey or lean ham and make a wrap. Using a whole grain wrap and layer the meat with lettuce, tomato and teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. Roll it and slice on a diagonal. Perfect as a snack, but to make it a lunch add a salad or a bowl of fresh veggies and your good to go.

Healthy doesn’t mean nothing but cardboard tasting food, just make sure you keep your snack on the small side, include a couple of snacks each days in between your three main meals and it will boost your metabolism, give you more energy and help you on your diet and new healthy lifestyle.

Tags: , , , , ,

 

Mon 3 May 2010

Healthy Meal Ingredients

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Healthy meal ingredients are not artificial flavours or artificial colours. The bright colours like oranges and vivid greens are coming from Mother Nature herself, and this article will outline some of the worst ingredients to avoid and best ingredients to include in your next healthy meal.

If you have access and can afford organic foods then opt for them. With today’s supermarkets in mass production even the fresh foods that we may think are healthy, have had some sort of pesticide on them or has been grown with growth enhancing substances. None the less, non-organic fresh produce is doable. Also, canned fruits and vegetables do not deserve the really bad rep that they have, as long as they don’t include ingredients other than the fruit and veg, then they’re fine. Watch for added sodium or sugar and in the case of fruits, make sure they are packed in water or their own juice rather than heavy syrup.

Choose lean cuts of meat with little to no visible fat. Purchase packages of boneless, skinless chicken, such as chicken breast or turkey breast will save you time, and in the long run may actually be cheaper. Buy beef cuts such as sirloin which are the leanest cuts and of course any fish, such as salmon, tuna should be staples in your weekly shopping list.

Look for wholegrain breads and grain products, including breakfast, pasta and rice. Read the labels. The word “whole wheat flour” should be listed first, and steer clear of words like “enriched flour” – this is simply white flour with molasses or other coloring to make it appear to be a whole grain product. Plus, on the topic of breads, try and look for all natural varieties without ingredients that you can’t even pronounce.

Extra virgin olive oil should also be included in the ingredients for a healthy meal. It should say extra virgin on the label which means it was made from the first pressing of the olives. Drizzle it on and any salad and if you want to cook just use a little light olive oil. The flavour of extra virgin olive oil is superior to light olive oil, making it very good for dipping and for creating your own healthier salad dressings. Where as light olive oil is perfectly fine for cooking with.

Milk, yogurt and cheese should be low fat, but do not feel that everything has to be no fat. Unless your doctor orders you to drink no fat milk, 1 or 2% milk is fine. Everyone needs some dietary fat in our diets, and some products are just not as good when they are fat free. Cottage cheese is one that comes quickly to mind on this one. Not only is cottage cheese high in protein, but you’ll probably find that the low fat versions include unhealthy ingredients (the one’s you can’t pronounce), so opting for the full fat variety is perfectly fine.

Chocolate is included in this list of ingredients for a healthy meal because who doesn’t love chocolate, and because it actually is healthy. Try and opt for dark chocolate as it has the most antioxidants that are actually more beneficial than a glass of red wine. That’s not to say that you can’t have a glass of red wine with your evening meal, just don’t over do it. Savour a one ounce portion of dark chocolate at the end of your meal and you can declare yourself in healthy heaven.

Finding healthy meal ingredients doesn’t have to be difficult. Generally speaking any natural food, ones that haven’t been produced by a machine and contains only the one ingredient are the best foods to include in your next healthy meal. Make sure you include a variety of them in your diet to avoid getting bored of eating the same foods over and over again.

Tags: , , , , ,

 

Sat 1 May 2010

Cooking a Health Meal

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Let’s get something clear, healthy does not in anyway equal bland or flavorless. Many of the most meals are also healthy. It is not always the food themselves that makes them bad for you, but the portions which we insist on eating of them. Wholemeal Pasta is an okay meal, but then we load it with full fat cheeses and serve it by the truck load, it is not the pasta, it’s the portion. A fistful of pasta as a side is enough for anyone on a diet!

Let’s start with cooking methods. Deep frying is bad, but lightly frying in olive oil or oil spray is much better. Other healthy cooking options include, baking, steaming, poaching and grilling. In fact, a grill is so useful for cooking a healthy meal it should be standard in every kitchen.

Don’t ruin a basically good meal by smothering it with heavy cream based sauces or a thick, gooey layer of cheese. If you need extra flavour, add a small dab of a lighter sauce, butter and use just a light dusting of skim milk based cheese.

Chicken and turkey are good choices for the protein portion of your healthy meal. Remove the skin and any excess fat to make it a super healthy portion of muscle repairing protein. Take care to cook either meat thoroughly for safety but in a way that will not leave you with flavourless.

Try this! Roasted chicken

Wash and pat dry a good size chicken and then stuff the cavity with several halved oranges and lemons. The number of fruits will depend on how big the bird is. Slide several cloves of heart healthy garlic under the skin, and then lightly drizzle extra virgin olive oil (rich in Omega 3 fatty acids), and then lightly season over the surface of the bird. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced. Tent the chicken with foil if it is browning too quickly. This is also great for roast turkey.

Make sure that no matter what the main course is, there are good side dishes as well, keeping in mind that even veggies swimming in heavy sauce or tons of cheese are not as healthy as the plain version would be. Steam broccoli and serve with little ribbons of lemon zest and a small drizzle of olive oil, to echo the citrusy flavor of the chicken from the above recipe.

Any recipe can be adapted to a more healthy lifestyle.

Give away your deep fat fryer and invest in a counter top grill instead. Use really good olive oils, learn your meat cuts and make friends with your butcher who can trim fat, and remove skin to save you time and energy. Don’t forget about sea food – know how to select it and how to cook it. Fish is an excellent source of Omega 3’s as well as heart healthy.

Getting hungry yet? I have another healthy recipe that you can make in place of grilled burgers: brush large, firm portabella mushroom caps with just a bit of olive oil and then grill for a minute or two on each side. Put them on a whole wheat bun, add some lettuce, tomato a sprinkle of cheese and eat them with a little condiments of your choice, beetroot chuney tastes great, yummy and healthy.

Any recipe can be adapted to a more healthy lifestyle. Forget your preconceived notions of what is a healthy meal and open your mind and possibly your arteries. Drop the phone book, the take away, the frozen meals and start cooking your healthy meal right now.

Tags: , , , ,

 

Sat 1 May 2010

Eating Healthy For One

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Here is how to avoid unhealthy supermarket brought frozen meals! Cooking can seem like such a tedious job when you are only cooking for yourself. But, with a little planning and some time saver tips, you can eat healthy, versatile meals that will not make you feel like your eating the same ol’ over and over again!

Any meal that you would cook for a crowd can be adapted for the single person, just take a recepie that serves four people and quarter the ingredients right? However I’ve got a better idea. Why not cook the recipe for four, eat one serving that day and then freeze the rest in individual serving so that you can have it whenever you want.

If you this remember to allow them to cool before separating them out into individual serving containers. Store them, label them and dated before popping them the freezer and make sure that you rotate them with and other prepared meals so that nothing goes to waste.

When you’re ready to have a meal take it out to defrost for a few hours and then you’ll be moments away from a delicious, healthy, homemade meal. Pop your meal into the microwave for a few minutes and then tuck in.

Meal for one one: Orange glazed chicken

Take one skinless, boneless chicken breast and lay it in a cooking dish. Drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil and spike the meat with a few cloves of garlic. Bake until it is cooked thoroughly. During the final five or six minutes juice a medium size orange into a sauce pan.

Over low to medium heat cook the juice until it nearly boils. Whisk in a tablespoon or so of a really good white wine and then cook until it reduces by half. This concentrates the flavors so make sure that the wine is a good one. If you do not cook with alcohol for whatever reason, you can substitute the same amount of water.

Pull the chicken out of the oven, and remove it to the plate, but do not slice it yet. Give it a few moments to rest which will allow the juices to flow back throughout. Pour the warm glaze over the top, add a nice green salad, filled with veges of your choice, drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil and light seasoning and you have a fabulous meal.

A good healthy dessert idea
Making it easy on yourself is what it’s all about right? So, why not just get a nice all natural ingredients fruit yoghurt. Or, slice up some strawberries, chuck them in a small bowl and add some delicious warm custard, then grate some dark chocolate over the top. Never cut out things that you love out of your diet, unless it processed junk of course and most boxed, canned or bagged foods are junk these days. Read the ingredients of foods before you buy them. My rule of thumb is that if you can’t pronounce it then it’s probably no good for you.

Tags: , ,

 

Sat 1 May 2010

Fast Easy Healthy Meals

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

Regardless is you’re cooking for one, two or six, or even more, you want your meals to be delicious, but easy to prepare right? You also want them to be quick to prepare and above all healthy. Don’t be stuck preparing frozen meals all of the time, all it takes is a little planning and some prep work ahead of time and you’ll have some real tasty “crackers” on the go in no time!

Make friends with your slow cooker

Pre-soak your favorite bean variety, and then drain and rinse. Toss them into the slow cooker with an onion, some lean beef and whatever natural flavourings that you want to add. Put the lid on tightly, turn it on low and then go off to work, school or wherever. When you return in the evening, you will have a delicious meal already waiting for you.

There are heaps of healthy natural crock pot recipes, and many books will tell you how to adapt almost anything to slow cooker goodness. Why not even try and experiment with a few ingredients yourself. The convenience of being able to start the food and go, will certainly allow you to enjoy more time in the evening with family and friends.

Grill it!

If you’re cooking for a small crowd, then utilize your grill (or BBQ) and make healthy, delicious meals that take a fraction of the time and generally removes all the fat from meats. Any meat chicken, beef, lamb or even better fish will taste great with some light seasoning and/or a spice of your choice. Just be careful not to overcook meat on the grill as it usually take a little less time to cook compared to pan frying it. Roast or grilled vegetables, later drizzled with a little salt and some extra virgin olive oil can also taste great as side!

Turkey, Spinach and Mustard Finger!

Here is one of the fastest, easiest and healthiest recipes that I know: take some deli sliced turkey breast or chicken breast (cooked from fresh by yourself is even better) and baby spinach leaves. Spread the turkey with good wholegrain mustard and sprinkle with the spinach leaves. Roll up the meat just as they are and make it a finger food kind of meal. Kids and adults of all ages will love the taste, and best of all it’s simple, fast and healthy!

One last tip! Make extra…

If you have a chance to take a day for cooking, make double or even triple batches of some of your favorite recipes. Use one batch as tonight’s meal, and then freeze the rest in portions, to use in the future.  The great thing here is that you or anyone can grab their favourite dish out of the freezer and have it without having to cook additional food.

Tags: , , ,

 

Thu 29 Apr 2010

Free Diet Tips for Planning a Healthy Choice Meal

Posted by admin under Diet
No Comments

In our free diet tips number 1 I’m going to talk to you about a healthy choice meal. No I’m not going to talk to you about the actual brand of Healthy Choice Meals, because whilst they’re labelled as healthy, I don’t really think they’re that healthy. But that’s a topic for another article.

So what’s in a real healthy choice meal?

At this stage I’m not even going to bother explaining the food pyramid, because each country has their own amounts, servings, etc. Plus, we are all different, different age, different size, different activity level’s different metabolism… so using a pyramid (even as a guide) to me almost seems useless.

You need a solution that will work for you. It’s up to you to find the right combination and amount of food that will fuel you for the day. If you want to go on a diet then try many of the no nonsense diets out there. No, i’m not talking about low carb, low fat, low calorie diets either. I’m talking diets that promote eating natural foods, in a balanced way.

For the purposes of helping you out with the best diets on the market today, I’d recommend either the, Every Other Day Diet or the Diet Solution program.

None the less, as a guide a healthy choice meal should contain a mixture of lean protein (chicken, eggs, fish), a starch (like sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal or whole wheat bread, and a few servings of either vegetable and/or fruit. Then there are fats. While many people are right against fats, when you realise that natural fats such as olive oil, avocados, fatty fish are actually good for you then you will function better two. Even though your heart is a muscle, it’s actually healthy fat’s that help it function at an optimal level. So, include a small amount of fats in some of your meals each day.

A Healthy Choice Meal Example

Most of your main meals during the day should contain a little of each food group, including a carb, protien and fat source. For example, lunch could be a chicken breast (1 protein source) sandwich on two slices of whole-wheat bread (2 starchy carbohydrate sources) with tomato and lettuce (2 vegetable source). As a snack after wards you could have 1 tablespoon of healthy 100% Peanut Butter (1 healthy fat source) and a handfull of strawberries (1 fruit source).

As a snack through out the day and between main meals you could have a cold, 8 ounce glass of milk (1 dairy source) and a side of crunchy, baby carrots,( 1 vegetable), hmmm… is santa coming :) . If you are still hungry and want something sweet, crunch on an apple (1 fruit) or a serving of natural yogurt.

Don’t get too head over heals when it comes to making a healthy meal choice. Healthy meal planning is just about balance and filling your plate with all natural foods. Remember to eat at least 5 to 6 times per day (3 main meals and 2-3 snacks) and you’ll be well on the way to finding daily meal routine that works for you, regardless if you’re on a diet or not!

Tags: , , ,