How to Eat a Healthy Balanced Diet

By Nicky LaMarco, an eHow
Contributing Writer
Apple
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is
important for sustained energy and
illness prevention. Eating healthy is
not about cutting calories or strict
dieting; it's about ensuring your
body gets the nutrients it needs to
thrive.
Difficulty:
Easy
Instructions
1. Avoid cutting calories, but do
not consume too much.
Healthy and active adults need
approximately 2,000 calories a
day. The more exercise you do,
the more calories you need.
Use a daily calorie calculator
(see Resources section below)
to determine how many
calories you need each day.
2. Add fruits and vegetables to
every meal, and even to
snacks. For example, add
bananas to your cereal at
breakfast, eat a salad and an
apple with lunch and have
tomatoes and canned peaches
with your dinner. This can help
you get the recommended
three to five (or more)
servings of fruits and
vegetables.
3. Try new foods. Make an effort
to pick out something new at
the grocery store every week.
Browse the produce section
and choose a fruit you have
never had before. This can help
give you a healthier, more
balanced diet so you're not
eating the same things all the
time.
4. Check your portions. More
appropriate portions can make
a huge difference. One way to
check portions is to read the
nutrition label and see the
recommended serving size.
(See the link in the Resources
section below for appropriate
portions.)
5. Cut out excess sugars, salts,
caffeine and alcohol. These (in
excess) are toxic to the body
and will deplete nutrients. Eat
a healthy well balanced diet
and enjoy your foods and
drinks containing these toxins
in moderation only, or cut
them out altogether.
6. Clean your home of junk food.
If it isn't there you are less
likely to eat it, especially at
nighttime. When you are able
to cut out junk foods (sugary,
salty snacks) you will eat what
is available in your home,
which should be healthy
choices such as fruits,
vegetables, pretzels, and
crackers.
7. Balance your diet with
proteins and carbohydrates.
Include meats, beans and fish
for protein. Avoid cutting out
carbohydrates, as you need
these for energy. Fruits,
vegetables, whole grains and
pasta contain needed
carbohydrates.
Tips & Warnings
Drink more water. Instead of a
soda or beer, have a glass of
water. Chew food thoroughly.
Rushing a meal is not healthy.
Always have a healthy breakfast.
Avoid late-night snacks.
References
Healthy Eating
Resources
Daily Calorie Calculator
Portion Sizes
Photo Credit
http://www.morguefile.com/
archive/display/554912