Discovering The Key To A Healthy Lifestyle

A balanced diet is the key to being healthy, losing weight and importantly keeping excess weight off

. The principle behind a balanced diet is eating the correct amount for different foods from each of the main five food groups.

The five food groups are; carbohydrates, proteins, fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy foods, and foods high in fat and sugar.

Now, the most important thing to remember and put into practice is that each of these five groups is not equal. You should not eat a diet of which 20% is food high in fat and sugar!

Carbohydrates should be the largest part of a balanced diet, making up about one third of your daily intake for the average man or woman. (You can think of carbohydrates as like fuel or gas for your body. So a sportsman, or perhaps somebody with a very active job and lifestyle might need to increase the percentage of carbohydrate that makes up their overall diet).

Fruit and vegetables should make up roughly another third of a healthy diet, with the remaining third being split between proteins and milk and dairy foods. Now here is the important bit which requires discipline - only a very small percentage of what you eat each day should consist of fats and sugars.

Let's now look in more detail at the types of foods that fall into each of these groups. First off, the carbohydrates group is occupied by starchy foods like bread, rice, potatoes and pastas. These provide the fuel for your body to function on a daily basis and it is important that good quality carbohydrates make up at least 30% of your diet. Where possible, it is recommended that wholegrain varieties are chosen as these contain much higher levels of nutrients and fibre than white versions, as well as having the effect of filling you up more effectively.

The fruit and vegetables group is a food group which many people seem to neglect in a busy modern world. Everyone should aim to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day. This may sound like a lot but it should be recognized that fruit and veg can come in many different and forms and this doesn't necessarily mean eating oranges or bananas or carrots as they come. There is one other thing to say about fruit and vegetables which is really significant. Putting aside the benefits they can have in terms of a balanced diet and losing weight, there is very strong scientific evidence to show that they help to reduce the risk of corony heart disease. What does this mean? It means eating more and fruit and veg can mean you are less likely to suffer a heart attack in the future. What more motivation can there be than that!

The protein group, and milk and dairy foods, can really be rolled into one as they combined should provide about 30% of your diet. Proteins for most people come mainly from meat, fish and eggs but if you are vegetarian or vegan there are many other good sources of protein such as nuts, pulses and seeds which should play a big part in your diet.

Now, the dreaded word for many; 'exercise'. In order to become healthier, lose weight and generally feel better everyone should make sure they have an active lifestyle involving some exercise. The amount of exercise that people should undertake is generally recommend to be 30 minutes or more of light/moderate physical activity, five times a week. This doesn't mean however that you need to go for 30 minutes runs every day to be healthier. In fact the 30 minutes may be split into two 15 minute periods and it may just be something like walking the dog (briskly) or doing some DIY around the home. The idea is to do something that will make you a little warm, make you begin to perspire and cause you to lose your breath a little, but nothing more strenuous than that is necessary. The key with exercise is to remember that it doesn't have to involve getting changed into shorts and running shoes or going to a gym - in fact the best way is to do something that you enjoy, so that way you will continue doing it on a regular basis and really start to feel the benefits of the new healthy you!

Discovering The Key To A Healthy Lifestyle

By: William Taylor

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