Lose Weight and Get Healthy

A healthy diet is simply a diet which helps to maintain or improve total health. A healthy diet supplies the body with vital nutrients: sufficient food energy, macronutrient, minerals, and liquid carbohydrates. A healthy diet should contain foods that are nutrient-dense and wholesome and free of saturated fat, salt, cholesterol, sugar, or other allergens. This dietary regimen helps to keep a person well nourished and physically strong.

The most common way to achieve this is by eating a balanced diet that contains all the nutrients and vitamins one needs to stay healthy and active. It means eating foods from each food group but excluding saturated fat, salt, and cholesterol. To achieve a healthy weight, people need to eat a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, meat, and legumes.

Fruits and vegetables are an extremely healthy choice. The nutritional value of fruits and vegetables can be achieved by simply eating fresh fruits and vegetable whenever you feel like it. Vegetables such as spinach, kale, cabbage, carrots, and cauliflower are extremely nutritious foods. You can juice and puree them for maximum nutritional value. Fruits are extremely good for your health, since they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, phytonutrients and water.

Potatoes are another superfood. Because of their high mineral and vitamin c content, potatoes are loaded with nutrients. However, they can be too high in calories, especially when overcooked or deep fried. A great alternative is to boil potatoes until they’re just tender enough to mashed, then drain them and chop into tasty, colorful chunks.

Whole grains are filled with complex carbohydrates and fiber and provide most of the vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy body. They are also very low in calories. Look for whole grain breads, cereals, muffins and other products that have whole grain ingredients.

Healthy snacks are also important nutrients. Nuts, seeds, nuts, almonds, walnuts and seeds are loaded with protein and healthy monounsaturated fats. Walnuts, almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts are loaded with vitamin e. Peanuts and pistachios are also excellent snack choices. Nuts are loaded with protein and should be used in moderation.

Healthy fats are essential in a balanced diet. Avocados, coconut oil, olive oil and other healthy fats are excellent additions to a weight loss diet. Other healthy fats include canola oil, sesame seed oil, peanut butter and sunflower oil. While these fats are considered a poor substitute for saturated fat, studies show they do reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Snacks that are loaded with carbs are not the best options. Most snack foods, especially those loaded with sugar, calories and other additives are loaded with fat. The problem is that most people do not realize this fact. They believe that a bag of potato chips or piece of cheese will fill them up and are fine. In reality, any snack food should be avoided if you want to lose weight.

One of the best snacks is fresh fruit. Any good nutrition book will tell you that fruits, such as strawberries, grapes and apple, are excellent sources of vitamins A and E as well as potassium and riboflavin. These vitamins are important to your health and taking them in small amounts on a regular basis will help your body function better. The next time you’re at the grocery store consider buying a handful of strawberries and placing them in your purse for later.