A Diet Does Not Need To Be Complicated: Follow These Simple Tips To A Healthy Body | Nutrition & Dieting slideshows | Well Being center

What is a diet?

The term diet has become very confused in recent years with people yo-yo dieting as a way to increase or decrease their body weight. The actual word diet means the quantity and quality of the foods you eat on a daily basis. So whatever you eat whether it be good or bad makes up your own individual diet, and changing that is what helps to change body composition. People throw the term around very easily saying they are on a "diet", but this means nothing, as a diet can be any food. So it is best to say you are on a low carb diet or a healthier diet.

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www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1127.aspx?CategoryID=51

Base meals on starchy foods

It is very fashionable at the moment for people to want to eat a low carbohydrate or no carbohydrate meal. However, all this does is put the body in starvation mode and the next time you eat a high carb meal the body will grab and store every calorie - as fat! Yes, eating a low carb diet will see you lose weight, but to eat healthy its important to base meals on starchy foods as they are really important for energy. Foods such as pasta, rice, bread etc and to make them healthier choose the wholemeal variety.

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www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1127.aspx?CategoryID=51

Eat more fruit and veg

The Foods Standards Agency outlines the correct healthy amounts of food to be consumed, and their most recent tool is the eat 5 fruit or veg a day. Fruit and vegetables carry lots of minerals and vitamins to help keep the body fit and strong with no fat and some being a great source of carbohydrate. Its important to eat plenty of green vegetables as they are highest in mineral content. However, you need to be careful not to eat too much fruit if trying to lose weight as some are high in calories due to their high sugar content.

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multimedia.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/nutguideuk.pdf

Eat more fish

Fish are a complete source of protein which means they contain all the essential amino acids to help our bodies grow stronger and stay healthy. As well as this they contain the bodies essential fatty acids such as omega-3 which we need to insulate for warmth and protect the vital organs. Including fish once a week is a good addition to your diet and white fish such as Basa or Talapia are great sources of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fatty acids. They can be grilled, steamed or baked to keep the fat content down instead of frying.

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Drink plenty of water

The human body is made up of around 70% water so it is essential for everyday life because it is needed for life sustaining chemical reactions. There is lots of contradicting evidence available on the internet about how much you should drink but a good daily amount is 1.5 litres which equates to about 3 pints a day. It used to be accepted that tea and coffee did not count to your water intake because caffeine dehydrates the body but recent research suggests that that is not actually the case and that caffeine did not directly increase urine output.

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www.netdoctor.co.uk/womenshealth/features/watermyth.htm

Cut down on sugar

Sugar is something a lot of people don't want to live without and cutting it out can be very difficult, its almost as if its an addiction. But the best way to look at is to cut down and not cut it out completely as the body sometimes needs a sugar kick to boost energy. Try to switch your sugar intake from processed foods like chocolate and sweets for natural sugars in fruits such as apples and berries as these have other benefits such as being full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Switch to a sugar substitute also to help decrease your daily intake.

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Add in a smoothie

As mentioned earlier getting enough fruit and veg in your diet is essential to keep your vitamin and mineral intake high. But it can often be quite challenging to actually eat 5 individual portions particularly 5 pieces of fruit. An excellent alternative to eating fruit in their full form is a smoothie made from fruit, ice, water and yoghurt. They make a great breakfast snack and will get you up on your fruit intake without even thinking about it. Smoothies also have a bad reputation as being high in sugar from the fruit content but if eaten in moderation they are fine.

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Have most of your calories early

There are so many different fad diets that are on the market in todays health industry but many of them require counting calories, points or sins etc which can be quite boring and hard work. Eating healthy should not be a chore but it does take preparation to avoid fast foods. If trying to lose weight a good rule to try is to eat your high calorie and carb meals earlier in the day starting with a big calorie breakfast. Then working your way down to a small evening meal which is heavier in protein and vegetables instead of heavy carbs.

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Eat less carbohydrates in your evening meal

Following from the previous slide many people eat a very heavy carbohydrate meal for their dinner with the traditional idea of potatoes or rice or pasta. The biggest problem with eating very starchy foods in late evening is they are often digested and not used which means they are automatically stored as fat. But this is not the case for everyone as if you have had a very busy day and not eaten many carbs you need to restore them. But in general try to make your evening meal based on protein e.g. chicken or red meat alongside vegetables - which also contain carbohydrates anyway.

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Keep a food diary

To look at your own diet and really see if you have any reoccurring habits such as too many coffees in one day or eating at the wrong time it is a good idea to keep a food diary. I normally advise people to write down everything they eat for a week to see if we can pick out any ways to improve. To start with just include the calorie count of all foods, and work up to including the fat, carbohydrate and protein content. This gives you a visual recording and makes people realise just how much they are actually eating.