The goal of a healthy diet is to provide all the calories you need, together with all the vitamins, minerals, fibers and micronutrients the body requires. A healthy diet is all about picking foods that are natural, free of added sugars, hydrogenated fats/ trans-fats and avoiding foods that are highly processed.
- Choose whole grains and complex carbohydrates to give you more energy and keep you feeling fuller longer.
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits tend to be high in sugar (fructose), but they provide the vitamins you need.
- Choose lean meats, chicken and fish over processed and fatty meats. This way you get all needed protein with little fat.
- Avoid calorie-filled, non-nutritional junk food, refined sugar, white flour, preservatives, chemicals, coloring, additives and trans fats.
- Stay away from butter, margarine and mayonnaise. They add a lot of unnecessary saturated fat to your diet.
- Choose foods low in sodium. Today most companies offer a low sodium version of the product you want. If not, pick another brand.
- Drink plenty of water and unsweetened (green) tea. Stay away from soft drinks of any kind. It´s not only the sugar-loaded soft drinks that make you gain weight, but also the ones containing artificial sweeteners (saccharin).
http://uthscsa.edu/hscnews/singleformat2.asp?newID=1539 or http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711763,00.html
To give you an idea about what a typical day looks like following the guidelines outlined, here is an example:
Please note that this is just an example. For further advice, please talk to your personal trainer/ nutritionist.
- 7:00 a.m. Breakfast: Bowl of whole grain cereal with skim milk. You may want to add some berries to enhance taste.
- 9:00 p.m. Snack: Sandwich. For example two slices of whole grain bread with two slices of swiss cheese.
- 11:00 a.m. Snack: Plain low fat yoghurt with fruit of your choice (bananas or pineapple are great in order to add some sweetness).
- 1:00 p.m. Lunch: Chicken breast with vegetables of choice and rice.
- 4:00 p.m. 2nd lunch: Whole grain Pasta with tomato sauce (home made or at least low sodium product).
- 8:00 p.m. Dinner: Salad (lettuce,tomatos,peppers,etc.) with lean chicken breast. Choose a dressing low in fat and sodium.
Please note that this is just an example. For further advice, please talk to your personal trainer/ nutritionist.
