It is no secret that healthy eating plays a significant role is maintaining an ideal weight and avoiding degenerative disease. Convenience foods such as prepackaged and fast foods can make it difficult to stay on track, especially if you have a busy lifestyle. It is important to give your body the nutrients it requires to enhance health, and stay within a certain calorie range to lose or maintain weight. Designing a plan to meet your needs and taking the action to stick to it is a key to dieting success.
Step 1
Learn about your own nutritional needs, or the needs of the person for whom you are designing the plan. Visit your doctor to determine any restrictions, special health considerations and suggested caloric intake.
Step 2
Emphasize foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, leans meats, fish, chicken, beans, nuts and low-fat dairy, advises the USDA website. Ensure that all the food groups are represented each day.
Step 3
Visit the USDA's My Pyramid Plan Calculator website to determine the ideal amount from each food group to include each day. The calculation is based on age, height and weight.
Step 4
Organize the daily caloric intake and specific foods into a weekly plan, suggests Brigham Young University. Use a food diary to record what you eat and when. Spread the meals and snacks out over the course of each day to avoid the desire to binge.
Step 5
Schedule daily activity around the eating plan to ensure you are burning some of the calories you consume. Any activity that gets your body moving and raises your heart rate will add benefit to your eating plan. Some examples include, walking, swimming, biking, yoga, tai chi and resistance training.
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