Controlling your weight through healthy dietary changes can improve your overall health and reduce your risk of illnesses such as heart disease. Although numerous diets are available, many are unsafe and ineffective, according to the Weight-control Information Network. Avoid "quick fix" diets that promise rapid results or severely restrict calories, carbohydrates or fat. Aim instead for a balanced diet based on a variety of nutritious foods. For best results, seek specified guidance from your doctor or nutritionist.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are nutrient-rich foods, meaning they provide dense amounts of nutrients and relatively few calories. They also contain valuable amounts of fiber and water, which can help keep you satisfied between meals and prevent excessive snacking. For enhanced weight management, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, suggests adding fruits and vegetables to your meals and reducing portion sizes of denser foods, such as eggs, meat and pasta. For example, top your breakfast cereal with fresh fruit and replace one of the eggs in your breakfast omelet with colorful vegetables, such as tomatoes or spinach. If you normally consume one cup of pasta at your dinner, enjoy one-half cup, mixed with vegetables and topped with tomato sauce. Fresh fruits and vegetables also provide healthy snack alternatives to sugary sweets and potato chips. Incorporate a variety of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables in your diet regularly for broadest nutritional benefits.
Whole Grains
Whole grains provide significant amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber. As low-glycemic foods, whole grains have a mild impact on your blood sugar levels and can enhance appetite control and weight loss. The American Dietetic Association recommends cutting back on processed snack foods and desserts and opting for whole-grain carbohydrates. Examples of nutrient-rich whole-grain foods include 100 percent whole-grain breads, cereals and pasta, long-grain brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, barley soup, air-popped popcorn and steel-cut oatmeal. Replacing enriched flour with whole-grain flour in baked goods can add fiber and other nutrients, such as B-vitamins, which help convert food into energy. When purchasing whole-grain foods, examine food packaging to ensure that whole grains are listed as the main ingredients.
Lean Protein and Fatty Fish
Protein provides amino acids --- the building blocks of lean tissue. Protein also contributes to lean tissue repair, healthy brain function and satiation between meals. Limit saturated fat sources, such as red and processed meat and high-fat dairy products, which increase your risk for weight gain, cholesterol problems and heart disease. Instead, the American Dietetic Association recommends low-fat dairy products, such as milk and yogurt, lean poultry, legumes, tofu and fish. Fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, lake trout, flounder and herring, provide omega-3 fatty acids --- healthy fats associated with positive heart health. Consume protein-rich foods as parts of nutritious, balanced meals for best weight management and wellness results.
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