Eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet is the healthiest way to go, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report. "Balanced" simply means that your meals contain a wide variety of food items from each of the primary food groups. Taking your diet a week at a time is an effective strategy for long-term dieting success.
Facts
A balanced diet consists of the correct number of servings each day from the following food groups: dairy, meat or beans, fruit, vegetables, grains and oils or fats. Consuming meals that are not balanced can lead to problems with bodily tissue, brain and nervous system function and your growth, according to Medline Plus and the National Institutes of Health. The proper amounts of each food group will vary depending upon your age, sex, body type and daily physical activity levels.
Planning
The most organized and effective way to begin eating a well-balanced diet is to plan out your weekly meals at the start of each week. This will help you better plan for which types of foods you'll need to buy, and it can help to reduce binge eating or succumbing to food cravings when you can't find anything to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Your meal plan needs to be designed around your daily caloric needs.
Calories
You can determine your ideal daily calorie range by taking advantage of a free online tool created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This tool is located at MyPyramid.gov, and it will give you a relatively accurate depiction of how many calories you should be eating each day based on the previously mentioned determining factors, such as body type and age. This tool will also show you exactly how many servings from each food group you should be targeting on a daily and weekly basis.
Weight Loss
If weight loss is your goal, a well-balanced and nutritious dieting approach is an effective strategy. Just keep in mind that it can be unhealthy to lose weight too quickly, because your body needs ample time to adjust to the changes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends losing weight at a rate of one to two lbs. per week, or the equivalent of 3,500 to 7,000 calories per week. You can achieve this calorie deficit through a combination of dieting and daily exercise.
Meals
In order to achieve a balanced meal plan, you must consider the calorie count and content of each meal. Based on a 2,000-calorie diet plan, you would want to divide out these calories equally between each of your daily meals. For instance, you could aim for four meals per day of 500 calories each. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that the majority of your calories come from carbohydrates, while the other calories come from foods rich in protein and healthy fats. A sample 500-calorie meal could include a lemon-seasoned grilled fish filet, green beans, whole grain pasta and a piece of fruit.
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