Party invitations, barbecues, holidays and happy hour with friends--all of these can wreak havoc on a healthy diet. But all are a part of life. The challenge is getting through them, and life, without seeing the number on the scale creep up.
Those who are most successful at staying on a healthy diet view their diet as a part of their lifestyle, according to the American Heart Association. And though they fall off the wagon occasionally, they get right back on.
Step 1
Determine whether you are at a healthy weight by calculating your body mass index (BMI). Between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Step 2
Determine whether your goal is to maintain your current exercise and diet plan or eat more/fewer calories and exercise more. If you are new to exercise, find activities you will stick with and enjoy.
Step 3
Reference USDA's MyPyramid plan to determine how many daily servings of each food group are needed. The food groups it uses are: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and beans/meat. Fad diets that cut out entire food groups have been proven unsuccessful over the long-term, according to the American Heart Association.
Step 4
Record your habits, including weekly exercise and daily calorie expenditures. A 1999 Journal of the American Dietetic Association study by J. Gentemann and colleagues found that women who kept a record of their exercise lost more weight in a year and more body fat mass than those who did not.
Tips and Warnings
- Stay motivated: exercise with a friend, read about your favorite exercise activity and explore light gourmet cooking options. Watch calorie pitfalls and eliminate filler calories, such as alcoholic beverages, sweetened sodas and juices. Before eating a certain food, ask yourself if it is the very best fuel you can be putting into your body or if you could do better.
Things You'll Need
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Pyramid
- Calculator
- Notebook or online calorie and exercise tracking software
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