Your diet and your health can slip over the years, and you may not notice until the weight gain and poor fitness become obvious. Fast foods, packaged foods and commercial baked goods may add too many detrimental nutrients and not enough vitamins and minerals to your daily totals. Making a few dietary changes and sticking with them until they become habits will put you on the road to healthier eating and getting in shape.
Eat More Whole Foods
If you tend to eat out or prepare convenience foods frequently, shifting toward less-processed foods will help to balance your diet. A balanced diet that draws on all the food groups provides all the nutrients, rather than large amounts of a few nutrients, that your body needs every day. Choices range from whole grains, such as rice and oats, to fresh, low-fat dairy items, and frozen or canned fruits and vegetables with little added salt, fat or sugar. Nuts and seeds offer vitamins, minerals, proteins and beneficial fats, reducing your reliance on animal-based protein foods.
Choose Variety
Among the food groups, choose a rotating selection that will naturally provide a variety of nutrients over time. For instance, if you normally eat only pasta from the grain group, try fixing brown rice, wild rice, wheat bulgur or hot or ready-to-eat cereal instead. Enjoy moving through the fruit and vegetable groups for their wide variety of tastes and nutrient combinations. Variety among meats and fish will keep your saturated fat intake from climbing too high.
Eat Less Fat
Many protein sources and food preparation methods add a high ratio of saturated and trans fat to your diet, which can slow digestion and increase your calorie intake to cause weight gain. To reduce your consumption of saturated fat, wean yourself off whole-milk dairy products by moving to 2 percent, 1 percent and then non-fat milk, yogurt and cheeses. Cut visible fat off meats and trim the skin from poultry, and cook with oil instead of butter. Check food labels to avoid eating commercial baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, that contain trans fat.
Control Portions
Mimicking restaurant portions at home encourages overeating and weight gain. For example, fast food portions of meat may far exceed the suggested 3-oz. serving. Start reading food labels to note suggested serving sizes, which should become your rule of thumb. Eat greater amounts of grains, fruits and vegetables than dairy products, meat and fish.
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