Following a balanced diet requires you to make educated decisions about the food you put in your body. "Balanced" means you provide your body with all of the nutrients it needs, without consuming too much or too little of one thing. Eat a variety of foods to keep your diet balanced, but control your portion sizes. Having too much of even the healthiest foods can provide too many calories and make your diet less healthy.
Calories
Get enough calories, so your body has the energy it needs, without going overboard. Nutrition fact labels on foods break down nutrients based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your lifestyle, age and current weight may require you to eat fewer or more calories. Women need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day and men need 2,000 to 3,000 calories, suggests the American Heart Association. The more active your lifestyle, the more calories you need. As you age, stick to the lower end.
Carbohydrates, Fat and Protein
Balance your diet by eating the proper ratio of carbohydrates, fat and protein. Both carbs and protein provide 4 calories per 1 g, but fat is concentrated and has 9 calories per 1 g. A balanced diet should consist of 45 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 20 to 35 percent of calories from fat and 10 to 35 percent of calories from protein. For example, if you follow a 2,000-calorie diet, you need 225 to 325 g of carbs, 44 to 77 g of fat and 50 to 175 g of protein each day. Balancing these three macronutrients ensures you get the right amount of energy.
Proper Food Portions
Eating the right amount of food from each group is another way to keep your diet balanced. Ideally, you should include each food group into every meal so your body has time to use the nutrients throughout the day. You can have 3 to 4 oz. or equivalents from the grain group each day and at least half of your servings should come from whole grains. Spread your produce out throughout your meals and snacks. Enjoy 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day. Juice does count as a fruit or vegetable, but it does not contain the beneficial fiber of whole fruits and vegetables. In addition to these foods, you also need 3 cups or equivalents from the dairy group and 5 to 6 oz. of meat or beans.
Additional Components
Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time and grocery shop for the week. By knowing what you are having ahead of time, you avoid rummaging through the refrigerator whenever you're hungry. Each 1 lb. of body weight equals around 3,500 calories, so to lose 1 lb. per week, you need to cut 500 calories from your diet each day. You can achieve this by eliminating about half a serving from each food group. For example, instead of having 3 cups of milk each day, cut it down to 2 1/2 cups.
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