Your day-to-day diet needs to fit your lifestyle while contributing to your overall health and weight goals. Neither fad diets nor any one of the many highly promoted diets is likely to fit your wants and needs for everyday eating. Make sure you include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables while downplaying red meat, fat, sugar and preserved foods. Be sure to consult your doctor if you have any special health needs and before making any radical dietary changes.
The Calorie Question
Since any calories taken in above the amount burned on a daily basis results in weight gain, you should be aware of your total daily calorie intake. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that men can take in about 13 calories per pound of body weight without gaining weight, but women can only take in about 10 calories per pound without weight gain. A brisk walk or swim of at least a half-hour per day will increase the calories allowed by 2 per pound for both men and women without gaining weight.
Whole Grain Health
Daily choices of carbohydrates should include whole-grain breads and cereals rather than milled grain varieties. The USDA Food Pyramid states that whole-grain breads and cereals provide the iron, B-complex vitamins and fiber needed in your daily diet that may be lacking in white bread and processed cereal choices. The complex carbohydrates in whole-grain foods digest slower in your body that simple carbohydrates, so your body will benefit by long-lasting energy through your day. The site recommends you eat about three slices of whole-grain bread or three 1/2-cup portions of whole-grain cereal daily.
Fighting Fat
Choose lean meat, low-fat dairy items and legumes to get the protein you need without storing extra weight in fat. The Harvard School of Public Health states that better choices of protein-rich foods include fish and poultry rather than beef, because beef provides four times the fat contained in fish and poultry. Fish choices such as salmon, trout and herring also provide heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids in your daily diet. You only need about 6 oz. of fish, legumes or white-meat choices daily.
Fill Up on Fruit and Veggies
It's hard to eat too much fruit and vegetables in your daily diet. MyPyramid.gov states that you should try to eat about 3 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit each day to get the variety of water-soluble vitamins and minerals you need each day and can't be stored in your body the way fat-soluble vitamins can be stored. The more different colored fruit and veggies you put in your shopping cart, the more variety of vitamins and minerals will go into your daily diet.
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