Ahh, one of my favourites topics – the Balanced Diet. It’s the key to good nutrition and the key to losing weight. No two ways about it. There’s no better way than through healthy meals to be overall healthy and trim.

Which only leaves the question “how?”. What is a Balanced Diet? How do I get one?

It’s a diet where you eat a wide range of healthy foods and drinks in proportion. Some foods you can eat to your heart’s, or stomach’s, content, others you must almost eliminate. Let’s get straight into it and look at these extremes now.

Eat more of these healthy foods
Vegetables. Fresh vegetables are probably the best thing you can eat. Especially green ones. They say seven serves a day is key. That’s a lot especially if you don’t eat much now. (We’ll look at strategies to eat better later in this article).

Fruit. Not my favorite things in the world. I still have to really remind myself to have an apple or mandarin or banana but I I always feel good about myself when I do. I find fruit is a great way to satisfy my sugar cravings. May not always completely satisfy them but certainly reduces my cravings and that’s a good thing.

Eat less of these. Much less.
We simply eat too much of everything. Maybe with the exception of healthy foods. We certainly eat too much of the bad stuff. We even eat too much of some good stuff. A good, healthy, trim diet also means eating less of everything – good or bad.

Obvious bad stuff. You guessed it, sugary, fatty, salty foods. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the occasional donut or soft drink. It just means you’ve seriously got to reduce the amount you have.

Not so obvious stuff. Carbs – great things, no doubt. We all need them for energy. It’s just we get way too many of them in our diet. Less carbs is a great way to a lose weight. Fix your diet by increasing your fiber and protein levels.

Looking to lose weight
A Balanced Diet rich in healthy foods will get you there. And keep you there. It was a revelation to me that the best way to lose pounds is to eat. I thought it was not to eat. I’d much rather eat thanks.
I’ve found the best way to lose weight is not to feel full. If my hunger is satisfied I’m much less likely to snack. Snacking, as we all know, is the friend of fat.
I find low GI foods are good for the feel full factor and good nutrition. Check them out.

Also healthy foods rich in fiber or protein are also nutritious ways to feel full for longer.
I think the immediate thought for many people, me included, is that a Balanced Diet requires a major change in your life. Diet and exercise isn’t always easy to achieve in a busy life. Completely eat different foods and if it tastes good it must not be good for me. For some people that’s true. I should know because my diet has been out of balance for as long as I can remember.
Having said that,great nutrition is a long-term life project.

Going cold turkey on an ‘imbalanced’ diet is not the right approach for most of us. You can keep it going for a while but temptation will raise its ugly head. In fact, temptation usually has a beautiful head. Like the head on a cold glass of beer. Or the head of frothy cream on a chocolate shake. Enough already!

The way to a Balanced Diet is take it one day at a time. One meal at a time. Be gentle but firm on yourself. Keep reminding yourself that this is a life goal.
It’s not easy to get your diet right. But it’s certainly achievable if you take your time and do it gradually.

Won’t be long before you start to notice differences. Maybe you may misplace a few pounds…don’t go looking for them, OK?!? Your Balanced Diet may have introduced you to new, healthy foods that you now crave. Rather crave good stuff than sweets.

Enjoy!