Well|Balanced Diet | Eating Healthy | Family Fitness

Well-Balanced Diet

Changing your lifestyle is always a challenge, but with the right foods and right attitude, the transition from a high fat, high-starch diet to one full of rich nutrients and heart-healthy benefits will be as easy as 1, 2, 3.


Change happens one step at time.


Step One: Cut Out Junk Food


Chips, cookies and candy are NOT a part of a balanced diet. In addition to the damage it can do to your teeth, high starch, high sugar foods can lead to such illnesses as diabetes and dangerously high cholesterol levels.


Cut out the daily junk food and concentrate on complex carbohydrates, low-fat protein and unsaturated fats. Rather than snacking on chips or other high fat treats, prepare some low-fat salmon dip with whole-wheat crackers and enjoy! For tasty salmon recipe ideas, see our Recipes section.


Step Two: Several Small Meals a Day


When starting a new diet (or a new lifestyle!), don't deprive yourself of food. Your body will only kick into gear on 'starvation' mode, making you hungrier and converting more calories into fat for storage. Instead, satisfy those hunger pains with multiple smaller servings of healthy foods throughout the day.


Step Three: Balancing Act


A well-balanced diet means just that - balance. Make sure you're getting the appropriate servings of all food groups including grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy, meat, beans, fish and nuts.


While it?s important to eat foods that fall into each of the food groups, it's also important to eat less of some foods and more of others. Salmon is a great food to incorporate weekly into your diet, as it's low in saturated fat and calories, yet abundant in high quality proteins.


Learn more about healthy habits -- see Family Fitness