Healthy Dieting

- By Kathleen P. Atwell

Diet is a four letter word. I think it’s quite fitting actually. Personally, I never have liked the word. It implies hunger pain, deprivation, bland tastes, and guilt. When I titled this article “Healthy Dieting”, I wondered if it was an oxymoron.
Of course, I know that healthy eating is a must for anyone who values their body, appearance, and health. Losing weight is necessary at times, while keeping a healthy weight is of the utmost importance for all. So what does a healthy diet entail? We will review sound principles you can implement immediately to help you lose those extra pounds and keep them off.

First of all, never skip a meal, especially breakfast! Sounds odd, doesn’t it? You must eat to lose weight! The National Weight Control Registry reports that eating breakfast is a daily habit for the “successful losers”, participants who lost thirty pounds or more and kept it off for at least one year.

Learn what a reasonable portion size looks like. "Very few Americans probably tell the truth about what they eat," says USDA economist Judith Putnam. In one U.S. Department of Agriculture study, more than 80 percent of women underestimated their daily food intake by 700 calories! One way to overcome this problem is to keep a food journal, writing down every piece of food or drink that enters your mouth and documenting approximate size. This practice will help you be very attentive to what and how much you do consume. Jot down how you feel before and after eating as well. It’s also a great tool to point out various eating habits that need to be eliminated such as munching when you’re bored or tired.

Produce is a girl’s best friend!! Sound a little “corny”? (Bad joke!) Seriously, filling up on produce is one of the best little diet tricks you’ll ever learn. Instead of French fries, choose carrot sticks with low fat dip or sweet cherry tomatoes, cold from the fridge.

Studies show that the average American woman eats just three servings of produce a day, two of which are nutritionally depleted. You really shouldn’t count fruit juice as a serving unless it is actually natural, not watered down or sweetened with oodles of sugar.

Calculated choices will make your diet a successful one. Wait for Healthy Diets, Part 2 to finish reading about specific ways you can shape a diet.

Healthy Dieting - Part 2