We all know the importance of a healthy lifestyle and choosing a balanced diet, but with so much information available it can be hard to sort fact from fiction.
Most people think they eat fairly well – surveys show 93 per cent of Australian shoppers describe their overall diet as extremely or very healthy. But surprisingly, only 15 per cent are very satisfied with their eating habits and 57 per cent plan to watch what they eat more closely in the future1. Clearly, health is high on people’s agendas.
The ‘secret’ to maintaining good health is combining a healthy eating plan with daily physical activity. While it may seem easy to follow the latest fad diet or trend going around, many of these plans excessively restrict your intake of foods or entire food groups which can lead to inadequacies in key nutrients. ‘Diets’ can also be hard to stick to for longer than a few weeks, and many people simply revert back to their old habits in the end. So here we get back to basics to help you put together your own healthy lifestyle plan.The basics
The basic principles of healthy eating are quite simple:
- Foods are often categorised into five main groups based on their nutrient content. These are vegetables, breads and cereals, fruit, dairy and meats/alternatives. Each different food group provides unique nutrients to your diet, so it’s important to eat a variety of foods from each of the major food groups every day.
- Eat moderate portions of all foods, with the exception of vegetables where you can generally eat plenty! (Just make sure you don’t overdo the starchy vegies such as potato, sweet potato and corn, which are higher in kilojoules than other vegies). Choosing smaller, frequent meals and snacks will help keep the variety in your diet. Continue reading Balancing your diet!