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Eating Sensibly: A Well-Balanced Diet

Eating sensibly doesn't have to mean boring, tasteless food. A sensible, well-balanced diet simply contains all the nutrients you need to satisfy your appetite and maintain good health. Healthy food can still be delicious food!

Popular diets help you lose weight, but they are only a short-term solution. They can be difficult to follow and some - particularly those which avoid major food groups - may not provide the nutrients you need to maintain a healthy body. A well-balanced diet has:
  • Enough protein - for tissue and cell replacement
  • Carbohydrates - for energy
  • Small amounts of essential fats - for forming cell walls and modulating the body's metabolism.
The body also needs a range of vitamins, minerals and trace elements and 6-8 cups/glasses of water or other low-calorie fluids a day.
There are five different food groups, and eating a variety of these foods will ensure you are enjoying a balanced diet.


Healthy Eating Guide:
Food Group What's included Recommendations
1 Bread, other cereals and potatoes Other cereals includes things like breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, oats, noodles, maize, etc. Make these foods the main part of your meal.Choose whole grain, high fibre varieties wherever possible.
2 Fruit and vegetables Can be fresh, frozen or canned fruit and vegetables and dried fruit. A glass of fruit juice can also be counted. A rich source of vitamins and minerals.Try to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
3 Milk and dairy products Milk, cheese, yogurt and fromage frais. This group does not include butter, eggs and cream. These are an important source of protein, vitamins and minerals.Use lower fat versions of these foods whenever possible.
4 Meat, fish and alternatives Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, beans and pulses.Meat includes: bacon, salami, sausages, beefburgers, paté, etc. These are all relatively high in fat.Beans, eg. baked beans, and pulses are also in this group.Fish includes frozen and canned fish, eg. sardines and tuna, fish fingers and fish cakes. These are a good source of protein.Choose lean cuts of meat, and remove the skin from poultry.Use cooking methods, which don't add fat such as stewing, roasting and grilling.Nuts and nut products are high in fat, so use lower fat sources of protein such as tofu, beans and lentils.
5 High-fat/high-sugar foods Foods rich in fat: Margarine, butter, other spreading fats and low fat spreads, cooking oils, oil-based salad dressings, mayonnaise, cream, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, pastries, cakes, puddings, ice-cream, rich sauces and gravies.Foods rich in sugar: Soft drinks, sweets, jams and sugar, as well as foods such as cake, puddings, biscuits, pastries and ice-cream. These foods provide us with the most calories but the least nutrients.Eat foods containing fat sparingly and look out for the low fat alternatives.Foods containing sugar should not be eaten too often, as they can also contribute to tooth decay.
Balancing Energy Requirements
A calorie is a measure of the amount of energy food provides to the body. In order to maintain your current weight, the number of calories you consume each day should equal the number of calories your body burns. If you do not use all the calories you consume then over time, you will put on weight and body fat. Consuming fewer calories than your body needs leads to eventual weight loss.

But how do you know how many calories you need?

The number of calories you need each day in order to maintain your current weight depends on many factors, such as gender, body composition, weight and physical activity level.

Muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. This is why men, who are designed to hold more muscle tissue than women, tend to need more calories each day. By eating sensibly and exercising regularly you can increase the muscle in your body and lower the proportion of fat. You will automatically increase the amount of energy your body needs, just to carry out everyday functions such as breathing and regulating body temperature.

Your body also needs energy to move around, whether you're walking upstairs or running a marathon! The more active you are, the more energy your body will burn off. Try to include at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day; anything from going to the gym to walking to work or the bus stop.

Through increasing the amount of muscle tissue in your body, increasing the amount of exercise you take and eating less of the high-calorie, high-fat foods, you can soon take a step toward a healthier and fitter life.

You must be honest with yourself though! Remember to include snacks and drinks in your daily calorie count. You don't need to stop eating all the foods you love - such as chocolates and crisps - just be sensible.

With selected models from the Tanita Body Fat Monitor range it is now possible to obtain an estimate of your daily calorie requirement. The Daily Calorie Intake (DCI) feature performs an instant calculation each time you step on.

More Tips on Healthy Eating
Plan three meals a day. Don't skip breakfast - you're more likely to snack later.
Plan any healthy, low-fat snacks like fruit and low-fat yogurt in advance and reduce the amount you eat at meals accordingly. Try to save dessert as a snack for later.
At each meal, try to fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with bread, potatoes, pasta, rice or other starchy foods and the remainder with lean meat, fish or poultry or alternative types of protein.
Choose low fat foods wherever possible. For example, skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, low fat spreads, extra lean meat, tomato rather than creamy pasta sauces, salad dressings such as lemon juice or balsamic vinegar instead of mayonnaise.
Eat baked, steamed or grilled foods rather than fried or sautéed.
Don't add extra fat during cooking or serving food. Avoid buttering vegetables and have low-fat cheese with baked potatoes, not butter.
Watch out for products labelled as low fat but which are still packed with calories, especially cakes, biscuits and desserts.
Drink alcohol in moderation, as it is high in calories. If trying to lose weight and body fat, aim for no more than one unit per day.
If you're not losing weight or reducing your body fat level, stick with the types of food described above, but reduce the portions. Yes, you really can eat too much of even the healthiest foods!
Doctors recommend that you should aim to lose no more than 1kg (2lbs) per week and reduce your body fat by 1-2% per month. Your weight and fat loss may fluctuate weekly, but as long as they decrease overall, don't worry.
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