Friday, June 13, 2008

Healthy Changes One Step At A Time

Forget about crash diets. Don't make your life complicated. The road to a healthy lifestyle living is paved with small changes made one step at a time.Even with tiny changes, one can expect awesome rewards in the end. Starting a healthy habit now definitely will help you look better, feel better, and live better for years to come. Do not forget that even small steps can add up to long-lasting results.What you actually do over time counts a lot. Talk about over-eating or being idle every once in a while. Don't panic. While it's normal for people to go overboard, be sure to balance these times by eating less or being more physically active for a while. If it's just one meal or one day, don't fret.

There's nothing wrong with those popular fad diets. But for these diets to be successful, you have to faithfully adhere to its design. It means you have to change your eating patterns to fit the diet's rules. Instead of worrying about following a fad diet, it's better for you to think about your health and your lifestyle. You can start by learning which foods are good for you.

Eating foods that are closer to its natural state is always the better choice. Examples of these are fresh fruits and berries which are great in terms of taste and are known to satisfy craving for sweets. Choose whole vegetables which have lots of vitamins and minerals. Eat more green, orange and yellow vegetables. To retain the most nutritional value of veggies, be sure to just steam them and be careful with sauces which may be high in calories and fats that aren't good for you.
While an apple is good for you, an apple pie is not necessarily a health food. Avoid sugary snacks and pastries as well. For pasta lovers, be sure that your pasta or baked goods are made from whole grains.

When it comes to meat, shop for lean meats and don't forget the fish. It is important to serve seafood 2 or 3 times a week because the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in ocean fish are often lacking in our diets. Baked fish and chicken are a lot healthier than fried, and lean meats like bison or venison may be healthier than beef with high fat content.

On the contrary, processed lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages have a lot of saturated fat and nitrates in them which are not healthy for your body. However, if you really love these meats, you can find healthier versions sold at health food stores.

Always consider eating a variety of foods to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. When it comes to liquids, stick to water, milk and 100% fruit and vegetable juices as your main beverages and limit sugary soft drinks. To spice up your plain water, add a slice of lemon or lime to improve its flavor. Kids will surely appreciate fruit juice that's jazzed up with carbonated water.
Learning which foods are good for you is one thing, watching your eating habits is another. If the foods you eat are not healthy, you might want to work within your habits and current lifestyle conditions, since they are usually tough to change.

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