Developing the following healthy eating habits will help you lose weight, prevent disease and sustain you for life.
- Keep your calories under control.
- Don’t confuse fat-free with calorie-free.
- Eat breakfast!
- Don’t deprive yourself – eat small portions of the foods you enjoy eating.
- Eat slowly – utter at least one complete sentence between bites or chew 32 times before taking another bite. Give your body a chance to feel full!
- Drink while you eat instead of before a meal. Alcohol stimulates your appetite.
- Eat half of what’s on your plate and then take a 1-minute break to assess whether you’re still hungry.
- Don’t skip meals. Skipping meals sets you up for losing control and overeating.
- Eat foods that are processed as little as possible.
- Choose an apple over apple juice and whole wheat bread over white bread.
- Consume an unlimited variety of vegetables.
- Eat two or four half-cup servings of unsweetened fruit each day.
- Eat as wide a variety of foods as possible to avoid limiting the nutrients you get.
- Eat protein rich foods at every meal or snack.
- Eat one serving of high-fibre whole grain per day, preferably at lunch.
- Drink eight glasses of water per day.
- Do not eat past 7 p.m.
- Combine protein foods, grains, vegetables and fruits to achieve a healthful, nutritious eating pattern.
- Balance the kinds and amounts of food on your plate.
- Keep portions moderate in size and content.
- Take the time and make the effort to learn a preference for less sweet and less fatty foods.
- Choose nutrient-dense foods in the way of vitamins and minerals when you are dieting and cutting calories.
- Take a multi-vitamin-mineral supplement if your calorie intake is 1200 calories or lower.
Here’s what a sample day might look like:
Breakfast
- 6 ounces orange juice or fruit
- One slice whole-wheat toast
- Hard-cooked egg (meat)
- Jelly (fats, oils, and sweets)
Lunch
- Turkey sandwich with 2 ounces of meat
- Lettuce and tomato
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- one quarter cantaloupe
Snack
- 2 cups popcorn
- Diet soda
Dinner
- 2 ounces of broiled fish
- 1 small baked potato
- ½ cup broccoli
Snack
- 1 ½ ounces low-fat cheese
- An apple
- Whole grain cracker
