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Life is all about choices, the choices we make every day do have a direct impact on our lives – our lives today, our lives tomorrow, in fact, healthy food choices can have a direct impact on our lives for the rest of our lives. There’s no such thing as bad food, only a bad diet . . . have you heard that before, yeah, I guess so. The word “diet” is pretty terrifying, somehow the word “diet” tells us what we must not eat, it’s so restrictive, instead of focusing on what we can eat, and lots of it. Healthy food choices for fitness and weight loss isn’t a punishment, it isn’t something we do begrudgingly, it’s a life changing decision which makes our lives better, the food is good, the food is plentiful, you can eat as much as you like (well, some of it anyway), and if you fancy a little something which isn’t “good” then don’t worry about it, a little of what you fancy does you good so don’t beat yourself up . . . enjoy a little something “naughty but nice” every now and then.

Making healthy food choices for fitness and weight loss is not something which will happen overnight, but it’s a kind of mind-set which you can train yourself into, and once you start to feel the benefits then it’s easier to continue on the right track. There’s nothing like a little success to motivate you for further success, after all.

Healthy Eating Plan For Fitness & Weight Loss

What you’ve gotta’ remember is that your body is like a vehicle, and if you plan to become a little more active (ie drive to the coast once in a while instead of just the daily school trip) then you’re gonna’ have to put a little more gas in the tank, but you’ve gotta’ make sure it’s the right type of gas! Healthy food choices help you to lose weight, plus give you the energy to get out and about, getting fitter which becomes a great circle . . . you eat healthy, you lose weight, you feel better, you get active, you lose weight, you feel better . . . . it’s not rocket science you know.

Just a few steps to a fitter, leaner, healthier you . . . easy isn’t it.

So come on, it’s time to take the first step and figure out a healthy eating plan. Make sure that this plan includes;

• lots of fruits and vegetables, you can eat just about as much of these as you like, and they’re gooooood!
• milk and dairy products which are fat-free, or low-fat at the very least. If you’re used to full-fat milk it might take a little getting used to, but believe me it’s a matter of getting into the habit of buying the right type of dairy products from the grocery store. After a couple of shopping trips it’s easy peasy!
• lots of whole grains . . . it’s surprisingly easy to incorporate whole grains into your diet, try buying brown rice and brown pasta instead of that stuff which is processed within an inch of its life, that’s always a good start.
• lots of poultry, fish and lean meats. Many people choose not to eat animal products at all, which is a great choice for them, but if you can’t even entertain the idea of a meat free existence then make sure that the meat you do eat is lean, and that you limit your intake of it. If you choose not to eat animal products then make sure that you include plenty of beans, nuts and eggs into your diet . . . well, you should include lots of beans, nuts and eggs anyway, even if you do eat meat products.
• keep away from processed foods and foods which include saturated fats, salt, added sugars etc. Cooking your food from fresh is a good way to follow this rule without even thinking about it . . . mmmm, a little grilled chicken and fresh salad will do just fine thank you.
• controlling portion sizes. I’ll talk about that a little more in a minute, but if you are just one of life’s over-eaters who always clears their plate and can’t bear to leave anything –  then just use a smaller plate . . . easy isn’t it.

Healthy Food Choices for Fitness & Weight Loss – The Healthy Eating Plate

Right, I’ve touched briefly on a great way to reduce portion sizes – reduce the size of your plate, easy isn’t it, but the proportions of food you use to fill the plate are important too. It’s no good having a small plate and piling it up with french fries, that’s just silly, you’ve gotta’ have a “healthy eating plate”. . So how do you do it? Well, let’s see . . .

• Take your healthy eating plate and fill half of it with vegetables, salad, that sort of stuff (french fries and potatoes do not count, they have their own section of plate). Right, that’s your plate half full already (you see, I’m an optimist, I didn’t say that your healthy eating plate was half empty did I). Now,
• One remaining quarter of your healthy eating plate should contain whole grains, yes, not just any old grains but whole grains . . . we’re talking brown rice, whole wheat pasta etc.
• The remaining quarter of your healthy eating plate should be reserved for your protein, a healthy source of protein mind, you remember we said chicken, fish, nuts or beans.  If you want to include red meat in your diet then limit the quantities and make sure that you eat only lean meats, and avoid the processed stuff altogether, hot dogs, bacon, and over processed meats.

  

  This goes into even more detail . . . great

 And finally . . . .

. . . thanks all the same Billy, but I don’t think the “Mars Bar Diet” is exactly what we’re looking for!