Maybe you feel as though you are already at a level of optimum health, and the last thing you’re worried about is a healthy eating plan. Or maybe you’re able to eat anything without any apparent problems. While there is a chance that you just so happen to eat all of the right foods, it’s not very likely. The more likely scenario is that you’re healthy now, but eating better could help reduce your risk of a lot of ailments later on in life.

But, if you are like most people, you may already be feeling a bit unhealthy, at least in some areas. This could be the result of heredity, but a lot of health problems can be eliminated or prevented by eating the right foods.

Regardless of which type of person you are, a healthy eating plan is a good idea. If you’re healthy, then it will help to prolong your good health. If you’re not as healthy as you could be, then it will help improve how you feel. In other words, there’s no good reason to avoid eating healthy.

To be fair, a lot of us will make what we think are better food choices when we eat. Of course there are also some of us who don’t think about the food we at all. But, the fact that you are reading this right now shows that you are now giving more thought to eating better. How easy it is will depend on what your current habits are like and how motivated you are to improving your health.

The first step of a healthy eating plan is to be aware of what you’re putting into your mouth. That means you need to be conscious of what you’re eating, as opposed to stuffing your face mindlessly. It also means that you need to know what’s in the food you’re eating. Just knowing this can go a long way toward eating better. For example, you may be shocked at how much fat, salt or sugar are in some of your favorite foods. It’s easy to eat too much of these things when you don’t know how much is in your food.

So, your first step is to learn about the nutritional content of the foods you eat. You are probably going to have a wake-up call, but that’s okay. Don’t feel bad about the food you were eating; feel good about the healthier food you will be eating. You won’t be able to turn back the clock in a literal sense, but you can do a lot to reset the clock and have a healthier future.

A healthy eating plan will also help you to stay at a healthy weight. This is good because obesity is a major health problem and is a serious risk factor for a large number of diseases. Not only will eating better make you more healthy overall, but if you are overweight, it will also reduce your chances of getting any diseases associated with obesity (assuming you lose weight).

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There is so much conflicting information about food that it’s enough to drive anybody crazy. It seems as though every day we hear some new findings. First a food is hailed as a “miracle cure” for some ailment, then a short time later they say it may do more harm than good, then a short while after that they it could do some good…depending on the circumstances. Fat is bad for you, fat is good for you, some fats are bad and some are good. Arg! How can anybody figure out what makes a healthy eating diet? That’s a great question, and the answer is more straight forward than all of those contradictory studies may suggest.

The most important thing to remember is that everybody is unique. That means what works for one person may not work for you. In fact, what works for millions of other people may not work for you, and vice-versa. You have different DNA, different likes and dislikes, different food sensitivities, different beliefs, and the list goes on. All of these things can have an impact on what constitutes a healthy eating diet for you, specifically.

Believe it or not, you can develop your own, personalized healthy eating diet!

The first step is to track everything you eat and drink for the next two or three weeks. That means meals, snacks, beverages, and even the little nibbles you may take here and there. The goal is to get a good idea of where your current diet stands. Don’t worry, nobody else will see your food journal, so be 100% honest.

You will most likely start to notice some problem areas as you are keeping your journal. It’s important that you keep track for the entire length of time, though. Don’t try to eat healthier just because you’re writing everything down.

The next step is to step back and take and objective look at all the food you ate. Try to identify problem areas, such as what time you eat certain foods, stress, or how different items relate to one another. For example, you find that you eat a lot more junk food when you skip breakfast, or that you eat a fattier lunch on Mondays.

Whatever the case may be, these problem areas are a good place to start making changes. You don’t have to make a complete change all at once. That could be too much of a shock to your system, and the temptation to go back to your old eating habits may be too strong. So, go ahead and take smaller steps by first improving the areas that need the most improving. Once those are better, you can move on to the next, and then the next, and so on.

Switching to a healthy eating diet doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the easier it is, the more likely you are stick with it for the long haul. That makes a lot more sense then getting on the proverbial roller coaster and going up and down for the rest of your life. Why do that? Instead, start making a few smart changes and you’ll be eating healthy before you know it.

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Healthy Eating Facts – Trans Fat And Soda Wake Up Tips

Regardless of the type of diet you may be on, or what your current lifestyle is, there are definitely some healthy eating facts that always stay the same. Saturated fat, for example, is not healthy for you, and it doesn’t matter how active or sedentary you are, nor does it matter how much you weight or how many calories you eat per day. Facts are facts. Man-made trans fats are always unhealthy. Another fact is that restricting your calories too severely can take its toll on your body.

One thing that people didn’t need to concern themselves with several years ago was trans fats; to be more specific, man-made trans fats, as there are some naturally occurring trans fats which aren’t a major health issue. The good news is that trans fats are easy to spot on food labels, but only when you know how. The most recent labeling guidelines say that food manufacturers have to show how much trans fats are in each serving of their food. However, if it’s under a certain amount, thy are allowed to show it as 0 grams of trans fat, even if there is some of it in the food. While this is playing dirty with your health, there is a way you can know for sure. Simply read the full list of ingredients. If you see the word ‘hydrogenated’, then it contains man-made trans fats and you should leave it on the shelf.

Researchers first brought hydrogenated fats and oils to the market in 1911. At the time they solved a big problem: spoilage. Refrigeration was still fairly new, and a lot of homes had no way of keeping their food cool. This meant that most foods that contained fats would turn rancid on the shelf. Trans fats changed that. All of a sudden, people could have margarine, shortening, instant cocoa and various mixes at home.

Refrigeration is no longer a problem, but trans fats are. That’s because researchers have found a link between hydrogenated fats and various diseases. This is most likely due to the fact that hydrogenation changes the molecular properties of otherwise natural fats. Even the government is starting to change the way it looks at trans fats.

Healthy eating facts don’t end with trans fats, though. Another thing to avoid is carbonated soft drinks. If they are sweetened with sugar, then they can have up to 3 tablespoons of sugar in a 12 ounce can! And it’s all empty calories. Even those soft drinks that have added nutrients aren’t that great for you, because you are still getting way too many simple carbohydrates.

Most such beverages also contain artificial flavors, caffeine, artificial colors and other things that aren’t any good for you. But what about sodas that use artificial sweeteners? They aren’t good for you either. The jury is still out on various sweeteners, but so far it looks they are not worth the risk. Even if they aren’t that bad for you, there are enough other bad things in carbonated beverages to make steering clear of them another one of the healthy eating facts you can rely on.

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Exercise And Healthy Eating To Lose Weight – Is It Really Enough

Gaining a little extra weight is fairly normal, and you may be able to carry a few pounds without too much trouble. But if you start getting too overweight, then it’s time to start thinking about exercise and healthy eating to lose weight. The key word here is ‘and’, as you will soon see.

Fad diets seem to come out every day. They all make bold claims, and one of the most common claims is that the particular weight loss plan is the easiest ever. All you need to do is follow some contrived plan of eating the right food at the right time; and the wackier, the better! You may actually be able to lose weight by following these diets, but it’s not because of the gimmick the plan uses. Allow me to explain.

There is only one way to lose weight: you have to burn more calories than you take in. Every fad diet is nothing more than a clever variation on this very basic fact. They will often go out of their way to disguise it. That way they can suck more people in by tricking them into thinking the fad diet offers something new. Now, that’s not to say all diets are bad; their not. A lot of them really work, and some are even designed for the long term. However, it’s still a case of of taking in fewer calories than you burn.

So, what this all comes down to is that exercise and healthy eating to lose weight is the real key. You may be able to lose some weight by only watching what you eat, and you may be able to lose some through exercise alone. But you will have to work much harder, and it will take a lot longer to see results. This can be discouraging, and you may stop trying to lose weight if you don’t drop enough weight in a decent amount of time.

A simple rule to keep in mind is that 3,500 calories equals 1 pound. Therefore, if you can get rid of an extra 500 calories per day, you will lose 1 pound per week. That may not sound like a lot, but it adds up to 52 pounds in year’s time. However, losing that amount per week isn’t very motivating. But if you take in 500 fewer calories per day through proper diet, and burn 500 more calories each day through exercise, then you can lose 2 pounds per week, or just over 100 pounds within a year. Sounding better?

Which particular diets or exercise programs you follow isn’t all that important (as long as they aren’t too crazy). Also, remember to check with your doctor before starting any program of exercise and healthy eating to lose weight. Once you get going, you will be amazed at just how quickly the pounds start to melt off. It’s up to you whether you want to tell your jealous friends about your weight loss secret.

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