Healthy Eating Guidelines for First-Timers

By Kate Trillin

If you have never dieted before, or ever even considered changing your eating habits, this article is for you. You see, when you are young and active, you can basically eat anything you want, and stay within healthy eating guidelines without even trying. Remember when you could eat and eat and never think twice? Now everything has changed. You may have gained weight through pregnancy, or just a sedentary lifestyle. Whatever the reason, you find the numbers on the scale just keep going up. Don't despair. You can get back to where you used to be by following the guidelines to lose weight, and increase your activity level. It won't be easy, but it you stick to these healthy eating guidelines, you will be able to lose weight, feel better and reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke and other health issues. There is no time like the present to implement these changes.

Cut out the fats, sweets and salty snacks for a start. Snacking is a terrible habit, easy to get into, but difficult to break. You can still snack within the guidelines but the foods you snack on will have to change. Instead of baked goods, ice cream, candy or salty chips and pretzels choose whole fruits and keep a supply of crunchy veggie slices to munch on when you feel the urge to snack. Your healthy eating guidelines can allow for a little flexibility but keep in mind the fat and sugar content of your food choices. Fresh fruit is the best option because it gives you sweetness for taste and fiber and vitamins for good nutrition. Cultivate a taste for fresh fruit in season. You can eat canned or frozen fruit but make sure there is no added sugar in the canning process.

Stop the Frying

Cutting out fats also means preparing foods a bit differently. You want to stop frying foods in animal fat, butter and lard. Use cold-pressed oils like corn, canola, olive and sunflowers oils instead. This small change to your food preparation adheres to healthy eating guidelines and will actually help lower cholesterol and reduce your calories through fat.

Rethink Your Beverages

You may not realize how many calories come from sodas, beer, and other processed beverages. Sweet sodas and teas are full of calories from sugar. Switch to flavored waters and diet sodas. Drinking extra servings of water are recommended by the guidelines for weight loss and good health.

Taking some basic and relatively simple steps to follow healthy eating guidelines will make a huge difference in your diet and overall health. These tips are just a few suggestions to get you on your way to a healthier way of eating. Follow healthy eating guidelines for weight loss, better eating habits and reduce your health risk at the same time.

Kate Trillin is a freelance writer who specializes in proper nutrition, healthy eating guidelines, and healthy living. She has been an avid health enthusiast for the past 5 years, and has recently ventured into the world of online publishing in an effort to reach a wider audience. Her writing focuses on providing tips and useful information on the importance of healthy eating guidelines.

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