Healthy Foods for a Healthy Lifestyle

There are several fad diets that will lead to successful weight loss if you follow them exactly as they are designed. That doesn't mean every food that fits into a diet is a healthy food, but it does mean you have to change your eating patterns to fit the diet's rules.
Rather than worry about following a fad diet, think about your health and your lifestyle instead. Start by learning which foods are good for you.


Healthy Foods to eat

Healthy Foods to EatThe closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits and berries are great and will satisfy a craving for sweets. Whole vegetables have lots of vitamins and minerals, so eat more green, orange and yellow vegetables. Steam them to retain the most nutritional value and be careful with sauces, they may be high in calories and fats that aren't good for you.
Any pasta or baked goods should be made from whole grains. Avoid sugary snacks and pastries as well. An apple is good for you, an apple pie really isn't.
Shop for lean meats and don't forget the fish. The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in ocean fish are often deficient in our diets, so serve seafood two or three times per week. Baked fish and chicken are healthier than fried, and lean meats like bison or venison may be healthier than higher fat beef.
Processed lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages have a lot of saturated fat and nitrates in them you don't want in your body. If you love these meats, you can find healthier versions sold at health food stores.
Remember to eat a variety of foods to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.
Stick to water, milk and 100% fruit and vegetable juices as your main beverages and limit sugary soft drinks. If you get tired of plain water, add a slice of lemon or lime to add a touch of flavor. For kids, try some fruit juice jazzed up with carbonated water.
Unhealthy Foods
Battered and deep fried foods
Sugary sodas
Processed lunch meats
Greasy snack chips
White bread and refined pasta
Most canned spaghetti and ravioli
Sugary breakfast cereals
Frozen fried chicken, fish sticks and corn dogs
Healthy Foods
Green and brightly colored vegetables
Dark leafy greens and lettuce
Fresh fruits and berries
Lean turkey and chicken
Nuts, dried fruits and healthy snacks
Whole grain breads and pasta
Healthy cooking oils like canola and olive oils
Grass fed beef and bison
Cold water oily ocean fish
Low fat milk or soy beverages
Nuts, seeds, and legumes
Assess Your Lifestyle
Once you learn which foods are good for you, you need to look at your eating habits. 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. Consider these questions, then read on for tips to help you add healthy foods:
Do you eat because you are bored, sad, or happy?
Do you snack in front of the TV without even giving it much thought?
Are most of your meals eaten at home or in restaurants?
How often do you eat fast food?
Do you like to cook?
How often do you grocery shop?
Do you skip breakfast or lunch, then overeat later in the day?
How big are the portions you consume?
Do you crave sweets?
Are there foods you won't give up?
Healthy Foods for SnackersIf you are an emotional eater, keep the junk food like potato chips, tortilla chips, ice cream, and candy out of the house. Keep healthy snacks like fruits, crunchy vegetables with dips, or nuts handy. If you absolutely feel the need for a treat, then purchase a small piece of high quality chocolate or your favorite treat and enjoy it, just don't buy any to bring home.
The same tips are helpful for those who enjoy TV snacking at home. If you don't want to give up nibbling while watching your shows, keep low calorie foods close by, because it is very easy to eat too much when you are entranced by your favorite drama, football game or cooking show. Eat crisp raw vegetables with your dip instead of greasy chips.

In order to stay healthy, we need keep healthy weight and therefore, we need to eat well and be physically active.
It is overeating, which makes our body intakes more than we need and lead to over weight. Eating moderate balanced meal is the key to stay healthy. In this article, we focus on Low Carbohydrates(carb) Foods, and want to learn what kind of foods belong to low carbs, in case when we eat enough carbs and need to avoid more carbs to take the balance and keep healthy weight, or when we overeat carbs or when we want to lose weight. Cutting carbs leads to weight loss by restricting food choice, and thereby cutting calories.
When consumed excessively, Carbohydrates are a major source of fat and weight gain. Cutting carbs out of our diet combined with a proper weight training routine, should decrease fat and increase muscle definition, which aids in any weight loss endeavors. Choosing a low-carb diet is also a good way for health if you have health problems like obesity or a heart disease. Low carb foods are also the prescribed diet for some of the popular lifestyle today.
However, if our diet limits too strictly on carbs, we may experience some serious health problems, such as increase of levels of cholesterol, loss of calcium in bones and insufficiency of other essential nutrients for our health. Like anything else in life, going to extremes can prove to be dangerous and harmful. A balanced diet with all major nutrients is the key. It is recommended that try not to eat carbohydrates 5 hours before going to bed. This allows us to burn the excess carbs not absorbed by our body and they won’t turn to fat.