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If your goal is to feel a little bit healthier, then the food you eat (and don't eat) can make all the difference.
The key to any new healthy eating plan is of course balance and variety. Try and eat healthily the majority of the time, but in the same token don't feel guilty if you occasionally have a treat (i.e. Chocolate, cake, ice cream etc).
A typical Western diet
Too many of us in the West eat unbalanced diets. It is estimated that the fat content of our diets is as high as 50% when the figure should read around 25 - 30%.
The downside of this is not just the extra calories we take on board , but also the fact that we eat much less than the recommended 50 - 60% carbohydrates.
Creating the ideal diet
The ideal breakdown of nutrients within an ideal diet should look something like this:
| Carbohydrates | 50 - 60% | | Fats | 20 - 25% | | Proteins | 12 - 15% | | Alcohol | 4% or Less |
The best way to approach this information is to not get hung up on the actual figures.
Aim to eat low fat products (lean meats, semi / skimmed milk) and increase the amounts of complex carbohydrates (breads, pasta, rice, cereals etc) within the diet and the rest will take care of itself.
Your ideal diet
Pick one day during the week when you allow yourself to eat what you want. Pizza, crisps, chips, whatever. The other six days should then be spent trying to cope with a healthy diet.
This way each diet you have will only be 6 six days long! 6 days without your favourite foods. Easy.
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