Always enjoy a BALANCED DIET

It is possible to eat healthy and enjoy the foods you're eating at the same time. Healthy eating does not have to be a strict system that deprives you of the food you love. The idea is to find a balance in the type of foods you eat. If you're dieting, you

How to eat healthy and enjoyably

A. Set yourself up to actually succeed. Planning a healthy diet isn't about a drastic change in how you eat, but it is rather a process made up of small and simple steps. For example, if you enjoy doughnuts, but you want to stop eating them; progressively reduce the amount you eat periodically.

Start slow and make small changes to your eating habits. Depriving yourself of a particular food only makes you crave that particular food more. Every change you make will improve your dieting, it doesn't matter how small.

B. Eat with moderation. What is moderate depends on your eating habits. Remember that the goal of healthy eating is to develop a diet that you can maintain for a lifetime and not for a few weeks. Have smaller proportions (start with what you can handle). Remember that it's not always what you eat, but how you eat.

C. Listen to your body and ask yourself if you are really hungry at times. Have a glass of water to see if it's really thirst or hunger. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full; it takes a while for your brain to recognise that you are actually full. Also, avoid eating late at night.

D. Have a big breakfast and eat smaller portions throughout the day.

E. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (have the ones you enjoy). They are rich in nutrients that your body needs.

F. Use and eat more healthy fats and avoid the unhealthy ones. Some healthy fats are vegetable oils, avocado, peanut oil and olive oil.

G. Finally, limit the amount of sugar and salt you eat. Sugar causes energy ups and downs and can add to health and weight problems.