Choose Healthy Foods to Fit your Lifestyle
There are several diets that all 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, and it does mean you have to change your eating patterns to fit the diet’s rules. We feel like failures because we lose weight and then return to our old eating patterns. The weight we worked so hard to lose comes back and we return to a diet. We lose the weight once more, and go up and down and up and down. We become slaves to the diets.
Rather than worry about the mirror and the scale, let’s think about our lifestyle and our health. Being healthy doesn’t mean you have to be a size four or a size two. It means feeling good physically and emotionally. It means having energy and enjoying every day.
It isn’t difficult to lead a healthy lifestyle, feel great, and still have room for the occasional treat. Let me show you how.

Healthy Foods to Eat
The 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 choose 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 white breads and noodles because they are made from flour that has had much of the nutritional content removed and the high starch content in white bread will affect your blood sugar as quickly as regular sugar. 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 essential 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 are healthier than higher fat beef. Processed lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages have a lot of junk in them you don’t want in your body, but if you love these meats, find healthier versions sold at health food stores.
Remember to eat a variety of foods because some people become sensitive to foods they eat frequently. Try different grains, such as spelt, as a substitute for wheat and try rice milk or almond milk in place of cow’s milk. Eat new foods you think you may not like…it can be a lot of fun.
Stick to water as your main beverage and limit 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. Some herbal and green teas may add great benefits to your health, but avoid too much caffeine.

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?