Eating a balanced meal and a wider diet is more complex than it sounds. From knowing what dietary advice to take to eating intuitively for your body, a balanced diet means different things to different people. So, here’s everything you need to know about eating a balanced meal.
Don’t Cut Out Food Groups
The number one worst advice is when fitness or healthy eating enthusiasts insist that you go “carb-free” or cut out sugar completely out of your diet are not giving accurate advice. Each food group plays a key role in keeping our bodies fueled and healthy, so cutting any out would be a bad move.
There are certain groups that we should eat more of and others we should eat in moderation though.
We should try to include more:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Protein
- Whole carbohydrates
- Good fats
And eat these in moderation:
- Dairy products
- Foods high in saturated fats
- Processed foods
- Foods high in sugar
As long as you follow these guidelines, your meal will be balanced AND healthy, without having to skip on food groups.
Take Supplements
Another way to ensure that your meal is balanced is to take a supplement to give you all the nutrients and vitamins you need to stay fit and healthy. This can be done by taking a multivitamin each day with a meal, and the great thing with vitamins is that you can find vitamins specific to your body type and needs. For example, there are multivitamins for women, men, and children, and even supplements to support lifestyle choices like veganism.
Whilst we would ideally get all of the necessary minerals and vitamins from the food we eat; this isn’t always possible. So, multivitamins can play an important role in maintaining our vitamin levels and supporting healthy processes in the body.
Eat a Rainbow
You may have heard the phrase “Eat the rainbow” when speaking about eating a balanced diet, and it’s true. This is because different colored food, especially fruits and vegetables, contain a wide variety of nutrients. This applies to other foods too, which is why making sure you eat a variety of different foods is important for giving your body the fuel it needs to stay healthy. And with three meals a day, there’s a lot of opportunities to mix things up with your meals.
There is also a lot of different substitutes for common food groups such as protein, where you can eat nuts, meat, tofu, and meat substitutes, and carbohydrates, where you can eat whole grains, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and more.
Get Creative in the Kitchen
A balanced, healthy meal is best cooked at home, so get in the kitchen and let the creative sparks fly! Cooking can be fun and even makes a fun at-home date idea for you and your significant other.
Plus, if you want to stick to a healthy, balanced diet, then you need to inject some fun into it. If you’re eating the same old broccoli, rice, and chicken breast then you’ll be tempted to go for junk food. But by incorporating flavor and variety into your diet, you won’t even think about greasy or fatty foods!
