Healthy Eating Guidelines - Let's Make Sense of It All!

---

You want to follow the healthy eating guidelines, but you're confused.
What are the healthy eating facts? Is healthy eating low calorie? Low carb? Low fat? Or, is it vegetarian or vegan? How about organic? It seems like only yesterday eggs were supposedly bad for us, but today they're a health food. HELP!!!!

Eat the Right Foods
and Eliminate the Wrong Foods.

Healthy eating guidelines include eating the right foods. That is, eating those foods which nourish your body and protect you from a whole range of cancers and other illnesses.

It also means NOT eating the overly processed commercial foods that provide little, if any, nutrition and may contribute to obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and a whole range of other health issues.

When, Why and How
Much You Eat Matters.

But, there's so much more to the healthy eating guidelines than that. Equally important is how much you eat, when you eat, how often you eat, and all the personal and environmental circumstances surrounding your eating. OK, I'm sure there are many of you ready to turn off your computers right now and call it a day - but please don't do that, just yet. It really is quite easy to learn to eat once you understand the basics.

Eating is a Natural
and Necessary Activity.

Our great-great-grandparents mainly ate fresh, unprocessed, wholesome foods. They ate when they were hungry. They stopped when they were no longer hungry or when the food was gone.

Eating was not a science. They did not count points or calculate calories. They didn't need a healthy eating lesson. Healthy eating was a natural and necessary activity. Nobody thought about healthy eating guidelines. Obese people were rarely, if ever, seen.

Eating is Also a Source of Pleasure.

Eating was also a source of pleasure for our ancestors. Traditions around food were created. People gathered together to prepare and eat festive meals. Yet everyday portions were moderately sized, and foods were freshly made and wholesome. Sound eating was the norm. Nobody needed a "eating healthy guide". Overweight people continued to be the exception, not the rule.

Factories Start
Mass-Producing Food.

Then, in the mid-1900s, food started being mass-produced in industrial factories to feed our growing population. Food chemists working in labs created chemical ingredients that could be added to our natural foods to make them seem fresher and tastier, extend their shelf lives and save the manufacturers money.

Advertising and marketing people also got involved, commercializing and promoting these not-so-healthy foods. Pictures of favorite cartoon characters were put on the food boxes, and toys were hidden inside. Every child in America begged his or her mother to buy, buy, buy! We were hooked. And we started growing fatter and fatter and more and more unhealthy.

Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and all kinds of cancers and other illnesses are running rampant. Our bodies were simply not designed to process all the junk we now put into them. Think about your automobile - it was built to run on a particular type of fuel. You can't just pour coca cola in it and expect it to run. The same holds true for the human body. We should be treating our bodies the same way we treat our cars!

Our Childrens' Life Expectancies are Shorter Than Ours.

It used to be that childrens' life expectancies were greater than their parents' - and now, for the first time in history, this trend is reversing. Our children are no longer expected to live longer than us. Childhood obesity is a national crisis. Unhealthy lifestyles, including unhealthy eating habits, are largely to blame.

That being said, what exactly are the healthy eating guidelines? Believe me when I say that we can learn a lot from our ancestors. They ate unpackaged, unprocessed, un-fiddled-around-with foods. We should too - following this simple rule will make a huge impact on your wellness.

Get the Bad Food Out of Your Life.

Print out a list of healthy food that you can use as a basis for your own healthy eating plan. Healthy eating guidelines include delicious foods! By the way, if you're looking for tips on eating heart healthy foods and ideas for heart healthy diets, you've come to the right place. I'll also give you the information you need to know about when to choose organic foods and why.

I know so many people who, when they add something good and wholesome into their diets, think they can continue to eat the same junk food as well and suddenly be healthy. Listen and listen good - the good food is not going to cancel out the bad food (bad food = overly processed and full of nasty chemicals you didn't even realize you were eating)!

You need to get the bad food out of your life if you really want to be well! So, what ingredients and foods should you try VERY hard to avoid if you want to embrace healthy eating? Read about unheatlhy foods and dangerous food additives to avoid.

Portion Size Matters.

Healthy eating guidelines include eating the proper amounts of nutritious foods and the learning the difference between good and bad calories. Learn about what constitutes a healthy food portion size. No, you don't need to starve yourself with thimble-size servings, but, let's be serious, is it really necessary to eat off a plate the size of a toilet seat and consume your weight in food at each meal? I'll also give you some insights about when to eat and how often to eat (yes, it does make a difference).

Your State of Mind Matters.

There is a lot to the mind-body connection. Your body digests and processes food differently depending on your state of mind when you're eating. Click here to learn what the heck I'm talking about and how to use this fact to your advantage.

We All Need (and Want) Snacks.

Looking for wholesome snacks? I'll give you some healthy snack recipes. I'm not willing to give up my snacks, and neither should you (actually, snacks made with wholesome ingredients should be part of your daily diet. Being healthy doesn't mean giving anything up - it just means being picky about what you put into your body!).

Don't Strive for Perfection.

Always remember that change is a process. Learning the healthy eating guidelines and how to eat to stay well takes time. Breaking old habits and replacing them with new, healthier habits is not going to happen overnight. It's not all or nothing. Don't think for one minute you have to eat all the right foods and eliminate all the wrong foods 100% of the time.

Don't strive for perfection - just strive to do the right things MOST of the time. As you learn and are able to make better habits stick as part of your new healthy lifestyle, it will all become natural. For now, however, just do the best you can and your body will thank you!

Healthy Eating Habits
Lead to Healthy Weight Loss.

I want to add that if you are here, learning about eating healthy guidelines for the sole purpose of losing weight, please make your focus getting healthier instead. When you start doing all the things necessary for healthy living, your body and mind improve - the by-product of which is a healthy weight.

In other words, learn to live a healthy lifestyle and the weight loss will naturally follow. OK? Oh, and if you're concerned about eating disorders, I'll give you the information you need.

---

Following healthy eating guidelines and getting regular exercise will both go a long way toward helping you live the life you deserve. Please subscribe to my free monthly newsletter, in which I'll give you more helpful lifestyle tips (and you'll be eligible to win wonderful products each month)!

RN, Certified Wellness Coach

---

Other Links of Interest

Healthy Eating Politics - Alternative Views On Food And Health.
Vegetable Garden Basics - Learn how to grow your own fresh tasty vegetables for a healthy life here.

---

---