Foods to Eat to Lose Weight - The Healthy Choice

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So what do you feel like eating today? A comforting bowl of hearty vegetable soup? A delicious crunchy salad or a delicately flavoured piece of fish? The choice is yours. Your future health - on a plate. When making your decision, bear in mind these three fundamental rules for true healthy eating when choosing foods to eat to lose weight.

Moderation. Make sure not to overload your stomach. A rule of thumb is that a meal should be the equivalent of one moderate bowlful. Eat slowly and savour every mouthful. After a couple of weeks, you will find that you don't want more than a bowlful of food at any one time.

Balance. The three main food groups (protein, carbohydrate, fat) should all be represented in the right proportion. To make it easy divide your plate into three portions; remember to fill three quarters of your plate with vegetables, one quarter with protein and one with carbohydrates. Load up with vegetables and fruit. Most of your meal should be plant-based. Add a little protein the size of your palm at every meal - this will give you energy and keep hunger at bay. Two tablespoons of wholegrain carbohydrates, starchy vegetables, beans or pulses stop cravings for unhealthy foods. And remember a small amount of healthy fats is essential for health.

Variety. To achieve a well balanced Healthy diet we should be choosing from between sixty to seventy varieties of food, the average person eats only twenty. Without the variety of foods we can't get all the vitamins and minerals we need for optimum health. Make it a habit to try a new food or a seasonal one every week.

Swap sweets, cakes and biscuits for fruit mostly fresh and a little dried. White pasta, rice, bread and sugary cereals for wholemeal and wholegrain products, beans and pulses. Red meat and meat products such as sausages, bacon and burgers for more fish especially oily fish, beans and pulses. Processed foods for vegetables, salads, nuts and seeds. Caffeinated drinks for water and herbal teas. Some butter and most margarines for healthy oils such as olive or rapeseed.

The odd treat is fine but these should not be part of your routine shop as they disrupt your body's chemistry and add nutritionally empty calories and they are not the kind of foods to eat to lose weight.