The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook by Jillian Michaels Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Healthy eating begins with learning how to “eat smart”-it’s not just what you eat, but how you eat. Your food choices can reduce your risk of illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes as well as defend against depression.

To get started on the right foot, plan a healthy diet but incorporate a few small and manageable changes rather than making one drastic change. If you approach these changes gradually but with commitment, you will be eating a healthy diet and enjoying its benefits in no time at all.

Keep things simple. Rather than obsessing about measuring portions and counting calories, look at your diet in terms of variety, freshness, and color. This should make it much easier to make healthy food choices. Look for foods that you like and use easy recipes that call for several fresh ingredients. Over time your diet will become both healthy and delicious.

Start out slowly, making changes to your dietary habits gradually. It’s neither smart nor realistic to try to start eating a healthy diet overnight. When you try to suddenly change your habits, you risk cheating or abandoning your new eating plan entirely. Concentrate on making small steps like using olive oil instead of butter when cooking or eating a salad once a day. Over time these small changes will start to become habit and you can continually add healthier choices to your eating plan.

Any change you make that improves your diet is significant. There’s no need to completely eliminate all the foods you enjoy or worry about being perfect to enjoy the benefits of a healthy diet. The goal of a healthy diet is to feel good, increase energy levels, and reduce the risk of disease. Don’t allow a few little missteps completely derail your efforts; every healthy choice you make really counts.

The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook by Jillian Michaels

Remember that moderation is key. Many people think that healthy eating has to be an all or nothing proposition, but the real foundation for a healthy diet is moderation. Regardless of what some fad diets lead you to believe, humans require a balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals in order to sustain a healthy body.

You don’t have to think of some foods as “off limits”. Anytime you start banning specific foods or food groups, you are naturally going to crave those foods. When you give in to temptation, which you likely will, you will feel like a failure. If you crave something salty, sweet, or any unhealthy food, go ahead and eat them, but start reducing the portion size and don’t eat them as often as you normally would. Over time you will start craving them less frequently and think of them as an occasional treat.

Think about smaller portions when trying to eat a healthier diet. In recent years, serving sizes have drastically increased, especially in restaurants. When eating out, try ordering and appetizer instead of an entre or split a meal with a friend. Never order anything that’s been super sized. When eating at home, use smaller plates. Always think about portion sizes realistically. Remember, it’s always best to start out small.

Visual cues can help with portion sizes-your serving of meat, fish or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards. A teaspoon of oil or salad dressing is about the size of a matchbook and your slice of bread should be the size of a CD case.

Don’t waste your time and money. If you really want to lose weight, we have reviewed several successful diet plans for quick weight loss. You can also watch my videos about healthy diet plans to lose weight quickly.