Food Habits

"More die in the United States of too much food than of too little." 

This quote from John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society, show the picture of the food habit of the people.

There was a time when people used to eat their food for living but now a days the theory has been changed. The new generation's theory is based on the motto of eating. They live to eat. They don't think about what they are eating?, how much they eat?, How their eating habits affect their health? They are not concerned about the bad effects of these bad eating habits. Often young people complain of tiredness and low stamina, which automatically results in lack of sleep or imbalance in other lifestyle habits. People start intake of caffeine and a quick sugar fix to get rid of this tiredness, instead of eating healthy diet. 

All these problems can be easily solved by following good eating habits. Good eating habits don't mean sitting down at a table three times a day to a formal meal. These meals must include healthy diet. Improving a person's eating habits and increasing the intake of adequate fluids can make remarkable improvement in the energy levels and overall wellbeing. 

"Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy."

So, we must take care of our health. These following tips may be helpful to you to take care of your health:

Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables 

Most youngsters don't eat any of these. There are lots of items of whole grains like  Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Millet, Oatmeal, Popcorn, Wild rice, etc which you can add to your diet. 2-3 whole grain meals a day are required for a good health. According to the doctors a diet rich in vegetables and fruits reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, maintain blood pressure and keep the digestion system proper. If you don't like any of these, give them a chance, try some different dishes from these ingredients. 

Add varieties of nutrition 

There are no single food which can provide you all nutrition to your body so you have to add different foods to complete this requirement of different nutrition. There quantity depends on the calories requirement. Daily food chart must contain whole-grain products, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, poultry and other protein foods.

Balance your food chart over time

Its not possible to eat same diet every day. But you can make balance between your food of two-three days. If one day you take any diet high in calories and fat, next day you can compensate it by taking a diet lower in these nutrition and fat. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.

Make your body habitual to new habits gradually

A proper and healthy diet includes different items which you may like or not, so don't expect to change your eating habits overnight. Give yourself proper time to adapt the new food or new eating habits. Don't follow the diet chart forcefully. Try to make changes gradually, like if you don't like boiled vegetables, try to reduce the quantity of oil in your food. Eventually you may find that you like boiled food too.

Track your weight

What is the modest weight for you depends on many factors like your sex, age, height and heredity. Excess fat will increase your weight which will increase your chances for high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and other illness. Like wise, being too thin also increase the risk of osteoporosis and many other health problems. A registered dietitian or a physician can help you to determine the proper weight and to develop good eating habits for achieving the proper weight you required. Regular physical exercise is also important to maintain a healthy weight. 

Know your bad habits

Before implementing your diet chart, firstly find out your bad eating habits. Do you have more cheese in your diet? Have you included proper amount of fruits and vegetables in you daily routine diet? After finding your bad habits, instead of cutting those item, just cut back your portion.

Eat moderate portion

Keep the portion size of any food reasonable. It will give you freedom to eat what you want and to stay healthy. Join some health organization or guidance of an expert to know the serving size of different food and their quantity.

Don't Skip your meal

Eat regular and on time. Skipping can result in a burst of hunger. This out of control hunger can results in overeating. Hunger can make a person to forget about the nutrition and can force to eat unhealthy and tempting food. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes your one time meal.

Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods 

Sometimes, people eat certain things because they like it and don't want to give up. So, its not a big deal. You can enjoy you favorite food and can stay healthy even if your favorite food is not healthy or taking you off the track from your daily diet chart. You just need some little adjustments in your diet. Reduce the other meals from your diet which are rich in those nutrition in which your favorite food is. Try to take small amount of your favorite food or share it with your friends or family.

Don't treat any food good or bad

No food is good, no food is bed. The effect of any food is differ on different people. Select any food based on your total eating patterns. Its not embarrassing if you like chocolate, ice cream, apple pie, or any other high fat food. Eat them in moderation and choose other foods which can balance your health diet. 

Apart from these a nutrition expert or a physician can help you develop a personal action plan for improving your eating habits while keeping the fun in food. Registered dietitian can also be helpful to you provide valuable information and advice. To follow the diet chart you should be positive and self confident. Physical exercise helps to be healthy as well as increase the motivational power and self confidence.