Developing a Heart-Healthy Diet

In the past, dieting was associated with starving oneself in an effort to lose weight. This practice, however, is not recommended today. With the advances in today’s technology, most people are able to eat whatever they want while still losing weight. Dieting, while difficult, is no longer synonymous with death and starvation. In fact, the key to dieting successfully is not dieting at all, but incorporating a healthy diet into your lifestyle.

In nutrition, dieting is simply the consumption of less food or more food than you normally consume. In essence, you’re just substituting one food group for another. For instance, in this example, if you’re dieting, you’re simply substituting one “diet” for another, such as eating less sugar than usual, eating less fat, eating more fruits, etc. The goal of dieting is to slowly trick your body into thinking it’s full, thus reducing your caloric intake. This is often done by eating small, frequent meals throughout the day.

So, in the definition given at the beginning, diet means to regulate your eating habits by controlling the number of calories you consume each day. The diet also should be planned around balanced eating. Your dietitian will help you map out a diet based on your current weight and other lifestyle factors. You will be educated about the foods that will help you reach your goals. A dietitian can also help you develop meal plans and portion sizes that will keep you from going hungry.

When most people think of a diet, they think of the term “diet” as something that’s going to help them lose weight. However, there are several other ways to think of it. In medical definition, diet is defined as the regulation of eating so as to keep the body in a condition of appropriate weight. Eating to balance nutrition and maintaining physical fitness are two different concepts involved in dieting. The medical definition also includes under the definition of diet, eating a restricted quantity of food group for the purpose of preventing excessive loss of weight or excessive accumulation of weight.

Many times people have trouble adopting a heart-healthy diet, because they don’t understand all of the components included in it. The basics of a healthy diet include eating smaller amounts of calories, including limiting saturated fat, salt, sugar and processed foods. You also want to focus on eating natural, whole foods as much as possible. Foods that fall into these categories include fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, poultry and dairy products. In addition, it’s important to choose good fats, such as those found in nuts, olives and avocados, instead of unhealthy fats, such as those found in junk food.

Although your eating habits may not cause the development of heart disease, when you eat foods that are unhealthy, it can cause various types of health problems. The foods that you eat can determine how your body responds to stress and how it requires nutrients. When you make changes in your diet, such as eating foods that are rich in nutrients and avoiding those that contain high levels of sodium, you’ll be able to better control your body needs nutrients, which can lead to better overall health.