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Why Your Diet is a Balancing Act

Those who’ve battled to manage their weight will be familiar with low fat and low carb diet plans that promise to help you lose more and keep it off longer.

Of course, if you’ve consumed too much of them, reducing fats and/or carbs can help you lose weight. But changing the “balance” in the sources of the calories you consume can upset the balance in your nutrition too.

While fats and carbs are often made out to be bad guys, they are essential to your health. Not getting enough of one or both of them can harm your overall health

The best way to manage your weight over the long-term is to maintain a balanced diet of healthy food, get the right nutrition and increase your level of activity.

What is a Balanced Diet?

While we hear the term often, not many of us can say exactly what is a balanced diet. We usually just settle for “eating a variety of foods”.

The Canada Food Guide shows that we need to eat the following variety of foods each day (the recommended daily servings are in brackets):

  • Grain Products (5 – 12)
  • Vegetables & Fruit (5 – 10)
  • Milk Products (2 – 4)
  • Meat & Alternatives (2 -3)

But why those foods in those proportions?

To say a balanced diet means eating a variety of foods isn’t entirely correct.

A balanced diet really means getting your recommended daily calories from the full spectrum of macronutrients, including fats, carbohydrates and proteins.

A balanced diet is important because each macronutrient helps your body in different ways. Fats help our body function properly, carbs give you energy and protein helps build your cells. Without out the “balance” in your diet, one or more of those important functions will suffer.

In a balanced diet, you should get your daily calories in the following proportions:

  • 25% – 35% from fats
  • 40% – 50% from carbs
  • 25% – 35% from protein

While The Food Guide helps convert that proportion of macronutrients into the various types of food we eat, it is very general. Each of us is different and we may need more or less of one food group or another to help manage our weight. And we need to maintain our nutrition levels for calorie-reduced diets.

The best way to know what will work for your particular situation is to have a one-on-one meeting with a nutritional consultant who will devise a plan specific to your needs and goals – and make sure you eat a balanced diet.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, stop by, call, or email your Herbal One centre and our qualified counsellors will be happy to give you tips and some great ideas that will help reach your weight loss goals.

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