Your Own Balancing Act: Creating A Balanced Diet

Without a doubt, you should eat a well-balanced diet. But what does that mean? Should a person with 100 pounds of lean muscle mass eat the same amount of protein as a person with 70 pounds of lean muscle mass? Should a stay-at-home mother eat as many complex carbohydrate servings as a woman training for a marathon?

A balanced diet is all about making sure you have all the nutritional support and energy your individual body needs to function.

Some people base their understanding of a balanced diet on the old "food pyramid" guidelines that recommended people eat from the basic food groups: dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

In response to rising obesity rates, the U.S. Department with Agriculture came out with a revised food guide pyramid in 2005, which is more catered for the individual.

MyPyramid encourages regular exercise and is geared more toward specific calorie needs.

While the old pyramid used servings, the new guide uses cups and ounces.

In order to lose weight, you still need to determine how many calories your body uses balanced diet every day. Many scales today measure not only your weight but you lean muscle mass. Some scales will estimate the number of calories you can eat every day to maintain your current weight.

To lose weight, you may want to slightly decrease your caloric intake, while being careful to eat a balanced diet, and increase exercise.

Educate yourself by reading nutritional labels. Always make an effort to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Following a balanced diet means eating foods that are low in saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sugar, alcohol and salt.

It's virtually impossible to eat too many green vegetables, which are critical for a well balanced diet. Limit your fruit consumption to between two and four servings, depending on your size, since they are higher in calories.

Don't feel you have to eat dairy products or meats as part of a balanced diet. Some people are allergic to various foods or cannot tolerate dairy. The important thing is to make sure you are meeting all of your nutritional needs. If you aren't eating red meat, get your iron from spinach or blackstrap molasses. If you aren't eating dairy, make sure to get enough calcium from broccoli or other sources.

Most experts recommend your fat intake be less than 20 to 30 percent of your total caloric intake.

If your goal is to lose weight, avoid refined sugars. As part of a balanced diet, try to eat no more than 36 grams of refined sugars every day and less than 2,300 mg. of sodium daily.

Abstain from alcohol or drink no more than one alcoholic drink per day for women, two per day for men.

A balanced diet should include carbohydrates, proteins, fat, minerals, salts, vitamins and fiber. If you hear a new diet fad, which tells you to cut out any of these important components of a balanced diet, run for the hills. If nothing else you will get your exercise for the day. Without exercise, the most balanced diet in the world can't help you lose weight.

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