A balanced diet
Everyday we make choices about the foods and drinks we eat. Choosing a variety of foods and drinks in the right amounts is the key to balanced healthy eating.
When it comes to health, it’s about using common sense and taking a balanced approach. This means enjoying a variety of foods, eating appropriate portion sizes, moving more and sitting less.
A moderate amount of sugar (60g per day) in a healthy and balanced diet with regular exercise, offers many benefits including added energy, taste appeal, satiety which helps to keep hunger at bay and enhancement of the enjoyment of other foods which we need to increase in our diets.
Sugar can actually help you consume more of the nutritious but often bland foods we should be eating e.g. low fat milk and yoghurt, porridge or oatmeal and other whole grain breads and cereals and fruits. Sugar can improve the palatability of these foods and in turn, this can increase the likelihood of these foods being consumed.
Top tips for eating well
1. Eat regularly
It’s essential for weight control and especially weight loss, to recognise and act on the feedback your body gives you about when and how much you need to eat. However it’s also important to aim for a regular eating pattern of meals, or meals and mid meals.
2. Don't skip breakfast
Breakfast skippers are more likely to be tempted by unplanned discretionary choices during the morning and large serves at the next meal or snack. Just think of how yummy those large baked muffins look at morning tea if you’ve missed breakfast
3. Eat with other people, not the TV
We also know that people who eat with others and eat at the dining table, are more likely to eat regularly and eat well than those who eat alone or in front of the TV. Meals with others tend to include more foods from the five food groups. For example, people often report that they can’t be bothered cooking vegetables just for themselves.
4. Plan your meals
Having a plan for the week will help make preparing food at home much more convenient and you won't be as tempted by takeaway and fast food options.