HEALTHY EATING

Nutrition, as well as physical activity affects general health.  Diet and exercise go hand in hand and both have major contributions to play in disease prevention. A healthy, balanced diet is one which provides the correct amount of nutrients without excess or deficiency. No special foods, drinks or diets are needed to give your body all the goodness it needs to function properly and maintain a healthy weight. All that is needed is for you to eat sensibly - choose from 5 food groups, and watch the portion sizes!  

The eatwell plate below is a pictorial food guide showing the proportion and types of foods that are needed to make up a healthy balanced diet. The eatwell plate has been produced by the Food Standards Agency as a guide that aims to help people to understand and enjoy healthy eating. Some people think they cannot eat healthily because they would not like a food, while others classify foods as good or bad. The guide shows that people do not have to give up the foods they enjoy and that all foods can be part of a healthy diet. It is achieving the right balance and variety of foods that is important for health.

The guide is divided into five food groups: Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods; fruit and vegetables; milk and dairy foods; meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein; foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar. Foods from the largest groups should be eaten most often and foods from the smallest group should be eaten least often. The guide is shaped like a dinner plate which has been designed to make healthy eating simpler to understand and interpret.

                          Eat MORE from the BIGGER sections and LESS from the SMALLER sections

People often ask what a healthy diet is. The eatwell plate aims to give people a practical message about how to eat healthily. It is hoped that this will reduce the confusion about what healthy eating really means.

Fitness Factor dietary advice is based on The Balance of Good Health Guidelines and will not include any fad or fashionable diet. The returned food diary is carefully analysed to assess the amount of food eaten, the types of food consumed and the nutrient content. Recommendations are given as to portion sizes, the balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, the quantity of fruit and vegetables eaten daily and the amount of fluid drunk. Cooking methods and family situations are taken into account. The goals set for weight loss are realistic and attainable and cover targets for short periods of time.  We only advocate the loss of excess body fat with the resulting fluid deficit alongside, NOT loss of muscle mass as this has the effect of slowing down the metabolism. This is the reason why exercise is recommended as part of any weight reduction programme. The programmes for those people with a BMI in excess of 30 will recommend that only 10% of base weight is lost in the first 6 months and then maintained for a another 6 months before further loss is attempted. Research has shown that this goal is realistic, achievable and has recognised health benefits.      If you have any concerns or issues about your eating habits please contact a local health professional or your GP

Why is balance important? No single food contains all the essential nutrients the body needs to be healthy and function efficiently. The nutritional value of a person's diet depends on the overall mixture, or balance, of foods that is eaten over a period of time, as well as on the needs of the individual. That is why a balanced diet is one that is likely to include a large number or variety of foods, so adequate intakes of all the nutrients are achieved. We need energy to live, but the balance between carbohydrate, fat and protein must be   right for us to remain healthy. Too little protein can interfere with growth and other body functions, too much fat can lead to obesity and heart disease. Adequate intakes of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre are important for health, and there is growing evidence that a number of bioactive plant substances (also termed phytochemicals) found in fruit and vegetables are also important in promoting good health.