Calories matter for weight-and some foods make it easier for us to keep our calories in check.

Healthy eating is a key to good health as well as maintaining a healthy weight. It’s not only what
and how much we eat but also, it seems, how we eat that’s important.

What to Eat

Choose minimally processed, whole foods:

 Whole grains (whole wheat, steel cut oats, brown rice, quinoa)
 Vegetables (a colorful variety-not potatoes)
 Whole fruits (not fruit juices)
 Nuts, seeds, beans, and other healthful sources of protein (fish and poultry)
 Plant oils (olive and other vegetable oils)

Drink water or other beverages that are naturally calorie-free.

Limit these foods and drinks:

 Sugar-sweetened beverages (soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks)

 Fruit juice (no more than a small amount per day)
 Refined grains(white bread, white rice, white pasta) and sweets
 Potatoes (baked or fried)
 Red meat (beef, pork, lamb) and processed meats (salami, ham, bacon, sausage)
 Other highly processed foods, such as fast food

A good example of an overall healthy diet is the Harvard School of Public Health’s Healthy Eating
Pyramid and Healthy Eating Plate. The Nutrition Source, a companion website to The Obesity
Prevention Source, also offers a quick guide to choosing healthy drinks, as well as recipes and quick
tips for eating right.

Eat breakfast. While it seems like skipping a meal is an easy way to cut calories, skipping breakfast
usually backfires when hunger comes raging back mid-day, often leading to overeating.

Choose small portions and eat slowly. Slowing down at meals and choosing smaller portions can
help avoid overeating by giving the brain time to tell the stomach when it’s had enough food.

Eat at home. Fast food, restaurant meals, and other foods prepared away from home tend to have
larger portions and be less nutritious than the foods we cook for ourselves.

For good health: 2.5 hours a week of moderate activity (brisk walking, slow bike riding) or 1.25
hours a week of vigorous activity (running, fast bike riding).

For weight control: 1 hour a day of moderate to vigorous activity. This activity can be pieced
together from short bursts of 10 minutes or more.

Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Just as there's no one meal plan that works for everyone, there's no obesity diet plan that's
guaranteed to work wonders. However, in its annual ranking of diet plans, named the
Mediterranean Diet as the top overall diet thanks to its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, olive oil
and fish, among other healthy meal components.

A sample meal plan that consists of:

Breakfast: Seven-grain hot cereal with Greek yogurt, goat cheese and fig preserves

Lunch: Grilled chicken pitas with sesame drizzle

Dinner: Seared salmon salad with beets and blackberries

Snacks: Beet chips, rosemary roasted almonds, vegetables with pesto yogurt dip

If those ideas don't appeal to you, there are plenty of additional weight loss-focused meal plans
you can pick from to choose an effective obesity-busting diet. For example; Breakfast: Yogurt berry
bowl made from Greek yogurt, sliced strawberries, chopped walnuts and chia seeds

Morning snack: Sprouted-grain toast with cottage cheese and mango salsa

Lunch: Salmon hand rolls, brown rice and edamame

Afternoon snack: Banana dipped in flaxseed

Dinner: Turkey taco lettuce wraps

If you'd like to focus on consuming more satiating protein, Eating Well magazine offers a high-
protein meal plan that includes:

Breakfast: Broccoli and Parmesan cheese omelet

Morning snack: Plum

Lunch: Butternut squash soup with avocado and chickpeas

Afternoon snack: Kiwi

Dinner: Citrus-poached salmon with asparagus and brown rice

Low-Fat, Low-Sodium Meal Plan

If you're concerned about the effects fat and salt may be having on your heart, the Mayo
Clinic suggests several dishes as part of a sample meal plan:

 Breakfast: Cooked oatmeal with walnuts, banana, skim milk

 Lunch: Low-fat plain yogurt with flaxseed, peach halves, Melba toast crackers,
raw broccoli and cauliflower, low-fat cream cheese, sparkling water
 Dinner: Salmon, green beans with almonds, salad greens with low-fat salad
dressing and sunflower seeds, skim milk and an orange
 Snacks: Skim milk, animal crackers

Reducing the amount of calories in your diet will help you lose weight, but maintaining a healthy
weight requires physical activity to burn energy.

As well as helping you maintain a healthy weight, physical activity also has wider health benefits. For
example, it can help prevent and manage more than 20 conditions, such as reducing the risk of type
2 diabetes by 40%.

The Chief Medical Officers recommend that adults should do a minimum of 150 minutes moderate-
intensity activity a week – for example, 5 sessions of 30-minute exercise a week. Something is better
than nothing, and doing just 10 minutes of exercise at a time is beneficial.

Moderate-intensity activity is any activity that increases your heart and breathing rate, such as:

 brisk walking
 cycling
 recreational swimming
 dancing

Alternatively, you could do 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week, or a combination of

moderate and vigorous activity.

During vigorous activity, breathing is very hard, your heart beats rapidly and you may be unable to
hold a conversation. Examples include:

 running
 most competitive sports
 circuit training

You should also do strength exercises and balance training 2 days a week. This could be in the form
of a gym workout, carrying shopping bags, or doing an activity such as tai chi. It's also critical that
you break up sitting (sedentary) time by getting up and moving around.
Effects of Obesity
A person is identified obese when the Body Mass Index(BMI) is 25 or greater. BMI is
body mass index, an index commonly used for classification of obesity. BMI is a person's
weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2). The excessive
body fat increases the risk of serious health problems. Some of the problems that
obesity is often linked to are:
1. Cardiovascular disorders
2. Diabetes
3. Hypertension
4. Chronic back pain
5. Osteoarthritis
6. Depression (due to ridicule, social bias, rejection, and humiliation)

The simple obesity diet chart can be modified further too, as per availability of
ingredients.
 Morning - Breakfasts make for one of the most crucial times to get the
metabolism racing. According to Dr. Simran, a pudina chatni sandwich made with
whole wheat bread could be a perfect start to the morning. A bowl of fresh cut
fruits along with it is also not a bad idea.
 Afternoon -Lunch time could comprise of simple roti, a bowl of vegetable and
dal. Dal is filled with protein. Protein is essential for weight loss and muscle
repair. Since protein takes time to digest, it keeps you satiated for long and
thereby preventing you to binge on fattening foods.
 Evening - In evenings, you can have your antioxidant boost with a cup of tea. You
can also team them with fibre-rich whole wheat biscuits. Make sure you stay
away from the sugary cookies.
 Dinner - For dinner, you can have chapatis, vegetables and swap the dal with
vegetable salad.
All these steps are just a way ahead to a healthier path. A healthy diet must be
complemented with adequate exercise and workout. Constant monitoring of weight,
family support, and amicable environment also play their own part.