Your Complete Guide to Eating a Balanced Diet

A balanced diet is a diet that fulfils all your nutritional needs and includes a variety of different foods from each food group.

Its main purpose is to fuel your body with the right amount of calories, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients it needs to function correctly.

The risk with anything extreme or drastic such as eating too much of just one food group is that you won’t be able to stick to it long term.

That’s why eating a varied and balanced diet is a vital part of maintaining your body’s ideal weight and good health in the long term – all while helping you feel your best.

In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about building a healthy and balanced diet.

However, you must remember that if you have any special dietary needs or medical conditions, you should ask your doctor or registered dietitian for advice.

The 5 Food Groups: What to Include in a Balanced Diet

Depending on your age, you might remember learning about the Healthy Eating Pyramid in school.

The Food Pyramid was first introduced in 1992 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In 2005, the Food Pyramid was replaced by MyPyramid, then updated to MyPlate in 2011.

The MyPlate model shows 5 food groups you must include in your diet to create a healthy eating routine.

These 5 food groups are also included in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating developed by Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Same for The Eatwell Guide published by Public Health England (PHE).

While almost every country has its own food guide, most carry the same main messages: eat a variety of foods and drink plenty of water.

And all of these food guides agree that eating more vegetables and whole grains is best while consuming saturated oils, processed fats and sugars is bad for your health.

Here, the 5 food groups that make up a balanced diet:

1. Vegetables and fruits

Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy.

They are also rich in fibre which can aid digestion and help you maintain gut health.

That’s why they should make up over a third of the food you eat daily.

Eating a diet that’s mostly based on fruits and vegetables is not as hard as it sounds.

Here are a few tips and tricks for eating more fruits and veggies:

Add chopped fruits to cereals or smoothies or consume them in the form of smoothies and juices
Snack on raw carrots or celery
Add chopped-up vegetables to your omelette, soup or stew
Have a fruit or vegetable salad with lunch or dinner
Carry fresh fruits or vegetables in your purse or pocket

Make sure you focus on whole fruits and vegetables such as fresh or frozen. If you buy juice, select 100% fruit or vegetable juice without added sugars.

2. Starchy carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy, so it is essential to include them in a healthy, balanced diet.

They contain fibre, iron, and B vitamins, and are extremely important for weight loss as they provide fuel for your muscles and brain.

Starchy carbohydrates include potatoes and grain products like bread and pasta. Make sure you choose whole grain foods such as whole oats, whole wheat, buckwheat, millet, spelt, etc.

Whole grains are those that still contain all three parts of the original grain seed, meaning they are high in nutrients and fibre.

That’s why when buying grain products, it’s best to look for the words “100% whole grain” on the label.

Phrases like “multigrain” mean that a product is made of several types of grains, but none of these may be whole grains.

Just like in the case of fruits and vegetables, starchy carbohydrates should make up over a third of the food you eat daily.

These tips can help you include more starchy carbohydrates in your diet:

Choose whole grain cereals for breakfast
Add brown rice or bulgur wheat to your salad
Replace chips with oven-baked potato wedges
Try a baked potato for lunch or dinner
Snack on whole grain crackers

3. Milk and dairy foods

Milk and dairy foods are great sources of protein. They also contain calcium which is important for bone health.

Ideally, you should eat two dairy products each day.

To ensure you make healthy choices, you should go for lower fat and lower sodium dairy products.

An important reason why you must carefully choose the dairy products you include in your diet is that many of them contain saturated fat which is not good for your health and weight loss efforts.

That’s why when doing your grocery shopping, you should look at the nutrition information on the label and check out the amount of sodium and fat in the products you buy.

As a general rule, you should have no more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day (assuming your diet is based on 1800-2000 calories per day).

Considering that a cup of whole milk contains 4.5 grams of saturated fat, it’s best to avoid eating a lot of full-fat dairy.

A good rule of thumb is to choose dairy foods that contain less than 17.5g of fat per 100g (these are considered low-fat products).

Also, make sure the dairy products you choose do not contain more than 1.5g of salt per 100g.

That being said, let’s see a few tips to help you add more low-fat and low-sodium dairy products to your diet:

Add milk to your smoothies or mix it into foods such as grits or oatmeal
Add cheese to your salad
Sprinkle a serving of hard cheese on your veggies
Start your day with a yoghurt breakfast bowl
Use milk to create a delicious, post-workout shake

4. Beans, fish, eggs, meat, and other proteins

Proteins are an essential building block of muscles, bones and cartilage.

Foods like meat, fish, eggs, beans and pulses are great sources of protein. Depending on your physical activity level, anywhere from 10% to 35% of your daily calories should come from protein.

Ideally, you should opt for seafood twice a week and choose lean meats that have less than 10 grams of total fat and no more than 4.5 grams of saturated fat per 100g.

Try to limit your red meat consumption to one serving per week.

You should also avoid as much as possible eating processed meats such as ham, sausages, bacon, jerky, salami, etc.

These meats have been preserved by smoking, salting, drying or adding synthetic nitrates and other chemical preservatives and are linked to poor health outcomes, including heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Not to mention that they have a high saturated fat content that won’t help your weight loss efforts.

Outside of fish and lean meat, eggs, pulses, and beans are also great sources of protein, and contain many vitamins and minerals.

Here are some easy ways to increase your protein intake which is extremely important especially if you’re looking to burn fat and build muscle:

Have an omelette or protein shake for breakfast
Use Greek yoghurt to create healthy, filling snacks
Eat more quinoa (quinoa is considered a complete protein because it contains all the amino acids your body needs)
Munch on edamame for a low-calorie, protein-rich snack
Consider taking whey protein powder (I recommend you talk to your doctor before using protein powder to supplement your protein intake)

5. Oils, spreads, nuts and seeds

Including some fat in your diet is essential – as long as you choose healthy, unsaturated fats.

Unsaturated fats are those found in plant-based foods, such as vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.

If you want to reduce your risk of heart disease and supercharge your weight loss, you should swap saturated fats found in animal-based foods like beef, pork, poultry, and full-fat dairy products for unsaturated fats.

Unsaturated fats are an important source of fatty acids and help your body better absorb vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E.

While many people believe that fat must be eliminated from their diet in order to lose weight, the exact opposite is true.

This is because healthy fats coming from plant-based foods can control your appetite, prevent overeating, and fire up your fat-burning rate.

That’s why your total daily fat intake should make up 20-35% of your total calorie intake. As long as you opt for healthy fats, that won’t affect your weight loss efforts.

Here are a few tips to help you include more plant-based fats in your diet:

Add some flaxseeds or pumpkin seeds to your breakfast cereals or shakes
Crush up nuts and sprinkle them over a piece of salmon before cooking
Add peanut butter to your smoothies or shakes
Top any dish with healthy, cold-pressed oils (e.g., olive oil, flaxseed oil, etc.)
Snack with nuts (almonds, brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, etc.)

The Bottom Line

Eating a healthy, balanced diet means eating a wide array of foods from these five groups.

In addition, you must remember to drink plenty of water (at least 6 to 8 glasses a day).

Not only does a balanced diet help you increase energy and prevent certain diseases, but it can also help you take a healthy approach to weight loss and supercharge your fitness journey.

If you try to lose weight on a fad diet that deprives your body of essential nutrients from these five food groups, you will eventually regain it and return to your pre-loss weight or heavier.

But with a balanced diet, you are able to lose weight and keep it off permanently.

A balanced diet will change your life. You don’t have to give up the foods you love, you just need to know how to fuel your body with the right nutrients to burn fat and stay healthy. This is the exact method we use here at Bring on Life to help women just like you start off towards healthy living and lose weight naturally. For more information, check out our one-on-one coaching program.

Sources:

National Health Service (NHS) – Eating a balanced diet

National Health Service (NHS) – Eat well

Medical News Today – A guide to eating a balanced diet

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Back to Basics: All About MyPlate Food Groups