Healthy eating is not the same thing as dieting. People on a diet are forever counting calories or carbohydrates or fat or something else. They need a set of scales and a calculator to eat dinner. Healthy eating is making healthy choices in the food you are going to consume.

Deciding what food is healthy is a little tricky sometimes. People commonly make broad sweeping statements about what to eat and these are often based on misconceptions. This is understandable considering the conflicting reports released almost daily about health and nutrition. It is better to decide what works for you and stick to that as your basic diet.

The bulk of the scientific evidence concerning a healthy diet seems to say people should eat well-balanced meals and use some moderation in their choices. That means eating lots of vegetables and fruits while also including some complete proteins like relatively lean cuts of meat. It is okay to have a little fat in the diet and it is acceptable to eat some red meat from time to time. For a beverage, water is always okay and having a little wine helps digestion. The important thing to keep in mind is moderation and do not confuse diet advice for people to lose weight as advice for someone to maintain a healthy weight.

Things to Watch Out For When Trying to Eat a Healthy Diet

1. Eating something because it is convenient and you are hungry. This is one way people derail their healthy diet. Unprepared, tired, and maybe feeling a little lazy is when resistance to fast food is at its weakest. Avoid processed foods by not eating things from a can or box and not eating at any restaurant where you don’t have to leave your car.

2. Ruining what would be a healthy meal by piling on salt and butter or other condiments. A good way to improve the taste of otherwise bland vegetables is by combining them with other vegetables and adding something spicy into the mix.

3. Don’t buy any food that claims it is low-fat or low-carb or low anything. These are just another form of processed food.

4. Don’t ruin a whole day of healthy eating by drinking a soda. The normal ones are full of sugar and the diet ones are full of chemicals. It is best to avoid these altogether.