Diet plan for health and fitness

The key to a healthy diet can be summed up in three words, balance moderation and variation. It is important to consume a range of nutrients in the correct proportions to ensure a healthy balance is maintained. The proportions, essential nutrient and energy requirements will generally be similar for all individuals (some changes during stages of the life cycle). Level of energy expenditure will have implications for proportions in some groups of people, for instance, an endurance runner training for a marathon will need to consume more energy providing nutrients than a sedentary colleague.

Meal Planning (CHO)

It is fairly simple to plan a healthy and nutritious dietary intake. It takes some forward thinking and application of basic food group knowledge. Please refer back to Basic Nutrition Education for information on types of foods in each food group. This proportionality idea does not need to be followed exactly, it is a guide. • Proportionally the weekly shop can be split into nutrient categories: 1/ Carbohydrates: bread, cereal, rice and pasta = 55-60% 2/ Protein- diary, meat, fish, eggs and beans = 10-15% 3/ Lipid and Sweets- oils, butter, cream, chocolate = 25-30% 4/ Vegetables and Fruit = always to be added to categories 1, 2 and 3

. Here are some examples of these food group proportions applied to preparing individual meals and viewed on a plate or in a bowl: Breakfast 65% porridge oats (group 1) made with 15% semi-skimmed milk (group 2 & 3), 20% sultanas, chopped banana and apple, sprinkling of demerara sugar (group 3). Lunch 60% brown pasta with pesto sauce (groups 1 & 3), 10% mixed bean salad (group 2), 30% steamed/ lightly boiled broccoli (group 4). Dinner 55% lightly boiled potatoes tossed in butter and fresh mint (groups 1 & 3), 15% grilled turkey breast (group 2), 30% lightly boiled carrots and green beans (group 4).

Snacks

Between meals most of us become hungry and it is generally good practice to eat smaller main meals with snacks between them to aid digestion and produce a steadier absorption of nutrient throughout the day. It is not as important to proportion snacks exactly but it is important to snack from good sources within the food groups. Ideals for snacks can include: - Handful of dried fruit and nuts - Half a cheese or meat and salad sandwich - Small bowl of oat based cereal and skimmed milk - Piece of fruit - Natural yogurt with fruit - Oat cakes dipped in cottage cheese

Drinks

During the day it is important to maintain water balance through drinking enough fluids. As we mentioned previously 1.5- 2 litres of water taken throughout the day should be the goal. This intake can include drinks containing water such as fruit juice however tea and coffee should not be included as part of this quantity.