Eating well and feeling good

Eating well and staying active helps us to stay fit and healthy. Along with giving us the vitamins, minerals and energy for everyday life, food can also taste good and be enjoyable. You may want to check out the factsheet on Benefits of activity and exercise for more information about being active.

Eating well to feel good

Body weight is influenced by height, muscle mass, bone structure and body fat and so judging your body image by how much you weigh may be unsafe. Instead it may be better to focus on eating well and being active. The national dietary guidelines suggest eating well means eating more breads, cereals, fruit and vegetables and less of the high fat and sugary foods.

Eating a balanced diet and being active will usually put you in your healthy weight range. You can work out your healthy weight range by caluclating your Body Mass Index or BMI. If you are finding it hard to eat well and be active it may be a good idea to talk to your local doctor or a nutritionist. These people should be able to help you develop a plan. Eating well may mean making changes to eating habits and lifestyle. This may take time as habits are often things we have been doing for ages without thinking about doing them. Some suggestions which may help you make changes include:

Make small changes - Not doing everything at once may make it easier to stick with the changes. You may want to start by swapping a chocolate for a piece of fruit.

Take an interest in what you eat - Being part of planning what you eat and helping to cook may help you make changes. Having a say in what you eat allows you to have an idea of what is in your food and to eat well. It may also be fun and allow you to experiment with different foods.

Eat low fat foods - Foods that are high in fat have more energy and increase the likelihood of you gaining weight. Low fat foods have the vitamins and nutrients you need, but without the fat. If you are cooking you may also want to substitute certain ingredients read more