One of the most important aspects of improving an individual’s fitness and health is their diet. An individual’s diet will be whether or not their goals will be achieved, that is if they are aiming to lose weight, gain weight, gain muscle or gaining muscle mass and losing fat mass.
What is a balanced diet?
The first step for any persons fitness journey is to start with attaining a balanced diet. This can be done by following the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommendations for their age, sex and activity levels.
These recommendations indicate the amount of serves from the 5 food groups that individuals should be consuming. The 5 food groups are Grain (cereal) foods, Vegetables and legumes/beans, Fruit, Dairy and Lean Meats. Examples of the 5 food groups and what they consist of can be found below:
By ensuring that you are eating foods from each of the 5 food groups and the recommended serving intake of each group a well balanced diet will be achieved. By reaching this level of food intake, all the necessary nutrients (both macronutrients and micronutrients) will be ingested for a healthy lifestyle.
What are some other factors to a healthy diet?
To further strengthen your diet, an emphasis on 3 major meals during the day (that being Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) along with 2-3 snacks spread along the day should provide any individual with the energy and nutrients they require. Along with a spread of water intake throughout the entire day to ensure proper hydration.
To find out more information on the Australian Dietary Guidelines you can visit their website for more information and resources.