What you eat and '); document.writeln(' what you don\'t eat will have a large effect on how quickly you take off pounds, '); document.writeln(' and more importantly, how long you keep those pounds off. There are certain '); document.writeln(' foods you really should be eating on a regular basis for lots of good, healthy '); document.writeln(' reasons. They come from all food categories, but every one of them has one thing '); document.writeln(' in common: they pack a lot of nutritional punch when it comes to their calories. '); document.writeln(' Here\'s a list of five diet foods that will help you stay healthy and lose weight.
'); document.writeln('1. Whole grain '); document.writeln(' breads
'); document.writeln('If you\'ve been '); document.writeln(' paying attention, you know that bad carbs are the current diet buster. If you '); document.writeln(' just stay away from all carbs, some popular diets proclaim, you\'ll lose weight '); document.writeln(' no matter what else you eat. That\'s not only wrong, it\'s downright dangerous '); document.writeln(' for both your health, and your diet.
'); document.writeln('Instead of cutting '); document.writeln(' out carbs, you should be aiming to reduce them to a healthy portion of your '); document.writeln(' diet -- which most experts agree is about 50-60% of your caloric intake. That '); document.writeln(' means if you\'re on a 1500 calorie a day diet, you should be striving to get '); document.writeln(' about 900 calories a day from grains, fruits, and vegetables.
'); document.writeln('Whole grain breads '); document.writeln(' offer a lot of nutritional value. Replace your two slices of white toast with '); document.writeln(' 1/2 a cup of oatmeal or whole grain cereal, and for about the same number of '); document.writeln(' calories, you\'ll be getting three times the vitamins, amino acids, and roughage '); document.writeln(' that your body needs to function. You\'ll feel full far longer, too -- because '); document.writeln(' you\'ve given your body something to work on that will take a while to digest.
'); document.writeln('2. Fish
'); document.writeln('Fish is low in '); document.writeln(' fat, as high in protein as red meat, and provides something that most other '); document.writeln(' proteins don\'t -- omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 is one of the main building blocks '); document.writeln(' your cells need. If your body doesn\'t get enough Omega 3, it will try to construct '); document.writeln(' cells from other fatty acids. The problem lies in those cells not being as flexible, '); document.writeln(' and not quite the right shape.
'); document.writeln('By providing enough '); document.writeln(' Omega 3 for your body to utilize, you\'ll be healing the damage done through '); document.writeln(' years of a poor diet. And since fish, as a general rule, have fewer calories '); document.writeln(' than most meats, you\'ll be saving calories, too. Just remember that you\'re REPLACING '); document.writeln(' portions of meat with fish, not adding them to what you already eat.
'); document.writeln('3. Spinach
'); document.writeln('At 13 calories '); document.writeln(' and 2 grams of carbohydrate in 2 cups of chopped raw spinach, this is one of '); document.writeln(' the lowest cost sources of nutrition you can offer your body. Every serving '); document.writeln(' gives you folic acid, manganese, beta-carotene, protein, lutein (a potent anti-oxidant), '); document.writeln(' magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin K. You can eat it raw in salads, steamed as '); document.writeln(' a side dish, or sautéed in a tiny bit of oil for a different taste, and '); document.writeln(' you still reap all the nutritional benefits.
'); document.writeln('4. Pink Grapefruit
'); document.writeln('With only 40 calories '); document.writeln(' in half of a grapefruit, you\'re getting 45 mg of vitamin C, lycopene, pectin, '); document.writeln(' beta-carotene, and potassium. Grapefruit is versatile and tasty. Eat it for '); document.writeln(' breakfast, or toss it into a salad with spinach for an extra punch to enhance '); document.writeln(' the nutritional quality of your diet.
'); document.writeln('5. Olive Oil
'); document.writeln('Your body does '); document.writeln(' need some fat to process vitamins and use them properly. Olive oil is a mono-unsaturated '); document.writeln(' fat that is the primary source of fat in the popular Mediterranean diet. It '); document.writeln(' contains antioxidants, flavonoids, beta-carotene, and vitamin E, among others. '); document.writeln(' One tablespoon has a whopping 125 calories, but drizzled on a 13 calorie spinach '); document.writeln(' salad with a touch of lemon juice and some garlic, you still have a meal with '); document.writeln(' less than 150 calories -- and a whole lot of healthy fuel for your body.
'); document.writeln('Most importantly, '); document.writeln(' don\'t base your diet around any single ONE food item or ingredient. The best '); document.writeln(' way to lose weight is to eat a healthy variety of foods to make sure you get '); document.writeln(' all the essential nutrients that your body needs daily.
'); document.writeln(''); document.writeln('