Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight

            Most fruits and vegetables are low in fat and calories making them ideal for use in weight loss diets. Dietitian, Juliette Kellow show you how to make the best of fruit and veg as part of a healthy, balanced diet to lose weight, and dispels some of the diet myths about specific fruit and vegetable types like carrots, apples, avocado, grapefruit, bananas and juice. Many slimmers know that fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet and can help to fill us up when we're trying to lose weight. But nevertheless, some popular choices from the fruit and veg aisle in the supermarket still leave us feeling confused. For example, many of us choose to avoid bananas, avocados, sweetcorn, carrots and peas because we think they are fattening. Some of us think  that eating celery or grapefruit will actually help weight loss.
           Eating more fruit and veg is essential both for good health and to help us lose weight. Most fruits and vegetables are low in calories and fat, and high in fibre , three essential ingredients for successful weight loss. Most also contain plenty of Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, all of which are important for helping us to look and fell our best and to protect us from disease. Research also shows we tend to eat the same volume or weight of food every day, regardless of its calorie foods to make up this volume. And that's where fruit and vegetables play an important part in a weight loss diet.  Many fruits and vegetables actually weigh a lot, adding bulk to our diet, but they don't provide that many calories. For example, a meal consisting of a 150g grilled chicken breast, a 300g jacket potato, 20g of butter and 30g low fat cheese provides a total weight of 500g and provides 790 calories. Swap that meal for a 130g chicken breast, a 200g potato, 5g of butter, 80g broccoli, 45g carrots, and 40g green salad, and you still have an overall weight of 500g, but for just 48 calories. Enjoy a wide variety of fruit and vegetable types every day. Aim for five servings daily and choose a mixture of colours to ensure a good mix of nutrients. All fruit and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned, dried and pure juices, count toward the five daily servings.