What does maintaining a balanced diet truly mean? Surely, you’d have heard about the phrase “Balanced diet” in quite many topics especially relating to health and wellness. But what does it really mean and how can you achieve it? Here is a short but concise outline of what it is.

The body needs a certain amount of nutrients every day in order to properly function. To get those nutrients, you’d need to get a certain amount of calories from different types of food. This is what a balanced diet should be.

Calories are stored energy from the food we take. They are needed by the body in order to do its many functions like walking, breathing, thinking, etc. It is said that, on average, daily calorie intake should be at 2000. However, every person has different dietary needs so factors like age, sex, and a person’s daily physical activity should be considered when trying to determine the daily calorie intake needed. For instance, the male tends to need more calories than female.

Or, people who do workouts need more calories than those who don’t. For clearer guidelines on how many calories you should be taking daily, you may want to look into trusted sources’ recommendations.

Also, when talking about calories, you should note that there is food that only provides what is called “empty calories’ as opposed to that food that can really provide you with essential nutrients. For a balanced diet, you should be getting your daily required calories from sources such as fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, and legumes.

Avoid food sources that would only give you empty calories like processed meats, sodas and energy drinks, chips and fries, cakes and cookies, and the like. Maintaining a balanced diet would mean limiting your intake of empty calories and more on food rich in nutrients. In this way, you’d ensure that your body stays healthy and fit.