what makes a great diet?

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Being on a diet doesn't mean you have to cut your calorie intake or stop eating carbs, the right portion sizes and foods will make a great diet. Some people have no idea how much of each food group should be consumed everyday so I will give a quick explanation to help people out. This pie chart is a neat way to show people how to divide up their food intake. It is said that 45-65% of your dietary intake should be carbohydrates, 10-35% should be protein and 20-35% should be fat, but no more than 10% should be saturated fat.

Complex carbohydrates should be the principal source of calories in your diet, it is a great source of energy. An example of complex carbs are bread, pasta and rice. The bad carbs that promote fat deposition are simple carbs, that are found in candy and soda.

Fruit and vegetables are essential for good health. They are a valuable source of dietary fiber and ,are packed with vitamins and minerals. Eating at least five fruits and vegetables a day is recommended but for optimal health make it nine.

Protein is the basic building block for the body and is formed from 20 different amino acids. ( building blocks that make up protein) Certain foods, called complete proteins, contain all of the essential amino acids, along with most of the others. Examples of complete proteins are meat, dairy products, and fish. Incomplete proteins are beans, nuts and rice, which contains some but not all 9 essential amino acids.

Fat is an essential nutrient and is an important energy source. Humans need fat in their diet because fats are carriers of vitamins A,D,E, and K. Fats have twice the calories per gram as carbohydrates. Saturated fats (unhealthy fat) usually come from animal sources and unsaturated fats (healthy fat) come primarily from vegetable sources.


-Concepts of Physical Fitness, fourteenth edition, Chapter 14.