A little change in your food choice can go a long way. Here are simple ways you can practice every day to make sure you reduce unhealthy caloric consumption.

1. Cut the junk.
2. Base your diet on fruit and vegetables.
3. Eat high fiber, low GI grains like oats, rye, barley and quinoa.
4. Eat lean protein.
5. Choose low fat dairy sources.
6. Watch your portion sizes.
7. Have a little of what you fancy, mini desserts included!
8. Read the label. Low fat does not always mean low calorie.
9. Know your calories - even healthy foods can be high in calories
10. Don’t add fat to food.
11. Don’t add sugar to food.
12. Salads are healthy but watch the extras.
13. Choose cooking method wisely - boil, steam, grill, oven bake etc.
14. Swap fried chips for oven-baked.
15. Choose your snacks wisely e.g. nuts
16. Skip the added extras e.g. cream in coffee
17. Avoid buffets.

BONUS

Tips on how many servings of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to be included in your meals on a daily basis.

• Choose any 6 servings of carbohydrates (bread, cereals and potatoes)
• Any 5 servings of fruits and vegetables
• Any 3 servings of milk and dairy products
• Any 2 servings of meat, fish, eggs and alternatives (proteins)
• Any 2 servings of fats and oils (only small amounts)
• Any one serving of foods high in sugar, fats. Limit pastries once a week.

Carbohydrates

• While choosing carbs, you can have any food made from wheat, brown rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, buckwheat and quinoa.
• Choose wholegrain where possible at least 50% of the time e.g. brown bread, wholegrain cereals
• Limit or avoid refined carbs like cornflakes, muesli and any of these flavored breakfast cereals have high sugar content.
• One serving size with respect to type of carbs is measured as below. Add these in your meals as they are high in fiber.

  *1 serving = 1 medium sized bowl of cereal
  *1 serving = 1slice of bread
  *1 serving = 3 dessert spoon of cooked pasta or rice
  *1 serving = 1 medium-sized potato

Fruits and vegetables

• Choose green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits frequently.
• Fruit juice only counts for one serving each day.
• One serving size of fruits and vegetables are measured as below:

*1 serving = 1 small glass of fruit juice
*1 serving = 1 medium sized apple, banana or any fruit of your choice
*1 serving = 2 small sized fresh fruit like plums or kiwis
*1 serving = 3-5 dessert spoon of cooked vegetables like peas and beans

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