When it comes to eating healthy it is not as simple as changing your diet. Coming up with a variety of foods and eating them in moderation is important as well. Here are 9 tips to help you be healthier with what you eat.

1. You need to set a goal of a healthy weight for yourself. If you are too heavy you increase your chance of having high blood pressure and a heart attack as well as a stroke, diabetes, cancer and many other illnesses. Being too thin can also create health problems, your ideal weight will depend on your age, sex, height, and family history.

2. Eat in moderation. Most of us do not eat often enough and when we do the portions tend to be too large. You are better off eating smaller portions and a more balanced meal than you are to eat a large steak and no fruit.

3. Eat more often. You do not want to skip a meal to help yourself eat less. If you skip a meal you will be hungrier when you do eat which in turn will cause you to overeat. Having healthy snacks between meals is o.k. as long as you do not eat so much you are not hungry for your main meal.

4. Eat foods rich in nutrients. This would include whole grain products such as bread, fruit, vegetables, meat, chicken and fish and don’t forget your milk or other dairy products as well.

5. We mentioned fruits and vegetables. You need to eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables most days. Most of us do not do that. Eating healthy must include these important foods.

6. Be realistic in what you eat. If you are getting to much fat in your foods reduce it, but eliminating something you really love to eat is not going to work, so really the key is to simply cut back on it.

7. If you miss out on something, don’t worry and make up for it the next day. No one is perfect.

8. Keep a log of what you eat. Do this for 3 or 4 days. When you eat write it down, this will help you notice a pattern of what you are doing right and doing wrong so you can make adjustments.

9. If you have a candy bar now and again, so what. If you eat out too often, just cut it down. If you are making progress in eating healthy pat yourself on the back and keep working at it.

There probably has been more written on the subject of how to eat healthy foods than almost any health subject. Hopefully these 9 tips will summarize some of this and get you on your way to better health.