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Nutrition

Healthy eating habits

Nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Crash diets, fasting and the latest food fads may offer some short term results, but they’re rarely sustainable over the long term. A better approach is to develop healthy eating habits that you can sustain for a lifetime.

Kilojoules (or calories) are just part of the picture

Counting kilojoules (or calories) alone is not the best approach for healthy eating.

Tracking your intake of kilojoules can be useful for managing body weight, but it’s not just the amount of kilojoules that you have each day that matters, but also what you eat.

Incidentally, kilojoules and calories are simply units of energy. They’re used to measure how much energy people will get from consuming food or drink. In Australia, the measurement that we use is kilojoules, rather than calories; however, you’ll sometimes see the terms used interchangeably.

Need to convert one to the other? We have calculators that you can use to convert calories to kilojoules or kilojoules to calories.

Our Daily Energy Calculator can also help you determine how much energy (kilojoules or calories) you need from your diet to maintain or lose weight.

Focus on whole foods

Focus the majority of your diet on eating whole foods (unprocessed, unrefined foods), such as fruit, vegetables and legumes. Aim to eat as little processed foods as possible in your diet.

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating provides a great overview. Whole foods, such as fruit, vegetables, legumes and wholegrains clearly represent the majority of the foods displayed in the guide. You can still enjoy other food and drinks, such as cheese and a glass of wine, but all good things in moderation!

Australian Guide to Healthy Eating - eatforhealth.gov.au

Consider what you eat and the size of your portions

If you’re seeking to reduce your intake of kilojoules, an easy change that you can make is to simply serve your meals on a smaller plate or in a smaller bowl. Assuming you don’t go back for seconds, it can help to limit how much food you serve yourself. Over time, you’ll get used to eating smaller portions.

It’s important to note that the key factor is not just the total volume of food being consumed, but rather the types and proportions of foods being eaten. For example, in a healthy diet, whole foods can be eaten in larger volumes than highly processed takeaway meals.

Slow down!

Numerous studies have shown that eating more slowly gives your body time to feel full, so you’re less likely to eat more than you need. So slow down and appreciate each meal!

Drinks can be a trap

Fruit juice, soft drinks and alcohol can contain a very high number of kilojoules. As liquid isn’t as filling as food, it’s all too easy to consume a very large number of kilojoules from drinks without even realising. So think carefully about your beverage choices and volume.

Water is always a guilt-free option – it has zero kilojoules!

Food is fuel

Food provides the body with the energy it needs for movement. If you have a very active lifestyle, then your body will require more fuel. Conversely, if you have a very inactive lifestyle, then your body will require much less fuel.

Consider your activity levels and adjust your diet accordingly.

You don’t have to give up snacking!

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of eating unhealthy snacks, like chocolates or potato chips. The afternoon hits and a chocolate bar offers a tempting energy boost!

You don’t have to cut out snacks completely; the trick is to substitute unhealthy snacks for healthy ones, such as fruit and nuts. A handful of berries and some nuts will give you an energy boost without the guilt. Bananas are another great option, they’re nature’s pre-packaged snack food!

Beware of packaged snacks that convey a healthy image, such as muesli bars, as these can be very high in kilojoules (in some cases more than an average chocolate bar).

Need some help? Take control with a scientifically backed, sustainable diet

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet is scientifically formulated by Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO.

The plan has a focus on higher protein, low GI eating. The diet can help you achieve sustainable weight loss and good gut health.

As extra motivation, they even offer a refund of up to $199 (the full membership fee) if you adhere to the 12 Week Program! Some conditions apply, see the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet website for details.

CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet banner
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