Start with the Basics

• Diets that eliminate any food group are not healthy in the long run. Instead of giving up carbohydrates, fats or sugars, the key is to lower your consumption of items that provide little nutrition but have lots of calories. Examples are white carbs such as bread and rice, which should be replaced with fiber-rich alternatives such as whole-wheat bread and brown rice. Fats are necessary but can lead to high cholesterol and weight gain if consumed in excess. Instead, switch to vegetable fats, such as the ones in avocados, nuts and soybean oil. Plain sugars have no nutritional value and should be consumed in moderation, but you shouldn't completely eliminate them from your diet, as deprivation usually leads to excesses once you simply can't resist them anymore.
  To ensure a balanced diet, eat a mix of proteins and carbohydrates for your main meals and add at least a serving of vegetables to each. Fruits, nuts and low-fat dairy products can be used as snacks to add variety and provide a mix of nutrients. How many calories and servings you should eat depends on your weight, but as a general guideline, multiply your weight by 10 to obtain an approximate number of daily calories you need. This means that a 150-pound woman should eat an average of 1,500 calories a day.
  
  

Incorporate All Essential Nutrients

• A balanced diet contains all vitamins, minerals and nutrients needed to remain healthy. The USDA recommends eight basic steps to ensure a balanced diet. If you are missing or falling short on some of the steps, your first course of action is to fix that. They include increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables, eating more fish and less saturated fats (like those in red meat), reducing the amount of sugars and salt in the diet and drinking plenty of water.
  The final two tips are staying active and maintaining a healthy weight, as well as not skipping breakfast, which affects blood sugar, causing it to peak and crash and leading to cravings and overeating later on. If your diet is not balanced or if you believe you are missing some nutrients, consider taking a multivitamin to supplement your eating regimen.