According to Dr. Walter Willet, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, older people are most likely to improve their eating habits, but nutrition is important for people of all ages.

Healthy eating is the first step to making sure that you are getting yourself more fit. There are a lot of great advantages to eating better and these include more energy, better concentration and less stomach and digestive problems.

Here are tips to move your eating habits in the right direction.

1. What are you eating now?

Write down what you eat for a few days to get a good picture of what you’re taking in. By looking at what you eat and how much you’re eating, you can figure out what adjustments you need to make.

2. Make small changes to lose weight

In the end, you want to achieve a long-term healthy lifestyle. Small changes over time are the most likely to stick. If you want to eat more vegetables, then try to add one more serving by sneaking it in. Add bits of broccoli to something you already eat like pizza or soup. If you need more whole grains, add barley, whole wheat pasta, or brown rice to your soup.

Also, look for healthier versions of what you like to eat.

3. Lose Weight with Fruits

The Dietary Guidelines recommend two cups of fruit per day at the 2,000-calorie reference diet.

Ways to incorporate fruit in your diet include adding it to your cereal, eating it as a snack with low-fat yogurt or a low-fat dip, or making a fruit smoothie for dessert by mixing low-fat milk with fresh or frozen fruit such as strawberries or peaches.

Eat a variety of fruits–whether fresh, frozen, canned, or dried–rather than fruit juice for most of your fruit choices.

4. Lose weight with whole grains

Whole grains are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The Dietary Guidelines recommend at least three ounces of whole grains per day.

In general, at least half the grains you consume should come from whole grains. For many, but not all, whole grain products, the words “whole” or “whole grain” will appear before the grain ingredient’s name. The whole grain must be the first ingredient listed in the ingredients list on the food package.

The following are some whole grains:

o whole wheat
o whole oats or oatmeal
o whole-grain corn
o popcorn
o wild rice
o brown rice
o buckwheat
o whole rye
o bulgur or cracked wheat
o whole-grain barley
o millet

5. Weight loss with Portion Sizes

Understanding the serving size on the Nutrition Facts label is important for controlling portions. If you put more food in front of you, you’ll eat it because it’s there. According to the ADA, an average serving size of meat looks like a deck of cards. An average serving size of pasta or rice is about the size of a tennis ball.

Here are some other ways to limit portions:

o Split a meal or dessert with a friend at a restaurant
o Get a doggie bag for half of your meal
o Get in the habit of having one helping
o Ask for salad dressing, butter, and sauces on the side so you can control how much you use.

6. Good fats to lose weight

Fat provides energy, and essential fatty acids for healthy skin, and helps the body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. But fat also has nine calories per gram, compared to four calories per gram in carbohydrates and protein.

Too much saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet increases the risk of unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, which may increase the risk of heart disease. Saturated fat is found mainly in foods from animals and major sources are cheese, beef, and milk. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance in foods from animal sources such as meat, poultry, egg yolks, milk, and milk products.

Most of your fats should come from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as those that occur in fish, nuts, soybean, corn, canola, olive, and other vegetable oils. This type of fat does not raise the risk of heart disease and may be beneficial when consumed in moderation.

7. Read nutrition labels – and lose more weight

To make smart food choices quickly and easily, compare the Nutrition Facts labels on products. Look at the percent Daily Value column. The general rule of thumb is that 5% or less of the Daily Value is considered low and 20 percent or more is high. Be sure to look at the serving size and the number of servings per package. The serving size affects calories, amounts of each nutrient, and the percentage of Daily Value.

8. Control Calories to lose more weight

You want to stay within your daily calorie needs, especially if you’re trying to lose weight, but you also want to get the most nutrients out of the calories, which mean picking nutritionally rich foods. Children and adults should pay particular attention to getting adequate calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and E.

9. Make Choices That Are Lean, Low-fat, or Fat-free

When buying meat, poultry, milk, or milk products, choose versions that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free. Choose lean meats like chicken without the skin and lean beef or pork with the fat trimmed off. If you frequently drink whole milk, switch to 1 percent milk or skim milk. Other tips to reduce saturated fat include cooking with non-stick sprays and using olive, safflower, or canola oils instead of lard or butter. Eat more fish, which is usually lower in saturated fat than meat. Bake, grill, and broil food instead of frying it because more fat is absorbed into the food when frying. You could also try more meatless entrees like veggie burgers and add flavor to food with low-fat beans instead of butter.

10. Eat Your Veggies

The Dietary Guidelines recommend two and one-half cups of vegetables per day if you eat 2,000 calories each day.

Get a variety of dark green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and greens; orange and deep yellow vegetables such as carrots, winter squash, and sweet potatoes; starchy vegetables like corn; legumes, such as dry beans, peas, chickpeas, pinto beans, kidney beans, and tofu; and other vegetables, such as tomatoes and onions.

11. Lower Sodium and Increase Potassium

The Dietary Guidelines recommend that people consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day (approximately one teaspoon of salt). Most of the sodium people eat comes from processed foods.

Prepare foods with little salt. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends giving flavor to food with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, and salt-free seasoning blends.

Also, increase potassium-rich foods such as sweet potatoes, orange juice, bananas, spinach, winter squash, cantaloupe, and tomato puree. Potassium counteracts some of sodium’s effect on blood pressure.

12. Sugar will help you lose weight

The Dietary Guidelines recommend choosing and preparing food and beverages with little added sugars.

Major sources of added sugars in the American diet include regular soft drinks, candy, cake, cookies, pies, and fruit drinks. Be sure to check the sugar in low-fat and fat-free products, which sometimes contain a lot of sugar.

Instead of drinking regular soda and sugary fruit drinks, try diet soda, low-fat or fat-free milk, water, flavored water, or 100 percent fruit juice. For snacks and desserts, try fruit.