Six Easy Ways to Eat Healthy and Avoid Weight Gain

You see it everyday as you drive into work: coffee shops, fast food restaurants, convenient stores. All kinds of places to buy food, yet when you go inside there is scarcely a healthy meal to be found. Without a doubt, trying to eat healthy while maintaining a busy a schedule is one of the most challenging aspects of keeping a nutritious diet.

The first step in choosing a healthy meal is being able to distinguish between real food and a concoction of artificial ingredients that would never exist in nature. Real food rarely comes in a box, bag or can so beware of these items when you’re shopping for groceries.

Here are Six Ways to Eat Healthy and Avoid Weight Gain

1.	Pass on the Potato and Pasta Sides- Most restaurants serve the main dish along with a potato, pasta or other starch, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it. Ask them to substitute vegetables instead, and you’ll be doing your health and weight a big favor. Most restaurants are happy to make the substitution.
2.	Say No to the Sauce- Most sauces contain added fattening and unhealthy sugars that you don’t need. This includes ketchup (sorry), barbecue sauce, sandwich spreads, fast food sauces, glazes and other condiments.
3.	Lose the Bread-No matter what the meal, you’re better off without the bread. "Sandwiches" can be made from lean meats, chicken, cheese and vegetables and wrapped in a lettuce leaf or served in a bowl with a knife and fork. And watch out for "hidden" bread in breading, toppings, stuffing even soups and salads (think crackers and croutons).
4.	Choose the Least Offensive Cooking Method-When you look at a menu, you can automatically eliminate choices that contain the words "fried" and” crispy." These words mean that the food will cooked in unhealthy fats. Look for steamed, poached, slow-cooked or other light cooking methods. You will also want to strive to consume at least one-third of your food raw, as this is the form that will give you the maximum amount of nutrients.
5.	Drink Water - Even the most sincere efforts to eat healthy can be sabotaged if you drink a soda or another sugar-filled beverage along with your meal. Drinking pure water with your meal, as opposed to soda, fruit juice or coffee, is an easy way to stay hydrated and healthy.