8 tips for healthy eating

These 8 practical tips cover the basics of healthy eating and can help you make healthier choices.

The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of calories for how active you are so you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use.

If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you’ll put on weight because the energy you do not use is stored as fat. If you eat and drink too little, you’ll lose weight.

You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

It’s recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules).

Most adults in the UK are eating more calories than they need and should eat fewer calories.

1. Base your meals on higher fibre starchy carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over a third of the food you eat. They include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.

Choose higher fibre or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice or potatoes with their skins on.

They contain more fibre than white or refined starchy carbohydrates and can help you feel full for longer.

Try to include at least 1 starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides fewer than half the calories of fat.

Keep an eye on the fats you add when you’re cooking or serving these types of foods because that’s what increases the calorie content – for example, oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta.

2. Eat lots of fruit and veg

It’s recommended that you eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced.

Getting your 5 A Day is easier than it sounds. Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?

A portion of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables is 80g. A portion of dried fruit (which should be kept to mealtimes) is 30g.

A 150ml glass of fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie also counts as 1 portion, but limit the amount you have to no more than 1 glass a day as these drinks are sugary and can damage your teeth.

3. Eat more fish, including a portion of oily fish

Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals.

Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, including at least 1 portion of oily fish.

Oily fish are high in omega-3 fats, which may help prevent heart disease. 

Oily fish include:

• salmon
• trout
• herring
• sardines
• pilchards
• mackerel

Non-oily fish include:

• haddock
• plaice
• coley
• cod
• tuna
• skate
• hake

You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned, but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.

Most people should be eating more fish, but there are recommended limits for some types of fish.

Find out more about fish and shellfish

4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

Saturated fat

You need some fat in your diet, but it’s important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you’re eating.

There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

On average, men should have no more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have no more than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5.

Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as:

• fatty cuts of meat
• sausages
• butter
• hard cheese
• cream
• cakes
• biscuits
• lard
• pies

Try to eat less saturated fat and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish and avocados.

For a healthier choice, use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee.

When you’re having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.

All types of fat are high in energy, so they should only be eaten in small amounts.

Sugar

Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.

Sugary foods and drinks are often high in energy (measured in kilojoules or calories), and if consumed too often can contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals.

Free sugars are any sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies.

This is the type of sugar you should be cutting down on, rather than the sugar found in fruit and milk.

Many packaged foods and drinks contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars.

Free sugars are found in many foods, such as:

• sugary fizzy drinks
• sugary breakfast cereals
• cakes
• biscuits
• pastries and puddings
• sweets and chocolate
• alcoholic drinks

Food labels can help. Use them to check how much sugar foods contain.

More than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g means the food is high in sugar, while 5g of total sugars or less per 100g means the food is low in sugar.

Find out how to cut down on sugar in your diet

5. Eat less salt: no more than 6g a day for adults

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.

Even if you do not add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much.

About three-quarters of the salt you eat is already in the food when you buy it, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces.

Use food labels to help you cut down. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means the food is high in salt.

Adults and children aged 11 and over should eat no more than 6g of salt (about a teaspoonful) a day. Younger children should have even less.

Get tips for a lower salt diet

6. Get active and be a healthy weight

As well as eating healthily, regular exercise may help reduce your risk of getting serious health conditions. It’s also important for your overall health and wellbeing.

Read more about the benefits of exercise and physical activity guidelines for adults.

Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight could also affect your health.

Most adults need to lose weight by eating fewer calories.

If you’re trying to lose weight, aim to eat less and be more active. Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help you maintain a healthy weight.

Check whether you’re a healthy weight by using the BMI healthy weight calculator.

Lose weight with the NHS weight loss plan, a 12-week weight loss guide that combines advice on healthier eating and physical activity.

If you’re underweight, see underweight adults. If you’re worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietitian for advice.

7. Do not get thirsty

You need to drink plenty of fluids to stop you getting dehydrated. The government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses every day. This is in addition to the fluid you get from the food you eat. 

All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, lower fat milk and lower sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are healthier choices. 

Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks, as they’re high in calories. They’re also bad for your teeth. 

Even unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies are high in free sugar.

Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should not be more than 150ml a day, which is a small glass.

Remember to drink more fluids during hot weather or while exercising.

8.

Do not skip breakfast

Some people skip breakfast because they think it’ll help them lose weight.

But a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet, and can help you get the nutrients you need for good health.

A wholegrain lower sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and healthier breakfast.

Further information

• The Eatwell Guide can help you get the right balance of the 5 main food groups. The guide shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food group.
• Read more about eating a balanced diet and understanding calories.

11 Simple Ways to Stick to a Healthy Diet

Changing your dietary habits can be hard, but with meal planning, lifestyle adjustments, and mindful eating practices, you can succeed. Consider consulting a nutritionist or doctor for the best approach.

In today’s dynamic and fast-paced world, sticking to a healthy diet is sometimes easier said than done. Most of us know the feeling.

For starters, just sifting through the array of healthy diets to figure out which one is best for you can be a challenge.

But even after you’ve picked out a meal plan or eating pattern, maintaining that healthy diet day in and day out has its fair share of difficulties.

The good news is, no matter how tough it might feel some days, sticking to a healthy diet is possible, and it doesn’t even mean that you have to give up your favorite foods.

There are tons of tips and tricks that make eating healthy easier, and most of them are simple and free.

Here are 11 of our favorite ways to stick to a healthy diet.

Heads up

The word “diet” can mean different things. It can either refer to short-term dietary changes that are usually dedicated to weight loss or another purpose (e. g., following the keto diet), or to a person’s or community’s typical way of eating.

In this article, we’re focusing mostly on the second application of diet — a sustainable eating pattern that reflects habitual food choices.

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There are many ways to follow a healthy diet, and no two nutritious diets look exactly the same.

Still, most successful, long-term healthy diets have at least one thing in common: They’re rich in whole foods.

Whole foods are those that have been minimally processed, such as:

• fruits
• vegetables
• legumes
• whole grains
• nuts and seeds
• eggs and dairy
• fresh animal proteins

Shakes, supplements, and fad diets might seem useful on the surface, but time and time again, whole-foods diets have been linked to better health outcomes all around the world.

Whole foods are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that support a healthy gut and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes (1, 2, 3, 4).

On the contrary, ultra-processed foods like chips, candy, and sodas are more likely to promote inflammation and encourage chronic diseases (3, 5, 6, 7).

SUMMARY

Healthy diets come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them are centered on nutrient-dense, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein.

One of the most important questions to ask yourself when starting a healthy diet is, “Can I keep this up long term?”

If the answer to that question is no, you could be embarking on a crash diet.

Crash diets usually rely on extreme calorie restriction to obtain fast weight loss results (8, 9).

But here’s the thing about crash diets — actually, the thing about diets in general, from keto to Atkins and everything in between — the results usually don’t last in the long run. Over time, most people who diet regain the weight they’ve lost (10, 11, 12).

Interestingly, one diet that has held up to the test of time is the Mediterranean diet — and it’s rich in whole foods (10).

Thus, when it comes to sticking with a healthy diet, try to resist the urge to focus too much on weight loss.

Oftentimes, the healthy habits you instill by eating a nutritious diet end up being more important in the long run than how much weight you’ve lost in a short period of time.

SUMMARY

Crash dieting might help you lose weight quickly, but that’s not always healthy. Plus, there’s no guarantee the results will last.

Simply put, adopting a healthy diet can be intimidating and challenging.

There are so many diets to choose from, you may feel like you don’t even really know where to start. It seems like everyone under the sun has an opinion on what you should and shouldn’t eat.

The good news is you aren’t alone on this journey.

Many trained professionals can help you figure out the best path for you (12).

A registered dietitian can help you navigate meal plans, food groups, your daily nutrient needs, and safe diets for specific conditions and diseases.

A behavior change specialist, such as a psychologist, can help you break old habits and form new ones.

SUMMARY

Working with a trained professional provides a support system to lean on. It likewise ensures you’re getting accurate and up-to-date information about healthy eating, as well as how to best stick with it.

It’s not uncommon to hear about diets described as being the “best” or “healthiest.”

Yet, no one diet works best for everyone.

We each live in a unique set of circumstances influenced by genetics, our health, work schedules, family, cultural traditions, and more.

No single diet can perfectly account or accommodate for so many individual factors.

In the end, the “best” healthy diet for you is the one that makes you feel your best and that you can stick with for the long haul.

SUMMARY

Sticking to a healthy diet means finding a way of eating that is not only nutritious but also that you find enjoyable, sustainable, and conducive to your personal circumstances.

In recent years, researchers have found that people around the world are eating more ultra-processed foods than ever before (13, 14, 15, 16).

Ultra-processed foods are those that have been made by industrial processing. They tend to contain additives like sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers, and other ingredients that make the foods last longer and taste better (5).

Some examples of ultra-processed foods include fast food, frozen dinners, and sugar-sweetened juices and sodas.

Not only are ultra-processed foods tempting due to their flavors, but even being in the presence of these types of foods can affect brain chemistry and behavior (17, 18, 19, 20).

You can help avoid the temptation to eat these foods by keeping them out of your house, limiting your access to them at home (21, 22).

On the other hand, keeping your fridge and pantry stocked with nutrient-dense, whole foods is a great way to keep your healthy diet in mind and encourage yourself to have those nutritious foods more often.

SUMMARY

Surrounding yourself with the foods you want to eat and learn to love, rather than the ones you’re trying to avoid, increases your chance of success.

Often, it’s the moments when we find ourselves feeling extra hungry and tempted with a tasty treat that we forget about the healthy eating plans we had in mind for the day.

Though craving foods from time to time is completely normal, researchers have found that in moments of extreme hunger, our cravings tend to get even stronger (23).

Keeping nutritious and filling snacks on hand is a great way to keep cravings at bay until your next full meal.

Snacks that are high in protein and fiber can help keep you feeling full (24, 25, 26, 27).

Some examples are:

• fresh fruits and veggies
• yogurt
• popcorn
• hard-boiled eggs
• mixed nuts and nut butters
• hummus or roasted chickpeas
• whole grain crackers

SUMMARY

Staying prepared by keeping nutritious and filling snacks on hand reduces the chance of straying from your healthy diet when hunger strikes.

Have you ever felt like there’s one food you just can’t live without? Fortunately, you don’t have to!

Depriving yourself of the foods you love and crave can actually end up backfiring.

In the short term, it tends to make your cravings for those foods even stronger, especially for people who are more susceptible to food cravings in general (28, 29).

Some research has even found that feeling satisfied rather than deprived while dieting is linked to a higher rate of weight loss (30).

Rather than completely giving up the less nutritious foods that you love, try having them only occasionally while practicing portion control.

SUMMARY

It’s true that with moderation and portion control, there is room for all foods in a healthy diet — even those that might seem like they couldn’t have a place.

A common barrier people encounter while working toward improving their diets is falling into an all-or-nothing mindset.

An all-or-nothing thought might sound something like this: “Well, I’ve already ruined my diet for the day by having that piece of cake at the office party earlier, so I might as well forget my plans to cook at home tonight and grab takeout instead.”

These types of thoughts usually look at situations in black and white, or as “good” and “bad.”

Instead, try to look at each individual food choice you make during a day as its own. One less-than-ideal choice doesn’t have to snowball into a full day’s worth of similar choices.

In fact, having high self-esteem and confidence in your ability to make healthy choices tends to be associated with better health outcomes, so don’t let one small stumble bring you down (31, 32).

SUMMARY

Instead of letting all-or-nothing thoughts convince you that anything less than perfection is a failure, view each new choice you make about your diet as a clean new slate.

For many people, potlucks, happy hour, and dining out are something to look forward to. But for someone struggling to stick to a new or healthy diet, they can feel like another hurdle to overcome.

Restaurant meals tend to be higher in calories, sodium, sugar, fat, and ultra-processed foods than meals cooked at home, and they often come in large serving sizes (33, 34).

Plus, in social settings, our own food choices are heavily influenced by the choices of the people around us (35, 36, 37).

Simply put, it’s easy to overdo it when eating out, and maintaining a healthy diet while eating out can be very challenging.

Still, there are ways to make it easier. Having a strategy in mind before you get to a restaurant or gathering can go a long way toward easing your mind and helping you feel prepared to navigate eating out.

Here are a few of our favorite tips for eating out:

• Research the menu before you go.
• Eat a piece of fruit ahead of time.
• Stay hydrated during the meal.
• Order your meal first.
• Take your time and savor your meal.

SUMMARY

Planning ahead for eating out is a great way to ease any stress or uncertainty you might feel about how you’ll stick to your healthy diet at a restaurant or event.

Self-monitoring is an easy and effective way to keep track of your progress on your own (38, 39).

It can be as simple as keeping a journal of the foods you eat each day or as detailed as using a smartphone or web-based app that tracks the details of your daily calorie intake, weight, activity levels, and more.

When self-monitoring your progress, remember that weight loss and gain are not the only ways to measure how far you’ve come. In some cases, they might not be the best way to measure progress either.

People choose to follow healthy diets for all types of different reasons. For example, you might choose to focus on how your dietary changes have affected your physical or mental health, rather than how much weight you’ve lost.

Some other questions to ask yourself to help measure whether your healthier diet is working are:

• Am I full and satisfied?
• Do I enjoy what I eat?
• Could I keep eating this way forever?
• How many healthy choices did I make today?
• How confident do I feel about my diet?
• Have I noticed any changes to my physical health?
• Have I noticed any changes to my mental health?

SUMMARY

Measure your progress to assess whether your efforts are having their intended consequences. But tracking doesn’t have to mean logging every calorie in an app! Checking in with your body can be enough to help you stick to a nutritious diet.

Sticking to a healthier diet is a marathon, not a sprint.

Learning the best diet for yourself takes trial and error, and some days will be easier than others, so try not to feel discouraged if it takes longer than you’d like for your new habits to set in.

As long as you set realistic expectations for yourself, remain committed, and continue to reevaluate your progress, your diet is likely to keep moving in a positive direction.

SUMMARY

Forming new habits of any type takes time, and healthy diets are no different. When you’re feeling frustrated, try practicing self-kindness and refocusing on your long-term goals.

Breaking old habits and forming new ones is not an easy process, especially when it comes to foods you’ve been eating for your whole life.

Our diets are complex systems influenced by biological, cognitive, and social influences, just to name a few (40).

Therefore, a variety of tools may be needed to navigate those factors and stick to a healthy diet long term.

Just one thing

Try this today: Have you ever felt like most healthy diets recommend eating foods that just aren’t for you? If so, you might be interested in learning more about how healthy eating includes cultural foods, too.

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How to diet correctly – articles Lab4u.RU

• November 08, 2013
• Author: Nikita Petrosov

Almost everyone who decides to lose weight goes on a diet. Now there are a huge number of recommendations on nutrition, or rather, on its restriction. But most of the diets that have flooded the Internet and are passed from mouth to mouth are not at all safe and often downright harmful.

Many diets have two unfortunate consequences. The first is the return of excess weight (even with supplementation) after the diet is stopped. This is especially common after rapid weight loss. The second consequence is much more serious: the human body begins to suffer from a deficiency of various irreplaceable elements that it is not able to synthesize on its own in the required quantities. Many diets result in hypovitaminosis and beriberi, chronic dehydration, micronutrient deficiencies.

One of the most popular diets is ordinary fasting , when the caloric content of food is reduced simply by almost completely eliminating food itself. At the same time, a person tries not to eat for as long as possible during the day, and only when it becomes completely unbearable, he allows himself a light snack. This is absolutely wrong. Fasting is dangerous if you resort to it often and for a long time. All kilograms lost in this way usually quickly return, but the stress experienced by the body can lead to the rapid development of complications (existing chronic diseases become aggravated, or new ones appear). Unsystematic starvation causes a shortage of a large number of different nutrients at once with corresponding manifestations (weakness, fatigue, nervousness, poor sleep, muscle cramps, deterioration in color and decrease in skin tone).

Another popular type of diet is mono-diet . These include kefir diet , as well as buckwheat, rice and other diets. All of them offer to satisfy hunger with one type of food – drink only kefir during the day or eat unsalted porridge. Such a diet for several days leads to a lack of vitamins (primarily B vitamins) and other water-soluble substances, as well as ions.

Vegetarianism , or avoidance of meat products, is used not only for weight loss, but also as a permanent lifestyle. If you prefer a vegetarian menu, then you are at risk for iron deficiency anemia and lack of essential amino acids. Therefore, with a vegetarian lifestyle, especially at the initial stage, when you are still selecting and mastering a new menu, monitoring of iron levels and plasma calcium , as well as protein and blood lipids can help to detect a lack of certain substances early and change something in nutrition.

The Law of Proper Diet says: “The body must regularly receive the required amount of vitamins, trace elements, amino acids, as well as enough liquid. ”

Following certain rules, you can make the process of losing weight no less effective and much more harmless to the body.

Diet safety rules:

• Diet should be varied. Therefore, forget about long or frequent mono-diets;
• We must not forget that all your cells need water. Therefore, you need to drink at least 4-5 glasses of pure water a day, not counting tea and soups;
• It is better to eat often and in small portions. By reducing the usual size of each serving, you can reduce calories and at the same time not limit yourself in many of your favorite dishes. Such nutrition will preserve the possibility of receiving all the necessary nutrients into the body;
• In the diet, give preference to cereals and vegetables, as well as whole grain bread, as sources of slow carbohydrates;
• It is desirable that every day you have at least one hot dish, soups are especially useful. They will allow you to feel full faster from a smaller amount of food eaten.
• Control your well-being not only by subjective sensations, but also by objective indicators. Laboratory blood tests are the easiest and most affordable way to objectively assess body conditions for those who follow various diets.

Why do you need blood tests in diets

Remember that even people who do not restrict their diet in any way often do not receive all the necessary nutrients in full. An even higher risk of becoming deficient in one or more nutrients in those who follow a diet with a restriction of a large number of different foods.

Therefore, it is necessary to control the state of the body in dynamics during the diet. The most convenient way to do this is by comparing blood test indicators with the norm, as well as by observing their changes.

Iron deficiency is a common problem for many people. The reason for this may be not only its insufficient intake, but also the increased need of the body for this element. Complete blood count detects signs of anemia (decrease in the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin), and a biochemical study determines the concentration of iron ions in the blood plasma. Thus, tests help to detect iron deficiency anemia .

Blood clotting may be a sign of lack of fluid in the body. Blood tests in such cases are characterized by an increase in the number of red blood cells and hematocrit. A sign of acute or chronic dehydration can also be an increase in hemoglobin and a decrease in chloride ions, as well as a change in the ratio between sodium and potassium .

A biochemical blood test detects a lack of calcium and magnesium ions in plasma. A deficiency of these ions in the diet can be manifested by a feeling of muscle cramps, increased bone fragility, increased nervousness, and memory loss.

With a lack of certain vitamins (ascorbic acid, rutin, etc.), the blood clotting time increases, the fragility of blood vessels increases, and the duration of bleeding increases. This can be first discovered and confirmed with studies of the blood coagulation system.

Lack of protein in food increases the risk of damage to liver tissue and fatty degeneration of its cells. Signs of abnormal liver function and lipid balance, as well as a lack of blood protein, can be quickly detected using biochemical analysis . To do this, you need to pay attention to indicators such as total protein, ALAT and ASAT, various types of lipoproteins.

Thanks to the availability of laboratory tests, you can always monitor your health and make the necessary changes to your diet. This approach to weight loss will allow you to get in shape, as well as maintain or improve your health.

How to Diet Without Going Crazy

The Challenger gives you 13 tips to keep your diet in check.

1. Say a firm NO to temptations

To eat right, stop buying chips and cakes not only for yourself, but also for your loved ones. Talk to them, ask them to bring only healthy food from the stores. Just in case, check your kitchen cabinets. You will have to throw out everything that does not fall under the definition of “healthy food”. Turn your kitchen into a bastion of healthy eating.

2. Do not overdo it with healthy food

Any overeating invalidates the very idea of ​​a diet. Remember that the rule of “control yourself” works both in relation to high-calorie sweets and in relation to healthy food.

3. Plan ahead

The good news is that there is room for indulgence in any diet. If an important event looms on the horizon, such as a trip to a restaurant that cannot be missed, try to stick to a strict diet before it starts. And make a training schedule for the day after the celebration.

4. Adjust your breathing to the desired rhythm

Before eating anything, take three deep breaths. This will help you not to attack food, but to start it calmly, which in the end will prevent you from eating more than you planned.

5. Eat at home

Eating the “right” dinner will work in a restaurant, but it’s much more difficult to resist a cake with cream for dessert. In your own kitchen, it’s easier to keep yourself in check and keep track of calories.

6. Avoid Happy Hours

When alcohol appears on the table, you will not even notice how french fries and ice cream in a waffle cup follow it. Yes, to eat right, you have to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages. But you can approach the compilation of your own menu in every sense with a sober head.

7. Bring lunch to work from home

This will save time, money and eliminate the temptation to run to a nearby stall for a hot dog or burger.

8. Understand yourself

Do you always eat stress with a sandwich and anger with a bun? Analyze your psycho-emotional state before you pounce on food. This will help clarify what emotions are causing the craving for food and dragging you into an addiction to overeating.

9. Sit down

The constant journey through the house from the refrigerator to the buffet and back can end up eating everything that comes to hand. You should sit down and calm down before eating lunch or dinner. Sitting is easier to make sure that nothing extra will enter the stomach.

10. Schedule a date with the plate

Eating at the same time every day disciplines you and allows you to focus on what you put in your mouth. Turn off your alarm and focus on your plate.

11. Saving 10 minutes

Eat half your lunch or dinner, put your fork aside and pause for 10 minutes. After this time, you can proceed to the remaining food. Imagine your surprise when you realize that, it turns out, half a portion is enough.

12. Pencil

Can’t understand when the breakdown occurred and what kind of snack was superfluous? Keep a food journal: it should record absolutely everything that you ate in a day.