Healthy Diet Plans: Weight Loss & Nutritional Balance

Healthy diets range from structured plans like the Zone or Daniel Fast to high-protein regimens for bodybuilders. Learn how to lose weight sustainably using lean proteins, or gain weight quickly through balanced nutrition and meal timing.

Cheerful brunette eating bowl of cereal and fruit

1,600-Calorie-a-Day Meal Plan

Whether you're trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, a 1,600-calorie diet is a fairly low-calorie plan, so every bite you eat must count. To ensure that you meet all your vitamin and mineral needs, your meal plan needs to include a variety of foods from all the food groups.

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Teenage girls making sandwiches

Healthy Diet Tips for Girls Aged 11 to 16

Many teen girls may feel the need to go on a diet to lose weight, even those who are already at a healthy weight. The best way for teens to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight is to follow a diet that includes a variety of foods from all of the food groups.

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Woman preparing stew

Importance of a Well-Balanced Diet

A well-balanced diet means eating the right amount of nutrients to supply the body with the energy it needs to function properly. It also means getting the right amount of nutrition to support growth and development. A well-balanced diet contains nutrient-rich foods from all the food groups.

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female cook slicing vegetables

Medical Conditions That Affect Diets

The premise of a well-balanced diet is to keep people well. "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" encourages fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins to reduce the risk of chronic disease. These recommendations are to help the general public.

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Close-up of girls Hands holding blueberries

Healthy Diet for 13-Year-Olds

Some days, it might seem as if your 13-year-old is eating you out of house and home. Although this constant eating might worry you, it's normal. To promote healthy growth and development and to prevent excessive weight gain, stock your kitchen with the right foods.

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Salmon Steak with Cream Sauce

2,700-Calorie Diet

Whether you're trying to maintain a healthy weight or gain weight, calories count. A 2,700-calorie diet is a higher-calorie regimen that can help most women and inactive men gain weight, and it can help active men maintain a healthy weight.

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Man chopping fruit in the kitchen

Meal Plans for 6 Meals a Day

If you're trying to manage your weight, you might wonder how often you should eat. While dietary guidelines typically recommend that you eat at least three meals and one snack a day, some people are more successful with weight loss if they eat smaller, more frequent meals.

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Group of teenagers eating

Diet Plans for Teens From 14 to 16

Sweet desserts, including cake, cookies and pastries, are the No.1 source of calories in an adolescent's diet, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. But growing teens between the ages of 14 and 16 need to eat a more balanced diet so they get the nutrients they need for good health.

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A basketball game

Meal Plan for Basketball Players

With repeated sprinting and jumping and short periods of rest, basketball is a strenuous sport. While physical training and practice are an important part of game preparation, so is your diet. If you want to run faster and jump higher, you need to feed your muscles right.

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Mid Section View of a Young Woman Cutting a Carrot on a Chopping Board at a Kitchen Counter

Light Diet Meals

When it comes to dieting, there is no-one-size-fits-all plan. Some people do better eating three meals a day, while others find it easier to control hunger when they eat more often. In either case, it all comes down to calories.

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Vegetables, harvest,

1600-Calorie Healthy Meal Plan

A 1,600-calorie diet can help women over the age of 51 who do not exercise maintain a healthy weight. The moderately low-calorie diet is also a weight-loss diet that can help most men and women who weigh more than 165 pounds lose weight.

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Man standing on weight scales

A Diet Plan to Lose 40 Pounds of Weight

Losing 40 pounds is no easy feat. It takes time and commitment. You should aim to lose no more than 2 pounds a week, as losing weight too quickly can lead to muscle loss, fatigue and the likelihood that you'll regain your lost weight.

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Fried tofu

Foods Not to Eat With Hypothyroidism

The thyroid, a gland located at the front of your neck, excretes hormones that regulate metabolism. If you have an underactive thyroid, medically known as hypothyroidism, your body does not excrete enough of these hormones.

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Healthy prepared oatmeal porridge breakfast with strawberries and nuts in

Low-Calorie Diet for High Energy

If you eat too little, make poor food choices or don't eat often enough, you may feel a lag in energy on your weight-loss diet. To keep energy levels up on a low-calorie diet, you need to eat nutrient-rich meals throughout the day. Consult your doctor before starting a weight-loss diet.

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Woman eating breakfast

Weight Gain Meal Plan for Women

Your girlfriends may be envious, but struggling to put on weight may be as difficult for you as it is for them to lose it. If you want to gain weight healthfully, you need to follow the same healthy diet principles as those trying to lose.

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Portrait of a young woman holding weight and vitamins (pills).

Will You Lose Weight on Hydroxycut Without Exercise?

Currently, there's no evidence that any one food, vitamin, mineral or herb is going to help you lose weight, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. That includes weight-loss supplements such as Hydroxycut. However, if you're eating fewer calories than you take in, you should lose weight.

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Sliced whole wheat bread on cutting board

Diet to Reduce Omental Fat

Belly flab, spare tire, middle-aged spread. It goes by many names, but the fat that lies under your belly and surrounds your intestines is also referred to as omental or visceral fat by health professionals.

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Pile from different kinds of nuts (isolated)

3,000-Calorie Diet Plan for Weight Gain

Whether you're genetically thin or dealing with a medical condition that makes it hard to gain weight, you may struggle as much to put on the pounds as most people struggle to lose. While simply eating more calories sounds easy, it's also important to choose the right foods so you gain healthfully.

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fried salmon with salad isolated

Cardiac and Diabetic Meal Plans

If you have diabetes, you are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke than someone who does not, according to the American Diabetes Association. Eating right not only helps you manage your blood sugar but also helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

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Sit-ups

How to Get the Perfect Body for Men Fast

Getting the perfect body requires a strong commitment to a healthy diet and exercise program. Luckily, as a man, your muscle mass makes it easier for you to lose fat and build muscle than a woman. However, it's unrealistic to expect to get the perfect body really fast. Fat loss and muscle growth take time.

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