Eat a variety of healthy foods and hasten your weight loss!

"Variety is the spice of Life" goes the often quoted remark. In addition to a variety of exercise and sports - we can all benefit from a variety of healthy food choices!

Mix up your choices within each food group.

Focus on fruits. Eat a variety of fruits—whether fresh, frozen, canned, or dried—rather than fruit juice for most of your fruit choices. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you will need 2 cups of fruit each day (for example, 1 small banana, 1 large orange, and 1/4 cup of dried apricots or peaches).
Vary those veggies. Eat more dark green veggies, such as spinach, broccoli, and other dark leafy greens; orange veggies, such as carrots, sweetpotatoes, pumpkin, and winter squash; and beans and peas, such as pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, split peas, and lentils. Try to add a colorful variety of veggies to your day!

Get your calcium-rich foods. Get 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk—or an equivalent amount of low-fat yogurt and/or low-fat cheese (1½ ounces of cheese equals 1 cup of milk)—every day. For kids aged 2 to 8, it's 2 cups of milk. If you don't or can't consume milk, choose lactose-free milk products and/or calcium-fortified foods and beverages.

Make at least half your grains whole. Strive to eat at least 3 ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta every day. One ounce is about 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of breakfast cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta. Look to see that grains such as wheat, rice, oats, or corn are referred to as "whole" in the list of ingredients. Ideally - look for a whole grain listed first!

If you can, stick with lean protein. Choose lean meats and poultry. Try to avoid breaded or fried anything! Bake it, broil it, or grill it. And vary your protein choices—with more fish ( try wild caught, fresh water salmon - never farm raised ), beans, peas, nuts ( walnuts are good for you ) , and seeds.

There are so many natural and healthy ways to lose weight. Perhaps the quickest way to lose weight is with a steady habit of eating healthy and daily exercise.