Eating well
Food is one of our greatest sources of pleasure in life, and maintaining a healthy relationship with it is vital to yours, and your families, health and well-being.
Not only will choosing to eat well prevent dangerous health problems such as obesity or malnutrition, it will also benefit other areas of your life such as:
- Increased energy and stamina for active lifestyles and socialising.
- Improved concentration and enthusiasm for work.
- Improved immune system and prevention of long-term health problems.
- Healthy weight and skin tone.
What should I be eating?
These are the proportions of each food group your diet should consist of each day.
This is a balanced, varied diet avoiding too much saturated fat, salt or sugar and with plenty of fruit and veg.
Watch out for less reliable advice promoting strict regimes for losing weight or putting on muscle. Often the results are not sustainable and the imbalance of nutrients or calories may have an adverse affect on your physical and mental health.
Adopting a lifestyle change that incorporates healthy eating is more likely to be effective for lasting results.
Visit Eat Well and NHS Choices - Good Food for information on how to do this.
Top tips for getting the most from a healthy diet
In making some small lifestyle changes you may discover the benefits of eating well go beyond good health.
Financial benefits
Making nutritious meals will ultimately work out cheaper as you can make numerous meals from most ingredients bought for the home.
- Loughborough Market has fresh meat, cheese, fruit and vegetable produce at excellent value. It visits Mondays and Thursdays to the town centre and look out on campus outside of the EHB too.
- Jamie Olivers: On A Budget recipe bank is a collection of balanced meals dedicated to value.
- Use NHS Live Well: Packed Lunches Guide to save money whilst taking a little more control over what you eat.
Saving time
Eating well can prove quicker than a takeaway delivery.
- Try online shop and delivery services from Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco, saving a lengthy trip to the supermarket.
- Create home-made ready meals without the high fat and salt content of shop bought ones, by cooking in bulk and freezing in portions. Use NHS: Tips on Freezing to help.
- If you are in a rush, grab a smoothie and organic cereal bar rather than skipping meals. This will ensure you get some vital nutrients and slow-burning carbohydrates on-the-go.
Skills development
It is never too late to learn. Cooking is an enriching, social experience and provide countless health benefits with control over what goes into your meals.
- Using Student Recipes is a good place to start as they tend to stick to step by step methods for making delicious meals from scratch.
- There are numerous Cookery Lessons for all levels available in the area.
- Start with a target dish with transferrable skills, for example lasagne and mixed salads. You can later use the meat recipe for spaghetti bolognese and the white sauce base for cauliflower cheese.
Worries about eating
If you are concerned about disordered eating in yourself or a family member, seeking professional information and advice can help you to deal with this.
- B-eat offer advice on all issues around, restriction, control, binging and body image.
- Over-Eaters Anonymous can advise specifically around over-eating.
- The Counselling Service can help explore the feelings underpinning a disorder.
- Your Local Health Service will offer practical and medical advice.
- The voluntary sector offers Good thinking therapy or A Place To Grow which will allow you to develop a healthy relationship with food through gardening, cooking and eating your own produce.
