Mazyck 1

Heaven Mazyck

Mrs. DeBock

English 4

9 March 2017

Beneficial Dieting

Ideas about what is healthy and what is not healthy are thrown around without really

knowing is right. Dieting is all about having a healthy balance of what is consumed to reach a

goal, not how many calories can be cut out. Unhealthy food consumption is exceptionally

common in America but also many Americans do not know exactly what a healthy diet should

be, especially when trying to lose weight. The body should not be malnourished. The first things

that come to the mind when healthy or diet is mentioned are all vegetables and no carbs.

Healthy dieting means consuming from all the different food groups in the right quantities,

cutting out what does not benefit the body, and knowing what benefits the body and pushes it

towards its goal.

Nutritionists suggest eating a healthy meal in the right quantities, but no one really knows

what that means. According to nutritionist Rebecca Wood, author of The New Whole Foods

Encyclopedia, a balanced meal "provides an equal selection of quality fats, protein, and complex

carbohydrates," (Burling 16). Most nutritionists and dietitians suggest visualizing a plate cut into

three sections with one-third grains, one third fruit and vegetables, and one-third protein to make

sure what is needed is consumed. Food is the building block that creates and maintains healthy

muscles, organs, and tissues. Quality nutrition not only builds our body, it also regulates our

energy and mood (Chapter 5: Healthy Eating and Nutrition). The body uses the fats for making

tissue and manufacture biochemicals, such as hormones, therefore a body should not cut out fats
 Mazyck 2

when dieting. Proteins are used by the body as building blocks for our bodies and they are what

creates our bones, muscle, and cartilage. Proteins also make enzymes and hormones. If the body

does not take in protein, it will be deficient of necessary building blocks. Carbohydrates are

needed because they are the main source of energy taken in by the body. If the body is lacking

carbohydrates, it will take energy from the protein consumed which is not favorable because that

takes away from the bodies bones and muscles. Balanced eating is what should be aimed for and

staying on track with eating balanced meals is important, especially after an off day (Burling 16).

Everyone has busy days which causes our diets to be thrown off due to rushing, it is inevitable.

When this happens, the diet should be corrected as soon as possible, preferably the next day, to

make sure the unhealthy diet does not become a habit and to make sure the goal is not being

pushed back.

The term diet is often thought of as cutting out every food that is bad for the body,

though many do not know what bad actually is. The key is to eat real foods, not foods that are

processed, refined, or filled with substances like trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, and

chemicals (Chapter 5: Healthy Eating and Nutrition). Lipids, or fats, are not bad for the body but

they are repeatedly mistaken for trans fats, which are bad. Trans fats are unsaturated fats that

have been commercially modified to act like unsaturated fats and are solid at room temperature

(Reynolds 11). Trans fats include butter, coconut oil, and processed foods such as biscuits and

these should be eaten as rarely as possible. An abundance of fruits and vegetables should always

be eaten, but cutting out fats is not beneficial because some fats are appropriate. Examples of

suitable sources of fat include salmon, beans, and avocado and they are called unsaturated fats.

Americans receive about 33% of their calories from fat, 15% from protein, and more than half of

their calories from carbohydrates. About 11% of American's calories come from saturated fats,
 Mazyck 3

though the recommended amount is under 10% (Wexler). Because of this unequal intake of

macronutrients, the body has a difficult time using them in the right way. Usually, the 52% of

carbohydrates taken in are not fruits and vegetables, they are unneeded sugars and non-whole

grains. The term abs are made in the kitchen is true. Intake of insulin should be decreased,

avoid consuming added sugars (Dahliwal). Sugar spikes insulin which then causes a decrease in

metabolism. When metabolism decreases and a surplus of calories are consumed, the body will

start to gain and store fat.

Losing weight is an easy task when done right. Exercise is a great way to start, but not the

only way to reach the goal. If a kickstart is needed for weight loss, start with diet. In a study done

at Missouri University, it was found that participants who attended weight watchers programs

lost 5% of their body weight compared to those who only attended a gym lost 2% (Shaffer).

Exercise does not do much if the body is still being stored in fat. The fat covers whatever

progress may have been made in the gym. When exercise is combined with healthy eating, they

balance each other out and not only is the weight lost, the results show also. Cardio burns

calories, but resistance helps burn fat and not muscle (Shaffer). Losing muscle is not the goal

when dieting or working out because it slows down the resting metabolism. When the resting

metabolism is slowed down, it is harder to lose weight. Diet and exercise should not be changed

drastically at the same time, this leads to failure because too many habits are thrown off track

and the changed cannot be done correctly (Shaffer). Reaching a goal is not about how fast it can

be done, it is about getting to that point healthily at a steady rate that works best for the body,

especially when starting off. If habits are changed rapidly, the diet may be not the best it could be

because there is no focus on what is actually being done.

 Mazyck 4

Healthy dieting means consuming from all the different food groups in the right

quantities, cutting out what does not benefit the body, and knowing what benefits the body and

pushes it towards its goal. Making sure a meal is balanced is not hard once a plate is visualized

with the appropriate amount of food. No group of macronutrients should be cut out when trying

to eat healthily. Proteins are the building blocks of the body and they provide the body with the

amino acids it needs to construct muscles, bones, hair, and even hormones. Retracting proteins

will leave the body weak and frail. Carbohydrates are the most misused micronutrients. They are

the bodies source of energy and they should definitely not be taken out to promote weight loss.

Though carbohydrates are good, bad ones are common and they include anything with a surplus

of sugar, non-whole wheat bread, and pasta. If carbohydrates were taken out of the diet, the body

will start to get its energy from protein and that is not good. Fats are thought to be bad, but

valuable ones do exist. Our body needs fats for making tissues. Examples of beneficial fats, or

unsaturated fats, are avocado and fish. Bad fats are called saturated fats and those solidify at

room temperature, such as butter. People commonly mistake the process of weight loss as

burning more calories than the amount taken in. Though this is true, it does not mean a number

of calories taken in should be unhealthy foods. When trying to lose weight exercise and diet are

equally important, but a sudden drastic change is not ideal. Maintaining healthy, balanced diet is

one of the most beneficial things that can be done for the body when trying to lose weight or

even just to live a healthy lifestyle.

Works Cited

Burling, Alexis. "Balancing Act: An Important Part of Eating Nutritiously Is Making Sure You

Have Balanced Meals." Scholastic Choices, no. 2, 2010, p. 16. EBSCOhost

 Mazyck 5

"CHAPTER 5: Healthy Eating and Nutrition." Healthy Employees, Healthy Business, 2/1/2012,

pp. 111-127. EBSCOhost

Dhaliwal, Dal. "Abs: Made in the Kitchen." Eastern Eye 21 Oct. 2016: 33. Newspaper Source

Plus. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.

Reynolds, Rebecca. "Should We Be Eating Food That Contains Fat?." Nutridate, vol. 27, no. 3,

July 2016, pp. 9-14. EBSCOhost,

Shaffer, Alyssa. "Diet Vs. Exercise." Health, vol. 28, no. 7, Sept. 2014, p. 43.

Wexler, Barbara. "Dietary Treatment for Overweight and Obesity." Weight In America: Obesity,

Eating Disorders, and Other Health Risks, 2007 ed., Gale, 2007. Information Plus

Reference Series. Accessed 23 Feb. 2017.