The word diet can bring fear to anyone. The reason is most people do not really understand what the word means. Diets have gotten a bad reputation as food plans that take away all your favorites. A real diet is actually a lifestyle change. A diet should be an eating plan that you can follow throughout your life.

Most diets start at analyzing the type of foods you should eat. The US food pyramid has always been looked at to suggest the types of food that are good to you. New recommendations take into consideration your age, weight, gender and activity level. The basic food groups are as follows:

Grains- whole grains (non-processes, in natural state), refined grains (processed grains with some vitamins and fibers removed)

Vegetables- any 100% vegetable product

Fruit- any 100% fruit product

Fats and Oils- can be products made from animal or vegetable fats

Dairy- products made with dairy

Meat- animal products, beans and nuts

These food groups should be taken into consideration when choosing a proper diet. The idea is to include mostly grains, vegetables and fruit with moderate amounts of lean meats and dairy. You want to limit the amount of fat in your diet. Any diet that follows these guidelines will not cut out an entire food group or severely limit what you can and cant eat.

Here are some great tips to making a proper diet work for you.

- Watch what you drink. Many drink items may be low in fat, but contain no health benefits and are just empty calories.

- Eat often. Do not limit yourself to the traditional three meals a day. Include healthy snacks throughout your day to keep hunger at bay.

- Eat from all the food groups for a well balanced diet. Each food group has its own health benefits and contains vitamins and minerals your body needs. Cutting out a food group means you lose out on the benefits that group has to offer.

- Do not completely stop eating a favorite food because it doesnt follow healthy guidelines. Give yourself a chance to eat small amounts of foods that are considered unhealthy. If you do not you will end up bingeing on food that crave.