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A healthy diet isn't counting carbs and glaring at that laughing number on the scale. A healthy diet is a process whose goal (ideally) isn't simply weight loss, but a healthy lifestyle in general, and it's undertaken along with scheduled exercise and regular hours of rest. Doesn't sound like you can do all three? That's not a problem. If you're lacking in any of these areas, improvement in them (any one individually, although the best results are found in their synergy) will bring you that much closer to that ongoing healthy lifestyle.

Like any lifestyle change, it takes some time and effort to build the momentum to be willing to stick to it. A change in diet can probably be considered one of the more difficult changes a person can affect, but it doesn't have to be if you're willing to be patient and easy on yourself. As with any guide, it's best understood as bullet points:

- Moderation is key.

'Eat plenty fruits and vegetables' is a mantra we've had hammered into us since childhood (which makes it that much easier to ignore). Of course, like most childhood lessons, it's quite a sound philosophy and we could benefit from sticking to it. This may be one of the few dietary behaviors in which moderation isn't a necessity. Fruits and vegetables provide most (but not all) of the nutrients we need, and natural sugars in a tasty form that are free from the preservatives of processed juices. The dietary fiber that's found in many fruits and vegetables can provide added energy throughout your day (if it's soluble fiber) or can speed up digestion and make your trips to the bathroom more efficient (if it's insoluble fiber). If your goal is weight loss, plums are great choices for fiber (also, you can avoid the elderly-person stigma of eating prunes, which are derived from plums).

But fruits and veggies aside, it's important not to be too strict with your diet. It's a good idea to limit saturated fats to a low level (or cut them out of your diet completely), while trans fats should definitely be avoided completely (most fast foods have trans fats in them). But people need unsaturated fats in their diet, and in all cases, unsaturated fats make a healthier alternative to other forms. While in general fat consumption should be regulated to a small daily amount, to cut it out of your diet will make you crave fatty foods and increase the risk of an accidental binge. Similar advice would apply to meat consumption. Red meats are high in saturated fats (beef and mutton are generally

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