The food you put in your body on a day-to-day basis has a short- and long-term impact on how you think, feel, and live.

Eating habits influence body weight, which contributes to a host of health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, cancer, and heart disease. Excess weight also puts extra pressure on bones and joints, which can cause pain and make it tough to stay active.

For service members who must meet standards for weight and fitness, extra body fat isn’t just a health issue—it’s a fit-for-duty issue. Staying fit is important to the longevity of a Soldier’s career.

Getting Started

A balanced diet includes fruits and vegetables, whole grain carbohydrates, lean protein, and good fats. Check out the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate tips for healthy eating recommendations and, for serving size suggestions, use Guard Your Health’s “Hand Guide to Portion Control.”

There are many obstacles on the journey to developing healthy eating habits. Tackling eating healthy when dining out, mastering the grocery store, and learning to cook healthy meals at home are three areas we can help you have success. Here are a few guidelines to help:

1. Eating Out: Finding healthy options can be tough when eating out. The large portions and high calorie content of meals and snacks purchased on-the-go or in restaurants can get you into trouble. If your family eats out often, try cooking at home together. For healthy ideas, check out these recipes.

2. Grocery Shopping: While shopping, aim to keep your shopping route around the perimeter of the grocery store, spending less time in the middle aisles where most of the junk foods are located. Fill your cart with veggies, fruits, whole-grains, low-fat dairy and meat, fish, and poultry.

3. Eating In: Involve the whole family in healthy eating and portion control. You can plan, shop for, and make healthy meals together. Remind your kids why each meal is healthy and why eating fruits and vegetables is important.

Tips and Tricks

If the idea of getting your family to eat a healthy meal evokes visions of a tantrum-ridden uproar at the table, start small to ease the transition. Here are some meal-time tactics to inspire your family:

• Use ground turkey or chicken instead of ground beef in dishes like chili, tacos, pasta sauces, casseroles, and lasagnas. The sauces will help camoflage the switchero.

• Nix your weekly delivery pizza night and make homemade pizza with your kids instead. Get creative with healthier ingredients: try whole wheat crust, blend steamed spinach or kale into your usual sauce, trade regular pepperoni for low sodium or turkey varieties, or add extra veggie toppings.

• Cut down on high calorie, high fat shredded cheese by mixing in shredded zucchini. The cheese and zucchini will melt together deliciously on pizzas, in quesadillas, and on top of casseroles.

• Trade startchy mashed potatoes for “mashed faux-tatoes” by pureeing steamed cauliflower and then seasoning. You can add more flavor by tossing in a little bit of cheese, garlic, and rosemary.

• Try a “kitchen cleanse” night and clean the junk out of your pantry and refrigerator together—discuss why items are leaving, staying, or becoming treats for special occasions.