Many people weigh more than they want to. They eat too much or do not exercise enough. They choose unhealthy food, or snacks too often. Weight gain (增加) happens when people eat more food than their bodies use.     1     Dieting (节食) means taking in less food.

It has been shown that writing down everything you eat and drink—as soon as possible—helps you to lose weight. Writing down what you eat is called keeping a “food diary”.

If you write down everything you eat and drink in a day, you might be surprised! It is easy to forget the food you eat while you are reading, working or watching TV.     2     Each snack might seem small, but they add up.

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    4     Without the diary, you might forget about the biscuits with your coffee, the soft drink at lunch, or the mid-afternoon banana. You might forget having extra pieces of pizza!

Keeping a food diary will also make you aware (意识到) if you are not eating enough different kinds of foods. It will show if you are not eating enough vegetables or fruit, or if you are drinking too many sweet drinks.     5     They can help you write down what you eat and you will lose weight faster.

People didn’t pay much attention to their health in the past, but now more and more people try to make sure that they are healthy.     1    

Do exercise every day. There are many ways to do exercise in daily life.     2     Some people think that doing simple things like cleaning the house is helpful. Other people think that doing exercise such as running or playing ball games is good.

Eat healthy food. It is good for your health to eat healthy food. You should eat more vegetables and fruits but less fast food every day.     3    

    4     Today many people have stress in their life, but we should try to relax ourselves. In fact, you can never keep yourself away from stress in life.     5     So you need to know the reason for the stress and find ways to feel better. Thinking about things in an active way can also reduce stress. Try to live for now, and don’t worry about the future.

5 . Snack Rules

Probably you grew up with a stop-snacking mom. That is a mom who tells her kids that snacks are bad. They will make you fat. They will hurt your teeth.

Well, Mom may be right about most things, but she isn’t right about all snacks. There is actually a healthy way to snack.     1     The right snacks can keep you from eating too much at dinner and keep you from getting fat.

The first rule about snacking is to make your own.     2     Most of those snacks have too much sugar and salt in them.

    3     Things like bread and crackers are processed quickly by your body. Have some cheese or yogurt to go along with some bread, and you’ve got a winning snack.

The third rule about snacking is to remember water. Especially when you are working, it is easy to mistake being tired for being hungry.     4     Your body might just be trying to tell you to drink some water. Have a bottle of water before you pull out another snack. That might be all you really need.

With one or two snack breaks during your day, you will probably find that you eat less at lunch and dinner. Smaller meals will help you cut down the amount of food you eat during your day. And eating less is a great way to start losing weight.

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Sometimes it may seem difficult to improve our health.     1    

Eat breakfast every morning.

Research shows that if you eat a meal in the morning, you may not become too fat or eat too much during lunch. Eating breakfast can help people feel better through the day.

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Poor sleep can influence our memory and learning. It can also cause traffic accidents! Studies show that people who don’t get enough sleep seem to get into more accidents. So get enough sleep and stay safe!

Take a walk every day.

Walking is an easy way to exercise. You’d better meet friends for a walk, not for a meal.

    3     Once you try, you will find that adding a walk into your daily life is very easy.

Join social groups.

Social groups can provide support. They might include sports teams, art or music groups. The people in the group can offer advice and help each other in difficult times.     4     An active mind is a healthy mind!

Have a hobby.

A hobby could be running, reading or making something with your hands. Hobbies help people to relax and rest.     5    

Experts in nutrition (营养) suggest that we should eat at least five different kinds of vegetables and fruit a day. There are a lot of vegetables and fruit to choose from and they taste delicious.     1    

Why do we go to the trouble of growing on our own? Here are several good reasons.

Food that you grow yourself is always fresh.     2     When you have tried it, you will agree that vegetables and fruit that are eaten straight from the garden taste better than anything you can buy in a supermarket.

    3     Food producers often use fertilizers (化肥) and pesticides (农药) which can end up in your food. If you grow your own, things are different.     4     You might also choose to grow some traditional vegetables and fruit. These often have more vitamins, minerals (矿物质) and protein (蛋白质) that keep you healthy.

If you have a large garden, growing your own is easy. And you can grow your own even if you only have a small backyard or a balcony (阳台). Some food can grow well in pots including lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots.     5     Just make sure there are holes for drainage (排水) and a small plate under them to catch drops of water.

Happy gardening!

Healthy eating doesn’t just mean what you eat, but how you eat. Here’s some advice on healthy eating.

    1     It can help you to see others’ healthy eating habits and learn from them.

    2     Ask yourself if you’re really hungry. Drink a glass of water to see if you’re thirsty (口渴的).   Sometimes you’re just thirsty and you don’t need food. Stop eating before you feel full.

    3     Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After you don’t eat for the past ( 过去的) ten hours, your body needs food to help you work or study. You’ll be energetic (精力充沛的) after a good breakfast.

    4     You need snacks sometimes. In fact, it’s a good idea to eat some healthy snacks between two meals.

    5     With busy work or study, you may put off eating dinner. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed. This will give your body a chance to digest (消化) most of the food before you rest for the next 8 to 10 hours.