Developing A Recovery And Wellness Lifestyle
A Self-Help Guide

Diet

The foods and other substances you put in your body may be affecting the way you feel. Many people have found that they feel much better when they pay close attention to what they put in their body, eliminating some things and adding others. If you feel your diet might be affecting the way you feel, try to become more aware of what you eat and drink. Notice how you feel half an hour or more after you have eaten that food or had that drink. If you notice you don't feel very good, try eliminating it from your diet for a short time. If you feel better not eating this particular food, you may want to avoid it as much as possible. Do you notice that you feel badly after you have eaten certain foods or drunk certain beverages like sugar, caffeine, heavily salted, or fatty foods?

You may find that you feel much better when your diet consists mostly of foods that are wholesome and natural. While it may seem that these foods are more expensive, when you choose them instead of junk foods the increase in your food bill will be hardly noticeable.

According to the Food Guide Pyramid developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, (Home & Garden Bulletin Number 252), you need to eat the following each day —

• 3-5 servings of vegetables
  
• 2-4 servings of fruit
  
• 6-11 servings of grain based foods
  
• 2-3 servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese
  
• 2-3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts
  
• use sparingly fats, oils, and sweets

Focus on foods that are wholesome, natural, and fresh. Do you feel you have a good diet?

If not, how are you going to improve it?

Do you often overeat or avoid eating?

This can cause you to feel badly. Make it a habit to eat three healthy meals a day with several healthy between-meal snacks if desired. Don't skip any meals.

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