How to Eat a Normal Diet

A diet consists of foods we choose to eat

Are you bewildered by the countless number of different diets out there, such as South Beach

diet, Atkins diet, vegetarian diet, Mediterranean diet, Ornish diet...the list seems to never end.

Diet is the sum of foods that an individual consumes, and dietary habits are part of an

individual's way of life in choosing what to eat[1]. Do you want to just eat a normal diet?

The quick answer is that, unfortunately, there is no normal diet for everyone. A normal diet

must be relative to a specific, well-defined population of interest. Depending on where you

live and your cultural or religious backgrounds, you may want to consider adopting a normal

diet for the particular population you are interested in. This article will give you the steps on

how to determine the normal diet for a specific population, as well as how you can take steps

to eat this normal diet.

People will always continue eating the type of food according with their ethnic group and
background; that's why a good universal advice is to eat slowly to avoid overeating since our
brain needs about 20 minutes to get the "Satiation signal" (Digestive and hormonal processes
need to take place to get the signal to the hypothalamus in our brain)and if we eat fast we will
overeat and still feel hungry.

edit Steps

1. 1

Understand what is a "normal diet" really is. "Normal" refers to the mean, median,

and mode of a normal, or Gaussian, distribution[2], or what most people do within a

given population. Definition of "normal": relating to, involving, or being a

normal curve or normal distribution.[3]. For example, in a third-world country, the

normal diet may be vegetarian (because meat is too expensive), whereas in an

industrialised country, the "normal" diet may not be vegetarian (i.e. most people eat

meat).
 2. 2Find out what a normal diet is for your population of interest. You may have to
ask many people in this population of interest to find out. Don't be discouraged. The
more people you survey, the closer your sample mean will approximate the
population mean, and the more confidence you will have in your determination of a
normal diet for your population of interest. Seek out a dietician (one who specializes
in diet as a career) to help you.
3. 3Start eating that normal diet. Only buy, prepare, and eat food part of the normal
diet you have discovered. Avoid food not part of the normal diet. Eat with people that
endorse the normal diet.
4. 4Maintain the normal diet. Enlist the help of everyone you know, from friends,
relatives, and loved ones. Ask them to guide you and help you maiy tontain the
normal diet.
5. 5Eat slowly to avoid overeating and obesity; this is always a good advice that you
can apply when you travel and want to taste all the food of the different places
you visit, or simply during holidays when we all go out of a "normal diet"

edit Tips

 Find out what the normal diet is for yourself. This may vary depending on your
country, your culture, your family, your community, your personal beliefs, etc.
Because normalcy refers to the population mean, it varies with the population of
interest. But once you define the population of interest, e.g. all persons in the
state of Wyoming in 2009, then you can determine the normal diet for this
population, which simply is the most common diet within this population.
 Use support to guide you in eating a normal diet.
 Read all the books you can on diet and nutrition.
 Eat slowly to avoid overeating and obesity; Google Eating slowly to learn how this
works

edit Warnings

 Should you have any health concerns (if your diabetic, for example), always check
with a registered dietitian or health professional before making radical changes to
your diet.
 There can be short term side effects to changing one's diet, as your body adapts to a
new group of foods. These may include gas or diarrhea if your body is naturally
flushing undesirables or a build-up of toxins from your system. This may also affect
your energy levels until your body adapts to the new diet.
 A normal diet is not necessarily a healthy diet. Adopt at your own risk.