When we, my partner and I, decided to seriously change our eating habits I thought that maybe I would lose a bit a weight so my clothes would fit more comfortably. To my amazement I went down 2 dress sizes. I am so chuffed.

It was not just changing our eating habits it was also looking at the different foods we were eating. What can I say, it is the old saying "You are what you eat" and we were eating foods that kept our weight up.

Now do not get me wrong we were not eating unhealthy foods, we were not scoffing fast foods or junk foods, we were just eating good healthy foods incorrectly.

Did you know that you can eat food correctly and incorrectly? I didn’t, but it is true. We were not eating food in the correct combination, for our bodies to ultimately use it all.

So I decided to take it a step further and assess what I knew about food and also look at the types of meals I was eating.

Growing up on a farm, a beef farm, I had a steady diet of beef, which is fine but it is good to have a variety. I still enjoy beef but having reassessed our eating habits I felt we could benefit having less red meat and more poultry and fish.

Red meat is just a little harder for the body to use as it is higher in fat than white meat or fish. However, that does not mean you can not enjoy red meat. Just eat smaller amounts and less often.

Poultry and fish are easier for the body to use but you have to watch how much oily fish you are eating as that can be just as difficult for your body to use as beef.

Do not confuse seafood with fish. Seafood is shell fish and it is higher in fat/cholesterol than fish. Seafood is to be enjoyed but not on a regular basis.

Oily fish such as Salmon, Trout, Sardines, Kippers, Tuna, Swordfish, Mackerel, Pilchards and Herring should be enjoyed but you should not eat them as often as you should eat non oily white fish such as Cod, Haddock, Plaice, Coley, Whiting, Lemon Sole, Skate, Halibut, Rock Salmon/Dogfish, Catfish, Dover Sole, Flounder, Hake, John Dory, Monkfish, Red Snapper and Sea Bass.

Please remember this is not the full list of the oily and non oily fish. It’s just some of the more common ones.

I suggest you have one oily fish day and one red meat day a week and the remaining days mix between poultry and non oily fish and vegetarian dishes. This will give you a healthier diet and will help if you are trying to lose or control your weight.