It’s time to cut through all of the gimmicks and fads and get down to the real answers. In order to take care of your body and achieve the results you want with weight loss or other health initiatives, you need to know the very basics. That includes the critical question most people ask when they get serious about improving their body: what are the components of a healthy diet?

For starters, a healthy diet will include every food group. Once you start cutting out carbs or fats completely you will rob your body of the nutrients it needs to function properly, and that includes functioning your metabolism and burning off fat.

The truth is you just need to monitor the types of carbs that you consume and how much you eat of them. Refined carbs such as white breads and pasta have been stripped of their main nutritional value and are more likely to go straight to your fat stores than burned off for immediate fuel. So, a healthy diet will replace these refined carbs with whole grains, but only in limited portions.

Whole grains are great sources of energy for your body because they break down slower and do not rush straight to your bloodline. Thus, you don’t need a lot of these carbs to do the job of fueling your body. If you eat large portions much of it will have to be stored for later use…and that means in your fat cells.

Vegetables and fruits are also great sources of carbs that will give your body tons of energy without packing on the weight.

A healthy diet will also limit the amount of saturated fat that is consumed. Red meats and processed sweets are a big source of the bad fats that most people consume, so going with lean meats such as chicken or lean ground turkey, or even tofu is much healthier. If you do eat red meat, get lean cuts with very little fat.

Besides a high intake of water, those are essentially the components of a healthy diet: whole grains, vegetables and fruits, and lean sources of protein.