Healthy eating habits are not only about what you eat, but how and when you eat. Healthy eating habits play a vital role in how your body burns fat. Instead of eating three medium to large-sized meals per day, you should be eating five smaller meals.The actual process of breaking down food burns up calories. So if you eat several meals throughout the day, you'll burn up more calories through the digestion process.

Healthy eating habits and living a healthy lifestyle has a lot to do with forming the right habits. Here are seven of the best habits you can develop when it comes to healthy eating. Start by picking one of them and making it a habit of your own before moving on to the next. Before you know it, you will have developed a much healthier eating lifestyle.

Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don't normally eat.

Eat a variety of foods from meat, legumes, dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables and small amount of fat daily. Vegetables and fruits are a great source of vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates in fruits, milk, grains and legumes will give you quick energy for the first 2 hours while protein in milk, meat and legumes will keep you satisfied for 4 hours.

Calories count. Choose smaller portion sizes. Forget those super sizes as they are expensive to your waistline. Moderation is the key. Moderate portions pave way to healthy eating habits.

A question which is often discussed is whether it is better to have fixed mealtimes or to eat only when hungry. A solution which usually works is to have fixed mealtimes, but adjust the times and amounts to one's own hunger and satisfaction.The body must be well nourished and furthermore one should feel content but not overstuffed after eating.

The fact is: we all need fats. Fats helps nutrient absorption, nerve transmission, maintaining cell membrane integrity etc. However, when consumed in excess amount, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Fats are not created equal. Some fats promote our health positively while other increase our risks of heart disease. The key is to replace bad fats with good fats in our diet.

Why drinking water really is the Key to weight loss?If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat.

Healthy eating habits may help you reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer while providing such benefits such as:

* Better overall health
* Lower risk of disease
* A healthy body weight
* Feeling and looking better
* More energy
* Stronger muscles and bones