The balanced diet with veggies has combined the wisdom of several philosophies to result in a very successful way of maintaining health and achieving the body you want in combination with a consistent workout. First off, it uses the conventional wisdom found in nearly every nutrition book, following much of the advice of the food pyramid. Balancing carbs and proteins and putting in a good portion of high nutrient vegetables is a good idea. In some ways, it's better and easier to follow than the strict low-carb diet because you're not restricted to avoiding or nearly avoiding carbohydrates, only simple carbs. The complex carbs are okay, as long as they are eaten in combination with a low-fat, high-quality protein like turkey breast or top sirloin.

Why is what you eat important? The food and water you take in makes up every cell in your body. The higher quality your food, the higher quality your body will be and you'll have more energy, strength, and mental awareness.

In a nutshell, here's the plan:
Eat a portion of protein and carbohydrates together from the list below and add a vegetable to the meal for at least two of the meals per day.

Proteins:
Chicken breast, turkey breast, lean ground turkey, swordfish, orange roughy, haddock, salmon, tuna, crab, lobster, shrimp, top round steak, lean ground beef, buffalo, lean ham, egg whites or substitutes, low-fat cottage cheese.

Carbohydrates:
Baked potato, Sweet potato, Yam, Squash, Pumpkin, Steamed Brown Rice, Steamed Wild Rice, Pasta, Oatmeal, Barley, Beans, Corn, Strawberries, Melon, Apple, Orange, Fat-Free Yogurt, Whole-Wheat Bread.

Vegetables:
Broccoli, Asparagus, Lettuce, Carrots, Cauliflower, Green beans, Green peppers, Mushrooms, Spinach, Tomato, Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Artichoke, Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini, Cucumber, Onion.

You can't let your body get hungry or else you will go into "starvation mode" and start holding onto fat instead of burning it. So, the recommended meals per day is six. That's three full meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) with snack meals in between. The snack meals should be from a high quality souce of protein and carbs like a protein bar or protein shake. Don't forget to take a multi-vitamin every day and supplement with a ZMA product before bed to replenish your body with Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6.