For a good figure, for a glowing skin, and for a non-lethargic energetic feeling, your first and last requirement is nutritional food. Nutritional food is mainly fresh food that comes directly from the lap of mother nature, without having made a detour through factories by getting dried or fried or canned in a way as to become devoid of much of its nutrients. There are some processed foods like milk that may still retain some of its natural nutrition. In fact milk and juices are sometimes made more nutritious by the addition of minerals like calcium during processing. Still, much of the processed foods like biscuits, cereals, and chips have far less nutrition than fresh foods.
By taking nutritional food, you will be serving your body in the best possible way. Once in a while junk food may be unavoidable. Sometimes you may have to grab something in a hurry from some eatery, or at other times you might be invited by someone to dine out. But that does not mean that you have to completely abandon the idea of having nutritional food. Everything served in junk food eateries are not bad. Even there you can choose dishes that have less of fats and more of vegetables in them. It will also help if you go in for smaller helpings of high calorie dishes. Avoiding sauces and rich seasoning is also a way for controlling calories.
Cooking simple nutritional food at home is also a good way for remaining healthy and energetic. There are plenty of tasty recipes with limited fat content. Mastering some of these recipes is a good way for changing your eating patterns for the better. You can bulk cook some of these tasty dishes when you have time and store it for a couple of days. Having access to good food when you feel like having a bite, is a good way to control your tendency to head for a fast food joint.
Though restaurants and eateries give far more importance to taste than to nutrition, it is in fact not difficult to have nutritional food that is tasty as well. By watching the calories that you consume, and exercising at least a few times a week, it is easy to control the tendency to gain weight. If you have got interest, and you are persistent about it, weight gain, weight loss, and all weight related issues are easy to manage.