Article: If you're trying to get toned, you'll want to start by burning any excess fat that you might have in a healthy way. Regardless of the weight you're  at, eating the right amount of food for the amount of activity you get is a healthy choice. Talk to your doctor about the recommended calorie intake for your size, age, and activity level. You don't have to count calories but you should use your recommended daily intake to get an idea of roughly how much food you should eat. You might be eating too much but you also don't want to end up eating too little.  For most people, our bodies will start burning fat when we burn more calories (a form of energy) than we take in. If you have fat that you need to burn before you can look toned, you'll need to make sure you're taking in slightly fewer calories than your body really needs. Don't make the change too dramatic, however. Too few calories and your body will think that there's a famine going on, causing it to absorb and create as much fat as it possibly can. For example, an average height 16 year old girl who weighs 120 lbs and exercises about once a week would need around 1800 calories a day to maintain the weight that she's at. If she wanted to lose weight, she might want to lower that amount to 1300-1350. To burn fat but also to take care of your overall health, you should avoid foods that are bad for you or that add a large number of calories without adding any nutrition. These tend to be some of our favorite foods, but they are often what pushes us over the edge into overeating.  Generally, you want to avoid unhealthy fats (trans fats), sugar, and carbohydrates with very few nutrients. These include items like butter, chips, french fries, commercial baked goods, candy, commercial pizza, mayonnaise, soda, processed meat, and white bread. You'll also want to watch out for some “health” foods. Smoothies, for example, often contain a huge amount of sugar. For example, even Jamba Juice's healthy options still contain the equivalent of 24 sugar cubes. If you want to have a smoothie, make sure no sugar is added and that it contains mostly greens and soy or almond milk. The fruit content should be minimal. Instead of these unhealthy foods, make sure you eat as many nutrient rich foods as you can. Vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can give you all of the nutrients you need, although some fruit and dairy can be good too.  Healthy vegetables include: kale, chard, collard greens, broccoli, spinach, edamame, carrots, brussels sprouts, and peas. Healthy grains include: brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, bulgur, buckwheat, and barley. Healthy proteins include: lean proteins such as salmon, turkey, anchovies, sardines, soy nuts (and other soy products), almonds, walnuts, eggs, and lentils. Healthy fruits include: lemons/limes, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, and pears. Healthy dairy products include: cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt, and milk.. You body always needs water to perform properly but water will be especially important while you work on exercising to build your muscles. If you're not hydrating your body very well right now, getting enough water can actually help you lose weight too. Pass on the coffee, energy drinks, sodas and juice, in favor of water and you'll help ensure that your body can stay healthy and hydrated.  How much water you need depends on your own unique body. The recommended eight glasses a day is just a rough estimate. A good rule of thumb is that if your urine is coming out pale or clear, you're getting enough water. If it's bright yellow or dark, you need to drink more water. You'll want to maintain your electrolytes while you exercise but don't feel limited to sports drinks like Gatorade. Electrolytes are essentially any "salt" in the presence of water. For example, mostly anything with ingredients in the first or second group of the periodic table (like Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium) will act as an electrolyte when consumed with water. Such salts can be found in table salt (sodium chloride), bananas (potassium), and mineral rich vegetables like kale. Eating a banana and munching on some salted nuts while staying hydrated is a much healthier way to maintain a crucial electrolyte balance without consuming artificial dyes and sweeteners. You'll see loads of advertisements on the internet and in magazines, telling you that this diet or that diet will get you looking like X celebrity in two weeks. However, these diets are at best unrealistic and at worst, dangerous. Starving yourself is definitely not an option. Eat fewer calories than normal, yes, but you do need to eat. You also shouldn't use any diet which forbids a food group, like the Atkins diet. Your body needs a wide range of nutrients and dietary diversity is key to making sure that you stay healthy. It is recommended that you eat at least 1,200 calories a day. You should never go below 1000 calories a day, as this significantly increases your chances of health complications like gallstones.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Fit your portions to your activity level. Avoid unhelpful foods. Focus on nutrient rich foods. Drink plenty of water and avoid unhealthy fluids. Try not to rely on fad diets.