How to Actually Start Eating Healthy
Eating healthy is good for you, no matter who you are or what your goals are. First , you don’t have to try to lose weight to eat healthier . But it can be difficult to know where to start, so here are some basic tips for eating healthy. Fruits, vegetables and protein are some of the easiest options to start with and will have the biggest impact.
There is no perfect diet
Before we begin, an important basic rule: there is no one perfect way to eat. It doesn’t matter what your keto friend says, or your mom who has a diet plan you just have to try, or even those ranked lists of the “best” diets . When weight loss diets were compared to each other, they all worked about the same. And if you’re just eating healthy for your health (what an idea!), there are still plenty of ways to do it. So let’s talk about what almost all approaches to healthy eating have in common.
While I’ll list a few good starting points below, you don’t have to do them all—pick one now. Just like exercise, it takes time to get into the habit. Eating healthy can involve many different habits , such as learning new recipes or buying different foods than what you’re used to, so give yourself some time to learn and get used to it.
Eat more fruits and vegetables
If you only change one thing, do it. Most of us don’t eat enough vegetables or eat the same thing over and over again. Eat more vegetables and more types of vegetables. The same goes for fruits, especially fresh ones. (Technically, apple pie is a fruit, but that’s not what I mean.) Fruits and vegetables contain fiber that most of us don’t get enough of, including soluble, insoluble, and prebiotic fiber. They also contain vitamins and minerals that most of us should be getting more of, such as vitamin A and potassium . And they contain a lot of phytonutrients, which are natural chemical compounds that aren’t considered vitamins but are probably still good for us. For example, beta-carotene is a form of vitamin A, but there are at least 40 other carotenes that we can get from food. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and you’ll cover a lot of bases.
How to do it : Try adding fruits or vegetables to at least one meal a day. (Once you get the hang of it, use it and add more.) Feel free to make it convenient: Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh ones ( sometimes even more so ). You can add frozen cooked spinach to almost any sauce or soup, or roast a bunch of vegetables—fresh, frozen, etc.—on a baking sheet for an easy side dish or meal. Everything is deliciously seasoned and fried .
Get enough protein
It’s not difficult to get enough protein in your regular diet, but when reconsidering what you eat, make sure you have room for it. Lean proteins such as fish, chicken and tofu are an excellent base for your diet. Whether to include fattier foods, such as red meat, depends on your diet goals (including whether your doctor has told you to limit these foods for health reasons).
If you’re trying to lose weight, you need more protein than the average person . The less food you eat, the more protein it should contain. Remember, protein is a nutrient found in many foods; It’s not just about the meat and tofu itself. Get into the habit of reading labels (or Googling the protein content of foods) to make sure you’re getting enough protein. The numbers are listed in our protein guide . If you exercise a lot, you will also need more protein than the average person.
And don’t worry about the fear-mongering messages you may have heard about how we’re already getting “too much” protein. This is a myth that stems from some misunderstandings about how the recommended daily protein intake is calculated. If you check the numbers, the average person barely eats enough protein, and many of us fall into groups that should be getting more than the minimum. For example, if you are an older person, you probably need significantly more than you already receive.
Eat less sugar and processed foods
It is not realistic to completely eliminate sugar and processed foods from your diet. In any case, processing is relative ; cooking is a form of processing. But if you find yourself eating a lot of these foods, it may be helpful to ask yourself: What could I eat instead?
For example, instead of using packaged breakfast cereal, you can make your own oatmeal or overnight oats. If you drink a lot of sodas, you may want to replace some of those drinks with water or seltzer. And if you snack a lot on candy or chips, you might want to increase the number of meals you eat (more protein? More vegetables?) so you’re less likely to experience snack cravings later in the day.
Make healthy eating easy
Making the intention to eat healthy is the easy part. In fact, people get confused about grabbing the right food or snack when you’re busy or tired. So think about what you want to eat in advance and prepare everything so that it is easy.
Place fresh fruit somewhere convenient and tuck candy in the back of the cupboard. On the weekend, chop up some veggies and cook up some brown rice so you can have them ready when it’s time for lunch. If you enjoy cooking dinner but often get lost during lunch, pack a lunch with you in the evening (even if you’re working from home) so you just have to open your lunch box when it’s time to eat.
By the way, eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean cooking food from scratch. I like to buy bags of frozen vegetables or mixed vegetables and grains from Trader Joe’s and combine them with whatever protein I have on hand (often also buy and defrost at Trader Joe’s, sorry I’m predictable). Making your life easier is not cheating. If you think meal prepping ahead of time might help, check out my guide to creating a meal prep habit without getting overwhelmed or bored with prep .
Only track calories if you really want or need to.
If you’re trying to gain or lose weight, you need to change the total number of calories you consume relative to the number of calories you burn . And if your weight changes but you don’t want it to, you want to keep your calories in and calories burned equal. Tracking your food intake and counting calories will help you keep track of whether the numbers are going the way you want them to.
However, don’t track calories just because you feel like you “should.” Unless you have a specific goal or are flexible with your timing, you don’t have to download MyFitnessPal just because all your dieting friends are doing it. ( Either way, Cronometer is the best app for tracking your food intake , and you can better monitor your weight gain or loss with Macrofactor (paid) or a free DIY solution .)
If you do find yourself counting calories, a word of warning: Don’t aim for a shockingly low number, even if you have the willpower to make it work. ( 1,200 calories is a starvation ration .) An extreme calorie deficit can cause you to lose muscle, not just fat, which, ironically, can leave you less healthy than you started out. In any case, gradual changes are more sustainable.