19 Simple Tips to Start Eating Healthy

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1. Assess Your Current Diet

Track everything you eat and drink in a food journal for a few days to become more aware of your eating habits. You might notice healthy habits, like eating fruits and vegetables, and areas that could use improvement, like drinking too many sugary drinks or calorie-dense foods.

Research shows that people who regularly use self-monitoring tools, like an app or a paper journal, are more successful with long-term weight management.

2. Make Gradual Changes

When making healthy changes to your diet, consider the acronym “SMART,” which stands for “specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound.” Setting unrealistic goals for yourself, like eating the recommended two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables daily when you tend to eat none, can be overwhelming. Instead, add in one new item daily to start.

3. Stock Up On Healthy Staples

Keeping your kitchen and pantry stocked with healthy essentials and nutrient-dense foods makes it easy to create balanced meals at home. Kitchen staples to keep on hand include:

• Canned and dried beans and lentils
• Cooking oils (avocado spray/oil, extra-virgin olive oil)
• Dried herbs and spices
• Eggs
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Frozen fruits and vegetables
• Greek yogurt
• Nuts and nut butter
• Onions and garlic
• Whole grains

4. Eat Less of These Foods

Some foods are high in calories but low in essential nutrients. Guidelines recommend limiting foods with added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium (salt).

Some foods to eat less of are:

• Chicken with the skin on, regular ground beef, and fatty cuts of meat
• Full-fat dairy products
• Pizza, burgers, and chips
• Sausage, hot dogs, bacon, and processed meats
• Sugar-sweetened beverages, candy, syrups, and desserts

5. Meal Prepping and Planning

Planning meals can reduce dinnertime stress, eliminate last-minute, unhealthy meal decisions, and help you choose healthier ingredients and portion sizes. Meal planning is also associated with better diet quality, food variety, and lower odds of overweight or obesity.

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Here are some tips to get started:

• Aim to include a variety of nutrient-dense, healthy foods.
• Build meals around foods you keep on hand, and cook enough to have leftovers.
• Buy everything you need at the grocery store for the week ahead.
• Prep meals on weekends or when you have extra time.
• Write out meals and snacks for the week to use as a guide.

6. Swap Unhealthy Snacks for Healthier Alternatives

Snack foods, including chips, cookies, and cereal bars, may be high in saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium. However, healthy snacks can keep you satisfied between meals, boost energy, and help prevent overeating at mealtime.

Choose snacks with carbohydrates and proteins, which will keep you full the longest.10 Ideas for healthy snacks include:

• Air-popped popcorn
• Applesauce (no sugar added)
• Apple slices with nut butter
• Carrots and hummus
• Low-fat Greek yogurt with berries
• Low-fat string cheese with a piece of fruit
• Nut butter on whole-grain toast
• Protein smoothie

7. Make Healthier Choices at Restaurants

Dining out does not always mean ditching your healthy eating plan. Some tips for making healthier choices at restaurants include:

• Ask for dressing on the side and use less.
• Avoid appetizers and desserts.
• Avoid cream or butter-based sauces and try vegetable-based, like marinara.
• Choose options that are baked, grilled, steamed, or roasted.
• Choose water or another low-calorie beverage.
• Opt for sides like steamed vegetables, a side salad, or a plain sweet or regular potato.
• Share a meal or ask for a to-go box to save part of your meal for later.
• View the restaurant's menu online, ahead of time and decide what to order.

8. Eat Healthy on a Budget

Eating healthy on a budget starts with planning. Check local grocery ads for sales and stock up on nonperishable food items (like canned foods) your family regularly uses. Plan meals around ingredients on sale and foods you already have on hand. Make larger meals with enough servings for leftovers.

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Other tips to keep costs down:

• Buy produce when it is in season for the best prices.
• Choose frozen fruits or vegetables that are out of season.
• Limit the amount of prepackaged snacks you buy.
• Look for less expensive cuts of meat (chicken thighs, ground chicken/turkey, and bone-in cuts).
• Opt for store brands whenever possible.
• Use coupons.

9. Avoid These Common Mistakes

Do not skip meals. Research shows that skipping meals or going too long without eating can lead to anxiety, weight gain, and metabolic syndrome (a term used to describe a group of conditions that raise your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke).

Also, try not to rely too heavily on supplements, including protein bars, meal replacement shakes, and green powders. These foods may not offer the same benefits as whole, minimally processed foods.

10. Drink More Water

Drinking water helps you stay hydrated, preventing mood changes, brain fog, constipation, and kidney stones. Water can also help with weight loss, especially when used to replace high-calorie, sugary beverages.

The exact amount of water you need daily depends on many factors, but most experts recommend an average of nine cups of fluid per day for women and 13 cups for men.

11. Move Your Body More

Regular physical activity offers many health benefits, including:

• Decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain types of cancer
• Improved sleep
• Reduced stress
• Weight management

Adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or about 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

12. Get More Sleep

Good sleep improves brain function, mood, and overall health. Sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of several chronic conditions, including obesity, heart disease, and dementia.

One study found that adults who slept less than seven hours a night were more likely to develop obesity than those who slept more. Sleep deprivation is linked to increased levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreased levels of the satiety-promoting hormone leptin.

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13. Manage Stress

Stress can lead to skipping meals and unhealthy choices, which, over time, can negatively impact health. Chronic stress can also affect your metabolism, causing your body to store more fat around the belly.

Practicing relaxation techniques, such as meditation and yoga, exercising, and doing more things you enjoy are all ways to manage stress.

14. Practice Mindful Eating

Mindful eating can improve your relationship with food. It involves paying attention to hunger cues, eating slowly, and minimizing distractions, allowing you to be fully present during meals.

Research linked mindful eating with improved eating habits, including fewer ultra-processed foods and choosing foods common in the Mediterranean diet, including plant-based foods, whole grains, olive oil as a fat, and limited amounts of fish, dairy, eggs, and meat. What's more, those who practice mindful eating tend to consume fewer calories overall.

15. Increase Your Protein Intake

High protein diets increase satiety hormones while suppressing hunger hormones. Protein also has a higher thermic effect than fat and carbs, meaning your body burns more calories while digesting protein.

Good sources of protein include:

• Beans
• Eggs
• Greek yogurt and low-fat dairy products
• Lean meat
• Nuts and nut butter
• Seafood

16. Limit Alcohol

Alcohol, including beer, wine, and liquor, is a source of extra calories, which can contribute to weight gain. Excessive alcohol use is also associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, and a weakened immune system.

Current guidelines recommend that women consume no more than one drink daily and men no more than two drinks daily.

17. Read Food Labels

Knowing how to read food labels can help you make healthier choices. Start by reading the list of ingredients and nutrients on the label, as well as checking for the recommended serving size, which reflects the standard amount of a food to eat and its calorie count.

Look for foods high in nutrients and low in ingredients that do not provide nutrition. Many people do not get enough fiber, vitamin D, and iron, while saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars are often eaten too much and can negatively affect health.

18. Eat More Fiber

Fiber helps keep our digestive system healthy and keeps us feeling full longer. It also helps manage blood sugar levels and lowers cholesterol. The best sources of fiber are fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes such as beans and lentils.

19. Increase Calcium and Vitamin D

Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone health.30 Calcium is found in dairy products, fortified plant-based alternatives, and mustard greens, spinach, and sardines.

Very few foods are naturally high in vitamin D, with some exceptions like salmon, trout, and canned tuna. Look for fortified foods like milk, orange juice, and whole-grain cereals to boost your calcium and vitamin D intake.