Healthy Eating Ultimate Guide: Start Eating Healthy Without Being Miserable

So you want to start eating healthy, eh?

Amazing!

We’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people like you transform into actual superheroes, and we focus on proper nutrition to do so.

These are the exact strategies we teach our Online Coaching clients, and we’ve used these tips to help them lose weight and get in great shape without being miserable.

Plus, we use fun LEGO photos and gifs to keep you entertained.

In this Ultimate Guide, we’ll cover everything you need to start eating healthy today:
The TRUTH about healthy eating (DON’T SKIP).

What is “healthy eating” exactly?

How to start eating healthy (healthy food list).

What about fruit? Is fruit healthy?

What’s the right diet for me: Keto, Paleo, Mediterranean?
Healthy grocery shopping, cooking, and meal prep.

19 healthy meals you can cook today.

How to simplify nutrition (3 steps)
None of this matters without your BIG WHY:

Healthy Eating: Next Steps.
The Truth About Healthy Eating

It’s really easy to give people the following advice:

“To lose weight, just eat more REAL food.”
“Just eat less fast food and junk food.”
“Try to eat more organic vegetables watered by unicorn tears, farm-to-table meals served by centaurs, and kale omelets made with eggs from chickens that you raised since birth.”

Okay so maybe people don’t say the last one.

But it’s not far from what healthy people say to people who can’t seem to get healthy.
In my opinion, these positions are completely out of touch with reality and it makes me plum dog mad.
For starters, fast food is crazy delicious and dirt cheap, and often the only way that many busy parents can feed themselves and their kids.

Next, applying morality and guilt to food consumption (“I’m being ‘so bad’ by eating this cookie”) creates an emotional rollercoaster – my least favorite kind of roller coaster.
I mean come on, we don’t need to be told that freshly grown fruits and veggies are better for us than junk food.
We don’t need to be told that organic grilled chicken and kale salad is healthier than a Double Whopper with Cheese.

We all know this!

So rather than “trying harder” to eat healthier, we’re going to use things like “science” and “human psychology” and “excessive quotation marks.”

Cool?

Here’s what you need to know: If you’re just trying to be healthier and maybe lose some weight, there’s no need to start funneling kale smoothies, mainlining chicken and broccoli, and abandoning your loyalty to Burger King.
You can lose weight and be healthy while still eating these foods occasionally.
Heck, people have lost weight by eating Twinkies[2] drinking soda and eating at McDonald’s 3 times per day.
I share this info not to promote those foods, but rather to make a big point:
If you are terrified of giving up all “junk food”
You do not need to give up fast food if it brings you joy.
You do not need to feel shame for eating ice cream.
You do not need to use terms like “cheat meal” or “guilty pleasure” when talking about a chocolate chip cookie.
Food isn’t good or evil, my dear friend!
It’s just food!

Let’s bring it all together:

If we have certain health goals, we can give ourselves the best chance of success by getting strategic about what foods we say “YES” to, and what foods we say “SOMETIMES” to.
These YES foods give us more energy and have fewer calories on average than “junk food,” which means we’re likely to eat fewer total calories without realizing it.

And thus, we end up with the Triforce of Awesome:

A longer lifespan.
A smaller waistline.
A happier, healthier existence.
So what are these magical foods we’re talking about?
I thought you’d never ask.

What is Healthy Eating?

Removing all the morality and science of food, let’s talk about a realistic definition of “healthy food”:
“Foods I can eat frequently that give me enough fuel to get through the day AND don’t make me miserable.”
Most doctors, websites, and books have generally the same list of “healthy foods”:
Protein like poultry, meat, low-fat dairy, and legumes.

Fruits and vegetables.

Healthy carbohydrates like rice and quinoa.
Healthy fats like almonds and olive oil.
Occasional full-fat cheese and dairy.
(A more complete list of healthy foods is below).

Why is it that these are the foods that happen to end up on every list on every website when it comes to “healthy eating?”

Simple

They are full of vitamins and minerals while also being lower in calories than ultra-processed foods that are easily overconsumed.

They also fill us up, making us feel satiated, and keep us under our calorie allotment for the day.

Now you’re starting to get it:

If we can prioritize these foods on our plate even occasionally, we’ll feel full more often while eating fewer calories
Let me drive this point about into your brain (not literally).

Each of the following foods contains 200 calories in the quantities shown (courtesy of wiseGEEK):

And here’s a huge plate of broccoli, also 200 calories:

In this context, the realization that we might overeat certain foods compared to others starts to become more clear:
If we accidentally overeat broccoli, we might eat an extra 20 calories. And who accidentally overeats broccoli?
If we accidentally overeat spaghetti, we might eat an extra 500-1000 calories.

If we accidentally eat a family-sized bag of Sour Patch Kids, we might eat an extra 2000 calories (and have no tastebuds left on our tongue).

Which brings me to the next point.

We humans are terrible at estimating how many calories we eat.

Like, bad at it. I bet the proportions of the above foods surprised you.

We consistently eat much more than we realize, by as much as 47%+.
To make matters worse, we also OVERestimate how many calories we burn through exercise.
One study showed that Fitness trackers like AppleWatch or Fitbit do not estimate energy burned through exercise accurately, some by as much as 90%!

That’s why we made this fun infographic:

So when we “can’t lose weight,” it’s not because we have a broken metabolism.
It’s not because we have bad genetics.

Or that we’re not eating for our blood type.
Because we always have a ready supply of new energy from recently eaten food, more than we need, our body NEVER has to dip into our stored fat to burn for fuel.

And when we think we’ve out-exercised our bad diet, we haven’t.

So it’s time to stop “trying harder” and instead “try differently”:
For us to get healthy, we need to find ways to include more foods that fill us up AND taste good.
Luckily, I have that list right here!

How to Start Eating Healthy (Healthy Food List)

There are three big macronutrients that we’re going to focus on as we build our plate like the image above:
Protein: building blocks for our muscles.
Carbohydrates: our bodies will burn as fuel.
Fats: can be burned as fuel, and also helps with nutrition absorption!

#1) PROTEIN: Priority Numero Uno.

Protein is amazing.
Your body uses protein to rebuild your muscles and keep you strong, especially if you are exercising or strength training regularly. Protein is both good for you AND highly satiating.

Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
Meat (beef, bison, pork).
Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck).

Eggs!

Fish and shellfish (salmon, tuna, shrimp).

Legumes (black beans, chickpeas).
Not a meat-eater? Read our massive plant-based guide!
A serving of protein is about the size and thickness of your palm.
The 4 oz serving is for an uncooked piece of meat. Cooking reduces about 25% of the weight, bringing it down to about 3 oz.

When building a plate, aim for the following amount of protein:

Dudes: 1-2 servings (6-8 oz or about 170-228 g): two palms
Dudettes: 1 serving (3-4 oz or about 85-114 g): 1 palm.
If you’re curious, here’s how much protein is in a serving of food:
4 oz (113 g) serving of chicken has around 30 g of protein.
4 oz (113 g) serving of salmon has 23 g of protein
4 oz (113 g) of steak has 28 g of protein.

As we cover in our “How much protein should I eat per day?” you can target anywhere from 80% to 100% of your body weight in pounds per gram of protein, with an upper limit of 250g:

If you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg), target 120-150g of protein.
If you weigh 200 pounds (90 kg), target 160-200g of protein.
If you weigh 250 pounds (113 kg), target 200-250g of protein.
If you weigh over 250 pounds (113 kg), target 250g of protein.

#2: VEGETABLES:

The difference-maker regarding healthy eating and weight management.
They are nutrient-dense: full of all the good nutrients that your body can use to function at optimal performance.
Next, they are voluminous but calorie-light, which means you can eat lots of them, you’ll feel full, but you’re unlikely to over-consume calories.

A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist.
Remember this is what just 200 calories of broccoli looks like (holy crap). This is at least 5 full servings:

Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that can fill your plate:

Broccoli
Broccolini
Cauliflower
Spinach
Kale
Spaghetti squash[16] Brussels sprouts
Zucchini
Cucumber
Carrots
Onion
Asparagus

Target 2 servings of vegetables on your plate – it should take up ½ the plate!
“But Steve, I don’t like vegetables…yet!”
That’s cool, I didn’t eat vegetables until I was 22. Now, they’re a main staple of every meal I eat.

#3) HEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES: Fuel and fiber!

These are the foods that can be an important part of a diet, provided you eat them in the right quantities for your goals.
These foods are also great to consume right after a strenuous strength training workout to help your muscles and liver refill their glycogen stores (their energy tanks, essentially).

Examples of healthy carbohydrates:

Rice
Legumes, lentils
Quinoa
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Whole grain bread (or pasta)

This is a list of REAL foods, minimally processed, that also have plenty of fiber.
If you’re wondering how fruit factors into this equation, that’s the next section.
Back to healthy carbs: when consumed in appropriate amounts, these are great foods that can help you feel full and give you energy and all that jazz.

Just make sure you know what an actual portion of these foods are!
A LOT of people accidentally overeat carbohydrate-heavy foods, even healthy ones, and then wonder why they aren’t losing weight.
To help you get better at eyeballing serving sizes:
1 serving of a starchy carbohydrate is 1 cupped hand (uncooked), or your two hands forming a cup (cooked).

#4) HEALTHY FATS: No longer the enemy!

Fat had a bad rep in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but now things are swinging way back in the other direction.
In some circles, dietary fat is considered a superfood – the healthiest thing on the planet that also does your taxes for you.

Let’s get to the truth:

Fat is neither a superfood nor evil.
It’s just a macronutrient that you can eat that can help you reach your goals in the right quantity, or keep you from your goals if it’s overconsumed.

When your doctor tells you to eat more healthy fats, she’s referring to polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Healthy fat can be found in foods like:

Avocado
Almonds
Walnuts
Macadamia nuts
Olive oil
Almond butter
Peanut butter

Now, science has recently come around on saturated fat too[20] – once completely vilified, but now cautiously considered okay for moderate consumption.

Saturated fats can come from things like:
Whole milk
Full-fat dairy
Coconut oil
Grass-fed butter
Lard
Fatty cuts of meat

Fat can be good for you provided you’re eating the right quantity for your goals.
However, like carbs, fats can be overconsumed accidentally too.
To help you gauge: a serving size of fat is roughly the size of your thumb!
This is a single serving of almonds (162 calories)
This is a serving of olive oil (119 calories, taken from Runtastic)
As you can see, if you’re not careful – you can accidentally eat an extra 500 calories of “healthy fats” by absentmindedly eating too many “heart-healthy” fats.
Many folks in our Coaching Program had us analyze why they weren’t losing weight, even though they “only ate grilled chicken and veggies.”
When we dug into it, they had been preparing all of their food in an extra 500-600 calories worth of olive oil they weren’t accounting for.
To recap carbs and fats: feel free to include a starchy carb on your plate in the form of rice, potatoes, pasta, or legumes. Healthy fats can spice up a meal, provided you’re using an appropriate portion size.

I realize that was a CRAZY amount of info, so let’s put it all on the same Healthy Plate:

1-2 servings of protein (¼ of plate)
2 servings of vegetables (½ of plate)
1 serving potatoes, rice, or pasta. (1/4th of plate)
1 serving of fat (the size of your thumb)
1 zero-calorie or low-calorie beverage (water, diet soda, tea)
I know that not all of your meals are going to be perfectly segmented like a bento box.

For example:

A fatty cut of meat like chicken thighs means your fat and protein are coming. Cool.
Lentils and legumes mean your protein and your carbs are attached at the hip. Swell.
A burrito bowl with chicken, rice, guacamole, and cheese means all of your macros are cohabitating. Neato!
Salmon cooked in olive oil and coated in almond flakes means your fat and protein have fused. Stupendous!
This plate and serving size stuff above is just to help you get started thinking about healthy food differently and in proper portion sizes:
Trying to lose weight?