11 Simple Ways to Start Eating Healthier This Year

At this time of year, you’ll likely hear your friends rave about the diet they’re on. “Cut out all sugar,” they’ll suggest, or maybe they’ll invite you to join them on the Mediterranean diet. But no matter how often U.S. News and World Report tries to rank them, there’s no such thing as a “best” diet. The right diet for you is the one that keeps you satisfied and healthy, and it’s perfectly fine if it doesn’t come with a set of rules or a trendy name.

Detoxes and cleanses don’t really detoxify or cleanse anything, though you probably already know this. If you’re seeking a fresh start, more energy, or even just a week off from cooking, check out our guide that explores alternative ways to satisfy those desires. For example, if you think a juice cleanse will give you better skin from hydration, perhaps what you actually need is a new moisturizer instead.

The term “organic” has somehow been equated with “healthy” in popular thinking, but they don’t mean the same thing. Organic food must be grown under specific rules that can be beneficial for the environment, such as the types of pesticides used. Organic meats and animal products also have more stringent animal welfare standards compared to conventional ones. However, there’s no proof that organic foods are healthier (or less healthy) than conventional foods.

The term “clean eating” may sound attractive, but “clean” is simply a buzzword that various influencers and experts like to use. Sometimes, it’s used to describe expensive foods. Other times, it’s associated with foods that fit a restrictive, specific diet. The world of food isn’t neatly divided into “clean” and “dirty,” and the term essentially holds no real meaning.

When people say they're “eating healthy,” it’s often a way of signaling weight loss goals. Let’s be straightforward: There’s no magical food, habit, or exercise that will target belly fat or improve your appearance in specific, aesthetic ways—even if you mention “gut health.” If your goal is to shed weight (or fat), the process is simple and direct, though it’s not always easy or predictable. We break down the basics of achieving a calorie deficit here. If weight loss is your real objective, focus on that instead of hoping it’ll happen as a byproduct of some vague wellness aim.

We’re big fans of the EatCheapandHealthy subreddit, and for good reason. Here’s a collection of meal ideas that are affordable, healthy, and easy to prepare—meals you can throw together in no time, requiring little to no prep work and sometimes no cooking at all.

Occasionally, you’ll come across a mind-blowing fact that reshapes your perspective. However, if that fact came from a meme without context, please do a little bit of fact-checking. We’ve put together a list of the most commonly shared nutrition facts that are either false or misleading.

A simple way to eat healthier is by adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. This is a fact backed by research, as studies show that 88% of us don’t meet the USDA's recommended daily servings of vegetables. Even if you’re not hitting the goal of two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetables, you could likely aim for one serving closer to that target, don’t you think? Focus on getting that in before stressing about which vegetables are the absolute healthiest.

In addition to increasing your vegetable intake, how about adding more fiber, consuming lean proteins, or cutting down on sugar? These are all great ways to improve your diet (and we’ve got even more tips) without obsessing over calories or weighing yourself constantly.

If you’re trying to cut back on processed foods, or if you're simply aware that processed options may lack the nutrients you're after, check out our guide on how to eat healthily in a world dominated by processed foods. And here's a secret: Processed doesn't always mean bad! Some of the best “processed” foods can actually help make healthy eating easier.

Foods designed for weight loss are typically low in calories, carbs, or fat—in short, foods that don’t have much substance. However, eating healthily is a different goal from just eating less. Once you realize that, you'll discover plenty of food options that are both delicious and good for you. You can still drizzle a rich dressing on your salad and enjoy all the vitamins and fiber from the vegetables. You can choose chicken thighs over breasts. You can enjoy potatoes without stressing about whether they're “clean” enough. It's all food, so why not find some that you truly enjoy?