18 Posts For When You're Trying To Eat Healthier

Everything you've ever wanted to know about nutrition, but, like, simply explained.

It's not tough to find tips for eating healthier.

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But sometimes "healthier" is used to mean "weight loss," and you might not be interested in weight loss. Maybe you just want more context to help you understand what makes certain foods healthy, how certain nutrients affect the body, and how to actually integrate new foods and habits into your lifestyle.

Well you're in luck, because BuzzFeed Health has rounded up some of our best articles about eating healthier no matter what your goals are (with all the background and context you could ever want). All of our tips are sourced from experts, so you can be sure we're giving you the good stuff.

We're pretty sure we have a post for all your nutrition-related goals. And if not, let us know what you want to see more of in the comments. Let's go!

1. For when you're wondering what the deal is with carbs.

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Should you go low carb? Maybe. Depends! There's more to carbs than good or bad, and less or more. We break it all down in 13 Things You Should Know Before You Decide To Limit Your Carbs, so you can actually figure it TF out.

Example tip: Carbohydrates should make up about half of your daily calories. As our expert explains, carbs are the body's go-to source of fuel, so you need to make sure you're eating enough to fuel your activities. Generally, the more active you are, the more carbs you'll need to keep you going.

2. For when you want to know once and for all — is fat good or bad for you?

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There's so much conflicting info out there about fats. Are they good for you? Are they terrible for your heart/cholesterol? Does eating fat make you fat? Read Here's How To Eat Lots Of Fat And Actually Still Be Healthy and get actually helpful answers.

Example tip: Low-fat diets keep you hangry. Fat is what helps keep you full. It's calorically dense, which means that it really helps you feel satisfied after eating. When you go super low-fat, you're probably also going super hangry.

3. For when you want to know how much protein you should actually be eating.

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Do we all eat too much protein, or do we all not get enough of it? Get all your answers about protein from Here's Everything You Actually Need To Know About Protein.

Example tip: Just because adequate protein is good, it doesn't mean a ton of it is way better. It might seem that if 20 grams of protein after a workout will help gains, 40 grams will help your gains twice as much! But once you're meeting your body's protein needs, there comes a point when consuming more of it doesn't really do much for you.

4. For when you want help choosing healthier processed snacks.

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14 Ways To Eat What You Want And Still Be Healthy has simple tips and tricks that will help you make healthier choices when it comes to those convenient processed foods.

Example tip: Pay special attention to serving sizes, because sometimes they're HILARIOUS. What's considered a single serving on a nutrition label is not always what a reasonable human person would eat in one sitting. One serving of Pringles is 15 chips (lol). One serving of Pop-Tarts is a single Pop-Tart (no).

5. And for when you just want some specific examples of healthier packaged snacks to buy.

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Look, processed foods are just a reality. Also, some of them are delicious. To learn some helpful guidelines about how to choose the healthier ones, as well as some recommendations for specific products, read 31 Delicious Packaged Foods That Actually Aren't Terrible For You.

Example recommendation: There are three (3!) frozen pizzas on this list that qualify as healthier choices. They are: Newman's Own Roasted Vegetable Thin & Crispy Pizza, Amy's Single-Serve Spinach Pizza (Light in Sodium), Lean Cuisine Thin Crust Margherita Pizza

6. For when you're over elimination diets but are willing to make one simple change.

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Sure, elimination diets might be all the rage. But they take a helluva lot of effort and also aren't that sustainable. Check out 17 Simple Tips For Eating Healthier Without Changing Your Whole Damn Life for experts' ideas on how to make doable, yet meaningful, changes to the way you eat.

Example tip: Add one piece of fruit and one vegetable to each meal. You don't have to change anything about what you're already eating, just add a fruit and a vegetable along with your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

7. When you want ideas for breakfast that will legit fill you up.

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We asked personal trainers to tell us exactly what they eat for breakfast, and they shared their go-to simple recipes. Check out Here's What Real Healthy People Actually Eat For Breakfast for a bunch of great ideas.

Example recipe: Guacamole with cilantro and Kalamata olives on pumpernickel toast.

8. And for when you want fresh and delicious snack ideas.

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Check out Here's What Healthy People Actually Snack On When They're Hungry
for snack ideas from healthy food experts and trainers.

Example recipe: Spiced Popcorn 3 Ways

9. When you need some quick and dirty, highly visual tips for healthier eating.

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Sometimes even a quick tip requires too much reading and thinking. Check out 20 Cheat Sheets For When You're Trying To Eat A Little Healthier for a ton of helpful info packaged within really neat visuals.

Example cheat sheet: Recipe for 3-ingredient chocolate peanut butter "ice cream."

10. And for when you're trying to cook more but literally have no idea how to start.

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Get super visual tips and tricks for becoming a solid cook of healthier stuff by reading 25 Cheat Sheets That Make Cooking Healthier Less Of A Freaking Chore.

Example cheat sheet: How to grill vegetables like a boss.

11. When you're ready for weight-loss tips that aren't "stop eating stuff you love."

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There's a lot of weight-loss advice in the world, but much of it is centered on how to restrict your calories enough to lose a lot of weight, fast. A more sustainable (and less miserable) way to lose weight is to focus on sustainable changes you can maintain in the longterm, which is what 23 Surprising Weight-Loss Tips That Are Actually Doable is full of, and they're all from experts.

Example tip: Don't make any food off limits. "When a food is off-limits it becomes MUCH more appealing. And if guilt is involved and you do end up eating that food, the screw-it-I’ve-already-had-a-bite-and-ruined-everything-so-I’m-going-to-eat-the-entire-batch mentality appears.

—Anne Mauney, MPH, RD, dietitian blogger at fANNEtasticfood.com and co-author of the Joyful Eating, Nourished Life program.

12. For when it's time to maybe think about cutting down your sugar intake.

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There's no need to give up sugar entirely, but if you're feeling like your sweet tooth is leading you to consume way more sugar than is actually good for you (which, tbh, is the case for most people eating a standard American diet), you should read Here's How To Actually Stop Eating So Much Sugar because it's full of helpful and actually doable tips.

Example tip: Have a reasonable amount of the thing you crave on a regular basis and savor the hell out of it. When people binge on foods they've been craving, they tend to enjoy the release of finally letting go of control rather than enjoying the delicious food, one expert told BuzzFeed Health. This can make it all go by really fast and make it feel like you never had the thing at all, which makes you feel deprived, which leads to bingeing down the road. To combat this, work on eating slowly and really noticing and enjoying everything about what you're eating. This should help reduce cravings and bingeing behavior.

13. For when you want to know if you really have to eat breakfast.

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Breakfast is known as the most important meal of the day, and something TO NEVER EVER SKIP if you want to eat healthy all day and lose or manage weight. But research has yet to land on whether or not this is all just breakfasty hype. For more info, as well as tips on how to do breakfast healthily, check out Here's The Truth About Breakfast And Weight Loss.

Example truth bomb: Breakfast might be magical for you and your life. But it might also be just another meal. Tbh, it totally depends on your goals, your appetite, and your choices about your life.

14. For when you want to adopt some habits that will help you become a healthyish eater.

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There are all kinds of specific things you can do or eat (or not eat) to become a little healthier. But there are also some lifestyle tweaks, new perspectives, and habits that can help make living a healthyish lifestyle easier and smoother. You can get a bunch of ideas for that from 14 Ways To Be A Healthyish Eater Right Now.

Example tip: If a diet sounds too extreme for you, it probably is. As one expert told BuzzFeed Health: "Most people will give up any effort if they don't think they can achieve the perfect standards of healthy eating you see today. It is possible to eat much better without eliminating foods you love. There is room for everything as long as there is a realistic structure to it."

15. For when you want to cut calories but don't want to feel deprived and terrible.

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The thing about cutting calories is that you can do it in an extreme way that's no fun and not sustainable, or you can do it in a gradual way that might help you meet your goals without ruining your life. There are lots of great tips from experts in 17 Things You Need To Know About Cutting Calories To Lose Weight.

Example tip: You should not eat less than 1,000–1,200 calories per day.

It's not a good idea to eat fewer than 1,000 calories per day, and some experts even say a healthy minimum is closer to 1,200. This number will feel different to different people, so no matter what the numbers might say, you should pay attention to signs that you're not eating enough, like feeling fatigued (even though you're getting enough sleep) or your skin getting really dry.

16. For when your post-workout hunger is destroying your will to live.

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Feeling super hangry and/or fatigued after you exercise is no way to live. Check out 15 Ways To Keep That Crazy Post-Workout Hunger From Ruining Your Results for doable tips on how to eat healthy stuff that will fill you up and aid your recovery.

Example tip: Don't wait until you're hungry AF to get food in your system. One expert told BuzzFeed Health that it's common for people to ignore their hunger until their next planned meal so they don't eat the extra calories in-between. But that can backfire by making you even hungrier when it's finally time to eat, which can cause you to go HAM.

17. For when you want to get as many vitamins and nutrients as possible from your diet.

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According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion's Dietary Guidelines for Americans, most of your vitamins and minerals should come from foods, rather than from vitamin capsules and supplements. To find out which foods will get the job done, and for delicious recipes, read 33 Foods You Should Eat Instead Of Popping a Multivitamin.

Example tip: Eat sweet potatoes. One medium sweet potato (weighing about 90 grams) has 865 micrograms of vitamin A, which is about 100% of your recommended daily allowance.

18. For when you're in college (or just broke and busy), and need some strategies for healthier eating.

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If you're super busy, short on money, can't or don't want to cook, or all three, you probably need some tips, ideas, and recipes for your specific situation. 33 Healthy Eating Habits Lazy College Students Will Appreciate has a bunch of tips from experts, as well as ideas crowdsourced from BuzzFeed Health readers, both of which will help you eat healthier and within your means.

Example tip: Pick a cereal with whole grains and less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.