What Does a Healthy Person Actually Eat? Tips for Eating Healthier
The short answer: Reputable guidelines agree on the basics. A healthy plate is mostly vegetables and fruit, with whole grains and healthy protein, and water instead of sugary drinks. My best tips for eating healthier: ask "Would a healthy person eat this?" at each choice, change one thing at a time, and start with drinks. That's how I went from 258 pounds to 184.
What are the characteristics of a healthy person?
I'll answer this two ways: what the experts say, and what I noticed.
The experts focus on habits. The CDC describes a healthy lifestyle as healthy eating patterns, regular physical activity, enough sleep and stress management. Nothing fancy. No single food.
What I noticed is that healthy people don't seem to be fighting. In the summer of 1998, I was 24 and weighed 258 pounds. I'd tried diet after diet. Each one lasted a few days and ended in a binge. So that summer, I decided to stop dieting and become a healthy person instead.
Here's what healthy people tend to have in common:
- They usually don't drink pop.
- They move every day. Not always a gym. Often just walking.
- They stop when they've had enough.
- They don't talk about being "good" or "bad." Food isn't a moral test for them.
- They aren't perfect. They'll have dessert. It just isn't every night.
Healthy people aren't on a diet. They're just healthy.
What does a healthy person actually eat?
Here's what reputable sources say a healthy plate looks like.
Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate suggests:
- About half your plate: vegetables and fruits, with more vegetables.
- About a quarter: whole grains, like brown rice or whole-wheat bread.
- About a quarter: healthy protein, like fish, poultry, beans or nuts.
- Healthy oils in moderation.
- Water, tea or coffee to drink, not sugary drinks.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans say similar things in more detail. The CDC adds that sugary drinks are the leading source of added sugars in the American diet.
Experts do argue about details, like dairy or how much fat. I won't settle those. The big picture is pretty consistent.
What are some simple tips for eating healthier?
These are the things that worked for me. They're plain, practical suggestions, not a meal plan.
1. Ask one question at every choice
"Would a healthy person eat this?" You usually know the answer. You don't need to count anything.
2. Change one thing at a time
I didn't overhaul my kitchen. Pop went first. Then milk. Then fries. Each one became normal before the next. Ten changes at once is a diet. One change is a habit.
3. Start with drinks
Drinks are easy to miss and easy to change. I drink 32 oz of water every morning.
4. Watch someone healthy
Pick one person who seems healthy. What do they order? What's in their lunch? Borrow one thing.
5. Keep the healthy choice close
If the fruit bowl is on the counter and the chips stay at the store, you'll eat more fruit. That's not willpower. That's just setting things up the way a healthy person would.
6. Don't make it a diet
The moment it has rules, you'll break one, and then it's over. That's what happened to me every time. I wrote about the alternative in how to lose weight without dieting.
Want to try tip #1 for five days? The free 5-day challenge is one short email a day from me. Day 1's only task: notice one food choice you make out of habit. By Day 4, you'll watch one healthy-looking person and borrow one thing, just like tip #4.
Start the free 5-day challenge →
How do I become a healthy person if I've never been one?
You decide. That's the first step, and it's the one most people skip.
Diets ask you to do healthy things while still seeing yourself as an unhealthy person. Every healthy choice feels like a fight against who you are. I lived in that fight through diet after diet.
When I decided "I am a healthy person," the fight got smaller. Not gone. Smaller. Because now the healthy choice matched who I was.
I grew up in Russia, where you cleaned your plate. Becoming a healthy person meant asking the question about that habit too: would a healthy person keep eating this? I wrote about that in how to stop overeating.
If you want the idea behind this, it's in identity-based habits for weight loss.
Is eating healthy complicated?
It can be, if you follow trendy plans. It doesn't have to be.
Beans, oats, frozen vegetables and tap water are about as ordinary as food gets. And the simplest change of all is just not buying pop.
Complicated is usually a sign of a diet. Healthy people mostly eat ordinary food.
What if I eat something unhealthy?
Then you ate something unhealthy. A healthy person has cake at a birthday. That doesn't make them unhealthy.
What matters is the next choice. If one slip turns into a binge, I wrote about what to do after a binge.
What happened for me
Since 1998, I've gone from 258 pounds to 184, where I am today. I walk every day. I drink 32 oz of water every morning. More on those in healthy habits for weight loss. I still ask the question.
That's my story, not a promise. Everyone's body is different.
Try the free 5-day challenge
If you've never thought of yourself as a healthy person, try the free 5-day challenge. One short email a day from me. You'll make your "I am a healthy person" commitment and practice the everyday version of "Would a healthy person eat this?" at every choice.
One question runs through all five days: What would a healthy person do right now?
Free, five short emails, unsubscribe anytime.
Start the free 5-day challenge →
FAQ
What are the best tips for eating healthier?
Ask "Would a healthy person eat this?" at each choice, change one thing at a time, start with drinks, keep healthy food close, and avoid turning it into a strict diet. Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate is a simple guide to what a healthy plate looks like.
What are the characteristics of a healthy person?
The CDC points to healthy eating patterns, regular physical activity, enough sleep and stress management. From what I've seen, healthy people also don't treat food as a moral test, move every day, and aren't perfect.
What does a healthy person eat in a day?
Reputable guidelines suggest mostly vegetables and fruit, plus whole grains, healthy protein, healthy oils, and water instead of sugary drinks. The exact foods vary from person to person.
How do I start eating healthy when I don't know where to begin?
Pick one change. For me it was pop. When that felt normal, I picked the next thing. Watching people who seem healthy is a great way to find ideas.
Do I have to give up all junk food to be healthy?
No. Healthy people still have treats, just not every night. You decide what a healthy person looks like for you.
I'm not a doctor or dietitian; this is what worked for me and what reputable sources say. It's not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet, especially if you have a health condition.