Healthy Eating Ultimate Guide: Start Eating

Healthy Without Being Miserable

By Steve Kamb • Last Updated: May 1, 2020 • 311 comments

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.
No shame, no guilt, just results! Learn about our
Coaching Program:
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: eating real food.
 What about fruit. Is fruit healthy?
 Are cheese and dairy healthy? 
 What’s the right diet for me: Keto, Paleo,
Mediterranean?
 Healthy grocery shopping, cooking, and meal
prep.
 12 healthy meals you can cook today.
 None of this matters without your BIG WHY:
 Healthy Eating: Next Steps.
The Truth About Healthy Eating
It’s really easy to tell 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 omletes 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 [1].
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 the Burger King.
You can lose weight and be healthy while still
eating these foods occasionally. 
Heck, people have lost weight by eating
Twinkies[2] and drinking soda and eating at
McDonald’s 3 times per day[3].
I share this info not to promote those foods, but
rather 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 don’t 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 meat and legumes. 
 Fresh fruits and vegetables.
 Healthy carbohydrates like rice, quinoa.
 Healthy fats like almonds and olive oil.
 Occasional 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 nutrients while also
being lower in calories than the processed foods
that have been designed to be overeaten [4].
They also fill us up, making us feel satiated, and
keep us under our calorie total for the day [5]. 
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… 
Which leads to sustainable weight loss and
maintenance! 

Let me drive this point about calories vs energy

into your brain (not literally). 
Here are 4 foods in the exact same quantity,
200 calories (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 your
tongue)[6].
Which brings me to the next point: 
We humans are terrible at estimating how
many calories we eat[7]. Like, really really bad at
it. I bet the proportions of the above foods
surprised you. 
We consistently eat much more than we realize,
by 40%+.
To make matters worse, we also
OVERestimate how many calories we burn
through exercise. 
One study showed that Fitness trackers like
AppleWatch or Fitbit overestimate exergy burned
through exercise by 20% or more[8]. 

So when we “can’t lose weight,” it’s not

because we have a broken metabolism. 
It’s not because we have bad genetics [9].
Or that we’re not eating for our blood type.
It’s because we consistently eat too much food
without realizing it.

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 really haven’t.
So it’s time to stop “trying harder” and instead
“try differently”:
In order 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 riiiiight 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 satiating
without being a calorie bomb. 
Protein can come from any number of
sources, including:
 Meat (steak, bison, pork).
 Fowl (chicken, turkey, duck).
 Eggs![10]
 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 bodyweight in pounds per gram
of protein, with an upper limit of 250g [11]:
 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 more than 250 pounds (113 kg),
target 250g of protein.
#2: VEGETABLES: The difference-maker
when it comes to 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 energy-dense 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[12]
 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. 
If this is you, read our guide on “how to make
vegetables taste good.”
To recap portion sizes of protein and
vegetables:
#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[13], essentially). 
Examples of healthy carbohydrates:
 Rice, brown or white
 Legumes, lentils
 Quinoa
 Potatoes
 Sweet potatoes
 Yams
 Pasta
 Whole grain bread
This is a list of REAL food, minimally processed,
that also have plenty of fiber[14]. 
If you’re wondering how fruit factors into this
equation, that’s the next section.
Back to healthy carbs: when consumed in
proper proportion, 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! 
EVERYBODY accidentally overeats
carbohydrate-heavy foods, even healthy ones,
and then wonders 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). 
Here are some images to help you learn
proper portion sizes (thanks to SafeFood):
#4) HEALTHY FATS: No longer the enemy!
Fat had a bad rep in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but
now things are swinging wayyyyy back in the
other direction.
In some circles, fat is now considered the
healthiest thing on the planet, will do your taxes
for you, and is considered a superfood.
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[15].
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[16] – 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 fats and starchy carbs: feel free to

include a starchy portion to your plate in the form
of rice, potatoes, pasta, or legumes, and healthy
fats can help spice up a meal too. 
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 (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 commingling. 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? Reduce your portions
of carbs and fats.
 Trying to gain weight? Increase your portions
of carbs and fats! 
Remember, all calories count. 
I can already understand your next series of
questions:
 “What about beverages?” Simple. Liquid
calories count too. So stick to low or zero
 calorie drinks like water, tea, coffee, and diet
soda. 
 “How about condiments?” Grilled chicken
slathered in 1000 calories of buffalo sauce
means you’re still eating a calorie bomb!
 “But what about things like Paleo or
Keto? I thought low carb = healthy?” I
address that in the “which diet is right for me?”
section. Keep reading.
What’s the Deal with Fruit? Is
Fruit Healthy?
As we lay out in our “Is Fruit Healthy?”
Guide, fruit is absolutely healthy and can
help you reach your goals – in the right
quantities. 
Fruits are full of nutrients, packed with fiber, and
can make for a great snack or part of a protein-
focused breakfast!
Personally, I blend up frozen mixed berries in
my post-workout smoothie.
Just remember that fruit, like every other food,
obeys the laws of thermodynamics.
So, simply be aware of the calories (and carb
and fiber content if you’re following a lower
carb diet):
 Apple: 95 cal, 25g carbs, 4.4g fiber. 
 Banana: 105 cal, 27g carbs, 3.1g fiber. 
 Orange: 45 cal, 11g carbs, 2.3g fiber. 
 Pear: 100 cal, 28g carbs, 3g fiber. 
 Peach: 59 cal, 14g carbs, 2.3g fiber. 
 Strawberries (1 cup): 47 cal, 11g carbs, 3g
fiber. 
 Pineapple (1 cup): 82 cal, 22g carbs, 2.3g
fiber. 
 Grapes (1 cup): 62 cal, 16g carbs, 0.8g
fiber. 
 Raspberries (1 cup): 65 cal, 15g carbs, 8
fiber. 
Fruit is a better, healthier alternative to
nutrient-empty food from a vending machine.

Where fruit can get you in trouble is if you

start to move in the direction of “fruit-like”:
#1) Fruit juices (cranberry juice, orange juice,
grape juice): these are high calorie, sugar-filled
beverages. 
For example, here are the calories in one 8
oz [17] serving of: 
 Apple Juice: 103 calories, 22 g of sugar
 Orange Juice: 103 calories, 18 g of sugar
 Grape Juice: 136 calories, 32 g of sugar
#2) Dried fruit: notoriously easy to overeat
because they are so small. Since the water has
been taken out, all that’s left is the sugar and
fiber. 
Here’s 1 serving of raisins, which is 108 calories
and 21 g of sugar:

If you are saying “oh man, I eat 5x that many

raisins when I eat them…” then multiply those
calorie and sugar numbers by 5!
3) Fruit Smoothies: Just because it’s a fruit
smoothie doesn’t mean it won’t make you fat!
Have you seen the calorie count and sugar
content of smoothies and ‘green drinks’? Yikes.
 Green Machine Naked Juice (15.2 oz or 450
ml bottle): 270 calories, 53 g of sugar.
 Smoothie King Banana Boat (20 oz or 591 ml
smoothie): 450 calories, 70 g of sugar.

To recap: fruit is healthy, provided you stick

to fresh or frozen and not fruit-like food,
dried fruit, or canned fruit packed in syrup. 
If you enjoy a small glass of orange juice
occasionally, or you pack a serving of raisins in
your lunch and it makes life worth living, by all
means! 
Just don’t chug OJ by the gallon, drink a 64 oz
“real fruit smoothie,” and eat raisins by the
handful and then wonder why you’re not losing
weight.
Are Cheese and Dairy healthy?
We get questions about these two types of
food frequently. 
Let me start by saying I’m assuming you’re not
doing Paleo (which says “NO dairy and NO
cheese”), or plant-based (which says NO to all
animal products).
I’ll also assume you’re not doing Keto, which
almost requires you to load up on dairy and
cheese to eat enough fat every day! 
Let’s pretend you’re just curious if cheese
and/or dairy can be consumed on a “healthy
diet:”:
YES, you can still eat cheese and be healthy.
YES, you can still eat dairy and be healthy.
And there was much rejoicing:

Like the healthy carbs and fats listed above,

it all comes down to your calories consumed
in a day, and if these foods fit into your daily
calorie goals:
1. Want to put cheese on top of your salad of
chicken and vegetables? Great! 
2. Want to eat greek yogurt, a scoop of protein
powder, and frozen berries for your breakfast?
Amazing! 
3. Want to eat a bowl of cereal with skim milk
(or whole milk) in the morning with your kid
before school? No problem.
This is true for higher-fat cheeses or full-fat dairy
too – the food just needs to fit into your goals! 
Luckily, all dairy comes labeled, and most
cheese will come with a nutrition label on it too. 
Just make sure your portions are in line. For
reference, here are four different servings of
cheddar cheese (about 113 calories a
serving):

And here’s a serving of greek yogurt (100

calories in 170 grams):
And although nobody in the history of the
world has ever eaten an actual serving…here
is a serving of ice cream:

(A scoop of ice cream the size of a tennis ball

is about 127 calories, cleverly shown above.)
So, dairy and cheese are both perfectly
acceptable health food options! Just make sure
they fit into your goals. 
If you are NOT losing weight, and you consume
a lot of dairy and/or cheese, consider measuring
your intake and see if it’s in line with your
expectations! 
What’s the best diet for me?
Keto vs Paleo vs Plant-based.

“Low fat diets? Low carb diets? No carb

diets? I don’t know which one is the BEST
diet!” 
“Help me, Steve Kamb, you’re my only
hope.”
Okay, you’re probably not saying that, but it’s an
excuse to pay homage to Star Wars so I can use
the great photo above.
You probably do have questions though about
what’s healthier, a low fat diet or a low carb diet.
Low carb diets are all the rage right now, but are
they healthy and will they help you lose weight? 

Maybe.
It depends on how your body regulates
glucose (blood sugar)[18]:
Some who don’t regulate glucose well do better
on a lower carb diet.
Others who do regulate glucose well might do
better on a lower fat diet. 
Studies show that people who follow EITHER a
low fat OR a low carb diet will still lose weight, as
long as they are in caloric restriction and can
adhere to the diet for at least a year [19].
So, it comes down to: “which diet are you more
likely to stick with for a year or longer?”
I personally lost 22 pounds over 6 months on
a lower fat diet (and eating plenty of carbs),
but everybody is different.
This means you’ll need to experiment and see
which is better for your lifestyle, and your day to
day well-being.

But I bet you have questions about the big

popular diets too. 
I’ve written a huge guide that covers all
popular weight loss diets together, but we’ve
also written individual ultimate guides that
cover:
 The Keto Diet (Ketogenic Diet).
 Intermittent Fasting.
 The Paleo Diet.
 The Mediterranean Diet.
 Vegan and Plant-Based Diets.
 Carnivore Diet.
 The Military Diet.
Let’s look at each of these diets and explain
why they will help you lose weight, at least
temporarily:
Truth #1:  Every diet works in the short term.
Truth #2: Nearly every diet fails in the long term.
Let’s address these two truths individually: 
Why does every diet work in the short term? 
All the diets above have a clever way of
restricting calories without you needing to
count calories, which leads to weight loss: 
 Paleo Diet: eliminate everything but veggies,
meat, fruit, and nuts. 
 Intermittent Fasting: skip an entire meal!
 Keto Diet: remove an entire macronutrient
from your diet (carbs).
 Military Diet: Only eat specific foods in
certain quantities.
 Plant-based Diet: Only eat vegetables and
foods from plants.
 Carnivore Diet: Only eat meat! Eliminate
everything else. 
Of course there are plenty of benefits from
following certain diets for certain groups of
people. For example, Larry went Keto and it
helped him reduce inflammation from rheumatoid
arthritis. 
However, 99% of the reason why these diets
result in short term weight loss is because they
get us to eat fewer calories! 
The problems arise when we get to Truth 2: 
“Nearly every diet fails in the long term.”
Put another way: 
Temporary changes create temporary
results. 
If somebody “goes Keto” for 60 days, they’ll most
likely lose weight, and might even feel better!
This is cool. 
BUT! 
(There’s always a but…)
If they spend those 60 days in misery, dreaming
of carbs, counting down the meals until they can
“go back to eating like normal,” they will put all of
the weight back.

In order for restrictive diets to create

permanent results for somebody, they need
to be adopted PERMANENTLY! 
For most of us mere mortals, we can’t stick with
a restrictive diet for 30 days, let alone a year or a
decade. 
For these reasons, I strongly advise you to
change how you think about dieting.
You need to determine how likely you are to
stick with a restrictive diet permanently:
1. How averse are you to change?
2. How likely are you to stick with your
changes?
3. Have you tried a restrictive diet in the past
and failed?
4. Do you have a healthy relationship with
food?
5. Do you have an “All or nothing?” mindset?
Like playing a video game, you need to
determine what level of difficulty you are
willing to attempt. 
Playing on “Ultra Hard Difficulty” (like Keto) gives
you less room for error, but it can also produce
impressive results quickly – if you don’t rage quit.
And 99% of people rage quit restrictive diets like
Keto.
So what’s the best diet for you? 
I’ll give you the same answer that I give people
when they ask me, “What’s the best workout
plan?”: 
The best diet is the one that helps you reach
your goals, that you ENJOY, and that you’ll
actually stick with permanently!
Personally, I don’t follow any sort of
restrictive diet. 
I’m a big fan of small changes that eventually
produce big results, like my boy Optimus Prime:

This is why I’ve SLOWWWWLY adjusted my diet

over the past decade, so that no change was too
drastic and I could stick with it permanently.
It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle change.
Permanently.
And that’s what I would recommend for you: 
Small, non-scary, permanent changes over a
long time period! 
You need to start thinking in terms of “days and
years,” not “weeks and months:”
How to Grocery Shop, Cook
and Meal Prep!

Okay! Now that you’ve determined your

healthy eating strategy, it’s time to take
action. 
There are three big steps you’ll want to
master if this is your path: 
Step #1: Grocery Shopping! You can read our
full guide on “How to grocery shop”, and we
even have a video that keeps things fun too:
Here’s how to grocery shop like a pro:
 Stick mostly to the outer rim. This means
you’re mostly buying meat, fruit, and veggies [20].
 Read the nutrition label! Just because it
says it’s healthy on the front doesn’t mean it
is. Read the nutrition label and learn portion
sizes. This can help keep you below your daily
calorie goal. 
 Don’t shop hungry! Seems silly, but you
end up buying way more junk food accidentally
if you shop while hangry (a mix of hungry-
angry, never a great emotion).
 Make a list. Before you go grocery shopping,
write down everything you should get. You can
even put “non-healthy” food items on the list.
But then you can only buy what’s on your list!
This means no candy in the check-out aisle. Or
because Oreos are on sale! Plan ahead. Stick
to the script, sister.
Step #2: Learn to cook!
In the next section we share recipes for basic
healthy meals that you can cook at home. 
Here’s why cooking at home is amazing: 
1. You know all of the ingredients. When you
eat at restaurants or pick up fast food, there
are often hidden calories in the cooking oils
and sauces that are sabotaging your healthy
efforts. Because of this, it’s really hard to have
an idea of how many calories you’re
consuming. When you prepare food at home,
you know what you’re getting.
2. You can recreate healthier versions of
your favorite foods. Making homemade tacos
or pizza with homemade dough can be a great
date-night experience, makes your stomach
happy, AND can help you reach your goals!
3. You save money. If your budget is tight,
grocery shopping and cooking your own meals
is a great way to balance your budget and free
 up some cash! Our most successful coaching
clients work with their coaches on building the
habit of cooking at home.
Now, if you’re somebody who only ever uses
your kitchen to heat up microwave meals, that’s
no problem. 

Here are the guides you should check out: 

 Cooking 101: Essential Kitchen Tools : Not
sure what kind of knives to get, or what you
REALLY need? I’ve been there. Which is why
we created this guide for you! 
 How to Stock Your Pantry: If you’re not sure
what to stock your shelves with, and how to set
yourself up for long term success.
Step #3 (BONUS): Meal Prep and Batch
Cooking!  This step isn’t necessary, but if your
goal is to make healthy eating a habit for you
and your family, batch cooking can be the
difference maker! 
By “batch cooking,” I simply mean setting aside
time to prepare larger quantities of food at the
start of the week, so that throughout the week
you already have meals to eat!  
Personally, batch cooking changed my life.

And every single success story we’ve featured

on Nerd Fitness (like this one) involved some
sort of batch cooking (planning your meals for
the week ahead). 
 Here’s our guide on “How to start Batch
Cooking and Meal Prep.” 
 Let me walk you through how I batch
cook chicken for the week. There’s even a
video too:
Follow these rules, and you will crush it in the
Healthy Eating Department[21]!
12 Healthy Eating Meals You
Can Cook Today

“Okay Steve, you have me convinced I

should be eating more healthy foods. But I
am a nerd and I need specific instructions to
follow!”
I got you. 
As a kid raised on LEGO and K’nex, I am the
exact same way! 
Here are options to get the ball rolling on healthy
breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners. Use
these as inspiration or starting points for your
meal planning! 
3 BREAKFASTS (Unless you do Intermittent
fasting!)
Breakfast 1: Prosciutto-Wrapped Mini Frittata
Muffins (4 muffins)
 

o Calories: 440
o Protein: 32g
o Fat: 24g
o Carbs: 16g
Breakfast 2: Kale Breakfast Salad (1/4 of
recipe)

o Calories: 331
o Protein: 15g
o Fat: 12g
o Carbs: 14g
Breakfast 3: Breakfast Meal Prep Bowls (1
bowl)

o Calories: 204
o Protein: 10g
o Fat: 10g
o Carbs: 19g
3 LUNCHES
Lunch 1: Spicy Tuna Cakes (4 cakes)
 

o Calories: 368
o Protein: 20g
o Fat: 20g
o Carbs: 28g
Lunch 2: Chicken Zucchini Enchilada (1
enchilada )
 

o Calories: 154
o Protein: 16.7g
o Fat: 7.2g
o Carbs: 6.1g
Lunch 3: Lettuce Wrap Sandwich (1
sandwich)
 

o Calories: 279
o Protein: 26g
o Fat: 19g
o Carbs: 10g
3 SNACKS (Unless you’re on “Team No
Snack”)
Snack 1: Green Protein Snack Pack (2)
 

o Calories: 234
o Protein: 22g
o Fat: 16g
o Carbs: 32g
Snack 2: Avocado Egg Salad (1/4 recipe)
 

o Calories: 330
o Protein: 18g
o Fat: 25g
o Carbs: 8g
Snack 3: Baked Chicken Wings (1/5 of batch)
 

o Calories: 440
o Protein: 34g
o Fat: 33g
o Carbs: 1g
3 DINNERS
Dinner 1: Big-o Bacon Burgers (2 burgers)
 

o Calories: 450
o Protein: 34g
o Fat: 40g
o Carbs: 2g
Dinner 2: Vegan Portobello Pizzas (1 pizza)
 

o Calories: 165
o Protein: 7.7g
o Fat: 10g
o Carbs: 14.5g
Dinner 3: Ground Beef Veggie Skillet (1/4 of
dish)
 

o Calories: 261
o Protein: 29.5g
o Fat: 1.8g
o Carbs: 8.5g
These are meals that are high in quality foods,
and low in total calories, which means they give
you the best chance at weight management
without being miserable! 
Just remember, quantity counts:
 If your goal is weight loss: Keep an eye on
the fat and carbs portion of your plate!  
 If your goal is weight gain, then you can
ratchet up your total calories consumed by
 increasing your fat and carbohydrate portion of
your plate! 
Not sure how to make these meals work or how
to adjust them for your goals? 
This is exactly what we do with our Online
Coaching Program!
Let us help you make better food choices! Our
Online Coaching Program rocks:
Will You Commit to Healthy
Eating?
As we start to wrap up this guide, I have one
BIG final question for you:
“Why the hell are you reading this?” 
Sorry to be so blunt, but your answer matters! 
If you are trying to eat better because
somebody told you to, or because you think
you should, you’re setting yourself up to fail. 
You might be excited and motivated to eat
healthy today, and that’s great! 

But next week, Oscar in Accounting will put cake

in front of you at work, and ask you to “live a
little” and eat some cake “just this once.”  
And then you’ll discover apps are half-priced at
Chatchki’s during happy hour, and you figure
“well I already had cake, might as well split some
shrimp poppers and extreme fajitas with
Meredith.”
This is how it always happens: Motivation
abandons us when we need it most. 
And then one “ehh” choice becomes three bad
choices which becomes “crap, I failed at my diet!
I’m a loser. Okay I’ll just try harder next month…”
If you are committed to this goal of eating
healthier, you need a DAMN good reason to
start eating healthier in the first place!
Here are some examples you can build off of:
 “I want to look better naked and start dating
again.”
 “I want to do epic stuff like running my first
5K.”
 “I don’t want to die early like my dad did.”
 “I want to find out what I’m capable of.”
 “I want to feel pride, not shame, when I look
in the mirror.”
There are many tough days ahead, many
happy hours, and sabotaging coworkers. 
Having a great reason WHY can be the light in
the darkness that helps you navigate the maze
of temptation.
In our Nerd Fitness Coaching program, we
call this “The Big Why,” and having a reason
can be the difference between success and
failure:
It’s our Big Why that stops us from living
emotionally and chasing instant gratification from
a donut or six slices of pizza when we’re sad or
stressed.
It’s our Big Why that allows us to say “Yes, I can
have a slice of pizza, because I planned for it in
my ‘calorie budget’ today. I’m not gonna feel bad
about it either, because my breakfast tomorrow
is gonna be great.”
It’s our Big Why that allows us to get back on
track after a vacation or after just one day of
poor eating, instead of letting things slide for a
week or a month.  
Have your Big Why, and remind yourself of it
constantly! 
Write it down, put it on a post-it note on your
bathroom mirror, staple it to your forehead. 
But have a REASON you’re committing to
change.
It will be crucial when life starts to get busy next
week and you want to give up. So let’s talk about
next week (and beyond!)
Healthy Eating: Next Steps!
This guide has provided you with all of the
tools you need to start making healthier
choices, but if you are looking to go a bit
further…
#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program: a
coaching program for busy people to help them
make better food choices, stay accountable, and
get healthier, permanently.
You can schedule a free call with our team so we
can get to know you and see if our coaching
program is right for you. Just click on the image
below for more details:

Our Coaching program changes lives. Learn

more here!
#2) The Nerd Fitness Academy – This self-
paced online course has helped 50,000 people
get results permanently. 
There’s a 10-level nutrition system, boss battles,
20+ workouts, and the most supportive
community in the galaxy!
Join the NF Academy! One payment, lifetime
access.
#3) Join The Rebellion! We have a free email
newsletter that we send out twice per week, full
of tips and tricks to help you get healthy, get
strong, and have fun doing so. 
I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can
use to start leveling up your life too:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to
Change Your Life
 Follow our 10-level nutrition system at your own pace
 What you need to know about weight loss and healthy
eating
 3 Simple rules we follow every day to stay on target

Get It Now

Healthy eating will change your life. 

But it needs to fit INTO your life too. 
Small changes, not dramatic shifts!
You don’t have to give up the foods you love,
you just need to PLAN for them. 
Learn how to make a plate like we lay out in this
guide.
Prioritize protein, and always put a fruit or
vegetable on your plate before filling the rest of it
up!
This will get you 90% of the way towards a great
healthy eating strategy.
And when in doubt, whenever you’re not sure
if you should eat a particular food, ask
yourself “What would Batman do?”

Seriously, this has been studied with children,

and it helped them make healthier food choices
by giving the decision making over to somebody
they looked up to [22]. It’s called “self-distancing,”
and there’s no reason it can’t work for you too. 
Oh, and when you eat a bad meal – who cares?!
“Never two in a row,” right? Make the next meal
healthy. 
YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO
ACCEPT IT: 
Start eating healthy today with literally one
change:
 Try a new vegetable.
 Cut one soda out of your day. 
 Prioritize protein in your next meal. 
 Swap out one high calorie drink for a zero
calorie drink.
I don’t care what the change is, just as long as
you make one!
Okay enough about me, let’s talk about you: 
What’s the ONE change you’re going to make
today?
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: Make sure you read the rest of the
articles in our “How to Lose Weight 101”
Series!