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The weight watchers program taught me a lot about portion size and healthy eating.

I think the first and easiest step is just cutting out processed stuff! You'd be amazed at what less soda, chips, etc. (if you eat them right now) can do for a body!

Elsewise, try starting to do set mealtimes or snack times... I've heard for the most part that smaller, more frequent meals is better for you.

I was also going to recommend weight watchers. And honestly, the "trick" really is to eat more fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains and cut out processed junk, lol. It's easier said than done, but it's what works.

Weight Watchers helped me lose about 20 pounds a few years ago and get back to my ideal weight. It taught me how to portion and also that it's okay to enjoy treats - in moderation. I can't do diets or anything restrictive but WW really worked for me. It felt very much like real life and they offer the tools/strategies/recipes needed to succeed. Once LO is here I plan on going back to get the baby weight off.

I would maybe start by logging all of your food, including portion sizes. After a couple days you could see that maybe you're eating 700 calories worth of waffles every morning or 2 giant bowls of cereal that are actually 500 calories worth of food. Or that what you think is a reasonable lunch is actually close to 2k calories (this is DH's problem). Obviously, those are just examples but maybe it would help if you first identify some problem areas. Then you could think about ways to switch from the unhealthy stuff to something more reasonable.

After you identify problem areas, I would try to slowly change your eating habits. If breakfast is tons of calories, or snacking is a problem, then maybe you need foods with more protein to keep you full. So instead of sugary cereal, you have some scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast. (just as an example)

There's also tons of blogs with healthy dinner ideas. I know Skinny Taste is a really popular one. You could find recipes that sound appealing and try them out.

@zippylef: @highwire: I was going to suggest Weight Watchers. I am not into Paleo either. Even if you don't do it for long term, it really taught me about portion control, healthy snacking, etc. and I did it for 4 months.

It's kind of like a game, having a certain amount of points you get to eat a day. For me, it motivated me to eat more fruits and veggies because those things were 0 points.

Are you the type that can do something cold turkey or do you need a more gradual introduction to eating healthier?

When I first started trying to be healthy (pre-WW) I made small changes in the beginning, no soda or juice, instead I drank water or homemade flavored waters and seltzer. Next was changing my breakfasts--subbing in oatmeal w/fruit 3x a week instead of cereal or breakfast sandwiches. And each week you can try something else.

Ok, I wrote a novel, but let me know if you want more tips I used (which I need to get back to myself) to start eating healthier.

Paleo isn't for me either; I think some people are a little silly about it to be honest. But that's besides the point.

I think eating a healthy diet is one that's balanced. I don't believe in cutting out anything entirely, and I think almost everything can be enjoyed in moderation. More of the stuff that's good for you, less of the stuff that isn't; but it's ok to indulge once in a while, too!

One of the easiest ways is to eat whole foods, or to eat "cleanly". Look at the labels of what you are eating and aim to not eat food that contains items that you can't pronounce. Season with spices, garlic, etc. instead of sauces. Use olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, etc. as salad dressing instead of processed dressings, which are calorie and sodium bombs. Substitute olive oil (or some other oil) in place of butter. Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Be willing to try things you've never tried, and to try things in different ways.

What veggies do you like most? I would start with those and research recipes. Try using those veggies in different ways, in different dishes.

What boxed meals do you like the most? You can recreate those in healthier ways using whole ingredients.

Summer is a great time to start eating a healthier diet - check out farmers markets and see what's in-season. Fresh, in-season produce tends to taste a lot better, so I try to eat those as much as I can, to maximize flavor without the need to doctor things up.

There are some good articles and recipes (with calorie info) on SkinnyMs.

good luck!

When I started dieting, I just picked one meal - lunch. Instead of the junk I had been eating, I just started eating a salad. I did a lot of tweaking to figure out what I liked, and how much protein and such I needed. I cleaned up that one meal. That felt much easier than doing this huge lifestyle change and cooking all new foods and everything.

After I had that figured out, I looked at my breakfast, and that was already pretty balanced and healthy. Then I looked at dinner, and came up with a few easy homemade options. At that point I started calorie counting, and exercising. My exercise at that point was walking a few miles a day - it was really gentle, but it burned calories and helped me to build muscle.

I lost 35 pounds that way. The first 20 I really lost just by changing my diet and exercising more than none. The next 15 came off with calorie counting at a very modest level of restriction. I used livestrong.com - it's really easy to use. Now, post partum, I'm holding on to weight while still breastfeeding. But I cook all our foods, I'm really active, and I feel amazing. Even if you're not progressing in one thing, you can still progress in other things and improve your health tons.

Dieting is often viewed as this HUGE lifestyle change, and people quickly get overwhelmed by it and just sick of it. Picking one small thing to focus on at a time really helped me to make it a permanent change. It's been slow - I started this 5 years ago, and post partum, I'm still 25 pounds from my ideal weight. But I've made a change that will last forever, and I'm down 35 pounds. Even if I never made any more progress, my life and health is hugely better now. I'd recommend that approach to you and anyone.

Weight watchers is how I learned about healthy eating! The points system was so helpful and simple! It's definitely a great starting point.

I also have a Williams Sonoma Fresh and Light cookbook, which has lots of great recipes.

I agree with WW. I really like skinnytaste.com--she has a ton of great recipes that are all pretty healthy.

As for basic lifestyle changes:
Try to eat whole foods vs processed foods--so fresh veggies lightly sauteed in olive oil, rather than a veggie side dish from a restaurant/frozen meal. Cooking will help with this--it's much easier to control what you eat if you're making it yourself.

I don't know if you drink soda, juice, etc. but I would try to cut out that stuff and stick to water/seltzer.

I don't believe in excluding carbs, but I do know that I lose weight when I limit carbs. So no crackers, bagels, rolls, sandwiches, etc. I do wraps or pita bread if I need something.

Also portion control--eat your meals on smaller plates. It sounds crazy but it makes your brain think that you're eating more and you'll be more satisfied. Also, this is a small thing, but when you eat meals, portion out your serving onto your plate, and leave the rest of the food in the kitchen or put it in the fridge. If you bring the rest to the table, you're more likely to have 2nds and 3rds, etc.

Good luck! It really is about changing your lifestyle, as others have said, and I think thinking about it that way, rather than as a temporary thing, makes it easier.

What if you start out by making substitutions to things you already eat?

Some examples are swapping out soda for seltzer, whole wheat pasta or brown rice instead of white flour pasta or white rice, whole wheat bread instead of white bread, a piece of fruit for a snack rather than whatever you usually eat - chips, cookies, etc.

Once you've got that down, you could start looking at finding healthier ways to prepare meals you already love. I second the http://www.skinnytaste.com recommendation - great website with great recipes!

I know you said you can't exercise too aggressively, but can you walk? You could maybe get a pedometer and start counting steps to make sure you're at least getting a little activity in.

@zippylef: You might enjoy flipping through a copy of the Abs Diet book. There is one specifically for Women. You can skip all the workout info and just look at the food sections. I like it because it's not extreme (like no-carb, no-meat, all-protein, etc. diets) and instead focuses on "power" foods that are super healthy for you. You're just encouraged to eat power foods as often as you can. Ever since I read the book my go-to breakfast has been oatmeal with berries (and a protein on the side, yogurt or string cheese). It's super healthy. Some power food examples are almonds and other nuts (a great healthy snack), spinach and other greens, beans and other legumes, raspberries and other berries, and non or reduced fat dairy.
The books include some fairly simple recipes. Abs diet also encourages smoothies which is good for people who don't like to cook a lot, or don't have time to sit down for a full meal. My DH was big into the smoothies for a while, it was the only way he'd actually eat breakfast.

I agree with WW. I really like the fact that it focuses on moderation and not depriving you of anything. When I was on it, it was sort of eye-opening to see how many calories I was actually eating- especially carbs. I consider myself a fairly healthy eater but sometimes it's really about the portions more than if what you are eating is good or bad. When you start keeping track of what you are eating too you realize that something small here or there adds up over the course of the day.

If you do cook I would start doing some searches on Pinterest for recipes with whatever foods you usually like. I get almost all of my recipes on there now and there are so many boards that focus on healthy eating. Meal planning is helpful too because then you don't resort to something pre-packaged because of time. Eating breakfast sounds like a really big change you could make. I make a lot of on-the-go breakfasts like egg sandwiches and bran muffins that can be frozen & heated up quickly in the mornings.

I lost 10kg a couple of years ago doing the following:

Tracking my calories (I aimed for 1600-1800 per day)

Only drinking soda / juice with meals

Not eating snacks / potato chips straight from the pack - I measured out 100-150 calorie portions

Reading the labels on packets

Eating roughly the same breakfast and lunch each day (I'm a creature of habit!)

Eating healthy for the meals I could control (breakfast at home etc) so that I could enjoy a meal out without totally blowing my diet / calories out the window

Trying to eat more fruit and veg

Lifting light hand weights and doing pressups, squats and some ab work each day.

Take it one meal at a time so I wasn't too overwhelmed with what I was doing!

My weight loss was really gradual (1-2kg per month) but I had managed to keep it off for eighteen months before I got pregnant!)

@cmomma17: I LOVE the Abs Diet! It's such a misnomer that its called a 'diet' when it's really a lifestyle change and not a fad thing.

It's published by the same folks as Women's Health and Men's Health magazines, and I don't find it to be restrictive or difficult. It's moderate and the recipes are easy to follow. My husband LOVES the food I make out of their cookbooks and was shocked to find out that its actually really healthy! You can pair it with Weight Watchers too.

weight watchers- teaches you portion control, which is huge. on ww, all veggies (except starchy ones) and fruit (within reason) are "free" and you have to be accountable for all other foods. so you end up filling up on leafy greens and making deliberate choices about eating starches/fats/meats.

@zippylef: I don't really have advice because I'm going through the same thing. One thing I found has helped me is to limit my consumption of diet coke/sodas, which is my guilty pleasure. But good luck with everything! I gained some weight with ppd.

@mrsmate: that's an awesome tip!!

@yoursilverlining: Totally agree, clean/whole food eating is the way to go. Know what is in your food, buy minimally processed foods, watch out for salt content and things whose names you can't pronounce. Going to the grocery store and reading every label is daunting and long at first, but once you get into the habit, it will be easy. I would never tell you to cut out a particular food (other than soda), just eat in moderation on things you know you shouldn't overdo.

What about eating 6 small meals a day? I do this and feel satisfied most of the day.

You mentioned you cook a lot, that's a good step in the right direction. Maybe instead of pasta try whole grains like quinoa, farro, barley, brown rice, etc.

I am lucky to be at a healthy weight and have a good body image (and have been practically all of my life) and I attribute that to knowing what I put in my mouth.

As for exercise, what about walking? Is your community walking friendly? Or can you walk to/from places? I used to exercise all the time but since LO was born, I don't. However, I walk everywhere (we don't have a car) and feel like I get a reasonable amount of exercise in that way. Clearly it's not the same as going to the gym, but it does count for something.

Yet another vote for Weight Watchers. It is really a sensible way to eat healthy without being restrictive, and by following the points system it will become intuitive what is healthy & what's not. Also, for me it is less about healthy food (although I eat plenty of unhealthy food) and more about portion control, and WW is awesome for managing that.