Dear Lifehacker, I've decided I want to get healthier and shed some excess weight. I'm pretty time-poor, so I'll be mainly relying on diet microwave dinners from the supermarket (Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, McCain Healthy Choice, etc.) My question is: will these products actually help me lose weight? And are they considered healthy?

A thrusting young buck at work recently approached me to ask for some tips on toning up. He does a lot of exercise but lives pretty generously. That means, whatever his body asks him for, he generously provides. As a result he has cultivated something of a "Dadbod" and has now decided to take action to stem the tide.

Food is fuel, but that fuel is only effective if one consumes it. While it's all fine and good to suggest you eat a thick piece of cauliflower instead of a steak, that suggestion is devoid of joy, and I happen to think joy is pretty important part of eating (and life). However, there are some healthy swaps out there that aren't as dismal, and I bet you all know some good ones. As always, I have some questions.

Sticking to a healthy meal plan doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it can be easy when you have the right support behind you.

But the truth is, eating healthy takes time and dedication. Like most things, practise makes perfect and developing new habits takes a minimum of 21 days to establish so be kind to yourself when starting your new healthy routine, especially if you're going it alone.

Custom meal plans and support networks like Jenny Craig are a great way to fast-track your success and surround yourself with like-minded people. Here are five tips that will help you on your plight to healthy eating.

In 2015, we posted these top tips from the CSIRO on how to keep your diet healthy over the food-filled Easter long weekend, so here's a timely reminder on just a few of the ways you can keep yourself from piling on the kilos.

We don't often discuss the mental impact of restrictive diets such as Whole30 (no "inflammatory" foods), keto (low carb, high fat) or paleo (foods supposedly eaten during the Palaeolithic era). People like to tout the weight loss and mood-boosting effects of these diets, but experts say they can push some of us toward disordered eating.

Teach 600 people to eat more vegetables and less added sugar for a year, and it turns out they will lose weight. There's nothing super shocking in the new DIETFITS study, but there's a lot to learn about what doesn't matter in dieting.

It seems barely a day goes by without some new "miracle" diet littering our social media feed. Some are very well known (hello, paleo) while others are slowly gaining traction (the 'blood type' diet.) One thing that most of them share in common is a lack of rigorous scientific research. This infographic pits seven popular diets against the expertise of a professional nutritionist.

Much has been written about the exorbitant price tag of avocado toast. According to some, the swanky brekkie treat is responsible for shutting millennials out of the housing market.

Hyperbole aside, there's a good reason to give up this uber-hipster staple. They're actually not that healthy for you - especially if you're trying to lose weight.

Walnuts already have an image as a healthyish food, but the California Walnut Commission wanted to know more. A new study asked if walnuts -- already associated with lower risks of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes -- might deliver some of their health benefits by changing our brains' reactions to food.

If you're intrigued by the 5:2 diet or other forms of intermittent fasting, you probably want to know if these diets work in the long term. Until recently, we didn't have much data. Now, we have a little bit: Fasting every other day turns out to deliver the same results as regular dieting.

What should you cut out of your diet to be more healthy? Everything. According to the most popular diet books on the market, there's barely a food on Earth that's safe to eat. But what is the actual benefit of these diets? Here's what science has to say.

The guiding principle of 'paleo' is to only eat foods that were consumed by our Paleolithic ancestors. There's only one problem: almost everything we think we know about prehistoric humans' diets is based on conjecture. (There were no caveman cookbooks or reality TV shows, sadly.) In other words, paleo "experts" like Pete Evans are guessing about the past.

As it turns out, a lot of this guesswork has been flat-out wrong. A new analysis of Neanderthal teeth uncovered in Spain and Belgium has discovered a lot more variation in Paleolithic diets than we previously thought. Here's the evidence.

Smoothies aren't too difficult to make, but these basic tips from celebrity chef Alton Brown will ensure your smoothie making always goes smoothly.

Eat This Much has moved some of its best premium features to free accounts, so now you can track and plan your meals in addition to getting ideas for what to eat next.

Feeling sick and unhealthy? It's because you eat too many acidic foods that make your body equally acidic and harm your health. Eat more alkaline (opposite of acidic) foods to heal your body! But if our blood pH fluctuated that easily, we'd all be in serious trouble.

Despite a seemingly increased awareness about healthy eating, Australia's largest ever diet survey has confirmed that the vast majority of our eating habits are getting worse.

Your environment has an incredible ability to shape your behaviour. If you design your environment to be conducive to healthy habits, then you'll find yourself improving your diet without even thinking about it.

I didn't live through the Great Depression even though I sometimes eat as if I did. Despite a desire to keep thin I have a bad habit of clearing every last greasy morsel of rice or supposedly decorative garnish that's put in front of me. Kicking this habit has helped me feel better about myself.