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?

Knowing what makes up a healthy diet can be really confusing. New fads and fast fixes appear weekly. At the same time, the rise of celebrity chefs and TV cooking – while admittedly entertaining – has made preparing food seem complex and often unachievable.

Crap. Summer holidays are just around the corner. That means we've got barely a month to make our bodies look vaguely presentable in a swimsuit. One solution is to blow a small fortune on a personal trainer. Alternatively, here are 50 ways to fast track your health that won't cost you anything (and will make you a happier person in the process).

So-called 'Greek yoghurt' has exploded in popularity in recent years, with Australia's major supermarkets all stocking multiple brands. It's now the number one choice for people who want a healthy alternative to normal yoghurt.

But hang on. Wasn't yoghurt always healthy? What's going on? It turns out there are certain health benefits — but also health drawbacks — to eating Greek yoghurt over the regular stuff. Let's take a look at the science.

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.

If you’ve ever thought your poo is just a bunch of dead cells, think again. Most of it is alive, teeming with billions of microbes. Here’s what studies in healthy adults reveal makes up our poo.

A new study out this week has shoppers wondering whether it’s worth paying more for pesticide-free organic food. The research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found those who chose more organically grown foods over 4.5 years had slightly lower rates of cancer, and in particular, lymphoma and postmenopausal breast cancer. So is this actually legit?

Carbohydrates (or 'carbs' for short) have become something of a scapegoat for Australia's rising obesity levels. Because sugar is a carb, it might seem like a good idea to eliminate all carbs from your diet. In reality, carbs contain key nutrients that the human body requires to function properly. Here are five dietitian-approved carbs that most people should definitely stick with.

Mid-afternoon munchies are the worst. You need to eat something to get you through the day, but the choices on offer are usually high in sodium, sugar and/or saturated fats.

Thankfully, there are a handful of snacks on the market that provide a substantial energy boost without compromising your health. This infographic lists 15 of the best.

A video recently doing the rounds on Facebook included a segment from the BBC comedy quiz show QI. The video asks which of avocados, almonds, melon, kiwi or butternut squash are suitable for vegans. The answer, at least according to QI, is none of them.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 63% of Australian adults are overweight or obese.
But it’s much harder to estimate how many are within a healthy weight range but have poor diets or sedentary lifestyles. In short: being thin doesn’t mean you can eat unhealthy foods and get away with it.

It’s no wonder people are confused about whether it’s good to eat cheese, when even food experts are divided. Some argue that we’re not eating enough of this important source of protein and calcium, while others say the high levels of salt and saturated fat mean we should be eating less.

Searching for the best way to lose weight? Should the emphasis be on diet, or can the solution be found in the gym? We pitched the science of one against the science of the other in a bid to find out.

Fact: The more you diet, the more obsessed with food you become. So what can be done about it?

Wholemeal, wholegrain, multigrain, sourdough, rye, white, high fibre white, low GI, low FODMAP, gluten free. With so many choices of bread available, how are we to know which is best for our health? Let's take a look at the science.

Meat pie? Protein. Big Mac? Protein. Meatlovers pizza? Protein. If this is you when you're on a "high protein" diet, scientists are about to kill your joy.

Like most guys of a certain vintage, I have mixed feelings about my body. Staying lean and not surrendering to the siren’s call of the dreaded 'Dadbod' is a key concern. But then so is building and maintaining enough muscle so that I can keep up with the young bucks on the soccer field or in the gym.

One of the main keys to success is your diet. You need a meal plan that's high in healthy carbs, fats and proteins. More importantly, it needs to be easy to prepare and affordable - so you'll actually stick to it.

Most parents will tell you their kids love juice. It tastes good, often comes in convenient and child-friendly packaging, and seems much healthier than soft drinks, sports drinks or other sweet beverages. It comes from fruit, after all. But we also know it’s high in sugar, and so can contribute to obesity and dental problems.

We asked five experts in nutrition, dietetics, medicine and dentistry whether or not we should let our kids drink juice.

Many of us have lost weight to feel better about our bodies before donning a bathing suit for a beach holiday, or getting into that just-too-tight outfit for a special occasion. But old habits die hard, and before we know it we’ve started eating that chocolate cake and stopped going to the gym. Soon after losing the weight, we find ourselves back where we started – or worse. This is called yo-yoing.