8 Healthy Eating Changes: One Simple Swap a Week

These eight changes follow the NHS 8 tips for healthy eating and the Eatwell Guide (UK guidance for adults). You can start them all at once, but adding one a week gives each change time to become a habit.

Your 8-week plan

1. Week 1: Choose higher-fibre starchy foods

   Why: Starchy foods should make up just over a third of what you eat; wholegrain versions have more fibre and help you feel full.

   Try this: Swap white bread or rice for wholemeal or brown at one meal a day, and keep potato skins on.

   Whole vs refined grains

2. Week 2: Eat more fruit and vegetables

   Why: Aim for at least 5 portions a day; fresh, frozen, canned and dried all count. A portion is 80g (30g for dried fruit).

   Try this: Add one portion to breakfast and one to your evening meal.

   Nutrient-dense food ideas

3. Week 3: Eat fish twice a week

   Why: Aim for at least 2 portions a week, including 1 of oily fish such as salmon, sardines or mackerel.

   Try this: Try canned sardines or mackerel on toast, or a salmon traybake.

4. Week 4: Cut down on saturated fat

   Why: Too much can raise blood cholesterol. On average men should have no more than 30g a day and women no more than 20g.

   Try this: Use a little vegetable or olive oil instead of butter, and choose leaner cuts of meat.

   Trans fats and other fats

5. Week 5: Cut down on sugar

   Why: Free sugars raise the risk of weight gain and tooth decay. More than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g is high; 5g or less is low.

   Try this: Replace one sugary drink or snack a day with water, fruit or plain yoghurt.

6. Week 6: Eat less salt

   Why: Adults should have no more than 6g a day. About three-quarters of the salt we eat is already in food when we buy it.

   Try this: Check labels on bread, cereals and sauces: more than 1.5g salt per 100g is high.

   How to read nutrition labels

7. Week 7: Drink enough, mostly water

   Why: The UK guide is 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day. Keep fruit juice and smoothies to 150ml a day in total.

   Try this: Keep a glass or bottle of water within reach and refill it at each meal.

   Juice: what it can and can’t do

8. Week 8: Have a healthy breakfast and get active

   Why: A breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can be part of a balanced diet; regular activity helps your health and weight.

   Try this: Try wholegrain cereal or oats with milk and fruit, then a 10-minute walk.

   Lifestyle factors beyond diet

Fish, fat, sugar, salt and drinks figures are from the NHS; fluid guidance also appears on the NHS water and drinks page.

Making changes stick

• Make it the easy option: keep fruit visible and water to hand; buy fewer of the snacks you want to cut.
• Swap rather than ban: a lower-sugar cereal is easier to keep than no breakfast at all.
• Plan one shop: a short list built around meals makes impulse buys less likely.
• Keep the flavour: herbs, spices, lemon and garlic add taste without salt or sugar.
• Expect slips: one off-plan day doesn’t undo a week. Pick up at the next meal.