Good tips, with the working shown
Eight short guides that cover what actually moves the needle for healthy adults. Nothing here needs an app — but logging in PlatePal shows you how you’re tracking against it.
Pal: Start with the plate — it does most of the work. The rest is just topping.
Tips & recipes of the week
One tip, one recipe, one money-saver — your week of eating, sorted from one place.
Portions you can measure with your hands
A palm of protein, a cupped hand of carbs, a fist of veg. No scales, no counting.
Read the tip Recipe of the weekTurmeric coconut fish curry
Restaurant flavour, a balanced plate and the numbers already done for you.
Get the recipe Save of the weekCook once, eat twice
Stretch one dinner into tomorrow's lunch — a bigger win for the budget than any coupon.
See howPal: I'll meet you here every Monday with a new one. Small things, done often — that's how the flavour and the savings add up.
The plate that does the work
Half vegetables or salad, a quarter wholegrain or starchy vegetable, a quarter protein. Get that right and most meals look after themselves.
Do this
- Fill half the plate with vegetables or salad — fresh, frozen or tinned all count.
- Give a quarter to wholegrain carbs: brown rice, wholemeal pasta, grainy bread, potato with skin.
- Give the last quarter to protein: fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, legumes, tofu.
- Add a thumb of healthy fat — olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds.
Why it works
It balances energy, fibre, protein and micronutrients without counting anything. Both the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate land on the same proportions, which is why we build every meal around it.
Your next step: Build tonight's dinner this way and log it in one tap. You'll see the plate score update.
Source: The Healthy Eating Plate — Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Portions you can measure with your hands
Your hands are scaled to your body, so they beat a kitchen scale for everyday eating — and they travel.
Do this
- Protein: one palm per meal (two if you're training hard or over 60).
- Vegetables: one to two fists.
- Carbs: one cupped hand cooked, and load the rest of the plate with veg.
- Fats: one thumb of oil, butter, nuts or seeds.
Why it works
Portion size drifts quietly over years, and it's the single easiest thing to correct. Hand measures keep the correction accurate enough to matter without turning dinner into maths.
Your next step: Next meal, serve with your hands first, then look at the plate before you add more.
Source: Australian Guide to Healthy Eating — National Health and Medical Research Council
Protein is your muscle insurance
Muscle drops about 1% a year from your forties unless you eat enough protein and lift something twice a week.
Do this
- Aim for 1.0 to 1.6 g of protein per kilo of body weight across the day — roughly 25 to 30 g per main meal.
- Spread it: breakfast is where most people miss out. Eggs, yoghurt, milk, beans or tofu all work.
- Do two strength sessions a week — 20 to 30 minutes is enough to start.
Why it works
Trials of resistance training in middle-aged and older adults show meaningful gains in strength with two to three moderate-to-vigorous sessions a week over 12 weeks. Protein without training doesn't build muscle, and training without protein doesn't either.
Your next step: Add one protein-rich food to breakfast tomorrow. Log it and check your protein target on the dashboard.
Source: Evidence-based exercise guidelines for age-related muscle loss — Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research, 2025
Fibre: aim for 30 grams a day
Most Australians get about 20 g. The last 10 g is where appetite, cholesterol and gut health improve.
Do this
- Keep skins on fruit and vegetables, and choose grainy over white bread.
- Add half a cup of legumes — chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans — a few times a week.
- A small handful of nuts most days.
- Increase slowly over two weeks and drink more water as you do.
Why it works
Higher fibre intake is consistently linked with better weight maintenance, cholesterol and bowel health. It also slows the meal down, which is why it helps appetite more than cutting carbohydrates does.
Your next step: Pick one fibre upgrade for the week — grainy bread, or legumes at lunch — and let the weekly trend show it.
Source: Australian Guide to Healthy Eating — National Health and Medical Research Council
Drinks and alcohol, honestly
Liquid energy barely registers as food, and alcohol quietly adds both kilojoules and appetite.
Do this
- Water first, and keep it in sight. Aim for pale-yellow urine by afternoon.
- Keep alcohol to no more than 10 standard drinks a week, and no more than 4 on any one day.
- Treat soft drink, juice and flavoured milk as discretionary — one small serve, not a daily habit.
- Coffee is fine: keep it before mid-afternoon so it doesn't cost you sleep.
Why it works
The NHMRC alcohol guidance is built on the level of drinking associated with the lowest overall risk of harm. For soft drinks and juice, the kilojoules arrive without chewing, fullness or fibre.
Your next step: Log a zero-alcohol day this week and notice how the next morning feels.
Source: Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol — National Health and Medical Research Council
Sleep is part of the plan
Short sleep raises hunger hormones and lowers willpower. It's the most common reason a good meal plan fails.
Do this
- Target 7 to 9 hours, with a consistent wake time — even on weekends.
- Cut caffeine 8 hours before bed.
- Keep the room cool, dark and quiet, and leave the phone out of reach.
- If you're awake for more than 20 minutes, get up and read in low light.
Why it works
Restricted sleep reliably increases appetite and preference for energy-dense food, and makes planned exercise feel harder. Fixing sleep often does more for eating than another diet rule.
Your next step: Set a wind-down alarm 45 minutes before bed tonight.
Source: Sleep health recommendations for adults — Sleep Health Foundation
The 12-week build
Twelve weeks is long enough to change strength and habits, and short enough to stay motivated. Here's the shape of it.
Do this
- Weeks 1–2: log every meal, no other rules. Awareness first.
- Weeks 3–6: hit the plate balance on two meals a day and walk 150 minutes a week.
- Weeks 7–12: add two strength sessions a week and push walking toward 300 minutes.
- Weigh yourself once a week, same day, same time — trends beat daily numbers.
Why it works
Strength and habit studies show measurable change from about 8 weeks, with the clearest results at 12 and beyond. The staged build gives you one thing to focus on at a time, which is what separates finishing from starting over.
Your next step: Check your weekly trend on the dashboard to see which week you're in.
Source: Physical activity guidelines — World Health Organization
Eating out without wrecking the week
One restaurant meal doesn't undo a week — but four a week is a different story. Here's how to keep it relaxed and balanced.
Do this
- Order to the plate: a vegetable side or entrée, a protein main, share the chips.
- Choose water or soda water with the first round, alcohol with the second if you want it.
- Eat slowly for the first five minutes — appetite catches up.
- Have one discretionary pick you actually love, and skip the ones you don't.
Why it works
Restriction rebounds. People who keep eating out and plan for it maintain their results better than people who avoid social meals, and the plate pattern works in any cuisine.
Your next step: Log your next restaurant meal by photo, then adjust the portion if it looks off.
Source: Australian Guide to Healthy Eating — National Health and Medical Research Council
Where this comes from
- Australian Guide to Healthy EatingNational Health and Medical Research Council
- The Healthy Eating PlateHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Physical activity guidelinesWorld Health Organization
- Evidence-based exercise guidelines for age-related muscle lossAnnals of Geriatric Medicine and Research, 2025
- Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcoholNational Health and Medical Research Council
- Sleep health recommendations for adultsSleep Health Foundation
General information for healthy adults, drawn from national guidance. It isn't personal medical advice — if you're pregnant, managing a condition or taking medication, check with your GP or an Accredited Practising Dietitian.