How To Eat Better In 2017: 7 Easy Tips For Healthy Eating For New Year's Resolutions

It's hard to commit to eating healthfully. The best intentions readily give way to convenience, or comfort, or the latest office birthday for which there is, of course, a cake.

But with 2017 just days away Wednesday, the coming new year means a clean slate of sorts. Gone are the 2016 transgressions of the drive-thru lane. With that in mind, here are seven tips for eating better next year.

1. Portion control. Perhaps the best thing you can do is limit how much you eat. The "everything in moderation" axiom holds true. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed off a number of tips here for controlling portions, including asking for a to-go box at restaurants, serving food on individual plates at home in lieu of family style and portioning out snacks for in between meals ahead of time.

2. Load up on veggies. The President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition recommends that half of your plate should be filled with vegetables. "Choose red, orange, and dark-green vegetables like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, along with other vegetables for your meals," the council's site reads.

3. Eat more often during the day (really). This is another tip from the CDC. If you eat a healthy snack when you're hungry during the day, then you're less likely to overeat at your next meal.

4. Exercise (but don't sweat it too much). Getting active is one good choice that could lead to another. And it certainly brings remarkable health benefits. But if you're eating healthy with the specific goal of losing weight in mind, Vox reported that studies show losing weight pretty much comes down to eating less, with exercise playing a much smaller role.

5. Watch for big packages and keep treats out of sight. The CDC pointed out that people typically eat bigger portions of a food if it comes in a bigger package. So if you buy a large back of chips, break it down into smaller serving sizes (or just avoid chips). To avoid temptation, you can also simply hide that temptation away. If the cookies are away in a cabinet, sealed in a bag, you have to think about your choices instead of mindlessly eating one out of a jar on the counter.

6. Record what you eat. Simply put, if you have to write down everything you eat, you're more likely to eat something that's good for you because there is a physical record of your diet. A simple notebook could work, or an app such as MyFitnessPal could be helpful.

7. Go lean. Using meats with less fat can go a long way toward healthy eating. Turkey and chicken are lean, and ground beef usually comes in different fat percentage ratios — use the 90 percent lean variety.