It’s no wonder that so many people are confused about which diet is best. it’s enough to make a person give up trying to sort through it all and just order a pizza. The truth is, like with so many other things, media is hell meant on confusing us.

One month one food item I glorified, the next it is the enemy. An endless monthly cycle of nutrition debates that confuse us more than they help. One month, it’s oatmeal; next month, it’ll be something else. Carnivore, plant-based, keto, carnivore, counting macros, honey, fruit—the list goes on. There are endless examples of hot-topic nutrition debates you can find on social media. It can be exhausting to sort through all the noise and make heads or tails of what is true and best for your health.

But stressing over these small choices is not how you improve your health. In fact, worrying about every single decision you make is one of the least healthy things you can do for yourself.

Instead of getting bogged down by all the noise, let’s focus on what really matters: building strong habits and routines. Say you want to improve your diet. Instead of asking, “Is oatmeal bad?” ask, “What foods will help me reach my goals?” If you need fiber, oatmeal is an excellent choice. But if you don’t like oatmeal, that’s okay, too.

Just pick something else! The point is, don’t let fear or negativity guide your choices. At the end of the day, even the most processed foods aren’t going to kill you in moderation. I promise you—you can eat a Twinkie and survive to tell the tale. “Bad foods” here and there won’t make you sick, but bad habits over time absolutely will.

Think about the life you want to lead. Do you want to be someone who worries about every piece of food that goes into your mouth? Probably not. You likely want a balanced life where you understand the basics of what’s healthy and can make good choices most of the time without much drama. And that’s where building healthy habits comes in.

Creating solid habits requires a good foundation, just like building a house. Before you even think about the specifics—like whether or not to eat oatmeal—you’ve got to make sure your foundation is strong. Ask yourself, “What do I want my life to look like?” Do you want to feel energized, have a great mood, prevent chronic disease, and build a body that is strong and capable enough to do all the things you want to do deep into old age?

Once you have a good idea of what that looks like, you can start laying the bricks: sleep well, move your body, connect with people, be kind to yourself, and nourish your body with good food.

I get it; there are a lot of options out there. You could go low-carb or high-carb, work out for long hours, or stick to short, intense routines. You could be a meat-eater or a vegetarian. But the thing is, almost all those things can work. What often makes a plan fail is not that it’s inherently bad but that it doesn’t fit into your life, which makes it hard for you to stay consistent. And that’s why you’re the most crucial part of any plan.

The key takeaway? The next time someone tries to scare you into believing a certain food is the bad guy, remember this: the key to improving your health isn’t in obsessing over the small stuff. It’s in building lasting habits that align with the life you want to live. And once you do that, everything else will fall into place.

When people ask me where to begin to reclaim their health, I have an answer much simpler than any diet plan: Eat real food and only real food. Surprisingly, you already know almost everything you need to know to completely transform your health, it really starts with the basics. I created this simple chart to help you, I hate to use the term “food rules” but it’s more of a guideline – the basics. Follow it most of the time and you will be better than most. I hope you find it helpful.