“HELP!” What exactly is “Healthy”?

Eat the foods that you like and that are easy to prepare/cook: pork chops, hamburger meat -- whatever you like.
If you like certain fruits and veggies, eat those. The same with dairy products -- eat those if they work for you.
Eat rice and bread and potatoes as long as they fit into your calories for the day.
Consider creating an account on Pinterest for pictures of food ideas.
Also this: https://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/beginner-dinner-recipes?utm_term=.scdQm8LGBM#.qjXMmA0QDw
Check out this forum for cooking ideas: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/categories/recipes

I think in the simplest terms eating healthily means not eating anything in excess. You can eat a burger or cookie whilst still eating healthily- just learn to reduce your portion size. All the shout about one particular food being bad changes ever other week like you say, but in a way they're all right! Sugar will make you gain weight...if you eat too much. So will fat. So will wholegrain!

Like other people here have said, lots of peoples diets these days are high in saturated fats, added sugar and salt and they are what you need to look out for because often we aren't aware of how much we're actually eating them. For weight loss, you need to burn more calories than you put in. Fats and sugar are calorie dense so people tend to eat less of them when they're trying to lose weight, whereas vegetables aren't so calorific so they can eat more of them.

Look for leaner cuts of meat vs fatty ones. If you like chicken and burgers then experiement with flavouring and grilling your chicken rather than frying it or look for lower fat burgers.

Try and find fruit and veg that you genuinely like (watch out for tinned fruit though, go for things tinned in juice not syrup). Veg is great for bulking up pasta or cous cous dishes too.

Don't drink lots of empty calories and sugar in the form of fizzy drinks and such. Water is amazing, keeping hydrated means you're less likely to mistake thirst for hunger and I've found sometimes I eat just out of boredom and wanting something to do so having a water bottle to hand helps with that.

Be aware of cooking oils too- people can forget to log oils and are eating a lot more calories than they realise

Basically just be aware of what you're eating, look at foods packaging for added sugar and sat fat content (things like cereals and sauces often have high quantities). Where you can, cook from scratch or as close as possible so you know what's going in. You don't have to cut out oils and condiments but just be aware of how much of them you're actually eating (like sauce on a burger).

Personally my method of 'healthy eating' is to eat a rainbow (though not in skittles). If you've ever watched these food programmes looking at peoples diets where they keep a food diary for a week and then they lay out all the food on the table, you'll see a lot of beige. White bread, pasta, pastries. It's pretty bland and offputting to look at! But if you imagine a table of luscious green leaves, peas and broccoli, orange sweet potatoes and carrots, purple beetroot, blueberries, succulent red berries and juicy tomatoes, a crispy golden loaf of wholemeal bread, flaky coral salmon and creamy white cod...you get the picture. Variety= nutrients= healthy eating.

Embrace all the food groups, maybe try making your own sweet baked goods on occasion instead and enjoy the product of your hard work instead of buying packaged ones from the shops so they're less of an easy convenience food? I think healthy eating isn't just about eating low calorie but also about eating what makes you feel good and satisfied. I'm pretty sure anyone who says they're happy eating soggy salads twice a day is lying!

Weigh your pasta, oats, cous cous (it's so easy to make more than you need of these) and choose wholemeal options where available- eat a fistful of protein in the the form of lean meats, eggs, greek yoghurt- eat fruit and veg to your hearts content- let yourself indulge occasionally because as long as you're eating lower sat fat, sugar and salt 80% of the time, the odd treat won't do any damage

The last thing I wanted to say is that people often seem to think that healthy eating means dieting and eating boring food. I don't know if that's true for you but my mum always says how she doesn't want to eat healthily because it's boring and she doesn't like the food and she also associates 'healthy' eating with eating less, being restrictive and generally being miserable. She's so wrong about it though. You can technically lose weight on a healthy or unhealthy diet (eat 8-10 packets of crisps a day and you're probably eating few enough calories to lose weight...not very nutritious though is it?). But 'healthy eating' and weight loss or dieting aren't synonymous and I think if you have that mental outlook then you need to change your mindset from 'I'm banning all this delicious food I love in favour of tasteless celery sticks and soggy spinach' to something like 'I'm increasing the variety of delicious food my diet and giving my body a range of nutrients'. Just like on an unhealthy diet, eating fewer calories than you burn will make you lose weight, eating the same will make you maintain and eating more will make you gain

It sounds like you're a little bit overwhelmed from your post, and I'm not surprised since there is so much information out there!

The thing is, you don't have to be perfect. Just start with where you're at, and try to make next week healthier than the last. As you need to lose weight, probably the best place to start is to eat exactly the same sorts of food as you are now, but in appropriate quantities so you start losing weight. This app is great for that Once you've got that down pat, pick something else to focus on - maybe add a portion of fruit every day, try it for a week or two. If you like it, stick with it, if you don't then try something else. Don't try and climb the mountain all in one go

Starting out, just concentrate on your daily calorie goal. You'll quickly find out that high calorie foods eat up your budget. So, you'll find yourself looking for lower calorie alternatives--leaner meats, less condiment, more vegetables, more fruits, less cheese, less dessert, and so on. Slowly you'll be nudged in the right direction, and discover new recipes on here. It' a process. Try to eat a variety of foods. You'll do fine, and be "healthy" to boot.