"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all, have fun!"
– Julia Child
When you live your life in a growth mindset, there is always room for improvement, learning, and striving to do and be better. Everyone is in different places regarding their understanding and knowledge of nutrition and its effects on our overall health. Eating behaviors and habits are as varied and individual as we are, and there is no single diet (way of eating) that perfectly fits everyone. Although we are more alike than we are different, the differences between us and how we metabolize (absorb, digest and process) the food we eat are incredibly diverse, even within biological family units.
When setting goals toward improving our health through the foods we eat, it is best to start where we are and take small steps toward improvement from there. It is unrealistic to go from being a couch potato to a muscle-bound bodybuilder in one week and just as unlikely to go from a consistent fast-food diet to clean (natural food) eating overnight. The body will rebel to such drastic and sudden changes all at once; your body needs time to adjust, and so do you. You will be far more successful at reaching and staying with your nutritional improvement goals if you start small and go slow.
Think of your food choices and eating behaviors as a lifelong journey of slight improvement and dietary alterations as your body changes through its various phases of life and physical needs. This mindset about nutrition will be much more sustainable than a "diet" you go on as a temporary end to a means. These extreme diets are typically very unbalanced and severely restrictive, and most likely unsustainable for the long term. If a fad diet doesn't look like something you'll want to do for years, don't do it. You are far more likely to stick with a diet (way of eating) that suits you and works well with your metabolism and activity level than following an eating plan that may promise weight loss but doesn't suit you. When you have weight loss goals, I advise learning what foods work best with your body, slowly incorporating real over manufactured food options, and building consistency into your meal plan. When you create an eating plan that works perfectly for you, you are more likely to stay with it and successfully lose weight permanently.
If you have not taken the time to assess your food choices over the recent past, please read last month's post Tips to help evaluate your eating behaviors and nutritional options. Awareness about what you eat and drink now will help you determine what small step to take and propel you toward weight loss and improved health goals.
What goals do you have regarding the foods you eat?
Do you want to lose weight, or more specifically, reduce your body fat percentage?
Do you want to improve your health because you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, or anything else looming in your future?
Do you want to relieve yourself of constant digestive issues, joint pain, or brain fog?
Do you want to control how much sugar, junk food, or alcohol you consume?
Do you want to teach your kids how to eat healthier and the importance of good nutrition for a healthy body?
Do you want to learn to cook or try new healthier recipes?
Do you wish you had more time to prepare a nutritious meal?
These are just a few ideas that tend to be the most common nutritional goals people have. Do you have other pursuits around the food choices you make? Make a list of all the health goals you have for yourself and use them to determine the one small way you can improve the way you eat and your health.
Take one small step in the direction of your nutrition goals.
Go back to the self-evaluation list of your current dietary habits and think of one possible and small change you can make every day to get closer to your nutritional goals. Here are a few examples of small changes you can make to your current routine that can add up to significant results:
On my morning Starbucks stop, I will order a smaller coffee drink with one less sugar pump for the next two weeks.
Every time I order pizza, I will eat a small green salad first.
I will serve my favorite, but not so good for me; snack into a tiny bowl and slowly enjoy this one serving.
I will substitute soda for iced tea or lemonade and, better yet, water at lunch.
I will drink a glass of water every morning before coffee. This one is my favorite and the one, so many of my clients can successfully implement and find beneficial!
Eat one serving (fist size) of fresh fruit or vegetable with every meal.
Substitute processed snacks with natural fruit or vegetable.
These simple changes may not be the best options for you, as everyone is in different places on their nutritional journey. No matter where you are on this journey, as long as your one small action is better than what you are doing, it's step one in the right direction to start your path toward better health and wellness.
The idea of creating permanent positive changes is not to get too far from what you already do. Just think of small ways to be a tiny bit better and try your new action out for a short amount of time. Do something new for 14 days and see how you feel. After taking this first step, it's far easier to take the next step and the step after that. It is better to start with what you can than to never start at all.
Choose one small thing you can start doing today that will improve the future outcome of your health through the foods and beverages you consume every day. Make this action commitment small and simple enough to ensure you will do it for two weeks and create a visual tracker of your consistent daily success.
For more support and guidance in completing a straightforward step and tracking consistent action, sign up for our FREE two-week to COVID Re-Boot digital mini-course and workbook! There are various suggestions and a two-week tracker you can use to manage your better nutritional consistency.
If you found this post beneficial, please help us spread the word and share it with your friends, family, and social media contacts! We are on a mission to create happier, healthier, and more purposeful lives through simple daily practices, and we need your help!
Check-in with us next Sunday when we release our NEW Time-Management digital course!
Комментарии