How to Keep Your New Healthy Habits All Year Long!

            Happy New Year!  It’s 2019 and many people take up New Year’s resolutions.  If you have ever started a resolution full-speed ahead the first two weeks of January, then lost momentum and quit by February, you’re not alone! It happens to all of us, even with the best intentions. This especially happens when people want to improve their eating habits.  In this post, I will give some strategies to create healthy eating habits that last all year long!

Don’t expect a complete change overnight.

           The most common reason diets (and many other New Year’s resolutions) fail so quickly, is that once you ‘cheat’ or ‘miss a day,’ it’s all over.  People aren’t perfect, and there is no perfect way to eat either!  First, set small, realistic goals for yourself.  If you meet them, add an extra element to the goal, or take it a step further.  If you miss a day, that’s okay!

Instead of Dieting, Add a New Healthy Eating Habits Gradually

           It might seem easy to follow a diet that eliminates foods all at once, but having a restrictive diet actually causes us to have unrealistic expectations of our eating habits. It can make us feel unnecessarily guilty eating foods we love, and set us up for failure. In many cases, commercial or “fad diets” that eliminate foods or food groups (The Keto Diet, Paleo, etc.) may unnecessarily restrict healthy foods and are not appropriate for everyone. Instead of restricting, consider adding or adjusting your current diet to meet general health recommendations like the Dietary Guidelines for Americans or the DASH diet.  These include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and protein sources (dairy, meats, poultry, beans, etc.)

          As mentioned earlier, try first with small, manageable steps to make changes. Here are some examples to model off of:  

• Count your servings of vegetables each day.  Try to add one more than you usually do.  Then try and add two more.
• Instead of 3 cans of soda a day, try going down to 2 a day. Once successful and comfortable in doing so, try going down to one.
• Packing your afternoon snacks for the workday?  Instead of reaching for chips every day, have nuts and a fruit on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and enjoy your chips on Tuesday and Thursday.

          It’s really about adjusting the number of servings according to your current diet. Maybe your goals have to do with eating more fruits, nuts, whole grains, etc. Maybe it’s about eating less snack foods or sweets.  The principle is the same.  Start by evaluating your current diet, see what changes you would like to make, and set small, gradual goals. If you would like, feel free to keep track of these goals in a journal or planner. Overall, being mindful of these small changes is key.     

          This strategy can also work with exercise to!  Maybe you want to start going to the gym more.  If you currently don’t workout, start going once a week.  Once that habit is set, add an extra day. Forgive yourself if the week gets busy and you miss a day or two.

Give yourself permission to enjoy all food.
          Whether you like it or not, humans don’t just eat food for sustenance. There are emotional and cultural connections we have to food. We attach them to memories of our childhood and celebrations of holidays and achievements. Give yourself permission to enjoy your favorite sweets or salty foods. Remember, it’s all about enjoying these foods in moderation! 

          Lastly, I want to state that you don’t have to start reaching your nutritional goals in January.  Look at each day, or each meal as an opportunity to make choices for a healthy lifestyle.  This perspective can help you balance your nutritional goals while still enjoying food.

TB

References

Lysen L. K., Isreal, D. A. Nutrition in Weight Management. In: Mahan L. K., Raymond J. L. eds, Krause’s Food & Nutrition Care Process. 14^th ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2017.