I was sitting here looking through some emails this morning trying to come up with some blog post ideas. I LOVE providing you with research and information about health conditions, which is my specialty. BUT I also want to make sure I help you with practical things that can help you eat better every day.
So I was looking through emails reading things like…
- “I struggle to eat more anti-inflammatory meals“
- “I’m not a cook so…”
- “I get a lot of pain…”
- “I’m overweight and need to lose…”
Yes, these are all common struggles and I’m sure you might hear your words ringing in there too.
But while our intentions to change our diet are there, we never seem to be able to do it. We might start, then stop, then start, then stop. Or perhaps we just never get started in the first place. So what are we to do?
Changing Our Diet Is Overwhelming
Making any kind of change to our diet is difficult, let alone if we have to change lots of things. And when we try to do it all at once, it just doesn’t work in most cases. Will power just doesn’t seem strong enough. Our attention can’t seem to last past lunch. Or I just feel too tired to cook, so who cares let’s get take out!
Well…instead of changing everything at once, I’ve found what works best is to take it one step at a time.
So how can we do that?
Swap It, Don’t Stop It
Many of our eating habits are just routines that we are stuck in. Usually our eating plan contains foods or meals we eat on a regular basis, sometimes even daily.
For example, I might eat pasta for dinner a lot, or pizza on Tuesdays is an every week affair. Or I might eat the same 3 things for breakfast every morning. Or it might be that you eat chocolate and desserts every night after dinner.
If you think about these things I’m sure you will recognize a few patterns and routines that you have, and this gives you a great place to start!
You don’t want to stop these habits, that’s what makes it particularly hard for us to change. So what you can do is swap the habit for a healthier one.
Swaps Examples
For example, if I eat cereal for breakfast every morning I could start by changing what I eat in the mornings. I could create a selection of breakfast meals that are more nutritious and just focus on eating breakfast differently for a few weeks before I work on changing other things.
If I eat chocolates or desserts every night that are full of sugar, I could swap what I’m eating for something healthier and still feel satisfied. Try this berry yogurt or homemade chocolate.
If I want to give up coffee, I could swap it for roasted dandelion root tea.
See how we don’t have to stop it, we can just swap it!
Sure, that still doesn’t mean it will be easy, but it will be easier. And if you do this slowly, then over time you can develop a whole range of new healthy habits and routines!
So what thing are you going to tackle first?
Choose one thing and leave me a comment below letting me know what you are going to swap it with.
Jedha
Nutritionist & Health Counselor
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