Let's Make Healthy Changes - Part 3
Healthy Eating
gbChanging your diet can feel overwhelming, but I have some GREAT news for you!
A healthy diet is NEVER a perfect diet.
At best, a healthy diet is an 80% healthy diet or a 90% healthy diet if you’re in treatment for a chronic illness.
Eating 100% perfectly is LESS healthy than an 80% healthy diet!
Why? Because joy and pleasure are necessary for your body to feel healthy. Saying no and depriving yourself of everything that doesn’t fit into the “healthy” box drains pleasure. And, sharing meals with friends and family is an important part of joy. (look into “Orthorexia” if you’d like to learn more about the perils of a 100% “perfect” diet).
AND! You don’t have to have even an 80% perfect diet to feel better!!! Precision Nutrition just released this overview of the eating and exercise habits of 1000 of their clients in 2019 (they’re a team of nutritionists and fitness trainers that focus on muscle-building and weight loss).
Their results are both wonderful and surprising! They found that their clients that only made a relatively small effort (10% - 49% consistency in their recommendations) were very successful, losing an average of 11 pounds and 5-6% of their body weight over the year.
And, they found that what matters most is consistency, NOT how much they changed. This means that a small change, something super easy that you do every day had better results than someone who went all in here and there all year.
Consistency is KEY! NOT perfection!
(If you’d like to see their results, here’s the article)
Feeling the itch? Want to make some changes?
It’s January and this is the time to feel the itch to do something differently. Right now my partner is feeling the itch to purge and is cleaning out our basement (it looks sooo much better down there!), and I’m feeling the itch to internally purge (move more, clean up my diet after the holidays, etc)
This itch can happen at any time of the year, so if you’re feeling it and it’s not January – go with it now! That itch is your body asking for some kindness :).
So…how do you do it?
We’ve got few masterclasses on healthy eating already, and I’ll link to some below. Here are a few guidelines –
1. Give your change a timeline –
We intrinsically do better when we know something has an end-date. Even if it’s a small change, I always give myself a timeline where I’ll try it out before I decide if it’s permanent.
My timeline right now is the month of January, and I have a few things I’m trying out this month. Then, on Feb 1st, I can decide what I enjoy enough to keep and which ones will fall by the wayside.
Giving yourself a timeline helps you get through those inevitable days that you just don’t wanna.
Timelines can be magical for change and they can be for a month or two, or as short as one day. Do what feels right to you. Remember – You do you.
2. Decide what you’re going to do and how often (make it small and doable) –
You could focus on adding fruit to breakfast, or veggies to lunch. It could be that you’re going to cook at home 3 times a week (or 6 if you’re already rockin’ cooking). Whatever it is, be specific.
3. Be 95% confident you can do it –
Yes, big challenges are great…but kindness is even better. And many easy changes add up to AMAZING changes overtime, but big challenges rarely stick. Confidence and ease are key!
4. If you’re unsure what to do, just cut out absent-minded eating -
One of the best things you can do for your overall health and weight loss (if that’s something you’d like) is cutting out absent-minded eating.
This little change alone can make a HUGE difference in your diet and your health. And it’s not that you can’t snack…just stop snacking absent-mindedly.
What this means – chose a food and sit down to enjoy it.
Cut out snacking in the kitchen (or right out of the cupboards). And nibbling food off of family member’s plates (a common habit of moms with small kids). And nibbling while you cook. And absent-mindedly eating while you drive.
My favourite stories from my clients are when they focus on this habit alone and the magic it creates! We generally don’t realize the food we eat on the go, and it can really add up. AND! We don’t fully enjoy it either, so your body won’t really miss it.
Try it out and I’d love to hear about your experience! <3
Easy & super effective changes -
Need some ideas? Here are a few things you could try:
Lemon & water when you first wake up in the morning -
Start with 1/4 to 1/2 of a fresh lemon squeezed into a glass of room temperature water, wait 15 mins before eating or drinking anything but water. This easy little habit supports your gallbladder and liver while flushing out your colon. It’s a great way to prep your body for the day.
Add one more serving of fruit or veggie -
Let it squish out whatever you’d rather not be eating :).
Try out 1 new recipe per week -
Are you getting into a food rut? Or, do you want to add more homemade meals to your life? Start with 1 new recipe per week and you’ll find the variety in your diet explode!
Try out 1 new fruit or veggie per week -
This is another good way to get out of a food rut. By focusing on 1 new food per week you can get to know that new food and see if you want to keep it in your rotation. I usually spend 1 month a year adding a new fruit and veggie and usually at least one sticks :).
SLOW DOWN -
Don’t worry about what you’re eating, instead focus on HOW you’re eating. This helps your digestion work better (and cuts down on gas and bloating) and it automatically adjusts your food portions to what your body would like.
Exchange 1 processed food for a healthier option each week -
Grocery shopping can feel really miserable if you have to change EVERYTHING, so just focus on 1 food item per week. Ie, finding a tomato sauce that you like that doesn’t have any added refined sugar (a common additive), or a healthier yogurt (fewer ingredients = healthier), or a brand of ketchup that uses honey instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Just do one at a time.
Focus on water -
Being hydrated = more energy, better skin, sharper mind. Spend a week or two focusing on getting into the habit of drinking water each day.
Find a new breakfast that you love and keeps you full for 4 - 5 hours -
Breakfast is a key meal in the day, it can set you up for balanced blood sugar or wonky blood sugar. Try out a few options and find one you love and keeps you feeling great! Check out the recipe section for some ideas. (if you don’t like eating breakfast, that’s okay, focus on a good 10am snack)
Kitchen overhaul -
Make sure you have the kitchen staples you need to throw together healthy meals! Have some good oil, whole grains, fresh and frozen veg, beans, and fresh and frozen proteins on hand.
Focus on veggies when making dinner -
Instead of focusing on protein for dinner (this is what most of us focus on), switch to a veggie focus. This slight switch in meal focus will automatically increase your veggie intake :)
Remember - just try one at a time. Once it’s an easy habit, try a new one <3
Masterclasses for healthy eating –
This is a great masterclass if you’d like to reconnect with the pleasure of eating and/or if you’ve struggled with healthy eating in the past. This one is particularly good at moving us away from diet mentality.
This masterclass gives us practical ways of adding more fruits and veggies to our diet.
Do you feel the hangry-hungries throughout the day? Does your sweet cravings feel overwhelming sometimes? Or, has your doctor mentioned that your blood sugar is sitting a bit high? If so, this masterclass will guide you through the steps to get your blood sugar balanced all day :)
Got any questions or comments? Jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)