Article by Marie Donnellan RNutr
Most of us, most of the time are just getting by and the thoughts of overhauling what we eat, to eat better, healthier, to lose weight, to build muscle etc can just be too much for us to take on. Life is short, too short indeed to be depriving ourselves constantly, not allowing ourselves to eat this or that. It’s on our to-do list to eat better, exercise more and we know deep down that our to-do list never gets done, we just keep adding to it!
Maybe a simpler approach, one that is less overwhelming and easier to take on, is accepting that we don’t have to do it all, like we see in social media. Understanding that real change can come from the small, repeatable actions that matter most to us and our lifestyle, are those that can be the most beneficial.
So here are a few small adjustments to consider to-day, remember it’s not about taking them all on, just starting one, so that you can start to build smaller changes towards a healthier lifespan.
“Small hinges swing big doors” – W. Clement Stone
Focus on the positive and reframe!
Thinking positively can improve our wellbeing; it strengthens our ability to define and achieve goals or changes (1). A more positive approach, influences our perceived control over outcomes, resulting in a higher sense of wellbeing (2). As it’s often easier to achieve success with smaller changes, this in turn can result in greater positive emotions and an increase in motivation to continue and possibly even take on more changes.
Therefore, reframing the dietary changes we are striving for, to a more positive healthy eating approach like “I want to eat better to have more energy”, “ I want to eat well for a healthier lifespan” is more motivating to us as individuals.
While we may at times fail to achieve a positive goal or make a change, it can be viewed as an indication that while we may not have been as successful as we would have liked, at least we are still on the right path towards a healthier change.
2. Embrace what’s on your plate and be aware of how you speak to yourself about the foods available to you. Become aware of the critical voices that admonish your meals, you know that voice that says this should be healthier. Many of us consciously or subconsciously label our foods as “good” or “bad”. This sets us up for a destructive cycle of behaviour of restricting and overeating/binging.
When we have food on a pedestal, we fear it and counterproductively think about it more than if we just labelled it as food. The result might be that you want the food even more, you struggle to be present when eating and you notice feelings of guilt and shame when we eat it. Over time as you drop the labels, you become more in tune with how much of a particular food you really want to satisfy your needs.
Smaller positive changes in your eating pattern
Rather than making drastic changes to what you eat, consider these smaller changes trying to build one change in for a number of weeks, before taking on another one. Over time with consistency, the cumulative effect of smaller changes can bring real beneficial changes.
1. Be inclusive, rather than excluding what you eat! Think in terms of what can you add to your plate at each meal, rather than what you are removing. Adding a healthier option to your plate is of more benefit than for example removing a food group, which can in the longer-term have a significant impact on health(3).
Some examples of this are – what fruit or vegetables can I add to this plate that will bring colour, variety and add nutrients to this meal. E.g., at breakfast could I add a handful of berries, chopped banana or apple to my porridge, cereal or smoothie. Could I add some salad, chopped tomatoes, peppers or cucumber to my lunch or dinner plate?
3. Allow yourself time to eat. Food is a source of fuel for your body providing the energy and nourishment required for it to function. It can take your brain up to 20mins to register that you are full.
Hence, it’s important when you can to take time to eat. Allowing time to chew properly rather than gulping down, where we can possibly swallow too much air causing problems in the gut. Taking time to chew can also influence our satiety and how much we eat(4), and it provides time to listen to your body for the cues on how it tastes, is it filling and is it providing what my body needs.
Sustaining the smaller changes
We all have busy lives and there are often times when it will get in the way. Making any change takes time, so we need to hang in there, here are some helpful best practice guidelines in maintaining a sustainable change or habit (5):
- Identify what’s stopping you from making the change and remove it if you can. Maybe it’s because you don’t have time during the week to prepare a dinner. If so can you use the weekends as an opportunity to batch cook and freeze off portions or prep ahead breakfast options like overnight oats for during the week when you need them and maybe too tired to cook.
- Make your change easy to follow. Being organised can be a great help, like having healthy snack options at work with you, stock up on fruit, oatcakes, crackers, dried fruit etc to name a few.
- Find your “why” for making the change. What’s your motivation, it might to have more energy to do things with my kids, maybe to feel better in myself improve my mood etc. Whatever your reason or why, keep it front and centre and that will help you follow through on your change.
There will be days when things will not go as planned and that’s life. So rather than indulge in the guilt of eating something that is not as healthy as we would like, focus on the bigger picture of what you eat over the day, rather than that one meal. Each meal is an opportunity to provide the nutrients that our bodies need, to enabling us to achieve was we need to each day.
It is about taking a mindset that motivates us to continue. A mindset that realises that we are on a journey for better health and it’s more important to stay on the right track rather than finish the race faster!
References
- Macleod, Andrew & Coates, Emma & Hetherton, Jacquie. (2008). Increasing well-being through teaching goal-setting and planning skills: Results of a brief intervention. Journal of Happiness Studies. 9. 185-196.
- Vincent, Paula. J., P. Pradeep Boddana, and Andrew K. MacLeod. (2004). Positive Life Goals and Plans in Parasuicide. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy 11:90-99.
- Oh R, Gilani B, Uppaluri KR. Low Carbohydrate Diet. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL); 2021. PMID: 30725769.
- Hollis, J., 2018. The effect of mastication on food intake, satiety and body weight. Physiology & Behavior, 193, pp.242-245
- Burke J, Dunne P, Meehan T, O’Boyle C, van Nieuwerburg C, Positive Health 100+ Research-based Positive Psychology and Lifestyle Medicine Tools to Enhance your Wellbeing, Routledge., 2023.
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