How many times have you started down a path of increased well-being/health, only to give it up when a stressful or unexpected situation arises, depression or anxiety creeps into your mind, a loss occurs, or you just don't want to follow the yellow brick road anymore? You are certainly not alone. Most of us have been there. The hardest thing is to stay on the path with all of its twists and turns long enough for the change to become mainstream in your life (habitual). The best way to ensure this happens is, as I have discussed before, to find an ally, advocate, or trustworthy confidant who will hold you accountable in a compassionate way and guide you straight ahead, like a horse with blinders on.
Anyone who has read most of my posts knows that my purpose is to "keep it simple stupid". I want to encourage healthier behaviors that won't overwhelm you or cause you to give up.
Years ago, my 13 year old asked for guidance to help him lose his "baby fat". I gave him one piece of advice. Stop drinking soda. Replace it with water, flavored water, or seltzer water. From that one tip, he lost all of the weight needed. Granted he was motivated enough to make a behavioral change. That of course is key. I wrote previous posts on behavior change and identifying if you are ready to commit to that change. I highly recommend you re-review these 2 posts (https://www.healthwellth.com/post/take-away-the-couch-and-what-does-a-couch-potato-have. and https://www.healthwellth.com/post/the-tomato-wants-to-become-a-potato-happy-new-year-new-beginning.
Would-of, could-of, should-of is always a GOT YA. At the time you are debating whether to eat something healthy or exercise and you don't, it often causes later regret. So why not avoid that scenario and just do what's best for you. Honestly ask yourself how many times you have eaten cake or candy and later said 'I wish I hadn't eaten that'. The pleasure factor is fleeting. When you are having the mental tug of war deciding whether to pick up that cupcake, count to 100 while doing something else like walking around the room, engaging a co-worker, calling a friend etc. This may be enough to reduce the urge and allow you to skip that cupcake.
The rest of this post will focus on food hacks - small things you can change in your diet to become a little healthier. Please please please give yourself time to adapt. You don't get used to something new overnight.
Do not saute your food in oil. Instead try getting a non-stick or cast iron pan super hot and add a little bit of veggie broth or water. It should sizzle when you add it to the pan. Continue with whatever you were planning to saute, adding additional liquid if needed to prevent sticking. Whenever I make a recipe that calls for oil I make this change. It works!
Get rid of the soft drinks in your house. They are addictive and bad for your health. Try mixing seltzer water with lemon or cucumber or another flavor you enjoy or buy a flavored seltzer/water.
Mix it up. Try something new - take all the food in your frig that needs to be used and craft a dish out of those ingredients. It may turn out great and you have a new recipe or it flops and you say 'oh well' good try. Society may say that certain foods don't go together but that's bonk. Try ignoring that when cooking. You would be surprised at what happens when you mix ingredients not commonly used together.
Ignore the food 'norms' that society dictates. For example, 'you must eat lunch at noon, dinner by 6 PM', 'don't eat after 9 PM ( or 7 or 8, whatever is in style this year)', 'clean your plate', 'white foods are bad'. Some of these have merit but instead of making them rules, let them be ideas or guidelines. The one I am personally fond of is 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'. I don't believe we will ever prove this but for me it doesn't matter. I cannot eat early in the morning. That isn't good or bad, just my preference. The point is that if you don't follow these norms to a tee, it's ok. Don't judge your comfortable eating patterns with what society dictates or what others do. Compare only to your own goals and progress in achieving them.
Breakfast for breakfast, breakfast for dinner, dinner for breakfast and everything in between, including lunch.
We typically view cereal, eggs, toast, sausage, bacon or ham, yogurt and other dairy products as allowed breakfast foods. Most countries have no such norm. The reason we, as Americans, developed these habits was because early Americans wanted quick readily available foods to 'break their fast'(2). Most people raised chickens so had a ready source of eggs. Cereal became one of the first marketing blitzes. Cereal targets kids with their ads but it is also easy to leave a bowl, spoon, and cereal out at night for your child, allowing them to make their own breakfast when they wake up so mom,dad, or other adult can sleep, get ready for work etc. Who says you can't have oatmeal for dinner or sauteed greens with farro for breakfast? There is absolutely no reason, other than tradition, that you must eat the 'normal breakfast foods' as your first meal of the day. It's fine to have a wrap, sandwich, soup, beans, savory overnight oats etc. for any meal. Breakfast for dinner is popular so why not dinner for breakfast?
Know thyself
No one knows you better than you. There are very few hard and fast rules about when to eat, how many meals and snacks you have per day, and what you eat when. Base your choices on how your body reacts to these parameters. Fasting 8-12 hours each day has become popular. So have cleanses. There are many tools in the arsenal that you can use, or not, depending on their effect on you. For example, many diabetics find that eating many (5-7) small meals a day is best to maintain a steady-state blood-sugar. Medications you take and limitations you have will contribute to what works for you.
Hard and fast rules (sort of, nothing can be perfect!)
Separate hunger from thirst or boredom. If you are really hungry eat but assess first and be honest with yourself. When you finish your meal, don't immediately return for seconds. Wait at least 20 minutes before reassessing your hunger. It takes this long for your body to tell you "Stop, I have had enough".
Stop eating when you feel satisfied, not full. Learn your satiation clues. This means starting to pay attention to what your body is telling you.
Stay hydrated The old rules of having 64 oz of water each day is passe but staying hydrated is not. Water is not the only source of hydration Fruits, veggies and other foods contribute to your hydration. Real Simple Magazine (again, not endorsing) has a good article on ways to stay hydrated other than just drinking water (3).
Dessert
Get sugar out of your diet. Sugar is addictive. I know this is easier said than done. Giving up sweet and fatty treats without experiencing serious cravings is hard. First evaluate how much sugar you eat each day and see if you can reduce it by 10%. Evaluate how your cravings have changed after a month. Can you reduce that sugar intake by another 10%? I am not talking about sugar from fruit. I am referring to foods like cookies, candy, cake etc. They contain empty calories that fill you up without providing any nutritional value. If you fill up on these, you will not be hungry for the nutritious foods your body needs such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, etc.
Your goal should be getting to a point where pure fresh (or frozen) fruit is sufficiently sweet to satisfy your cravings. Fruit is great. It is hydrating, full of vitamins and minerals and tastes amazing! For a binge eater, I used to chow down on grocery bags of junk food, peanut butter cups being my favorite. Now I can't imagine bringing home these foods. I eat a lot of fruit but I don't need anything else. I am not saying I never think about eating foods with empty calories but all it takes to break out of that dream is remembering how I felt after eating junk food and it wasn't pleasant.
Try this recipe:
Nice Cream
Blend frozen banana slices (let them soften a little before blending) in either a food processor or a high speed blender. Add a handful of frozen cauliflower. Trust me you won't taste it. Customize as you prefer with things such as: cocoa powder, peanut-butter powder, cinnamon, a bag of frozen fruit. You can add a little bit of plant milk to get the mixture moving and if you need additional sweetness try adding 1-2 chopped dates to the mix. Using maple syrup is ok as long as you use a small amount. When the mix is fully blended, place in freezer. Using silicon ice cube trays to freeze your concoction is a great hack because you can take them out of the freezer one at a time without melting the whole batch. I try to stay away from all sweeteners as they trigger my desire for additional sweet foods. Another strategy is to add a small amount of a very sweet fruit such as pineapple to your nice cream.
Another good choice is to make green smoothies. Use one of the recipe sites in the references for options. They are not a favorite of mine ( my preference is to eat my food, not drink it) but for those who do favor these, they are a great choice.
It's summer - the best time of year for all of the wonderful fresh fruits and veggies that are in season!!! Yum. Try something new! Experiment away. Freeze your summer favs like tomatos, corn, peaches, berries etc. to have in winter. This is so much better than buying out of season produce that comes from all over the world. Of
REFERENCES
**Another note: I am sort of endorsing this app but again I get no pay-back. I just find it very useful.
I use a recipe storage app called Paprika. It allows you to save recipes you want to try and once you try them, to make notes for future use or you can delete recipes you didn't care for. You can add entries manually or search online for recipes and save them in the app. It is a single source of storage.
https://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/75725/PA-SFMNP--Nutrition-Education-Resources?bidId=
https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_all-about-america_history-american-breakfast/6172177.html
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink.
Real Simple Magazine, June 2024, p.55.
These are some of my favorite sites for recipes. Please note that I am not endorsing any of these, nor do I get any benefit from these recommendations. They are just my 'go to' sites.
Recipe Sites (just a sample)
If you have a subscription to the New York Times, they have some great recipes
Cooking.New York Times.com (if you have a subscription)
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