5 Strategies for Making Healthy Changes Stick by Kelly Pate Dwyer
Maybe this sounds familiar: You decide on a new health goal and your brain starts spinning with all the changes you might possibly undertake. Cut out desserts, cook at home more often, or hit the gym more regularly.
Change is full of hope and possibility. If you’re like many people, at first you feel motivated, driven, perhaps even passionate about the “new you” that awaits. Until, gradually or suddenly, your mojo falls flat. Kaput.
There are many reasons that good intentions can veer off course. A holiday celebration or a big work project gets in the way. Or you lose your stride a tiny bit at a time as you navigate the natural ups and downs of life.
Usually there are multiple factors that turn an exciting health goal into a challenge that seems too great. It’s a common story, but one that you can rewrite.
Mindset & habits
Oftentimes, the healthy changes you undertake are not truly difficult. That you are capable of accomplishing them.
But they require commitment and habit change. And those are tough for sure.
Our brains love predictability and ease. That’s why making healthy shifts to our nutrition or lifestyle routines can feel like too much effort. Too much discomfort.
But consider this. You’re probably experiencing discomfort already. Perhaps you’re tired or anxious, feeling inflamed or your digestion is off. Or it’s something else. Each of these symptoms is a form of discomfort, just of the familiar variety.
You get to choose. You can sit with the continued discomfort of your current symptoms, or choose the discomfort of trying new things, of committing to changes, of taking brave steps to ultimately feel better.
My clients who have embraced this mindset shift tend to be more successful in achieving their goals of eating healthier, gaining energy, sleeping better, and stabilizing their mood. They’re more at ease in their daily lives.
And if you believe that other people, the “healthy people,” have more willpower than you, or that they’re better at following through on their goals than you, think again. They likely just have better systems in place.
Here are five tips to help you ditch unhealthy habits and build new ones that nurture health. As you make changes, remember that it’s perfectly normal to feel resistance along the way.
Decide on your why. Maybe you want more energy, to lower your blood sugar to prevent diabetes, or you want to improve your resilience to stress and sleep more deeply. Keep your reasons, or your “whys,” in mind when the desire to bail pops up. Think about what becomes possible in your life once you accomplish your goal, or even get part of the way there.
Take baby steps. Our brains get excited and ponder big and fast changes, which often backfire. Instead, commit to 1 or 2 small steps toward your larger goals. As those become routine after a few weeks, add more small steps. If your goal is to lower your blood sugar, you might want to do more home-cooking, load up your meals with fiber and protein, and take short walks after dinner. Bite off small pieces of these sub-goals.
Don’t rely on motivation. It comes and goes, for everyone. If you wait to feel motivated, you’ll be hard pressed to create new healthy habits or ditch unhealthy ones. In fact, taking action often precedes motivation. You just start. This dovetails with the baby steps above. When you take action, the motivation and commitment tend to follow.
Plan ahead for challenging situations: Create “if-then” plans to keep from derailing your goals when you attend a happy hour or go on vacation. If you’re invited to a party and you’re not sure what the hosts will serve, bring a dish to share that you know is both nutritious and delicious. If you’ve got a long travel day, pack a few protein-rich snacks to take with you. Anticipate surprises and prepare for them.
Expect speedbumps. You are human, imperfect. Healthy habits can, and usually do, feel really challenging at some point, whether that’s during the first week or six months in. Perhaps you’ve you’re eating more sugar lately than you’d like, and you’re working out less frequently. This is normal. Nothing has gone wrong. When you form a new healthy habit, your brain creates new neural pathways. It takes time for small pathways to become well-worn trails. As a result we experience these speedbumps. When you realize that speedbumps are natural, and not a sign of failure, you can pick yourself up, dust off the setback and keep moving toward your goals.
Whether you’re already working on a health goal now or contemplating your next move, remember that you have a choice. You can stick with the discomfort of your current symptoms, or accept the discomfort of trying new things, of committing to change, of taking brave steps to ultimately feel better.
Kelly Pate Dwyer, MNT, BCHN® is a holistic nutrition consultant and established writer based in Denver. She provides 1-to-1 nutrition & lifestyle consulting to adults and leads nutrition workshops for clients across the United States. An experienced journalist and freelance writer, Kelly contributes to media, providing solutions and the latest research on nutrition and other health topics. For more information visit www.eatwellgrow.com.