“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Should you hit the reset button on healthy eating? Are you well aware of what healthy eating looks like, but struggle to do it consistently?
If so, you are not alone! It is difficult to change our eating habits.
…You’ve probably been eating the same way decades.
…You must give up food love (“So far chocolate, red meat and wine”).
…And stomach foods you don’t. (“Fish again?”)
…Sugar and salt are in almost everything.
…Restaurants and potlucks host landmines.
…You don’t know which health professional to trust.
…Figuring out what to cook is now one thing even bigger problem.
…Especially on busy weeknights when you just. Don’t do it. Have. The time.
Don’t give up! I help people deal with misconceptions and difficulties like these – here on the blog, in one-on-one consultations, and in my community of members.
With or without my support, you can do this! Here’s how:
1. Set a SMART goal and write it down.
You’ve probably heard of SMART goals before, but don’t just comment on that.
(SMART, if you’re not familiar, stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based.)
Take this goal, for example: “I need to eat better for my heart.” It’s a good start – anyone who wants to change is already ahead of the game, but it’s clearly not specific, measurable, etc.
If you came to me with this goal, we will comment on it with questions such as:
- “What makes food most important to you right now?”
- “How does that look to you?”
- “Which new eating habit do you think you would have the most success with?”
- “How will you measure progress?”
We might end up with something like, “I want to change my eating habits so that I can lower my LDL-cholesterol from x to x by May 2025, because I’d rather not take medication for this.”
Is this a SMART goal?
- Specific – Have we clearly defined what they want to do? Yes. (We’ll get to the “how” in a minute.)
- Counted – Is there a way to measure progress/success? Yes.
- Accomplished – Is it realistic? – Maybe, assuming we agree on a realistic cholesterol goal.
- Relevant – Does it support your larger goals? Yes, the reduction of high LDL-cholesterol is one of the most important things you can do to prevent a heart attack or similar problem.
- Based on time – Have you set a deadline? Yes. This can create urgency and keep the goal top of mind.
Write it down
It’s worth getting out a pen and paper (or a digital equivalent) and writing down your goals. A 2015 study found that people who were randomly assigned to write down their goals were 42% more likely to achieve them, compared to those who were simply instructed to I reflect what they hoped to achieve.
Next…
2. Make a plan, defining specific actions you are going to take.
Your plan will be unique, depending on your goals, values, home and work situations, food preferences, and more.
A tip: Start by focusing on adding nutritious foods instead of cutting things out. Later, when you eat more vegetables, legumes, nuts, etc., you can address eating too much sugar or whatever if you still think it’s a problem.
SMART criteria are useful when making a plan as well:
- Specific – We need more than “I will eat less at dinner” for example. How you’ll do this Maybe try bringing peanuts and an apple to work for an afternoon snack to stave off hunger at dinner.
- Counted – At the end of the week you should be able to easily tell if you did it or not.
- Accomplished – Have realistic expectations for yourself. Consistency beats perfection. And a change or two is usually enough to get you started. We can build from there.
- Relevant – Make sure your planned actions are aligned with your goal. For example, if you made a plan to switch to fat-free dressing, this would not help the cholesterol goal.
- Based on time – When exactly will you do it? “I’ll have my peanuts and apple at 3.30pm and set a snooze alarm on my phone so I don’t forget.” Now we’re getting somewhere!
3. Solve any blocking problems.
For example, you may be concerned that by the middle of the week you usually don’t have fresh fruit. So find out what to do about it.
(Maybe buy a big bag of apples, since they stay fresh for weeks in the fridge. Or get some frozen mangoes and bring them when you run out of apples. Or shop midweek. You have options.)
Other common barriers to changing eating habits:
- Limited time
- Limited repertoire of heart-healthy dishes
- Lack of planning
- Hunger and thirst
The list could go on, but you get the idea.
4. Consider changes in your environment that could support your plans.
Your “environment” is simply your home, workplace, maybe your car – wherever you spend time.
For example, if you’re not in the habit of bringing food to work, you might want to bring bags of apples and peanuts to keep in the office.
There’s a lot to think about, isn’t there? But now you have to have a good plan, so…
5. Self-monitoring – track how you’re doing.
You might think this means logging everything you eat or entering it into an app like My Fitness Pal. For some, these practices are helpful, but for others they are challenging, reminding them of diets of days gone by.
There are other ways! Instead, you could just track how often you follow your plan. A simple check mark on your calendar will do the trick or if you want to get fancy you can use an app every day to record whether you did it or not.
Or if you think emotional eating is a problem for you, you could keep a journal noting your feelings, triggers, location, hunger and aftermath of each episode to look for patterns.
Either way, with self-control, always be non-judgmental. If you don’t follow, think about why. You are that’s not the problem the plan is the problem. Sometimes you have to experiment.
6. Rinse and repeat. Review the plan in a month or so.
This is the part that many miss! Life gets busy or they find it hard to keep up, so they give up. Don’t stop trying! Just keep swimming. 🐠😊
The best way to learn how to tweak your plan is to try it out for a few weeks. Is it going well? Large! Consider trying another new habit that supports your goal.
Not going so well? “I ate the whole bag of peanuts by Tuesday afternoon!”
Ok, no worries…back to the drawing. “Maybe I could put peanuts in five containers every Sunday and leave them at the back door so I can grab one every day.” “Hey, that means I could change the nuts!” “And maybe you need more than a handful?” Eventually we’ll land on something that works.
With any behavior change, we often discover details like this that determine success or not.
7. Work with a professional.
Having a follow-up appointment on the calendar means the project will stay higher on your priority list and you can be sure that troubleshooting and/or progress will happen.
Which professional? When looking for someone to guide you, depending on your needs, you might turn to a registered dietitian, psychologist, certified health coach, social worker consultant, occupational therapist, registered nurse, or even a doctor.
How do you know if you have a good coach? Credentials matter, but even more important: they must lead you in calling the shots. They will ask you questions such as “What area of your health is most important to you right now?” and “Where do you think is a good place to start?”
If a coach comes out of the gate too quickly and tells you what to do, that’s a problem. How can they know the best plan to make if they barely know you? You are the expert in you.
You should hear yourself saying things like, “I think what I’m going to do is…” or “I’m about to…”
If you can’t get a word in edgewise, then they’re not guiding you, they’re advising you. (Sometimes this is appropriate, say with a medical specialist. Do you need expertise or help to follow your plan?)
Bottom line
If you’re an occasional visitor to the land of healthy eating and want to move there permanently, try following these 7 steps consistently:
- Set a SMART goal and write it down.
- Make a plan, defining specific actions you are going to take.
- Solve problems – solve any obstacles that might get in the way.
- Consider changes in your environment that could support your plan.
- Self-tracking. Keep track of how you’re doing.
- Rinse and repeat. Review the plan in a month or so.
- Work with a professional.
I would love to support you in this so feel free to enter my freebie Facebook group with your questions, make an appointment, or join my member community, Sweet Spot Kitchen. I host monthly office hours that would be perfect for you to review your plan, as well as a bunch of other resources to help you succeed.
