Well, that's January been and gone! I'm hoping that your New Year's Resolutions haven't fallen by the wayside already, but if they have dropped off your radar don't be discouraged, tomorrow's a new day with another chance to bring them back into focus.
The following article about making little adjustments to the way you eat might be just the encouragement you need to stick with your intentions to eat healthy food in 2015. Taking small steps towards any goal can help it seem more manageable and achievable and you'll feel satisfied with yourself for staying on track.
The following article about making little adjustments to the way you eat might be just the encouragement you need to stick with your intentions to eat healthy food in 2015. Taking small steps towards any goal can help it seem more manageable and achievable and you'll feel satisfied with yourself for staying on track.
A Gradual Approach to Healthy Eating
by Leo Babauta via www.zenhabits.net
A lot of us have tried various diets over the years, with little success. I remember trying about half a dozen different diets when I was trying to lose weight, and none of them stuck for more than a few weeks. Why is that? A few reasons:
1. You’re trying to change a lot of things at once — from learning new recipes to strategies for social situations to what to eat when you go out to what you should do when you’re craving a snack and much more. Making that many changes at once is a sure recipe for failure.
2. You’re making huge changes all of a sudden. If you shift from unhealthy eating to healthy eating in one day, it will seem like a drastic change, and you won’t be used to it at all. This is very difficult, and if you’re struggling with something difficult, you’re probably not going to last more than a few weeks.
3. You don’t really like your life with this new diet. You like the idea of being leaner, but you don’t like the diet, and you miss your old food. So it feels like a sacrifice, and you can only sacrifice for so long.
That’s a lot of powerful forces working against you, and that’s just the start. Having a spouse or friends who eat differently is difficult, and so is being surrounded by unhealthy food at home and work. What can we do?
What worked for me is gradual change. Let’s look at the why, then the how.
Why Gradual Change Works
If you understand the reasons that people fail at trying to create a healthy lifestyle, then you can see why gradual is better:
1. It’s not overwhelming to start if you start small and only do one small change at a time.
2. With gradual change, you’re not putting too much on your plate, as you are with a huge change, and so you’re less likely to drop it as the weeks progress because you’re too busy and have other things to focus on.
3. It’s not an abrupt change, so it doesn’t seem so difficult, and it quickly starts to feel normal. You’re pushing out of your comfort zone, but not too much.
4. You never really feel like you’re sacrificing.
Those are some good reasons. Let’s do this.
If you understand the reasons that people fail at trying to create a healthy lifestyle, then you can see why gradual is better:
1. It’s not overwhelming to start if you start small and only do one small change at a time.
2. With gradual change, you’re not putting too much on your plate, as you are with a huge change, and so you’re less likely to drop it as the weeks progress because you’re too busy and have other things to focus on.
3. It’s not an abrupt change, so it doesn’t seem so difficult, and it quickly starts to feel normal. You’re pushing out of your comfort zone, but not too much.
4. You never really feel like you’re sacrificing.
Those are some good reasons. Let’s do this.
How to Transition to Amazingly Healthy
Before we start the gradual process, it’s a good idea to know where we’re going, generally. This won’t be the exact place we end up, because things will change along the way — including your taste buds — but let’s take a big picture look at what we’re doing first.
A less helpful approach is to think of the perfectly healthy diet, and say that’s what you need to do. For example, if for some reason we said you should only eat protein and vegetables, all day every day, then any deviation would feel like failure. And you might think that’s not a very fun life, so you wouldn’t be likely to stick to it.
Instead, try to imagine a life that includes healthy food that you’d really enjoy — but allows for other indulgences too. For some, that might mean you want a bagel and fruit for breakfast, then some healthier stuff for lunch and dinner (protein, veggies, quinoa or brown rice), maybe carrots and hummus for a snack, some green tea later in the afternoon, and finally a martini after dinner. That’s not 100 percent healthy, but it’s pretty great, and it’s a picture you’d enjoy perhaps.
For others, you might want a sweet in the afternoon, or your tall latte in the morning, or French fries at dinner with friends a few times a week. Those are all allowable in a healthy lifestyle, if most of the other things you eat are healthy. You want a picture of a healthy life that seems enjoyable to you.
Next, pick one small healthy change and stick with it for a week. Get some accountability, put a reminder on your fridge, plan ahead of time, do whatever it takes to make that small healthy change happen. If you are successful, pick another small change the next week, and repeat that every week you were successful.
What kind of small healthy changes can you pick each week? The list can be endless, but here are some examples:- Eat a vegetable at dinner every day.
- Eat a vegetable at lunch every day.
- Eat a fruit for an afternoon snack.
- Have a fruit with breakfast.
- Cut back one alcoholic drink at night.
- Don’t eat after 8 p.m.
- Cut back on the sugar you add to your coffee to a minimal amount.
- Have a whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, etc.) with dinner instead of a white starch.
- Have hummus or raw nuts instead of those chips you eat for a snack.
- Have berries instead of the sweets you eat for a snack.
- Learn three new recipes this week (cook one night, then eat the leftovers the next, repeat).
- Eat at home most nights this week.
- Have yogurt with fruit or a tofu scramble with veggies for breakfast.
You get the picture. If you don’t like these changes, come up with some of your own. If these seem too hard, make them easier.
One small change at a time means a dozen over a few months. That adds up to some amazing change over time, and it’s change that’s likely to last much longer.
Before we start the gradual process, it’s a good idea to know where we’re going, generally. This won’t be the exact place we end up, because things will change along the way — including your taste buds — but let’s take a big picture look at what we’re doing first.
A less helpful approach is to think of the perfectly healthy diet, and say that’s what you need to do. For example, if for some reason we said you should only eat protein and vegetables, all day every day, then any deviation would feel like failure. And you might think that’s not a very fun life, so you wouldn’t be likely to stick to it.
Instead, try to imagine a life that includes healthy food that you’d really enjoy — but allows for other indulgences too. For some, that might mean you want a bagel and fruit for breakfast, then some healthier stuff for lunch and dinner (protein, veggies, quinoa or brown rice), maybe carrots and hummus for a snack, some green tea later in the afternoon, and finally a martini after dinner. That’s not 100 percent healthy, but it’s pretty great, and it’s a picture you’d enjoy perhaps.
For others, you might want a sweet in the afternoon, or your tall latte in the morning, or French fries at dinner with friends a few times a week. Those are all allowable in a healthy lifestyle, if most of the other things you eat are healthy. You want a picture of a healthy life that seems enjoyable to you.
Next, pick one small healthy change and stick with it for a week. Get some accountability, put a reminder on your fridge, plan ahead of time, do whatever it takes to make that small healthy change happen. If you are successful, pick another small change the next week, and repeat that every week you were successful.
What kind of small healthy changes can you pick each week? The list can be endless, but here are some examples:- Eat a vegetable at dinner every day.
- Eat a vegetable at lunch every day.
- Eat a fruit for an afternoon snack.
- Have a fruit with breakfast.
- Cut back one alcoholic drink at night.
- Don’t eat after 8 p.m.
- Cut back on the sugar you add to your coffee to a minimal amount.
- Have a whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, etc.) with dinner instead of a white starch.
- Have hummus or raw nuts instead of those chips you eat for a snack.
- Have berries instead of the sweets you eat for a snack.
- Learn three new recipes this week (cook one night, then eat the leftovers the next, repeat).
- Eat at home most nights this week.
- Have yogurt with fruit or a tofu scramble with veggies for breakfast.
You get the picture. If you don’t like these changes, come up with some of your own. If these seem too hard, make them easier.
One small change at a time means a dozen over a few months. That adds up to some amazing change over time, and it’s change that’s likely to last much longer.
Taking a Closer Look
When I'm out and about at this time of year I like to look for the small things that show me that spring is on its way. When I really pay attention to my surroundings and zoom in on them, the most ordinary things take on a new perspective.
On one of my dog walks last week with The Furry Guru (another fabulous "small thing") I decided to look at the bark of the different trees I was passing. Close-up, the trees took on a more artistic form and the photos below show the diversity of colour and texture that I could have so easily overlooked. It was a simple thing to do but it had a meditative quality as I shifted my awareness and became more deliberate about what I was doing. You could try this mindfulness practice yourself to quieten your mind and get more focused. If you're not passing any trees today you can do the same exercise with a paperback book, feeling the smoothness of the cover, the folds and creases of the spine, paying attention to the fonts used and really looking at the artwork. It feels good to slow down enough to really notice what's there right in front of you.
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| This tree-stump had beautiful lines running through it, was encircled by moss, and decorated with ivy and fungus - it was like a piece of artwork! |
A Fabulous Simple DIY Facial Treatment That Will Make Your Skin Feel and Look Great
My skin is looking tired and grey! Its not surprising at this time of year though - it's having to deal with centrally heated, artificially dry air inside the house, cold air and drying winds when I'm outside and the lack of sunshine means I've lost my glow! I've just done this great DIY skincare treatment which I found on mindbodygreen.com and I'm loving the results. It felt good to pause in my busy day and spend a relaxing 10 minutes doing a self-care ritual and I'm convinced my skin looks clearer and brighter for it. The clay mask cost me 89p for 2 sachets from Superdrug and the rest of the ingredients I already had available so it was cheap, simple and pleasingly natural.
Here's the recipe:
Boil a pot of water and carefully pour it into a large, heat-resistant bowl.
Add a few drops of lavender oil or another favorite essential oil.
While the water boils, apply coconut oil to your face to remove makeup and debris, then wipe it all off with a clean cloth.
When your skin is cleared of makeup and oil, carefully place your face about six inches from the top of the water and cover your head with a large towel, making sure to position it so the steam from the bowl gets trapped under the towel tent. Steam your pores for 1-3 minutes, breathing slowly and deeply, taking breaks if you need to.
Pat your face dry with a clean towel.
Slice a fresh lemon in half and gently rub the flesh all over your face like you would a toner, being careful to avoid your eyes. The acid in the lemon acts as gentle microdermabrasion and is the most important part of this ritual.
Apply a natural clay mask and let sit for 15 minutes.
Gently wash the mask off, pat your skin dry and apply coconut oil or another favorite moisturizer.
Here's the recipe:
Boil a pot of water and carefully pour it into a large, heat-resistant bowl.
Add a few drops of lavender oil or another favorite essential oil.
While the water boils, apply coconut oil to your face to remove makeup and debris, then wipe it all off with a clean cloth.
When your skin is cleared of makeup and oil, carefully place your face about six inches from the top of the water and cover your head with a large towel, making sure to position it so the steam from the bowl gets trapped under the towel tent. Steam your pores for 1-3 minutes, breathing slowly and deeply, taking breaks if you need to.
Pat your face dry with a clean towel.
Slice a fresh lemon in half and gently rub the flesh all over your face like you would a toner, being careful to avoid your eyes. The acid in the lemon acts as gentle microdermabrasion and is the most important part of this ritual.
Apply a natural clay mask and let sit for 15 minutes.
Gently wash the mask off, pat your skin dry and apply coconut oil or another favorite moisturizer.
A little disclaimer: please remember that everyone is different and not every treatment may be suitable for your skin. Even natural products can sometimes cause a reaction. Do consult your doctor before you try new skincare routines if you have any concerns.
Finally, yoga friends, here is a thought provoking and uplifting video about what other people think of us. Watch it by clicking the link below - you'll be glad you did :-)
