Diet and lifestyle change - some thoughts on what to do when you’re still working things out (and we’re all doing this all of the time!)

Change is constant so we’re either changing in ways that lift us up into a better state of life, or we’re changing in ways that will take us further from where we want to go, and I’d say that health is the outcome of the small choices we make on a daily basis.  So if we’re making slightly better choices than we were yesterday, then we’re heading in the right direction!

But if we’re in a state of health that is less than ideal, the good news is that we can change for the better. Working out what to change though, that could take some deliberation.

We’re all wired differently, we have different strengths and weaknesses, living in different homes, with different people, in different areas of the land, with different daily commitments.  But before we talk about how to make another healthy change, let’s just acknowledge the fact that you’re already making proactive choices for being in the Natural Ketosis community! Well done for making this move, that that shows that you’re making steps already and that’s always good to acknowledge.

Making the best food, drink and lifestyle choices aren’t particularly easy in the western world as the environment we live in isn’t conducive to making the healthy choice, the easy choice.  That’s no fault of our own, but it is our responsibility to navigate this situation as best we can.  But how can we help ourselves to make the healthier choices a little bit easier?

Here are a few ideas for you;

Shopping habits - if it’s in your house, you’ll eat it sooner or later. So, who’s in charge of your food shopping? When do you buy it? How do you get it (in the shops or online).  Your shopping list could decide whether or not you’ll be healthier after consuming all the contents, or not.  Maybe consider your shopping list as your battle plan – will you be in better or worse health having bought what’s on your list?

…and the number one tip if you’re going food shopping is NEVER go shopping when you’re hungry!! If we’re food shopping when hungry, you’re more likely to end up with poor choices, being sucked in by the convenient snack food that’s been heavily marketed, and well positioned in the shops.

Are you a sucker for filling the trolley with things not on your original list?  A simple rule that you could employ is to buy online, avoiding the temptations all around the shop. But if you do buy in the store, could you stick to the outer perimeter of the shops?  This is where all the fresh produce are…but down the middle aisles is generally where the processed junk is.

Make the healthier choice a bit easier. We can prime our home environment to our advantage; could we clear out the freezer, fridge and pantry – donating or discarding the foods that don’t serve our future health?  As if these ‘less than optimum’ foods are in our own houses, then they will be eaten sooner or later!

One phrase that I’ll put into the mix is: ‘the antidote for impulsiveness is forethought’.

In other words, if we think ahead, or have a plan for what we’re trying to achieve, we’re more likely to make slightly more progressive decisions that we did yesterday. Planning is commonplace in the working world as every business has a plan and every business has monthly targets of where they’re aiming for. How often are we doing this for our own health?...may be not as much?!

One suggestion is having an hour (or however long you need) of meal prepping and planning, at a time that suits you as, if that saves you having to pick up cheap, unhealthy junk for the next few days, then you’re ahead of the game and you get good at what you practice. So if you start practicing this food planning and prepping, you’ll naturally get better at it.

This may not mean planning and prepping every meal of the week, as this may be overwhelming but you may think that there’s one meal of the day that could do with a bit of attention and that may be the place to start trying something different. Is that the Monday morning breakfast, or is that a snack on a Wednesday evening?

One example of a change that I made a few years ago – and has just become part of my weekly routine (like brushing my teeth), is every few days I hard boil 6 eggs, so I always have at least 2 hard-boiled eggs in the fridge that I can put in my lunch box in the morning to take to work (along with a few slices of meats, cheese and salads).  I feel a lunch doesn’t fill me up nearly as much as when I have 2 eggs in there.  These are my priority for the work lunches every week.  In the morning, it takes me less than 2 minutes to prepare a lunch before I leave for work as all the stuff is ready to put into a box. That never used to be a habit of mine – as I was a sucker for meal deals in my unware, unprepared and unhealthier days.  But this egg habit is one that will stick around now!

If we start small, and change one thing, we then get the feeling of success. And with success we feel good. When we feel good we’re more likely to be able to then make another positive change in the direction we want to go then you start to build positive momentum and momentum is a great fuel for change. One quote from another low carb doctor, Thomas Hemingway says, ‘The baby steps you take every day will compound into MASSIVE results!’

So if you’re being overwhelmed with too many things to change, aim for one thing. BJ Fogg, author of Tiny Habits, never underestimates the power of starting small.

The act of starting is huge. Then it’s a case of seeing what happens. There will be certainly some challenges in maintaining dietary changes, and you may relapse at times and need to restart, but this part of the process.

Better food and lifestyle changes aren’t always easy but this is the way when you start anything new, be that playing the piano, learning a language, learning to ride a bike etc.  Better food choices are always possible. If we’re unskilled in how to choose the better food choices right now, then the good news is that you can learn any skill, any time of life.

Having a community can also help with your pursuit of better health. As things become a little easier when you’re within a group of like-minded folks. Here at Natural Ketosis is where you’ll find a supportive bunch of people who are all looking to improve health and lifestyle in some manner. Having had health coaching myself, I know the benefits of it so I will be here to help you out going forward with coaching tips, ideas and blogs.

Healthy regards,

Health Coach Olly