When people are improving nutrition for long-term weight loss, there are two approaches they take: they either make a 180-degree turn and change everything, or they create one new habit at a time. Both can be effective. It just depends on your personality type.
If you’re in the change-a-little-bit-at-a-time group, I want to share with you the three changes to implement first.
#1 – Start a Nutrition Journal
If you’re trying to lose weight, I can’t overemphasize the importance of first understanding how you got where you are. Get a nutrition journal and start writing in it before you make any changes to your eating habits. Write for a week and answer these two questions for each meal:
- What are you eating? (Track calories and macronutrient content, i.e. carbs, protein, and fat)
- Why are you eating? (Are you bored, hurried, hungry, stressed, following tradition?)
Doing this will give you insight into your relationship with food and specific things that you’ll have to change along the way. Be honest and don’t judge your answers—at least not yet.
#2 – Focus on Creating Good Habits First
Start adding specific foods and good habits to your daily nutrition pattern. Early on, don’t worry about the unhealthy things you might need to cut out. Rather, focus on improving nutrition by getting the food your body needs to have more energy and feel better.
Pick a specific group of foods you should be eating more of: fruits, vegetables or lean meats are good places to start. Having them accessible and finding easy ways to prepare them will boost your chance for success in the changes you make.
#3 – Keep It Simple by Having a Plan
Nutrition is simple if you stick to the basics. Make it easy on yourself by knowing what and when you’re going to eat, then making sure it’s available. The fast food industry has grown by leaps and bounds because they know that if they provide a quick and simple solution for your meals, you’ll end up at their window by default.
Life is insanely busy. That’s why improving nutrition is impossible if you don’t plan ahead. You’ll always be left with tough choices (and a pretty good chance of making the wrong ones). Make healthy food readily available and you won’t default at the drive-thru. If you know you’ll be out for long periods of time, take your food with you.
Maybe I should start a fast food restaurant called “All You Should Eat” and give people a healthy option to pick up food in the right proportions.
If there were a fast food restaurant called All You Should Eat, would you go?
Do you have other nutrition musts for us?
Leave your thought in the comments
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All You Should Eat sounds like a buffet and so maybe I’d steer clear! lol.
Keeping a food journal is one of the most important important ways to lose and keep the pounds off. It has played an important role in my long-term maintenance, especially in spotting and preventing emotional eating outbursts. 🙂
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