Tiny Habits for Nutrition: Small Steps for Eating Healthier
Do you appreciate your food? I mean like really, really appreciate it. No guilt about how lazy you feel eating cheese and crackers for dinner, or how many calories you're taking in, or what meal plan you're "cheating" on?
A lot of us are eating without appreciation for what's in front of us. If that's, say, a Skittle (aka grad school crack) then ideally we appreciate it for what it is. A dopamine-hitting burst of unnatural flavor that has a crunch at the beginning and a chewy finish.
If we appreciate it for what it is, then we can acknowledge what it isn't. Fuel for our physical selves. (I suppose if you were starving, and needed calories to survive until you could access nutrients, then it would be, like, temporary fuel.)
We talk a lot in health care about small steps to eating healthier, but we bypass this important question. Why were those old habits there to begin with?
Not to open a can of worms, but we're having trouble eating healthier because we are getting something out of unhealthy foods. Calm down, I'm not even talking about your feelings. You don't have to go that deep, though let's face it you should probably talk to your therapist about it.
We are getting convenience, a short term energy burst, a reason to keep sitting in this chair typing. We're getting time back in the day, or a pleasant physical sensation that's different from the unpleasant we feel right now.
So what does this have to do with small steps for eating healthier?
It means that if we can honestly consider what we get out of our current eating habits, then we can make a reasonable plan for eating healthier. Half of you out there (I'm being generous, it's 99% of you) already know small steps you could take to eat healthier. That's not what you need me or any other "expert" for.
What can be helpful (for all of us!) is to design our behavior around making it harder to do the old habit, while getting our needs met in another way.
This is why I don't have to be a nutritionist to help you eat better. Basically every study that comes out about healthy eating is some variation on: eat more plants and fewer processed foods. Done. Bam. So simple! Right?
Eating healthier is simple, but not easy. That's why small steps are helpful. Here are some ideas:
Tiny Habits for Eating Healthier: Noticing
After I open the refrigerator, I will close my eyes and take one deep breath
After I put an item I consider unhealthy in my grocery cart, I will take 10 seconds to consider what I specifically like about it. (Or instead of time, think of one thing, but it can’t be “it tastes good”. We already know it tastes good.)
After I notice feeling guilty over what I ate (bonus if you know how you physically feel guilt in your body), I will name one thing I got out of eating it.
Tiny Habits for Eating Healthier: Doing
After I pick up a processed food item at the store, I will put it in the kid’s part of the cart. (It’s easier to see how much you have, and you might consider stopping the processed stuff when that part is full.)
After I put away my processed food on my highest shelf, I will put the step stool on the other side of the house.
After I take the celery out of the grocery bag, I will put it on the cutting board (instead of in the fridge).
Behavior Design Small Steps for Eating Healthier
Not all the steps you take need to be habits. Some of them might have to do with making healthy eating easier and unhealthy eating harder.
Keep junk food in the trunk of your car (so you can’t easily snack when you’re driving either).
Maybe this hurts your eco conscious heart and your pride as much as mine, but just buy the pre-cut veggies. Yes, you could just cut them up yourself. But considering the vegetables rotting in the back of your fridge, you won’t.
Bonus: you can teach your kids to prep the pre-cut veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Depending on your safety assessment and their age, they could pre-heat the oven or just cook the veggies. Remember when we train ourselves, our dogs, or our loved ones to start small and give lots of immediate praise!
Set an alarm for when to stop work. Even if you ignore it, you’ll know what time it is. If we’re considering the reason a lot of us don’t eat as well as we’d like, it has to do with time. So actually habits or starter steps having to do with reclaiming time could work better than food-related ones.
