How to make a diet change

We have all heard the saying, “Rome was not build in a day”.  Good things take time and if you are thinking of making changes to your diet, do so slowly in order to have lasting effects.

Don’t change too many things at once

Don’t make the mistake of trying to change 101 things at once; dairy free, gluten free, fructose free, sugar free, low carb, no grain, no nuts and the list goes on. The more things you try and change at once, the less likely you are to change anything long term.

There are no quick fix solutions

Do you ever wonder why there are so many diets around? Seems like a new one is talked about each week.  There are so many because they all offer one thing that long term is unachievable – a quick fix. Sure if you follow a lemon drink diet or even the soup diet for a week, you are going to lose weight but what happens when you go back to your normal eating habits? And are these diets sustainable long term, what do you think?

Its unhealthy to starve ourselves of key nutrients when you do the opposite to following healthy food practices. If you are constantly following fad diets, you are putting your body in all sorts of stress and for what? A quick fix?

Re think the food wheel

It’s time to re think the food wheel, time to re access how we consume foods to never follow a fad or detox program again.  If these things are important to you, why don’t you look to following healthier food practices 365 days a year? It doesn’t mean you need to live each day on dry crackers & carrot sticks, it means you are looking to consume nutritionally dense foods that power you through your days making you feel energized and fulfilled, isn’t that what everyone wants?

Where do you start?

1. Start by being accountable for the foods you eat on a daily basis. List the foods you currently eat and then list the foods you know you should be eating or more to the point, the foods you want to eat.
2. Write down goals and reasons why you find it hard to adopt changes to your eating habits. Be honest here, you are only cheating yourself if you write what you want to read not what is actually really happening.

Be accountable – keep a diary

Once you understand why you want to make changes to your eating habits; lose excess weight, feel better, look better, eliminate health issues you will have a clearer idea about what the future holds. Remember if you are looking to change your food lifestyle, why not look at how much exercise you are doing too. A small bit of exercise can make the world of difference.

So you now have a food & exercise diary and this will in black & white give you a clearer picture about where things are going wrong or on the plus side, show you what success looks like! If you can see it, you can achieve it. It’s time to get excited, it’s time to start making the change because change only starts when you start it – let’s get the wheels in motion!

Be consistent

Consistency here is the key, don’t be disheartened if you don’t see or feel the results you want straight away, all good things take time.  If you are consistent with your commitment, you will reap the benefits. It’s about keeping food simple and listening to what works best with your body.  Experiment with change but do so at a slow pace, eventually your changes will become habits and those habits will last a lifetime.