3 Simple Steps to Make Healthy Eating Your Reality
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In our super-busy lives, eating can be way off our radar. You eat on the run, grabbing whatever, whenever and shoving it in your face as you answer emails, drive, work at your computer, etc. Does this sound familiar? Have you been trying to eat better but can’t seem to make it happen? It’s time to make eating a priority. Or, as Ellyn Satter (a dietitian whose work forms the foundation of my own) says:
Make Healthy Eating Your Reality: “Feed yourself faithfully.”
This, I agree with Ellyn, is step #1 to healthy eating. Before you change a single thing that you put in your mouth, the first thing that you need to do is make feeding yourself a priority. It’s only by fluke that we achieve anything that we don’t make a priority.
If you want to make healthy eating your reality, day-to-day, , and not just a fluke, here are the 3 simple steps to take:
- Break out your calendar. Schedule in time to eat 3 meals and an afternoon snack. Schedule it every single day. Yes, actually book the time in your calendar.
- Schedule in time for grocery shopping and meal prep. Want to be an “A” student? Schedule a time for weekly meal planning.
- This is the tricky step. The step that is key to making healthy eating your reality. Don’t schedule other activities during your eating times. If you regularly bump eating for other priorities, you’ll end up in the frustration of eating well for a few days and then slipping back into unhealthy habits.
What if you can’t avoid occasionally breaking the rule in step #3? Make it a true double-booking (and not a substitution). Make that meeting a lunch date and choose a restaurant with healthy menu choices. Have a weekly mid-afternoon staff meeting? Propose that team members take turns bringing a healthy snack for everyone. Is your morning commute lengthy? Schedule time on the weekend to shop for and prep ingredients for healthy smoothies. Portion ingredients into individual baggies and freeze. Or, the night before, prepare overnight oats and enjoy your breakfast when you arrive at your desk.
Feeding yourself faithfully is the key to making healthy eating your reality. Your calendar is an essential tool to make it happen.
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