Making your habits stick
If you've attended one of our courses, you'll know we are BIG on small changes - remember the jar of marbles? Small changes add up!
Maintaining these small, life changing habits is difficult when we rely solely on willpower. To create sustainable change, we need to take a good look at our environment and where possible, set up things so that making the healthy choice is easy and convenient.
This will require some careful planning initially, but it will really pay off.
Try these ideas to get started!
Habits have a huge impact on our daily lives and the health of ourselves and our whānau. The easier we make it, the more likely we’ll be to follow through. Let’s make it easy!
What’s happening in your fridge and pantry?
Work towards filling your pantry and fridge with foods that support your eating goals.
Stock up on whole foods like fruit, vegetables, whole-grains, chickpeas, lentils, and pulses. Frozen and canned vegetables and fruit are great alternatives to fresh.
Use a weekly meal planner to work out what you will need.
There are a few options if your pantry is full of ultra-processed snacks and foods. Put them out of reach so it takes more effort to find them, don’t buy them or when you do, put them on a plate, sit down, eat them slowly and really enjoy them!
Get organised:
Have a go at meal planning and getting in the kitchen more to make kai. While the planning and prepping process takes a bit of effort, it will save you time, money, and stress later in the week.
Make one day a week a meal-making day. Cook a big batch of something healthy that you can use for several lunches and dinners.
Get into the habit of bringing your lunch each day. If you find it difficult packing a lunch each day, bring a bag of lunch ‘makings’ at the beginning of each week, or make it the night before.
Remove clutter from the dining room table so that there is a clear area to sit and enjoy kai with your whānau. If you don’t have a table, you can still sit together at mealtimes. Don’t forget to make it a “no devices zone”!
Make a list of whole food snacks you enjoy and make sure you always have the makings of some on hand e.g., vegetable sticks and hummus, toasted seeds and nuts, wholemeal pita crisps.
Have water handy for when you get thirsty (e.g., a water bottle in your bag). Try a fruit or herb infused water as a substitute to flavoured sugary drinks.
At home:
Use the healthy plate model as a guide. Load ½ your plate with vegetables first! Then add the carbohydrates and protein. Think about your favourite family recipes. How can you include more vegetables in your sapa sui, bolognese, curry, macaroni cheese or savoury mince?
Leave your walking shoes in a place that you will see them. Seeing the shoes serves as a reminder to get outside and “move it”!
Create a quiet space at home for mindfulness activities – diary a regular time.
Engage support from your family, whānau, and friends. Talk to them about your goals and get them involved.
Create a restful bedroom - use your bed for sleep, not watching TV, and scrolling through social media, or texting. Your brain makes connections between places (the bedroom) and events (sleeping).
Out and about:
Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where you’ll find real foods, rather than highly processed food products.
Try to avoid driving past fast-food restaurants. By changing the route, you will be less likely to stop.
Pack your active clothes and shoes the night before. Waking up and grabbing your gear as you head out the door is easier to do than having to think about it in the morning.
