Happy New Year guys!! Hope you all rung in 2016 in the most enjoyable way possible, be it raging around town or keeping it low-key at home. As cliché as setting health-related resolutions can be, I couldn’t think of a better time. Motivation is high and the new year signifies a blank slate i.e. a fresh start to do things right. While I’m sure we’d all like to eat a healthier diet this year, it’s sometimes easier said than done. Since we all find ways to make it work, here are my tips to making healthy eating resolutions stick this year:
- Find healthy foods you actually enjoy eating: You don’t have to force yourself to learn to love kale or any other nutritious food. Healthier eating can just mean increasing the portion of the healthy foods you do like. Especially as life is too short to not enjoy the food you eat, jot down a handful of healthy meals & foods you love and try to incorporate them into your diet as much as possible. Regardless of how picky your palate might be, I can almost guarantee there are at least 5-8 healthy foods you are happy to chow down. Sometimes that might mean exercising a bit of creativity in the kitchen. For me, loading up on stuff like overnight oats, avocado toasts & omelets ensures I don’t feel like I’m “missing out”.
- Be consistent: If only healthy eating was like taking a vaccine i.e. one shot and you’re covered for life. It’s the small healthy habits you practice daily that make all the difference when it comes to achieving long-lasting results, not the random week of healthy eating you do the week before a holiday or the days leading up to a wedding. We all go through periods where it’s harder to stay on track, but if you keep going despite these challenges, you WILL see results. Consistency > Perfection.
- Don’t try and completely overhaul your diet overnight: This goes hand-in-hand with diet consistency. Rather than make radical changes to your diet completely, I’m a huge advocate of making 2-3 healthy changes to your diet at any given moment. Once those become habits & start to feel natural, build on them & set out to make further changes. For example, in week 1 you can focus on eating a balanced breakfast daily & upping your water intake. In week 2 or 3, aim to pack your lunch for work and also eat an extra serving of vegetables daily. For results to stick, you need to foster habits which are sustainable both now and months (even years) down the line.
- Ask for support: I am truly grateful that from the day I embarked on my journey towards a healthier me, I have received endless support from both my family & friends. Although I wouldn’t suggest relying on others to achieve your goals, that extra push from your loved ones really helps. If you explain your reasons for wanting to clean up your diet, your loved ones are more likely to be understanding and encouraging. That could eventually translate into them keeping you accountable, making sure the choice of restaurant has a few healthy options, or even exchanging recipes & tips to keep things exciting.
And in case you missed it, I shared my tips on Huffington Post a couple of weeks ago on 7 Ways To Start 2016 On A Healthier Note. Cheers to 2016 being our healthiest year yet!
What are your tips for making healthy eating resolutions stick?
Happy Happy 2016!!! These are some awesome tips Khushboo! I’ve noticed that the more healthier choices I manage to make, the less my cravings for junk become! So, my selling point has always been the fact that healthy eating is craving domination! 🙂
Here’s hoping 2016 is a joyous year my friend!
Happy New Year to you too Shashi!! You’re so right about healthy eating and cravings- when I eat right, I naturally crave even more whole foods :)!
Great tips! I especially agree with not trying to change your whole diet at once. You’re not going to go out and run 15 miles on your first run when training for a marathon, so do the same with healthy eating. Small things add up! Happy 2016, Khushboo!
Happy New Year to you too Sarah! Love the running analogy- really puts it into perspective :)!
Love all of these, K! I think for me it’s all about making food fun. Like you said, don’t eat stuff you truly don’t enjoy. Instead, work with the things you love and figure out how to cook them in new ways with new flavors. Basically…experiment!
Experiment is the key to just about everything :D!
Very useful tips! I have been trying to follow these for a year now and it works. Any drastic changes definitely do not help. Happy New Year 🙂
Thanks Jan & happy new year to you too!
I couldn’t agree more about finding and eating the healthy foods you enjoy. I really don’t like kale, so if I -had- to to stay healthy, I’d probably fall off the wagon completely. And I’m all in favour of enjoying your favourite treats on a regular basis as well. That way they don’t end up putting them on a pedestal and going overboard on them when the time comes to enjoy.
Happy New Year, lady!!
Absolutely, Amanda! I truly believe a healthy diet is one where NO foods are off-limits (obviously excluding foods which might cause an allergic reaction)!
Great great tips! I completely agree with making small changes at once. And unfortunately I think this is the reason why too many people fail at their New Years resolutions – it’s just too hard to change EVERYTHING about your lifestyle all at once and maintain it!
Thanks Chelsea :)! It’s all about the baby steps!
these are so realistic and i have got to share this on my fb page!!! i like the point you made about choosing few healthy food that you enjoy rather than chugging green smoothie and nut butter if thats really not your thing. apples, bananas, and toast are not as sexy in healthy food category but they are equally nutritious and relatable to people.
Thanks Dixya and also for sharing! Even though foods like apples and bananas might not be deemed ‘special’, they’re just as healthy as stuff like acai bowls (and other ‘superfoods’)!
These are some diet related resolutions I can actually embrace. Small changes towards making a difference in your health without practicing any kind of restriction. Great list!!
Thanks Meg- all about small, sustainable changes 🙂
Happy New Year Khushboo!
Love these tips. So simple actually!
For me, focusing on what I CAN do rather then what I CANNOT is key. If I keep forbidding myself food, I want it. So I keep saying I can eat all this delicious homecooked meals. It works!
Yes to all of what you said- it’s all about changing your mindset and looking at food/health in a more positive manner!
These are super sound tips, K! Of course! I love your metaphor about healthy eating — if only it were like a vaccine. Not so much. Small daily changes are the way to go! Happy 2016!
Thanks Ashley! Wishing you all the best for 2016 :)!
Great tips and I would definitely agree. Small changes are what lead to big goals being achieved. Great post and I’m glad I found your blog.
Welcome & thanks for stopping by Hollie :)!