How To Make Healthy Habits Stick … For Good!
GUEST POST BY NATALIA CHOUKLINA.
These are no ordinary times that we live in. I think it goes without saying that we have access to more information than ever about wellness, health and vitality. With the click of a few buttons we can find information about anything! The options that are presented to us are infinite and that itself breeds confusion. It seems that the main question for our generation is not what to do but how to make it last.
Most of us have a basic understanding about what needs to be done to have a better quality of life or a healthier body; however, it seems that knowing what’s good is not always enough to inspire any tangible changes. Attempting something new is good but getting it to become a lifelong habit is a whole different ball game.
A few months ago I watched a documentary called Hungry for Change, in which the producers noticed the same phenomenon. Most of us are highly intelligent people with good intentions, and we inflict damage upon ourselves knowingly. So why do we do it? Why do we revert to old bad habits so fast?
It happens to me all the time. A while ago I made a decision to become a raw foodist. I got all the gear, food and books. I educated myself about all the latest and greatest on the topic. I hit the ground running with lots of gusto but after a few weeks my commitment started to shake because I got too busy and got fed up with the routine. It was just too much too fast. It was an epic fail.
Perhaps there is a better way to instill change? I spoke to a few friends who made a successful transition to a more balanced and holistic lifestyle. I also thought about a few successful lifestyle changes I made and how I did it. So what’s the secret here?
Based on my own experience and years of observation, these are tried and tested ways that helped me adopt new habits and make them stick for along time:
Don’t subtract – add: This was an instrumental shift in my thinking. David Wolfe, a health expert and a spokesperson for super foods, said that the reason all diets, regardless of their nature, fail is because they are focused on subtracting and reducing food intake. As soon as you decide that you can’t have something, all you’ll think about is the very thing you just prohibited yourself to think about. It’s the whole ‘don’t think about pink elephant’ concept again. It’s just how we are wired. So instead of saying “I’m not going to eat bacon anymore because it’s bad….”, I found that saying “I will eat more of kale because it’s good” a lot more helpful and inspiring.
Easy does it: One issue I have with making positive changes is that I want everything and I want it now. Once I decided that raw food was for me, I went full out. Eventually I had to stop eating raw altogether because it was too much work, I got sick of the food and I got so weak that I had to hold on to walls to stand up. I jumped into it too fast and my body and my lifestyle couldn’t handle it. I once read an article about a woman who took 13 years to become 90% raw. She started with a few very simple changes she could sustain and added gradually. Something tells me that her commitment to raw foodism runs a lot deeper than mine.
I don’t need to look very far for proof that this strategy works. My best friend Masha made a commitment to better health a few years ago. She committed to a few simple modifications at a time to test them out and added more as she felt comfortable. She started with reducing her bread intake five years ago and today she’s dairy-free, gluten-free and growing her own organic vegetables. At no point did she look hungry or stressed out about food.
So, the moral of this story is to pick one or two changes you can realistically manage and stick with them. Consistency is key here. People who commit to eating a salad every day for one month will realise more long-term benefits than people who eat very well for one week and then to eat crap for the remainder of the month. Believe me, making a commitment to have one fresh green juice a day and sticking with it for six month benefited me more long-term than any weekly super cleanse I’ve ever done.
Good things take time: Like anything else good in life, good changes take time to manifest dramatic results. You have to be patient to allow yourself to adjust to a new habit. If you practiced something for 30 years, it will take some time to rewire your brain for a new pattern. You may even feel worse for a bit. When Masha and I started to juice we noticed our skin got worse for a few months. Juicing promised us a healthy glow, rosy complexion and a svelte figure. Instead we were covered in zits! What the hell? However, we stuck with it and got to enjoy all the promised benefits eventually. Again, consistency was key.
Create a support posse: Kris Carr, my hero, is a strong believer in surrounding yourself with like-minded people for encouragement. She calls them a health posse. In Russia we say that one head is good but two is better. We are truly stronger together. Getting your friends, family members and partners on board with the changes will make the transition so much easier. You can support each other; you can keep each other honest; rejoice in the victories and bounce ideas off each other. It’s okay to whine, but only sometimes. Kidding! In all seriousness, making changes, no matter the magnitude, is hard. Having great people around you is key to an easier and long-lasting transition.
I’m sure there are many other things you could do; however, this approach worked miracles for me over the years. Perhaps it’s basic and not very dramatic; however, it delivered for me and many other people.
I’m here if you have any questions. How do you guys make any changes stick?
Author Bio: Natalia is a transformational life coach, health food lover and an avid yoga practitioner. Her commitment is to help all her clients create an exceptional life full of vitality, happiness and laughter. You can catch up with Natalia on her educational and inspiring blog in which she shares many insights and interesting stories based on her own journey to create a life worth writing about.
Blog: http://achievetheimpossiblecoach.blogspot.ca
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/natalia.chouklina
Positive affirmation for the day: I am happy and healthy.
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POSTED IN: green juice, healthy habits, nutrition, wellness
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This is exactly how I feel about things. Nat, your step by step is perfect here. I try and detox for a day or two thinking it would be totally easy to do it and the minute I wake up I think coffee…I can’t have coffee….Aaagh!!! I become obsessed with it. Drink a cup. Fail the detox. Get the guilts. I’ve decided no more denial just additions to my diet to “crowd out” the things I want to remove over time. And the best thing…no more guilt!
Great post! Regarding the ‘don’t subtract, add’, I like how Sarah Wilson puts it – ‘crowding out’. That works for me. After I’ve been concentrating on making sure I have a salad every day for lunch, and that 3/4 of my dinner plate is veg-loaded, and that I fit in my green smoothies and green tea and my serves of almonds and chew some sea vegetables and everything else I try to do… well, usually I feel crazy-satiated and filled with goodness, which helps stop cravings for the junky stuff. Plus, the mindset difference is enormous – ‘crowding out’ comes from a place of abundance and positivity (how many good things can I put in my body today?). Whereas subtracting and denying come from a place of fear and lacking, which is totes just setting you up for failure…
“Easy does it” and one thing at a time when it comes to health changes! I tried to eat a raw food diet for 30 days and ran out of mojo after 2 weeks. I realized that my own journey with a healthy diet and exercise has taken 10 years – so what if it takes me another year or two to adopt a mostly vegan or raw diet? It’s all a part of the journey and as long as I’m making headway toward new and healthy habits it’s all good!
Great post!!
I think this would be some of the best information I’ve ever received, all the superfoods, grains, smoothies and juices don’t mean anything if you can’t sustain the food change. I loved the idea that you aren’t taking away foods you are adding these new foods for benefit.
I am in the middle of diet I have put myself – I want to lose weight so that my knees get some relief. I wanted something quick – so opted for Atkins (baaaad word). However, I decided protein (real one no manufactured stuff) + massive amounts of green stuff (raw and juices). 3 weeks in and I feel fabulous. I can’t go back to eating bread and dairy (although I am currently consuming nice portions of yummy goat’s feta) and started slowly to move from meat. Raw stuff is incredible and thanks to Jess I now have deserts that are so yummy (chia seeds with home made almond milk topped with strawberry topping made from fresh strawberries, xylitol and konjac jelly), snack on dried seaweed (so cheap from Asian stores and so tasty). Heaven – but I can see that sustaining this will require stamina and dedication as I am spending far more time in a kitchen and shopping. However, feeling of goodness (my knees hurt less, my eyes are bright, my stomach is flat, I have lost 4 kg, I sleep better, I can wear my skinny jeans – although this may be disgusting as I am over 52).
I agree that you need to make the changes little by little. I gave up sugar 6 months ago, then I slowly gave up packaged/processed foods and then reduced my meat and wheat consumption. Eventually I may go vegetarian. I don’t think I could have sustained this lifestyle if I jumped into giving up everything at once.
I also agree that you need to add not substract. I eat huge amounts of food each day and I think this makes me feel like I am not on a diet.
Great post…and the most important thing to remember is that seeking health and wellness is a life long journey of learning and evolving. Dont be to hard on yourself if you make mistakes on the way,,,just enjoy your new path <3
I really enjoyed reading this post 
I am such an “all or nothing ” kind of a girl but for the first time in my life i didn’t change my diet to vegan or live that lifestyle straight away.
I went vegan over a few weeks and then started to slowly replace products that are vegan and also clothing. What the point of doing a change for 30 days but then return straight back to your old habits.
Slowly wins the race
thanks so much for the post. So many times I have made grand announcements to my husband about how I’m going to radically change my diet / lifestyle only to crash and burn soon after and then feel rotten about myself. After reading this I will give the steady as she goes way a try.
That was an awesome post, Natalia + Jess!
Extremely insightful, honest, truthful + helpful for those on the path to raw.
I too wanted to be 100% raw overnight + looking + feeling amazing immediately!
I crashed + burned and had to take a few steps back!
It took time, commitment, being gentle with myself + many, many failures for me to finally get there.
Great post!
PS Natalia, since you are Russian, I was wondering if you happen to know Vlada Divine, at divineon raw.com…? She’s a wonderful Russian raw vegan who I’m sure you will love…
Hi James,
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ve never heard about Vlada Divine before but I will be sure to check her out.
Great post and great points! Slow and steady is definitely the best approach when it comes to health and wellness – making habits that will last a lifetime. I like to think of it as an adventure – what superfoods can I discover next??
I agree. Good things take time but you will definitely treasure it for a lifetime. Thanks for a little push. Just what I need. You help me to get motivated. Any tips on how to start?
Hi Irvine, thank you for your nice feedback and I’m glad that this post inspired you to action. The best place to start is to pick an area of your life you want to improve/change and design a couple of daily habits. It’s very individual! The keys is to stick with them. A few months a go I decided that I wanted to juice daily. I made a commitment to have a fresh green juice every morning. After six months of doing this juicing is part of my daily routine and I can’t leave my house without having a juice. It just doesn’t feel right. I am ready to introduce another positive change into my life.
Thanks so much for the article Natalia, it has really inspired me to continue in my efforts to lead a healthy life style. I’ve introduced juices into my diet and am sticking to a 80% paleo diet and am feeling great for it! But like you said its all about small changes and consistency!
Heading over to check out your blog now. Thanks again for the great article x
Great post! It helped to make me feel like I’m not alone when I sometimes slip up with my healthy ways I totally agree that it helps sooo much to get a support group. When I first began my health journey, I felt so alone as I was making all these changes, but now, my family and friends (and other friends I’ve made along the way) are also making changes
Thanks a lot for this article Natalia. It is definitely not easy to make lasting change but your tips are spot on. I personally found that support is the most crucial aspect for success. It makes it a lot easier to stick with something for a lot longer. I also found that it is much easier to decline that piece of cake at any (family) function if you are the two of you.
My partner and I went Paleo almost a year ago and after a month of tipping our toe into the water we went all in. This has proven to be a very good strategy for us and gives us a very clear line of what’s in and what’s out. It makes it a lot easier to not fall back into bad habits by allowing for to many exemptions.
i agree with you! it really important to understand how we should eat.
I found this blog really useful. I’m struggling with an ‘all-or-nothing’ relationship with food. I find it disheartening that I can’t seem to stick with anything.
After reading this, I’m feeling motivated to make a positive lifestyle change – slowly but surely.
I am keen to start eating raw. I was wondering – where did everyone start? I am a vegetarian so I don’t eat any red or white meat. In the past, first step has been cutting out eggs and dairy. But should I start with eliminating gluten from my diet? What has worked for everyone else?