Little Nutrition Changes Mean Big Changes In Your Health
It’s amazing how many little changes can add up to big results. This gets overlooked so often due to the culture of dieting we live in. The idea of going all-in gets the attention when making a few little changes over time can add up to much stronger long-term results.
The main focus of the What’s Your Body Telling You? Workshop is learning to listen to what your body is telling you through food. From there it’s taking steps to make those little changes.
You don’t need to do a fancy diet like Keto, an intense program like 75 Hard, or to get drastic like eliminating all of the sugar for the rest of your life. Instead of overhauling your nutrition in a way that might be overwhelming or not work well with your body, take it one small step at a time.
One change a week, month, or quarter.
Why Start Small When You’re Working on Your Own
There are so many factors that go into your nutrition, especially when you are working on your own.
First things first there’s your lifestyle. Going with the example of eliminating sugar completely. If you are someone who is used to eating out 2-3 times a week, you will now have to find ways to replace that meal. If you work in an office environment where there are often treats and food brought in, you have to take that into consideration when making the changes.
Then there’s the factor of other people you live with. Just because you are making changes to your nutrition does not mean they are too. Sure, it would be easy not to buy ANY junk food but are they going to be happy with that decision?
From there we run into the availability of foods like fruits, vegetables, etc. If you are jumping into a diet like Whole30, it could be hard to find some of those foods, especially if they are seasonal. While you may be going in with good intentions, it could quickly become hard to truly replace everything you need to.
Finally, if you don’t understand how your body reacts to certain foods, overhauling your diet could backfire in a number of ways.
Making small changes is:
- More realistic to your surroundings & less overwhelming.
- Takes into account those in your household.
- Ensures you have access to the fruits and vegetables needed.
- Helps you get a better understanding of What Your Body Is Trying To Tell You
How To Make Small Changes to Your Nutrition
To start making changes, start small with one thing. If you have been tracking food in a food journal take a look in there or a look at your overall meals. Inside of it what is one piece of a meal you would like to see change?
For example, maybe you eat two bags of chips with your sandwich every single day at lunch. What if you swapped it out for a bag of steamed vegetables? Not only will vegetables fill you up much longer than chips will but vegetables are full of vitamins and minerals. If you aren’t a fan of steamed vegetables, grab some carrots and hummus or guacamole and give it a try.
Try it for a week and see what happens.
Instead of filling your body with empty carbs, like the chips, which don’t have any nutrient value, you are filling your body with something that is very nutrient-dense. A small change can contribute so much in the long run.
Maybe chips aren’t a problem or you want to try something like removing pop (or soda). An easy swap for pop is sparkling water. There aren’t as many additives in (most) sparking waters so you are able to get the fizzy drink without all the extra junk. Try different ones and see what you like.
Over time that fizzy water might change into just plain water. You never know!
Another easy swap to make is fruity yogurts. It’s often deemed a healthy option, however, yogurts tend to be loaded with sugar. Instead of buying yogurt with fruit in it already, start with plain yogurt and add honey and your own fruit.
Honey will help your immune system and the lack of extra sugar will help your overall health.
Last but not least, a very common swap is to replace ground beef with ground turkey when you are cooking. It’s a simple swap but can make a big difference with the amount of fat and grease.
Be Prepared
The only way to see success in making changes with your nutrition is to go into it prepared. It’s going to be easy to fall back on old habits until you have established a new habit.
If you caught our New Year’s resolution conversation in podcast episode 19, it can take 66 days on average to build a new habit.
Every week, be prepared. Get in the habit of prepping it all ahead of time.
When you get your groceries as you’re unloading them, wash your fruits and vegetables. It’s a super stupid, simple step that you aren’t even going to realize is going to make a difference.
Don’t be afraid of long-term change but don’t get overwhelmed when someone tells you to overhaul your entire pantry. Little steps can add up to big results.
What’s Your Body Telling You Workshop
Knowing how your body reacts to food is a key component of making changes to your nutrition. To get a better understanding of your body, I invite you to work through my self-paced workshop What’s Your Body Telling You? to get a better understanding of your relationship with food. As a blog reader and podcast listener, you can save $5 with the code PODCAST.
What changes are you making to your nutrition this month?
ABOUT ME
Hey There, I’m Kristin! I coach women to make small changes in their daily nutrition to become the best version of themselves.
