One of the amazing things about living in a free country is our ability to choose practically anything. From diverse food options to career choices to where we live, we have a nearly inexhaustible about of choices available to us. While I love the freedom to choose, I have noticed that freedom without self-control and discipline can be a dangerous thing.
Let’s face it, self-control and discipline are hard, especially when we aren’t feeling our best. They say you shouldn’t make a bad decision when you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Well, if you are like me, that could be most of my waking hours! And what do we do? Indulge in comfort foods and self-medicating behaviors. We eat foods that make us feel good (even though we know they aren’t good for us). We drink to excess to numb our feelings. We binge watch TV shows instead of going for a walk or working out. Unfortunately, this can very quickly become a pattern of behavior if we don’t make some changes.
But how?
We need to believe that it’s possible to eat better, to feel better, to be better. At the same time, we must be humble enough to admit that our current choices are not getting us where we want to go. Sometimes we need to suspend our choices for a period of time in order to reset our routine and develop better habits. For this segment, let’s look at our eating habits since the foods we eat can have the biggest impact on our overall health and well being.
Have you ever found yourself wanting to make a change, but feeling overwhelmed by the glut of information out there? Inaction and inactivity can sometimes be the result of too many options. It’s called, “Paralysis by Analysis”. Now, if you are relatively disciplined and have a pretty structured routine in your life already established, you might be able to make some changes by using a self-directed meal plan app to help limit and focus your meal options. While there are many apps to choose from, I really like the Mealime app. You can customize your eating plan, include allergies and preferences, find easy to make recipes, and . . . what I find to be the best feature about the app is that it can create a grocery shopping list of ingredients you will need that is customized to the recipes you picked. An added bonus is how it can cross over with use of other apps. If you use apps like MyFitnessPal to track your micros and/or macros, the recipes in Mealime are all catalogued in the MyFitnessPal app so you can just type the name of the recipe and it will automatically calculate your macros (that’s a whole lot less frustrating and time consuming than individually listing every ingredient).
But let’s face it, most of us don’t have the time (or desire) to figure out how much iron or magnesium is in our daily diet. And it can take a lot of discipline (and time) to sort through recipes to create a meal plan. And how do I even know if I’m eating all the right foods at the right times for my body type and goals? How many grams of fat or protein should I consume if I want to lose 20 pounds? Nutrition isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” program. It must be specific to your goals and body needs if you are going to see the results you want.
There are countless diets, meal plans, and healthy eating programs out there to choose from, which just adds to the confusion. Which one’s promote healthy eating instead of extreme dieting? Which one’s are sustainable longterm? Which one’s provide all of the required macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals to sustain energy levels and optimize hormone balance? How much time and money will it cost?
All of these are great questions to ask, but the answers seem to vary widely depending on your source of information. This is where streamlining your choices even further by getting some professional guidance can be the difference between getting results and burning out early. If you are an employee, check out your employer-sponsored benefits and/or insurance program to see if an appointment or video consultation with a health coach or dietician are included. If that isn’t an option, shop around online to find someone who aligns with your lifestyle and health goals. Although frequent check-ins and adjustments are recommended when starting a new eating plan, you might only need a few sessions help determine where to start.
Until it becomes a habit (and even after it becomes a part of your regular routine), a step-by-step plan that is easy to follow and customized for your needs is a must. In order to get started, sometimes it is necessary to limit our options to a few meals and then expand from there. I’m not suggesting you only eat cabbage three meals a day, but sometimes its easier to be consistent when you don’t have many options. Create an “essentials” grocery list that includes the basic foods that you will be eating frequently, determine how often you will need to stock up on these items based on their use, and then schedule curbside pickup or home delivery using your preferred grocery store app. Not only will this save you time (and likely money), but it will also save you from being tempted to walk down the dessert aisle in the store and grab one of everything. Use your meal plan to prepare meals in advance so you always have healthy options waiting for you to warm up or grab-and-go. Put a basket of healthy foods or snacks by the door so you can easily take one or two if you are on the move (remember, out of sight, out of mind). If you plan to eat out, preview the menu of a restaurant ahead of time and determine which foods or substitutions match up with your eating plan so you can still eat socially with friends and family but remain consistent with your meal plan.
Commit yourself to being consistent, but be willing to make adjustments as needed. Having access to a dietician or health coach can help you get through the bumps along the way, especially at the beginning. Remember, “Old habits die hard”, so you need a new plan to make a new you. Please share a comment with everyone here to let us know how we can help, what bumps you hit along the way, and how (or if) you were able to overcome them. Looking forward to hear how this info helps you “Be Better”.
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