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Happy 2023, everyone!
Did you make New Year’s resolutions this year? It goes without saying that any start of a new year ushers in the push to get healthy, eat better, make resolutions, and get things back on track. It’s been a long holiday season full of food and celebration, and that can make us want to turn over a new leaf and focus on our health as we enter 2023.
When it comes to resolutions, I caution you to stay away from starting a new fad diet or program that makes huge promises about weight loss, detoxing, or any other eye-catching claims. You’ll probably hear lots of people talking about how they’re starting 2023 by doing keto, cutting out all sugar, or trying a new juice cleanse. For your sake and the sake of your long term health, do not fall into the fad diet trap! This is a surefire way to break your resolutions by February at the latest. In the case of nutritional changes, intensity is not the answer if you want to see lasting results.
Instead, it’s much more sustainable to focus on small, healthy habits that, over time, lead to big results. Don’t try a new diet that you know will likely fail after a few weeks. This year, try putting your time and effort into something that will last you for years to come: slow and steady habit building.
Here’s how you do it:
Step 1: Make a list of habits you would like to work on, and make them personalized to you and your needs. Here are some habits for inspiration:
Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water every day
Eat protein at all snacks
Fill half of your plate with veggies at lunch and dinner
Pay attention to your fullness and stop eating when you are satisfied
Move daily (you decide how much time and in what way; make it personalized!)
Plan meals for the week ahead of time
Bring protein-filled snacks with you every day
Cook more meals at home
Step 2: Choose 1 habit and focus on it for 1-2 weeks. That’s right, just focus on ONE habit at a time, and make it count.
Step 3: Once the habit feels solid (typically after 1-2 weeks), go back to your original list and add one more habit to focus on for the next 1-2 weeks.
Step 4: Keep repeating adding in habits one by one until you feel that you have a whole new approach to nutrition that you are happy with. At this point, you’ll have many habits under your belt that should be easy and simple to follow.
I promise if you take this step by step habit building approach, you will have much longer lasting results than if you try a fad diet to start off the new year. Resolutions that last past February? Heck yes! Sure, fad diets work quickly, but they also are not sustainable and you end up right back where you started. On the other hand, the habit building approach requires patience, but promises lasting results over time.
If you’re intrigued by the idea of habit building and would like support throughout the process, check out my “8 Steps to Healthy” online course! In this course, you will be guided through the habit building process through videos, an eBook, and a workbook. The course is self paced, meaning you can take as long as you like to complete the course. Email me at emilyrd@emilyzorn.com with questions, click here to learn more about the course, and if you are interested in purchasing the course you can do so here.
And as always, to learn more about nutrition, diets, and supplements, check out my podcast RDs vs BS on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or the website www.rdsvsbs.com.
Have a very happy and healthy New Year!