6 Small Strategies to Make Sustainable Nutrition Changes

When it comes to improving our eating patterns and nutrition and overall health, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and think that we need to make big, drastic changes to our diet, or we have to give up our favourite foods. 

But the truth is,  if we can’t sustain a particular habit or change in our lifestyle, we’re going to revert back to our previous habits. Therefore, making small changes to our diet can be just as effective and much more manageable long term.

Here are 6 small strategies that you can adopt to make sustainable changes to your diet:

1. Start small
   1.  It’s important to start small and make changes gradually. Focus on one specific change at a time. Once one change feels normal and completely sustainable, add another. Keep doing this until you gradually begin seeing results while still being happy with the choices you’re making. 
   2. For example, you could try adding an extra serving of vegetables to your meals, or add 1 piece of fruit to your cereal bowl
2. Balanced meals, most of the time
   1. When it comes to choosing what to eat, aim to eat a balanced meal, most of the time, and balance your plate with: 1I2 vegetable or salad, 1I4 protein (e.g. chicken, fish, meat and tofu), 1I4 carbohydrates (e.g potato, whole grains, legumes, and lentils), with a thumb size amount of healthy fats (e.g. olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds)
3. Hydration
   1. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day!
   2. If you struggle to drink enough water, flavour your water with lemon, mint, cucumber or sugar free cordial
4. Meal planning
   1. Planning ahead can make sustainable changes to your dietary habits a whole lot easier.
   2. Each week set aside some time to make a shopping list before you shop and plan what meals and snacks you are going to eat, and try to include a variety of balanced options
5. Be patient with yourself and stay consistent
   1. Be consistent, patient and kind with yourself because making small changes to your diet takes time and effort. So, try not to feel discouraged if it takes longer than you’d like for your new habits to set in.
6. Avoid an all-or-nothing mentality
   1. This mentality looks at situations in black and white, or as “good” and “bad”
   2. An all-or-nothing thought might sound something like this: “Well, I’ve already ruined my diet for the day by having that piece of cake at the office party earlier, so I might as well forget my plans to cook at home tonight and grab takeout instead.”
   3. Instead, try to look at each individual food choice you make during a day as its own. One less-than-ideal choice doesn’t have to lead to a full day’s worth of similar choices.

Need more help, book an appointment with a dietitian