Keep it Simple
Happy New Year ya’ll. Even though it is already January 20th we all are only starting to contemplate changes we want to make in the coming year. I like to call the first week in January “intentions” week. This is the decompression period after the holidays to recover from over spending, buying, eating, drinking, and stress. During this time we can think about our personal goals and what can be accomplished to get on track. As patients slowly start making appointments I realize that we all are feeling the same way. We all want to take it slow and make permanent changes that will last longer than a week.
Here are some of the comments patients have made to me this week. Notice how simple the commitments are.
“I always feel so much better when I eat vegetables. This week I am going to eat vegetables once a day. I like salads and steamed broccoli. “
“I have used my elliptical to dry my clothes since November, so I am going to take them down and use it 15 minutes after I get home from work (then I can have my wine and watch Netflix. NOT).”
“I am not going to keep soft drinks at home. Only water.”
“I don’t eat anything healthy and I don’t cook. I got a NutriBullet so I will commit to a green drink daily to get my fruit and vegetables: 1 cup berries, almond milk, 2 cups spinach, pineapple chunks, and protein powder.”
These commitments are realistic and substantial. They are simple and achievable. It is important to remember that in a year we have 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds. Why? Well, because it only takes a simple split second decision for us to drink a glass of water instead of a soda, grab a piece of fruit instead of a bag of chips or to put on our walking shoes and get outside for 20 minutes of the two hours we might watch TV. These simple split second decisions repeated consistently over time are what lead us to achieving our goals and are much less stressful than planning a whole new way of eating or going to the gym every day.
In the following weeks on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/netnutritionist we will post suggestions, small changes that may fit your lifestyle, and help you Keep It Simple on a road to developing new habits.