It’s the time of year that most people are trying to change one or more habits that have not been serving them as well as they would like. For some it’s an exercise or eating habit. For others it’s saving money, reading more, or improving time management. For anyone, it is usually difficult, at least at some point.
Sometimes I get so frustrated. I know what I want to accomplish, but find it hard to create the habits to get from point A to point B. I’d love to become fluent in German, focus on writing and blogging more and become more efficient in general. The very successful ladies in my business groups have been raving about this book Atomic Habits by James Clear. So I had to read it too. Great book!
As I was reading and scheming about what I would change and how, it dawned on me. I help people change eating habits and some of these tips could help them implement new habits as well. Not drinking enough fluid throughout the day? Try filling your favorite cup with water and putting it on your nightstand so you can chug water first thing in the morning. Boom! 8 oz of fluid immediately checked off your to-do list. Even though that isn’t going to fix the entire problem, it’s an easy way to increase fluid intake incrementally. Apply this incremental improvement to other eating habits and you are on your way!
Why am I talking about small changes rather than large shifts? Because small changes can add up over time to reach goals without too much hassle or pain. If a habit is too difficult to maintain, then chances are there will be plenty of disappointment from not reaching the goal along the way and, ultimately, the entire effort won’t last long. Whether you’d like to do more meal planning, streamline food shopping, increase fiber intake, drink more fluids, or something else altogether, there are small steps that can be taken to change habits and make them (mostly) stick. If apps are more your speed, check out The Fabulous app for habit changing. You will be guided through habit changing step by step to ensure it sticks this time.
Another tool I love is my shopping/grocery list app. I have been using Shopper for years, but there are other options that allow for creating and sharing shopping lists to prevent having to reinvent the wheel each shopping day. Anylist is another option that makes it easy to share lists with others for task delegation (asking for help is a great way to ensure changes stick). Lately I’ve been using the Whisk app to store my favorite recipes and find new ones to try. Saving recipes from within the app and from online sources couldn’t be easier. There is also a shopping list function included if you’d like to create a master list that includes all needed ingredients and the quantities required from the various chosen recipes in your meal plan that week. For example, if you choose 3 recipes to make for the week, you are also able to choose which ingredients need to be added to your shopping list with quantities specified. Each time you add the ingredients to the shopping list you will then have a running total of how much you need to buy to make all of the recipes. You can also share the recipes easily with others. Seriously, I love this app and use it all the time. My current clients have benefitted as I’m easily able to send recipes to them via text or email whether they already use Whisk or not.
Another app that I use quite often is the Monash University FODMAP app. For those with IBS who need to pay attention to which foods cause GI distress, this is invaluable. Once downloaded to your smartphone, you have access to a comprehensive food list that provides information on which foods contain which of the FODMAP groups, serving sizes, recipes, a food diary option and more. If you have started the low FODMAP journey, this is a must! FIG (Food Is Good)was developed in collaboration with GI dietitians and enables users to set their food allergies/intolerances to be alerted which foods contain them. Users can also scan codes for ease. Recently this app has switched to paid service, but the creators have stated that there will be a free version to remain accessible to all. Spoonful is another app that contains a scanner function to help identify whether a product contains high FODMAP ingredients.
I provide education on food to clients, but not all foods are able to be included on the lists. For looking up nutrition information on individual foods not listed, CalorieKing.com is a good resource. It’s linked to the USDA database and allows for various quantities to be selected. If you are trying to track nutrition information in serving sizes of dishes you love, My Fitness Pal has a calculator in which recipes can be saved for future use. Very helpful once the ingredient details are verified!
Those are my favorites, but I’m always looking for more options. If you have any other ideas to add, please feel free to get in touch and help expand my list of recommendations! And remember, even once habits are created, there will be hiccups. That’s OK! Getting back on the wagon without beating yourself up is the key to long term success.