Creating Balanced Diet Goals

 

Creating a new diet can be an overwhelming undertaking. Even with the best intentions, diet goals can sometimes seem just out of reach. The key to having success with achieving any goal is to create a plan that doesn't require drastic life changes. When target outcomes are too ambitious it is easy to lose motivation along the way. One approach is to take what you are already doing currently and make simple modifications. For example, if you order out for dinner four days a week and cook meals at home three days a week, instead of setting a goal to cook meals seven days a week, reduce the amount of times you order out from four to three, then eventually decrease to two days and so on. Although it may be over the course of several months, in time, you will reach your goal of cooking meals at home seven days a week. 

Let's apply this technique to another example. A popular goal many people set for themselves is to eliminate sweets from their diet. If this is your goal, instead of setting out to cut out all sweets at the beginning of the year set a less ambitious but equally as beneficial goal of cutting out one sweet in particular such as sweetened beverages. Even within this reduced goal, apply the technique further by reducing the number of sweetened coffees you might drink in a day, for example, from three, to two, then later one. By reducing the number of coffees by one drink a day, you are essentially reducing this amount by 30 every month. Many people will find that this approach leads to goals that are more easily attainable, and the practice of self improvement will become a longstanding habit. 

The following practical approaches alone can improve on any nutritional regime when implemented.  

1. Monitor what time you eat

2. Be mindful of your water intake 

3. As much as possible, avoid process foods