cultivate

View Original

Disrupting Our Old Eating Patterns

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MUSTARD TURNIP 2020

#MustardTurnip2020

We hear you—2020 has been quite the year and many of us are ready to hit that ‘reset’ button. Let’s take it back to January. Who remembers what their New Year’s Resolutions were this year? Less than halfway into the year and we could all use a refresh on the goals that we had in mind for ourselves, our families, and our careers just six months ago. The good news is that you don’t have to wait for January 1 to roll around again to recommit to the resolutions that you set out for yourself. Today’s a great day to get started.

Many resolutions can center around eating better, losing weight, working out, or finally getting back into shape like you were in your earlier days. One way to help fuel all of the above habits is to break out of your food routine and to introduce better eating habits. But how do you do that?

Be Clear on Your Motivation and What Your Goal Is

There are a variety of reasons for wanting to disrupt old eating patterns and develop new eating habits. It could be that you were eating on the go from fast food restaurants too much. You could want to include more proteins to fuel your workout program. You might need to lose or gain a few pounds. Whatever your motivation for changing up your menu, know what your end goal is so that you are clear in what direction you need to go.

Develop New Habits

The first step to developing a new habit is to have a plan, and the second step is to have a commitment to sticking to your plan for at least 3 weeks. Did you know? It takes at least 21 days to begin forming a habit. After 3 weeks, you have a commitment to forming the new habit and from there, you’ll want to commit to another 90 days. Start small so that you don’t overwhelm yourself. If you want to cut fast-food and eating out out of your life, begin by eating breakfast at home each day. After you have mastered that, have a goal of eating 6 out of 7 dinners a week at home rather than out in a restaurant. Habits take time, dedication, and discipline, so it’s good to begin with small steps that are easily accomplished and that can add up over the weeks and months as you begin to slowly develop your new habit.

What also helps is having a partner on your new habit journey! The support from your spouse, your family, or even a friend is immeasurable. If you’re in it together with someone else, you’re more likely to stick to your commitment.

Find Recipe Inspiration

The quickest way to fall back into your old eating habits is to not have any inspiration for cooking in the kitchen. Try ordering a new cookbook online, finding a foodie blog to follow, or browse through our collection of 100s of great recipes that incorporate our greens and veggies by clicking here! Experiment with new ingredients, too! If there’s a food you haven’t tried before, or one you haven’t tried in a longtime, try to include it in one of your upcoming meals. You might be surprised at how delicious it is! 

It’s true—you don’t have to start a new habit on January 1, at the beginning of the month, or even the beginning of the week. You can start anytime, any day. All you have to do is decide that you want to make this change for you, and then you’re off and running. We’d love to follow along with your journey! Tag us in your posts with @naturesgreens so that we can virtually cheer you along as you meet each of your goals and develop your new habits.