When it comes to eating well, about 10% is knowing, and 90% is doing. We all know that tomatoes trump tater tots and bananas beat out brownies. For most of us, the challenge lies in execution – making the choice we know is the better one, day after day, bite after bite.
The key to victory is setting yourself up for success. That means managing stress, prioritizing sleep, and making your surroundings conducive to making the choices that align with your goals.
Stress
Who doesn’t feel stressed these days? No one is unaffected by the pandemic in some way; such tremendous loss is sure to manifest in countless ways, including feelings and behaviors that self-sabotage our pursuit for a healthy lifestyle.
Striking that balance between work, rest, and play is really difficult. As is a balance between self care and self-indulgence. For most of us, it’s a work in progress that improves with perseverance, a sense of accountability, and cooperation from our loved ones. And the benefits of that balance pay off in dividends of healthy years.
Stress reduction involves both prevention and management strategies. The work is worth the effort — as you would probably guess, stress is inversely related to happiness. When we allow stress to affect our day-to-day living, it dampens happiness. Furthermore, when we are happy, we more effectively prevent and manage stress. Emotional well-being is tied to our physical health. And who can’t use a little more happy in their lives?
Sleep
Studies have shown that both quality and quantity of sleep have a profound effect on appetite and even willpower. Sleep deprivation disrupts our normal, delicate balance of appetite-regulating hormones, which results in an increased desire for high-calorie, salty/sweet/fatty foods, even when we’re not hungry.
In addition, some research suggests that insufficient sleep decreases insulin sensitivity, resulting in increased blood sugar, possibly increasing diabetes risk.
Making sleep a priority today will help you achieve your goals tomorrow and beyond. Stick to a sleep schedule the way you would any other priority (work, school, appointments), and you may free yourself from those temptations that undermine your goals – with a lot less effort than before.
Need some help sleeping? The best way to fall asleep consistently at the time you want is to get up at the same time each morning to force a regular sleep cycle. It is also helpful to avoid alcohol within 4 hours of bedtime, and avoid watching bright screens (especially those emitting blue light, like cell phones and tablets) within 2-3 hours of bedtime. If you must use screens close to bedtime, change your device settings to nighttime mode, which filters out blue light. Many TVs have this option in the display settings as well.
Surroundings
As we’ve explored, it’s important to make the healthy choice the easy choice. That means giving some extra thought to the structure of our days, and adjusting our environment to ensure that we encounter fortuitous ways to take the healthier path.
Try just one change per week. For example, making your bed is a small but powerful step in managing your surroundings. Research has shown that this act is related to personal success, as it sets the tone for the day and might help with sleep the following night. The next week, you might make an effort to remove certain temptations that are derailing your nutrition goals. For example, a dish of candy out in the open can be replaced with a bowl of apples or oranges. Have open discussions with people you work and/or live with to strategize ways to adjust your environment to reinforce your healthy habits.
