Diets don’t work. At least that’s been my experience. I’ve never been the type of person to be overly concerned about my weight or physical appearance. What I am concerned about is having a healthy body through the foods I consume.

It’s difficult to eat well and be healthier overall if you are disorganized, misinformed or simply don’t know what you don’t know. Here are 7 things you can do to get you well on your way towards establishing healthy eating habits that are sustainable for the long run.

1. Educate yourself. This doesn’t mean you need to know the composition or origin of every fruit, vegetable or grain that you consume. Here are a few things to consider educating yourself on:

• Learn what foods are actually good for you and in what quantities.
• Learn about food substitutions if you have known allergies.
• Learn how to cook different dishes especially if you are stuck in the meat and potatoes or pasta rut for dinner every night.
• Learn how to prepare food to get the maximum nutritional benefits from it.
• Learn about healthy snack alternatives

2. Start small. You are less likely to see big life altering changes through to the end.  This is why it is important to start small when establishing any new habit. When it comes to eating healthier, start with changing one meal, one day or one week. Try this change for a few weeks and see how it works for you and your family. You shouldn’t be afraid to admit when something doesn’t work. It’s unrealistic to expect a perfect change the first time around. You should be willing to look at what doesn’t work and try something else. Think of one of the obvious eating habits you currently have that you want to change. Do you drink too many soft drinks? Do you eat too much junk food or processed food? Do you rarely eat fruit or vegetables? Whatever it is choose one or two things and begin making a change. Add 2 vegetables to your dinner plate tonight. Drink water, herbal tea or green tea at lunch today instead of a soft drink.

3. Make a plan. Going in cold and flying by the seat of your pants is no way to establish a good eating habit. If your goal is to completely overhaul the foods you consume then it will be infinitely easier if you start with a plan. Creating a meal plan doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be done using something as simple as a recipe card, notebook or a spreadsheet on a computer. Start by making a list of all the meals your family enjoys. Include healthy mains, sides, desserts and snacks that you became aware of during the education part of this process. Next you can pick and choose what meals to have on which days as well as healthy snacks  to ensure no binge eating.

4. Remove the friction. This is a big one for me. Friction here, is all those little things that make it just a little more difficult to eat healthy. To remove as much friction as possible consider:

• Pre-wash fruits and vegetables and leaving them on the counter for easy access.
• Package snacks into individual serving sizes to grab as you’re running out the door.
• Cut vegetables into manageable pieces.
• Keep water in the fridge.
• Do as much of the food preparation the night before so you can quickly whip up a tasty healthy meal for dinner when you really don’t feel like it.

Once you have removed a few of the mental hurdles it’s easier to stay on track. After a while these things will become second nature and you won’t have to think about it.

5. Be flexible. You should avoid making a plan too rigid so as not to allow for deviations throughout the week or month. Decide what flexibility means to your family. Is it pre-cooking a variety of ingredients at the start of the week and using them in diffierent combinations throughout the week? Or is it planning a different meal every night and skipping one if you’re invited out or substituting if you decide to have people over? Whatever it is you shouldn’t get too hung up on the details. Allowing flexibility in your meal planning will reduce stress and make it a lot easier to stick with in the long run.

6. Have a cheat day. This is one thing that can really help sticking to healthy eating over the long run. Choose one day a week when you can eat whatever you like, within reason of course. If you’re really wanting pizza, ice cream or donuts have them on this day. In the beginning, transitioning to a healthier eating habits can be trying. However, it’s easier to eat healthy during the week when you have that one day, your cheat day, to eat your guilty pleasures. If you choose a day try to stick with it. After a month or so you’ll likely notice the “need” for your cheat day will diminish and you’ll find eating healthy your new way of life everyday.

7. Many things in moderation. One of the reasons diets don’t often work, is you feel you need to eliminate “everything”. Everything that tastes good, everything that’s fun and all that you really enjoy eating. The problem is that as soon as you eliminate these foods from your diet you crave it even more. Saying I will never eat chocolate or no more ice cream really doesn’t work. When you do eventually have some, which is entirely expected, you aren’t likely to eat a small portion are you? No, you’re likely to binge and eat a whole chocolate bar or an entire tub of ice cream. Everything in moderation.

Establishing healthy eating habits can increase your energy levels, get you feeling better about how you look and feel and just make you healthier overall. Start small and implement changes gradually. The key is to start. Now.

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