Struggling to make healthy diet and living habits stick at home? Join the club!

You’ve heard the news. You've seen the headlines…

“Unhealthy diet and poor living choices are a major cause of numerous everyday health complaints and chronic illness!”

You are suitably alarmed. You google some keywords. Read some articles, maybe a blog! You’re determined to improve your health in the hopes you might avoid this fate. With your newfound expertise, you go about making a number of adjustments to how you eat and live. You approach the challenge with positivity and a willingness to succeed. It means a lot to you. You aren’t just invested in this for the sake of your own health, you strongly want to extend the sentiment to your whole household.

You begin well. The rest of the crew show less enthusiasm but agree to try and that’s good enough for you. Hey, initially you even think the change is enjoyable and you begin to feel some benefits.

It’s now week three. Your initial enthusiasm has waned. You are still getting up at the crack of dawn to fit in a yoga session but as a household you are no longer eating the same meals and you and the dog are the only ones that remain steadfast to the nightly screen amnesty. You are also finding the longer you go without some of the old habits, the more you crave them.

The whole thing is becoming harder to sustain and you’re beginning to feel dejected in your quest for better health. You start to wonder “does it really have to be this hard?”

If this sounds all too familiar, you are not alone. Behavioural change is hard! It’s tough enough trying to make conscious health changes for yourself, let alone inspire the same enthusiasm in the whole household.

Read on to find out my top coaching tips to help foster positive health behaviours at home.

If you are at this point, it’s important to re-focus on the reasons for doing this. Be it robust health or for the love of the planet, your motivations are your driving force. You just need is a little help with the change process.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but as a coach I want to share the most practical and proven insights that really work.

1. Small and dedicated

The desire to change as many of your unhealthy habits as possible immediately is appealing. This, however, can be overwhelming and unsustainable. The best way to embed change is to start small. Alter one or two health behaviours at any one time. Then when they are part of your routine without effort add another. This typically takes 21 days. So, depending on how many changes you plan to make, it might take you 6 months or even a year to achieve all your goals. That’s the smart way. Small steps and gradual change will really improve your chance of sustaining the habit.

2. ADD rather than restrict

Whether it’s food, movement or spending time outdoors, start by adding the good habits to existing behaviours. For example, add a portion of vegetables to your favourite but less nutritious meals. Add a walk to your day and don’t consider restricting screen time. As you include positive change the negative ones with naturally reduce.

3. Set the example

As a caregiver you are a role model. Yes, this feels like a lot of responsibility and that can sometimes be annoyingly hard work but it’s a fact! If you want others to eat well, spend more time outdoors and less time looking at a screen then you need to show them that you can do it too.

4. Talk about health

As mentioned, motivating the whole household can be hard. This is where education can really help. We need to understand why is matters and how it benefits us to increase the chance for real change. For example, why is excessive refined sugar bad? Why should I care about eating a variety of vegetables? What are the health benefits to me spending more time outdoors? Discuss these things every so often. The conversations do not need to be full on. When preparing meals, sitting down to eat or on the drive to school; simply talk about what good and bad health habits looks like. This will lead to better health awareness and just maybe facilitate good choices in the long-term.

5. Get excited about positive change

I can’t emphasize enough how well this can work. If you can express genuine happiness when either you or a loved ones makes a good choice, there will be a greater chance that the behaviour is repeated. This technique is known by psychologists as positive reinforcement. For example, “I noticed you ate most of your vegetables in your lunch box today. Well done, that is fantastic! Your body is going to really benefit from those nutrients”.I’ve even gone as far as to do a little dance. It can feel a bit corny but who cares, just go for it.

6. Be kind to yourself

Change is hard. You might not manage the good habits as often as you planned and that’s okay, in fact that’s human. One less healthy snack does not devalue a whole day of good work. Go easy on yourself when this happens. It is not a setback. Including foods, drinks, or activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good, even if they are considered less healthy, is important to your overall wellbeing. If you can find a balance between these and still include many healthy habits, you are smashing it.

7. Use a coach

Your health journey is a personal one. There is no one size fits all approach and what you read online or hear from a friend, may not be right for you. A coach will help you personalise your health changes, make them achievable and motivate you if things get hard. One-to-one support is proven to be a game-changer in cementing new behaviours. It could really be the difference for you.

Want to know how your diet choices could also be affecting the planet. Check out this carbon footprint tracker to find out.