8 Dietitian Small Steps Towards Success

I often encourage people to take small steps. We want the large end goal, and we want it now. We think we can undo years or decades of habits overnight and we get upset with ourselves when we fail. As I continue to remind myself and learn, failure is a good thing. We can however slowly chip away and get to that goal (learning from those failures, or failing forward along the way), since each step is still progress.

I know change can be overwhelming, and these small, almost insignificant steps seem to be the ones we can stick with. Successful people tend to take small, smart steps and for a lot of us, the challenge is just to start. You may not even know where you're headed, but as Confucius (or Lao Tzu, depending on where you look) said:

Since dietitians support lifestyle/sustainable changes, I asked my colleagues for their "little things/steps/changes that make a big difference". See their responses below and let us know yours in the comments:

1 hour of food prep on the weekend for the week ahead!
Lindsay Livingston, the lean green bean

Start your day with protein!
Kelli Shallal, hungry hobby rd

Try eating with a smaller fork - it will force you to slow down while you're eating, which not only helps your body to realize when it's full but also helps with digestion!
Kara Golis, byte sized nutrition

Pause for a moment before you start eating. Rushed and mindless eating is a bad habit and a hard one to break, this is a small step in the right direction.
Lauren Fleming, savoured RD

Carry a water bottle around with you to stay hydrated--which may also help you eat less at meals. Amy Gorin, Amy Gorin Nutrition 

Keep washed fruit on the counter at eye level so you're more likely to grab it for a snack. 

Nazima Qureshi, Nutrition by Nazima

I keep nuts, water, granola bars in my car to eat when me or one of the kids are hungry. We do so much running around for sports and activities that it keeps us from eating unhealthy foods.

Kim Melton, Nutrition Pro Consulting

Including fruits and veggies as a part of an everyday thing.
Dixya Bhattarai, Food Pleasure and Health

A few of the ones I do that I could think of include:

• keeping healthy options in the house for the times that hunger strikes
• purchasing small containers of ice cream (the real, good stuff), for automatic portion control
• including vegetables with every dinner (working for half plate more often)
• serving meals in the kitchen most times, to make it an effort to get a second helping
• being active daily, even if it's just playing with my toddler or walking the dog, I need to at least do something
• keeping clutter to a minimum and minimizing our possessions, something we continually work on, but a step I'm glad I made
• having breakfast everyday
• choosing water or club soda when out at restaurants

I'm sure there are more, but hopefully they've become a part of me or my day that I don't even remember when they weren't. Choose something small and simple; something you have a chance at succeeding at, but that is still a challenge, because every step adds up. You don't learn to run a marathon in a day, so go easy on yourself.

Cheers,

Steph Langdon, RD

www.nutrishus.com

There Are No Quick Fixes

After talking with a close friend I was inspired to post some thoughts. We were talking about the time it takes and daily effort for achieving/maintaining or working towards improved health (or anything really). Since I'm obviously interested in food and nutrition this hits home with people always wanting quick fix diets. For those that work in the fitness world they get the same unrealistic requests from clients. It's not a topic I've done research in, but if we think about it, we're often trying to reverse or undo years of habits overnight.

Change is hard! Some people want to get back to a past 'ideal' version of themselves, which may not even be possible after puberty, pregnancy, and maturation. This totally relates to the time concept that's been on my mind. We're looking for the pill to 'fix everything', the cream to reverse aging, the workout that is quick but shows results - we're looking for easy, but often these things are inevitable (sorry, we're all getting older!) or take a lot of hard work.

You have to consider the behaviours, environment, and other things (often stressors) that led to where you are right now. Perhaps you've never eaten many vegetables, perhaps you don't know how to cook or have never gone for a run. How can you expect to cook more healthfully at home and run a race without taking the first small step towards that very large goal? I think there is the desire for immediate results and also the fear of failure. I know I don't like to struggle at things, but I know that it takes time to learn a new skill or change an old habit. I am passionate about personal development and working towards being my best self, but I also think I've finally learned that I will always be a work in progress.

It shouldn't sound defeatist to accept that there are no quick fixes, but I also consider myself a realist. It should motivate us that each thought or motion towards our goal is a success. The promises of quick fixes or miracles should automatically make us alert to start questioning the information. I know we've heard it before, but 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is'!

Some things may come easy to you, some may be hard, and others may be things you will work on for the rest of your life. This is where the concept of sustainability can come in - what can you start doing today and continue to do into the future; not what can you do for a week/month before you revert to past habits.

I'd love to hear about the habit you're working on or your thoughts on quick fixes - comment below!

Cheers,
Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com

Learning More About Being Me

I've been reading Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before as I try to find time for non-work reading in the evenings. She even talks about 'quitting time' which I am going to try to do, since I work from home and am an 'upholder' I can easily be drawn to my office to do work and accomplish something (because that's what I like to do!).

I often talk about being our best self or the best version of ourselves. It's not about perfection, it's about progress, which the title of the book reminds us - be better!

Gretchen talks about all the unique traits we have and I like to learn as much about myself as I can, so I enjoyed reading that. I also try to be self aware - so I may not always respond or act the way I intended or should have, but on reflection I can easily see what I should have done/said. Maybe it's years as a dietitian and the self reflection we're taught that has stuck with me.

As I learn more about myself, I also continue to learn more. I know I like to cook, but I like to follow recipes, I struggle to just make something from scratch, which many dietitians are great at. I like to follow directions, perhaps with a few alterations, but I like to know where I'm going and what the outcome may be, even though, that does mean that I try all kinds of recipes - some that we'll make again, and others that are soon forgotten.

I also know that I like quotes for inspiration and I like alliteration. As an adult I've recently decided that I am at my best when I remain curious (not judgemental), am content (grateful and not wanting for more or comparing myself to others), and present (or mindful - conscious fits with my 'c' theme, but I don't like it as much). I keep mindfulness, minimalism, and moderation in mind as I strive for health, happiness, and habits.

I've got a lot to continue to work on, but I think I'm better than I was before. I do often have to remind myself of how far I've come and that happiness isn't a destination - ie. it's not, I'll be happy when ________.

This is just my check in, as it was on my mind and I had a few moments to spare to jot it down.

Be well, be you!

Cheers,

Steph Langdon, RD

www.nutrishus.com

1001 Days Later

Wow, that sounds like a long time, and it is and it isn't. In my 32 years of life (12005 days) it is only a glimpse. Why am I even talking about it? It was a goal setting exercise I took part in - the Day Zero Project (101 in 1001). There are other similar ones, such as #100happydays that I have also done - I enjoy accomplishing things, I'm a doer, so getting things done helps keep me happy and healthy. Obviously not everyone is wired this way (I think few people are similar to me, the more that I learn about personality traits), but goals work for me.

I tried, I succeeded, I didn't complete (yet!) my 101. I am trying to be okay with completing 82/101 (81.2%). I am also deciding that at some point I will complete the remaining 19. I'm trying to not make excuses and to still keep these on my radar. I definitely wasn't solely thinking about these, as I have accomplished other goals over the last 1001 days. A lot has changed in my life since June 7, 2013, that's for sure, so this is even a great mindfulness check-in. I've travelled, became a mom, moved into a new house, and survived into my 6th year of self-employment (among other things).

However, the ones that remain are (because having them in one place will help me focus!):

6 - go on a girl's weekend trip (non-work related...)
7 - play a round of golf with my husband (summer 2016?)
10 - put aside $10 for each task accomplished (82/110)
15 - meditate every day for one month
31 - create our will (I jotted notes)
32 - create our health directives (I jotted notes)
33 - try snowboarding
34 - go skating
35 - go cross country skiing
47 - build a sand castle (summer 2016?)
64 - update my 'places I've been' Pinterest board (ongoing...)
77 - visit a new country...(summer 2016?)
80 - learn where all 50 states are on a map of the USA (working on it, I know all 50 now at least!)
81 - don't watch TV or Netflix for a month (summer 2016?)
82 - don't eat out for 2 months (summer 2016?)
84 - complete the 365 project (a picture a day for a year) (I may have done this, but it wasn't intentional)
86 - don't complain for 1 week ( hope I did, but I wanted to be aware & track at least one...)
96 - kiss in the rain (again, I probably did, but not mindfully for this list!)
101 - get a second tattoo (have it picked out)

I think I can knock a few off this summer if I keep them on my mind or add them to my endless to-do lists. I also have new ideas, such as a one sentence journal (suggested by Gretchen Rubin) and I've learned to focus on gratitude, being curious, being present, and unplugging more often - so those will stay with me forever, sort of my pillars for health, happiness, and habits. I still have stacks of books that I intend to read, movies to watch, blogs to write, recipes to try, places to see, and basically lots of life to experience!

How is your 2016 going? Are you working on a goal(s), how's it going?

Cheers,
Here's to you and all you dream of accomplishing :)

Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com

Day 12: Living Mindlessly

I'm not sure when I 'decided' to be healthy. I think I'm just sort of a rule follower, so if someone tells me something is good for me (and it makes logical sense), I'm likely to try to integrate it into my life. It can be overwhelming, perhaps you've seen AJ Jacob's Ted Talk 'How healthy living nearly killed me'.



I grew up involved in many types of sports, which I think stemmed mostly from my peer group. I participated in softball, basketball, dance, cross country, track & field, badminton, and volleyball (or at least that's all I can think of right now). I also loved to be outside and preferred reading or crafting to watching tv (yup, that's still me). We ate well, but didn't discuss 'healthy' as far as I know. Pop or soda was for vacations and sugary cereal was for when our cousins visited, but those things weren't regularly in our house.

As I grew up and got more competitive in volleyball, I know we talked about nutrition a bit with my club team, mostly just no alfredo sauce and sugary drinks. I was active and growing, so I think the variety of foods I ate seemed to work out alright for me.

When I took the Nutrition 101 class in university I started to apply my knowledge at home right away. I had food skills and already liked to cook/bake, but I was starting to get a deeper understanding of food. I now work with teenagers a lot and I think it's great that they're getting nutrition information at such an important age.

I am grateful for: the healthy habits I already have

I drink caffeine and alcohol in moderation. I have never smoked a cigarette. I try to be active, and at least play with my daughter, walk the dog, or stretch on days that I can't do more. I try to get enough sleep and not watch screens too close to bedtime. I brush my teeth (I could be a better flosser). I love water. I enjoy grocery shopping and cooking. I have started to use more natural body care products and cleaning supplies since becoming pregnant almost 2 years ago now. I try to stress less (still not my best one), and our house location looking at nature really helps. I would however like to meditate regularly (it's on my to-do list). I don't use excessive amounts of sugar or salt, and actually find my taste buds are quite sensitive to them. I try to listen to my hunger and fullness cues, although I do tend to multitask through some meals. I include vegetables with our meals. I try and I keep trying...

I do give a conscious effort to many of these 'habits', but some are things I have been doing for a longer time, so they're easier. I also keep adding things, because I like goals and challenges. I aim to be mindful, but my biggest challenge with that is actually being in the moment and being content with how things are. Our house helps us to be healthy in a more mindless way, so it's easier, and I think that is a huge key to success, as well as a partner who supports my efforts and understands (or accepts) when I ask what veggie we're having with our perogies.

Habits take practice,
Take a small step towards the change you want.

Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com