Healthy habits
How many times have you made a New Year resolution and then given it up before January is out? Making behavioural changes and forming new habits are hard.
We know how to be healthy: eat more vegetables and wholefoods, reduce processed and refined foods (‘junk’ food), drink more water and less alcohol, get enough sleep, reduce stress, stop smoking and take regular exercise. But often it is easier said than done.
What is a habit?
It starts with a trigger – this is the thing that causes your brain to go into autopilot. Next is the routine – this is the action you take after the trigger. Finally there is the reward, which fulfills a craving in your brain. For example, sitting in front of the TV in the evening snacking on chocolates or waking up feeling unrefreshed and reaching for caffeine.
The Reward
Dopamine is the key neurotransmitter involved in craving reward. It is also strongly linked to memory, learning and emotion. Food can activate the reward sensation through taste, smell and sight. Foods high in sugar and fat are especially good at doing this and will cause us to eat even if we are not feeling hungry. The combination of high fat and high sugar creates a spike in dopamine activity which gives us pleasure and causes us to reach for these foods more often. This can drive a cycle of overeating.
Synthetic flavours, found in processed food, break the connection between flavour and nutrition and set false expectations. Flavour technology fools our brains into experiencing heightened levels of pleasure and increasing dopamine, without nutritional benefit.
So, how can we create new healthy habits?
The first step is to become aware of the bad habit cycle. Then you can plan how to change it. Once you know what your triggers are, then substitute a different action response to achieve the same reward. For example:
Bad habit:
Trigger – stress, fatigue
Routine – drink a bottle of wine
Reward – elevated dopamine
Alternative good habit:
Trigger – stress, fatigue
Routine – go for a walk in the park
Reward – elevated dopamine
Repetition is key – it will take at least 2 weeks, often many months, to form a new habit. But, as time goes on, it becomes easier and will soon be automatic.
10 Tips to healthy habits
1. Remove temptation – fill your cupboards with healthy foods and drinks and remove all junk/processed foods. Keep flavours natural – use herbs and spices, ideally fresh.
2. Batch cook – when you have time (for example at the weekends), batch cook and fridge/freeze separate portions. Then you will have healthy food to come home to after work and reduce the risk of making poor food choices.
3. Eat earlier – make sure you eat a good breakfast and lunch. This will help reduce those mid-afternoon and early evening snack cravings. A lighter dinner should also then be sufficient. Eat dinner as early as you can and avoid eating it late, to give your body time to digest it before sleep. This not only ensures your body can focus on healing and repair during the night but will also promote better blood sugar regulation. Late evening meals can lead to higher blood sugar levels the following morning, and sugar cravings during the day. It can also dysregulate the hormones involved in appetite.
4. Nutrient status – a healthy balanced wholefood diet is necessary to provide us with the nutrients we need to maintain our energy and willpower to succeed. Eat protein with every meal, eat regularly and ensure adequate intake of the B vitamins.
5. Drink water – often dehydration is mistaken for hunger. Before you reach for a snack, check you have drunk enough water.
6. Exercise with a friend and schedule it into your diary – you will be less likely to cancel if it means letting someone else down and their support will help you. Or work with a personal trainer.
7. Sleep – try and go to sleep at the same time each night. Make it part of a healthy sleep routine which also includes removing electronic devices from the bedroom and winding down for a period beforehand. Not only will you feel better from getting regular, adequate sleep but you are also less likely to reach for sugary foods when you are feeling tired.
8. Dopamine – find positive ways to stimulate dopamine and achieve the reward in a healthy way; such as exercise, listen to music, get outside into nature, give someone a hug.
9. Use technology - download a habit tracker onto your phone to monitor your progress and motivate you.
10. Baby steps – focus on changing one or two things to start with and then once those habits are formed, then you can add further changes.
And finally, don’t be hard on yourself – rebrand any failures as ‘not yet’ and accept that failure is part of success. Even making just one change and turning that into something positive can create a ripple effect, reinforcing positive changes in other areas. Good luck!