A lot of our healthy behaviours start in the kitchen and since we walk past/into our kitchen several times a day, we need to ensure that our kitchen is set up to give ourselves the best opportunity to succeed.
Step 1 – Remove any unhealthy foods from your pantry and fridge. I’m not a big fan of food wastage so you don’t necessarily have to throw them out but put them in a place where you cannot access them easily. Have a spouse or housemate hide the foods you think you are going to want to try snack on or eat instead of the healthier options.
Step 2 – Now for those neat freaks out there who hate clutter, this one might be tough….Place your healthy food choices in locations where you can always see them and have them readily available, eg on the eye level shelves of your pantry/fridge or on your kitchen bench. This gives two purposes:
i) the foods are in your face constantly. When i walk into the kitchen and see my healthy choices on the kitchen bench, it makes me feel obliged to use / eat them instead of finding a way to avoid them.
ii) it makes it convenient for you to use them. As humans, we love shortcuts so if it’s easier to use the foods available to us, we are more likely to do it.
Step 3 – Again, sorry for the neat freaks out there. Similar to step 2 in having your healthy food choices easily accessible, have the appliances and equipment you use to cook the healthy meals ready to go. Remember, humans love shortcuts. If you have the tools out ready to use, you are more likely going to cook the planned healthy meal plus it’s a constant reminder for you to use them whenever you walk into the kitchen…
Suddenly cooking up my Healthy Egg White Omelette for breakfast has been made so much easier since my eggs are on the kitchen bench, the spices are ready to go and my pan is already on the stove waiting for me to turn the gas on.
And there you have it, 3 simple steps to help you achieve some healthy behaviours.
Use these “cheat sheet” methods to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed!