Healthy Habits Build the Future

We all have habits. We brush our teeth every day ( hopefully 😂), we put our seatbelts on when we get in the car, we set our alarm at night, you name it.

Habits are actions that become part of our routine and once they’re formed we rarely have to really think about them.

So why not create healthier habits when it comes to food? If we add something small, like say a glass of water first thing each morning, it can easily become a habit after a while. Many of us probably don’t get enough water each day, so one extra cup would be a nice addition!

One of the easiest ways to introduce a new habit is to add it to something you’re already doing on a regular basis. We talked about getting more veggies in our diet last week. One thing that the creator of Prosper Nutrition started doing to help herself was to create a “veggie bucket” each week. This started because she would buy fruits and veggies and have the best intentions, but once they were in the drawer in the fridge they would often go bad before she used them. And I will admit I've let more than a few veggies go bad in the fridge drawer! It’s easy to forget you have them once they’re tucked away. And if you’re in a time crunch and the veggies aren’t already cut, it can be easy to just skip them.

So in order to help herself, she began to build a new habit. Every time she would get home from the grocery store, she would take a few minutes to wash her fruits and veggies, cut what could be cut ahead of time, and then store them together in a large container in the fridge. And instead of going in a drawer, they sat on a shelf ready to go for snacks or meals. She attached this new habit to something she was already doing (grocery shopping) and it’s been a huge success for her. It only takes 5-10 minutes to get everything prepped once she's home from the grocery store too!

Think of a goal you've set or a change you’d like to make. Over the next few days or weeks, see if you can take small steps towards that goal or change. Over time small steps can build a new habit that leads to a healthier you!