The trick is to make the healthy options easier and the less healthy ones a bit of a hassle, writes Claire Turnbull.
Knowing and doing are two very different things.
You might know that eating plenty of vegetables is good for you and even have this as one of your wellbeing goals, yet still not eat enough of them. Equally, you may know that drinking alcohol most nights isn’t ideal but still be prone to slipping into that routine.
As busy human beings, despite what we know, the choices we make are often not based on what’s best for us, but instead on what’s easiest, most familiar, or simply the path of least resistance.
A lot of what we do each day happens on autopilot. In fact, an estimated 40% of our daily behaviour is habitual, meaning it happens without much thought at all. This works brilliantly when it comes to brushing our teeth, tying our shoelaces, or driving a car. But it’s less helpful if our habits include a daily bakery stop, managing difficult emotions with a glass (or three) of wine, or eating half a block of cheese the moment we walk through the door, simply because it’s the first thing we see in the fridge.
The good news? There are simple steps you can take to make things work in your favour. If you make it easier to make choices that align with your wellbeing goals, and harder to make the choices that work against them – you’ll be setting yourself up for greater success.
This approach mirrors the way of life in parts of the world known as the Blue Zones – places with the largest proportion of centenarians. In these regions, older populations are thriving. They don’t just live long lives, they also enjoy long health spans, meaning they remain active and healthy well into old age. Examples of Blue Zones include areas of Japan, Sardinia in Italy, and Nicoya in Costa Rica.
Healthy by default
Much of the good health of the people in those regions is linked to lifestyle. The way they eat, move, and connect with others. One striking feature is that in these places, healthy living is often easier, or even essential, compared with other parts of the world. For example, people often have better access to whole, minimally processed foods than to the more processed alternatives.
Daily life also tends to involve more movement. In some Blue Zones, such as the steep streets of Ikaria in Greece, people walk up and down hills all day, essentially doing resistance training without even thinking about it!
When eating well and staying active is the easiest or most natural option, it simply becomes the default.
Unfortunately, here in New Zealand, our modern living environment often makes the less healthy choice the easiest one. Highly processed foods can be cheaper and more accessible than fresh produce, and they’re heavily marketed. Physical activity has also been engineered out of many of our environments, with lifts easier to find than stairs, and plenty of workplaces where movement isn’t required at all.
While I strongly believe we need more changes at a national level to make healthier choices easier and less favourable options harder, that doesn’t seem to be on the immediate agenda.
There is, however, still plenty you can do in your own home and daily environment to tip the balance in your favour.
Six ways to make it EASIER to access healthy choices
1. Make your own veggie box
If you find yourself picking at food when you’re at home, keep a box of ready-to-eat chopped veggies front and centre in the fridge. Carrots, cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes – whatever you like and whatever’s affordable and in season. Great for snacking or adding to lunchboxes. I top mine up a couple of times a week and put a piece of damp paper towel on the top of the veggies to stop them drying out.
2. Soup-it Sundays
In the cooler months, like right now, make a batch of soup each week and keep it in the fridge. A mug of hot, comforting soup can be just the thing when you feel like reaching for a bread roll or the crackers and cheese.
3. Rearrange your pantry
Put wholegrain crackers, unsalted nuts, seeds, and plain popcorn at the front so you see them before biscuits, chips, or sweet treats.
4. Keep nourishing snacks in your handbag/glovebox
A small stash of nuts, wholegrain crackers, or bliss balls in your bag or car can stop you entering a bakery or pulling into the Drive-Thru when you get struck by hunger while out and about.
5. Keep non-alcoholic drinks at the ready
If your fridge doesn’t have a water cooler, keep chilled still or sparkling water in the door so it’s the first thing you see. In our house, the only drinks kept chilled and ready to go are water, kombucha, low alcohol wine, and other alcohol-free options.
6. Stockpile quick meal options
Keep a selection of easy healthy meal options in your fridge for those busy nights. Stock up on versatile basics like frozen veg, eggs, and fresh-filled pasta so you’re never tempted to phone in a pizza when you're tired
Three ways to make it HARDER to access foods (and drinks) you might regret
1. Keep benches clear
Avoid leaving food out unless it's the fruit bowl. A cake with a knife next to it, or biscuits beside the kettle, are too easy to pick at without thinking.
2. Put alcohol out of easy reach
Store it in the garage or not in the house at all. Don’t keep beers or wine chilled ‘just in case’. Only chill them when you plan to drink them. We moved the beer in our house to a fridge downstairs through a locked door rather than having it in our kitchen and in two weeks my husband had reduced his drinking by 80%, without even trying! All it took was removing the visual cue to pick up a beer when he came home.
3. Remember: out of sight, out of mind
Put snack foods high up, in opaque containers, or at the back of cupboards so you have to go out of your way to get them. A little inconvenience goes a long way.
If you feel like you know what you should be doing to be healthier, but it’s just not happening, try working on this new approach of making the healthier choices easier, and less healthy choices harder. With time, making healthier choices will become your new normal.
Claire Turnbull is a registered nutritionist with an honours degree in dietetics, a wellbeing educator and author.
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