Claire Turnbull outlines five simple steps to eating and living more healthily in 2026, zero steel willpower required.
A new year is here, and for many of us with it comes the desire to eat better, get fitter and finally get our wellbeing goals on track.
The challenge is that things often start with a hiss and a roar, gym visits galore, alcohol-free days, salads packed for lunch, but within a few weeks (or months if we’re lucky!), life gets busy again and those healthy intentions become too hard to maintain.
So how can you make things different this year?
Having spent more than 20 years helping people improve how they eat, move, sleep and think about those issues, the pattern I see most often is that people try to change too many things at once, go too hard too fast, or take an overly extreme approach – particularly in relation to food. That intensity might feel motivating initially, but it’s simply not sustainable.
Before you dive headfirst into the next diet programme being sold to you on social media, here are a few things to consider that will genuinely set you up for success in 2026.
1. Focus on addition, not subtraction
Deprivation is an unhelpful and often destructive approach to food. Following rules and avoiding lists of “banned” or “bad” foods might get fast results, but it can seriously mess with your mindset and encourage a dysfunctional relationship with eating.
If you’ve ever followed a diet plan, struggled to stick to it, and ended up feeling like you were the problem, lacking willpower or motivation, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
But here’s the truth: you are not the problem.
The problem is the restrictive, subtractive approach that leaves your body under-fuelled and your mind preoccupied with what you “can’t” have.
So, this year, I challenge you to think differently: focus on adding the foods that nourish you, give you energy, and help your body work well. When you’re eating enough and giving your body what it needs, the desire to overdo the chips, booze or sugary snacks naturally reduces. And when your energy improves, it becomes easier to move your body too.
A great starting point is aiming for at least five (ideally closer to seven) handfuls of lower-starch vegetables each day. The fresh, frozen and canned versions all count. Lower-starch vegetables are pretty much everything except potato, kūmara, taro and green bananas. These are still great foods, but I place them alongside other carbohydrate-rich foods like rice or pasta, where your ideal portion is highly individual.
These lower-starch veggies help slow down your eating (thanks to all the chewing!), add volume without huge calories, support digestion and pack in plenty of vitamins and minerals.
Including protein rich foods at meals and snacks will also help you feel fuller, steady your blood sugar and reduce cravings for sugary or salty foods.
Other additions you might want to experiment with this year:
- A sprinkle of nuts and seeds to breakfast for healthy fats and additional fibre.
- Fermented foods like sauerkraut or kefir which support your gut health
- Increasing your variety of plant foods across the week – this includes mixing up your fruits, vegetables, pulses, wholegrains, herbs, and spices for maximum benefits.
This positive, addition-focused mindset is particularly important if you have kids. Even if you aren’t restricting what they eat, if they see you restrict, weigh and measure your food, as well as maybe comment on the size or shape of your body, it can trigger unhealthy patterns for them.
Let your kids know that it's fine to enjoy cake, biscuits or ice cream occasionally (alongside all these wonderful other foods your adding to the family's diet). It's not “bad” or “cheating”, it's just part of a balanced, mentally healthy approach.
2. Switch on your self-awareness
Much of the eating we do has nothing to do with hunger. It’s common to eat or drink to manage emotions, avoid wasting food, out of habit, or simply because something is right in front of us.
Many people rely on diets as a way to “control” their behaviour, but diets act as a band-aid. They don’t address the underlying triggers, and eventually fall apart when stress, tiredness, or social situations arise. Then those old patterns return. Along with guilt and disappointment.
So, make this the year you look beneath the behaviour.
Why do you eat or drink when you do? Is it boredom? Frustration? Loneliness? Reward? Tiredness? Anger? Procrastination? Late-night cravings?
Try keeping a food diary for a couple of weeks and reflect on the reasons behind your choices. Don’t judge, just observe. Look for patterns – you may be surprised by how interesting this process can be, and you won’t know until you give it a go! When you understand what drives your decisions, you can begin reprogramming the habits that no longer serve you.
Awareness is the first stage of change, and it’s an underestimated tool. Over time, you can get to the point where you're able to pause before eating and ask: What do I need right now? Am I actually hungry, am I thirsty, or is something else going on? If you are genuinely hungry, take the time to think about how you can nourish yourself and then mindfully enjoy your food.
3. Switch off the guilt
And while you’re working on switching on your awareness, ditch the guilt. Beating yourself with a stick serves no purpose at all. It doesn't drive positive change. Curiosity is far more powerful.
If you want more help with this, there’s a whole section in my book End Your Fight with Food dedicated to it, so check it out.
4. Take 10 minutes per week to look ahead and plan for the roadbumps
Part of the reason diets work is that they reduce decisions. When life is busy, it’s easy to see the appeal. But diet plans only work as long as you can sustain them, and long-term success requires you to be involved in the planning.
I encourage all my clients to set aside 10-15 minutes over the weekend or before a food shop to plan the week ahead. Doing it at the same time each week makes it more likely to happen. For me, it's Thursday evening once the kids are in bed. I even set an alarm and use a dedicated planner to make it easier and more enjoyable.
Before deciding what meals to include in your week, think about the “road bumps” or “pressure points” coming up like late meetings, nights with kids’ activities, days where energy or time will be tight.
Be prepared with basic staples and easy short-cut meals to save yourself from resorting to expensive takeout options. My website (see below) has a handy list of staples and quick meal ideas that you can print out for your fridge door.
5. Be kind to yourself
Make this the year you focus on caring for yourself instead of punishing yourself. The results will not only be better; they’ll actually last.
If you have a child or a pet, you make sure they get enough sleep, eat properly, and receive extra care when they’re not having a good day.
You deserve that same care and compassion too. Why not make being good to yourself and doing things you enjoy one of your resolutions for 2026? It may just be the first resolution you manage to keep!
Claire Turnbull has a BSc (Hons) in Dietetics, is a New Zealand Registered Nutritionist, author, and speaker. If you have a question or topic you'd like Claire to address, you can contact her here.
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