31 Days to a Better Diet: The roundup days 1 - 14
Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized
It’s now well into the second half of August, which means we’re also over half way through the 31 Days to a Better Diet series. How is everyone going?
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We’re half way through a month of posts on the topic of how to make your diet better. It’s not about broad, sweeping changes. Instead every day I’m suggesting a smaller, more easy to implement challenge designed to change what you eat and make your health better.
What’s happened so far.
Day 1 – make a commitment
In the introductory post I asked you to make a commitment.
Over the next month, how much time do you realistically have to make changes to your diet? It’s easy to over-commit and end up disappointing yourself, when you don’t follow through.
Being realistic is an important part of changing your health.
Day 2 – keep a diet diary for a week
It’s easy to lose track of what you’re eating. You may think your diet is full of vegetables and well balanced, but is it really as good as you think?
When changing your diet it’s important to get a clear picture of what you’re doing now_, so challenge number two was to "_record everything you eat for seven days":/blog/2008/08/02/day-2-keep-a-diet-diary-for-a-week.
Day 3 – which food groups don’t you eat?
Eating a variety of foods is important. It’s the easiest way to ensure you’re getting all the nutrients you need.
There are so many wonderful foods out there, it’s a shame to restrict your eating to the same foods week in and week out. On day 3 I asked readers to eat something from a food group they rarely consume.
Day 4 – build up a stock of useful plastic containers
In my opinion, one of the most useful things for making it easier to eat well at work is a stockpile of plastic containers. These make it easier to take your lunch to work.
Which saves money, but also means you can control what you eat and avoid the high fat, high sugar, high sodium options found in most food halls. “Get some plastic containers”:":/blog/2008/08/04/day-4-build-up-a-stock-of-useful-plastic-containers.
Day 5 – salad splurges
I’m delighted to have some guest writers on board, giving their own tips on eating well. The first is from Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness, talking about ways to make a salad more interesting:
“I’ve learned to include ingredients I really like that may not be super low-cal, but are healthy and filling and make a salad something to look forward too”.
Day 6 – do you know when you’re hungry?
A post asking what are your hunger signs? It may seem like a funny question, but many people don’t know when they’re hungry, which is a problem. If you’re day is structured you may never get to the point where you’re actually hungry. People also mistake other signs for hunger, such as dehydration and tiredness.
On day 6 the task was to get acquainted with your hunger signs.
Day 7 – practice cooking and make something new for dinner
A task designed to increase cooking skills and confidence: take an ingredient from the back of your pantry and include it in dinner. Using up ingredients from the cupboard is a great way of increasing the scope of your diet. You already have the ingredient in the house. You’ve already been persuaded to eat that food. Now you just need to cook it.
Day 8 – spend more time on your meals today
A reminder to take some time over your meals. If you gobble down your food, thinking about everything but what you’re eating, how can you possibly be satisfied with your food?
This challenge was to switch off the TV, eat away from your desk, use a knife and fork. Savour, enjoy your food and spend some time over your meals.
Day 9 – create a structure
This task was the second guest post in the 31 Days to a Better Diet series. This time from Mike Kinnaird of Habit Guide. Mike’s suggestion is to create a structure to your diet
This can be repeated each day and provides a simple framework, which takes the guesswork out of nutrition. Save yourself some time and create a structure.
Day 10 – include vegetables in every meal
Fitting all the vegetable serves into a day can seem overwhelming. However it’s much easier, if you spread the vegetables out. Adding a few to all your meals and snacks sets you up to easily reach the five a day target.
The challenge on day 10 therefore, was to include vegetables in every meal . . . even breakfast.
Day 11 – tune into your self talk
You might understand that criticism from others can affect your confidence. But did you know criticism from yourself can be even more damaging?
Negative self-talk can be constant and unrelenting, distorting your perceptions and making you feel bad. This post is about tuning in to your self-talk about food.
Day 12 – one of the most important changes in how I eat and what I eat
Another guest post, this time from Cassie of Veggie Meal Plans.
“I’ve learned to keep convenient vegetables and fruits on hand so I can add them to my plate with minimal effort. I don’t always have the energy to tackle fresh artichokes, but usually manage ten seconds to slice a cucumber to put on the side of a bowl of chilli.” Add more fruit and vegetables to your plate.
Day 13 – spend the day doing the opposite
To avoid food becoming too much of a routine, my suggestion in this challenge was to flip your diet and _spend the day doing the opposite. Every time you eat something ask yourself what would I normally do – and then make a different choice.
Do the opposite, or just do something different. Get out of your routine and your comfort zone and flip your diet.
Day 14 – choose a different bread
One easy way to increase the variety of foods you eat, is to change your bread.
Choosing a different loaf means you’re still eating a food you know and are used to, but you’re also adding to your nutrient intake. It’s a simple way to get that little bit more variety in what you eat. Don’t go for the same old thing, choose a different bread.
Others blogging about the 31 Days to a Better Diet series
A number of bloggers have been tracking their response to the challenges online.
- Tara has a round up of her first 14 days on Should You Eat That
- Battered Suitcase has been posting regular updates on her reactions to the daily tasks.
- Thermomixer took the Day 7 challenge of making something new for dinner and cooked a Shaddock & Shrimp Salad.
- Jenaveve from August Street has been following along.
- Grocer has posted details and pictures of what she ate during the first eight days of the challenge on Animal Vegetable Mineral
- Kalyn’s response at Kalyn’s Kitchen to including vegetables in every meal was a gorgeous looking red kale and onion breakfast frittata.
How did you find the first half of 31 Days to a Better Diet?
Images by G & A Scholiers, Benjamin Earwacker, Sanja Gjenero, Hannah Boettcher and Vika Valter.
18 August, 2008
Comments
I’m loving it! I’d got really uninspired recently about my meal planning and forcing myself to try all these new things is getting me more enthusiastic about it.
I’ve been thinking I should have a checkup of where I’m up to…
1. I told myself I’d try everything I don’t usually do, probably not the same day, but would try to fit it in the same week. Doing OK, I think.
2. Diet diary – terrible. Lasted 2 days. Try again another time.
3. Yep, I ate my seeds.
4. already have enough plastic containers
5. vino cotto is still on the shopping list
6. yeah, I do know when I’m really hungry, even though I don’t always listen. I am also a bit scared of the hangrys!
7. Roast fennel finally eaten. I’m a bit ambivalent about it.
8. Sorta done. I always spend time over dinner, usually over weekend meals but not so interested when it comes to weekday lunch and brekky.
9 I do usually, 10&11 I did, 12 sort of came with 10 but some more effort on this is still on the to-do list, 13 I passed on, and 14 is also still on the to-do list. I do now have the pan as well as the breadmaker, which just might help!
Lovely to hear how you’re doing Gwyneth – and that the 31 Days are inspiring you. Exactly the point of the series. Keep up the good work.
1. The commitment part was the easiest: managed to find a fruit, veggie and organic foods delivery scheme.
2. Keeping a diet diary was useful but challenging – especially when I overate and was tempted not to write it down, even though I´m the only one who reads the diary – who am I trying to kid?
3. I can´t think of any food groups I rarely eat.
4. Already have plastic container overload. Love ziplock bags and reuse them.
5. Allowing myself a good Tbsp. of really nice olive oil in my salad, so the salad becomes a treat, rather than something incredibly austere.
6. I definitely know when I´m hungry, but not always when to stop. I´m working on that. Also recognising that an urge to binge on sweet or junky foods is usually a sign that my blood sugar levels are low and I just need to eat something healthy.
7. Can´t think of anything available here that I haven´t tried.
8. I´m usually the last to finish. Wish this was true of alchohol, too! Something to work on …
9. Not very keen on this kind of rigidity.
10. Almost impossible not to do when you have a veggie delivery box and veggies and fruit coming out of your ears as I do. If I DON´T have veggies with every meal and snack I´ll never get through my weekly box!
11. Been working very hard on this and trying to be kinder about myself and my eating habits in what I tell myself and others.
12. Not so easy to do in winter, as I´m not receiving many veggies that can be eaten raw, but have taken to chopping them finely in advance so they cook very quickly.
13. This is difficult to do on my schedule.
14. I won´t change my bread, as it´s the only one available here that´s wholemeal, rather than primarily made with white floor. Am trying to eat a greater variety of grains, especially putting quinoa or amaranth into my yoghurt, instead of always using oats.
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