This month I will focus on the third foundational habit for health; Food & Water.  March is National Nutrition Month.  Don’t worry if you missed the first 2 habits, you could start anywhere! In January I focused on Movement and in February Connection.  You can go back and check out my blog posts on those topics.

The idea is that if you can focus on the 5 foundational habits, your health will improve.  I read the article read from August of 2023, TIME magazine, called Behavior Is A Miracle Drug for Our Health.  I turned this research into a 10 - week event.  Each 2-week section focused on one of the 5 foundational behaviors and had a tweak week to adjust what was learned the week before and revise the plan.  Each focus compounded, and by the end of the 10 weeks, 5 foundational behaviors were implemented with a clear plan on how to continue and the habit of tweaking and celebrating wins. I then based the first 5 challenges of the year taking a deeper dive into each foundational habit. To me, this information was significant and simplified what changes to make for health.  There have been other articles that have continued to come out, some list 5,6,7, or 8 focuses, based on the researchers work and categories they chose.  They all basically conclude the same thing, so why complicate it, I like the 5 focuses.  They all talk about making positive and healthy choices, verses “don’t eat this, don’t do that”, except for the article that adds refrain from drugs, alcohol.   The majority simply encourage you to focus holistically and give a solution to the problems of good health that plague the United States.  The focuses do not promote the use of drugs or miracle cures, the true miracle is how healthy habits, with a foundation of healthy behaviors can change your health.  It’s about adding in behaviors that support healthy values.

Throughout the month, think about making good, better, best choices. This month is National Nutrition month so focusing on FOOD is appropriate. Starting the day with protein and complex carbs, not only will this keep you full longer, but you will also be feeding your brain as you fuel your body.   Eating protein and complex carbs helps keep blood sugar levels even through the day so you are not ravenous for your next meal or need a between meals snack to keep blood sugar levels up after they plummet from a simple carbohydrate choice.

To start each new week in my First Meal of the Day challenge, you are asked to “tweak” your goal for the week.  Does your initial goal have obstacles, or does it need a revision to make it realistic?  Reset your goal from what you learned (goals are win, learn, and not win, lose) and start off week two with that goal.  You can do this too, think about what worked the week before and then ask yourself what can I do differently this week to increase my chances of completing my goal?  Also hook it into a value or belief.  If you value your health, then make a statement regarding your choices for the first meal of the day.  For example, “I am choosing to eat eggs and whole grain toast because I value my health, and this will fuel my body! “

If you’d like more help getting from your goal and the idea to creating a plan and overcoming obstacles, I’d love to hear from you!