3 Ways to Know if Your Nutrition Habits are Sustainable

“Sustainable” is quickly becoming one of the most-used buzzwords in health. But what ACTUALLY makes a habit sustainable? And can effective strategies for reaching specific health goals like fat loss and muscle gain also be sustainable? I’ve compiled 3 ways to know if your nutrition habits and strategies for supporting your health are sustainable. These aren’t the only ways to know, but they are 3 of the biggest indicators for if maintaining these behaviors is practical AND effective long term: 

1. You make room for foods you enjoy + have a reasonable mindset towards "unhealthy" foods.

Any nutrition strategies or routines that don't make room for foods you love- even if they're not the "healthiest"- in today's world aren't practical. If it's not practical to practice most days and seasons of life, then it can't be a sustainable habit of strategy. 

For instance: 

Sure, ramen noodles aren't the best for you. But if ramen is something that you love or let's say it's a part of your culture, they should be included somehow. Why? Because expecting yourself to go without something that is a part of your culture forever, isn't sustainable. 

For those of us who have lived an American lifestyle our whole lives, this can even apply to processed foods and fast food (shocking, I know). To make a goal that you'll never eat pizza, bagels, McDonald's, or Cheetos ever again because they're not "healthy" might sound respectable. Honestly, it might even be wise and well intended. However, we live in a country where lives are lived at 120 mph and you can drive hundreds of miles without coming up on anything but a Phillips 66 with a McDonald's inside. To say you'll NEVER have to resort to processed foods or fast food chains isn't realistic or practical for most people. And if you just happen to love a McDonald's filet-o-fish occasionally like my husband's mentor…well then who am I to tell you that you can't have that every once and a while and not still get jacked or be healthy overall? 

2. Your habits result in positive progress towards your goals

Even if your goals are to "stay the same" or "get healthy," your nutrition habits should support your health. Otherwise, your habits may be sustainable for now, but they may not help you sustain your health or quality of life long term. The best nutrition habits and strategies KEEP providing results long term (I'm talking longer than a 12 week program or diet). 

3. Your habits reduce your stress around food/your goals

The ultimate sustainability test for an effective nutrition strategy is the stress test. Basically it's summed up by this question: 

Do your nutrition habits (this can be physical things you do, mindsets you have, and/or views you hold) SAVE you stress??

So why is "saving myself stress" critical for sustainable, effective nutrition habits? Because the #1 reported reason we can't be consistent with our goals and habits is stress. If your nutrition habits allow you to be flexible, give you options, allow for grace, include foods you enjoy, and give strong guidelines without being impractical, there's almost no reason that we couldn't stick with those habits long term. Since consistency = results, keeping our habits as stress-free and simple as possible is key. 

Again, these 3 things aren’t the ONLY indicators that your habits are sustainable and effective, but they are 3 of the biggest ways to know if HOW you are pursuing your goals can be practical and effective long term. Here at LET, we highly encourage you to pursue your goals in a way that supports the overall lifestyle you wish to build. At the root of each of these sustainability factors we listed are the intentions to give grace for life's unpredictability, make room to enjoy the JOY that food can bring, make continual decisions that will support your health long term, and to help you remember that our lives don’t revolve around food, but rather food was meant to be a vital, but still enjoyable, part of being human. If your habits don’t match up with the 3 things we listed, that’s ok. The absence of these 3 characteristics does not necessarily mean your habits aren’t sustainable, but it might mean that steps need to be made to get you closer to this place. And if you need some extra support and guidance as you take those steps, we would love to help you build the skills needed to make it happen. 

Are you interested in 1:1 Coaching ?I’m interested.

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