….probably eat the same things. They might also have a strong relationship because of it.
For those of you who don’t know what I mean by prep together, I am talking about food prep for a healthier lifestyle. My other half and I are currently on our third week of a bit of a health kick, more training, eating better that sort of thing.
To a lot of people we probably seem a bit mad, but our current diet* isn’t a huge step from our regular eating habits. All that has changed is, we’ve decrease our sugar intake and are choosing a slightly different way of getting carbs, for example not inhaling a tiger loaf twice a week with butter just because it tastes good. I know, I know it sounds like torture, but I maintain that I will enjoy it more when I do have it. My point is that eating slightly differently, whatever that might look like for you can have huge benefits. I have already lost weight, which wasn’t a goal, but is a nice bonus. My clothes fit better, my skin is better, my recovery times when training are shorter, all in all I just feel better.
Sounds simple doesn’t it. The thing is, despite the fact the changes we have made have been very small they have still required a lot of work. I think that is one of the biggest problems people have when they decide to make healthier choices. We hear all this information about less sugar, less salt, only using ‘good fats’, less carbs, more protein, calorie counting and assume we have to do it all at once, invariably then stumbling at the first hurdle.
Making healthy changes are hard, but they don’t have to be revolutionary to work. If you usually eat three times a day, feel like you eat too many carb and too much sugar and want to get in healthier fats that is fine, but choose one or two habits to change at a time. Deciding to eat 6 times a day, plus moving to all protein and green veg is a completely lifestyle overhaul. Choosing just to lower your sugar intake however, still requires quite a lot of work, but you will feel the benefits and after a few solid weeks be ready to make the next change. Perhaps your carb intake has already gone down and you’ve identified ways to cut back, go for it, momentum counts for a lot.
My other half and I still eat the same number of meals a day, still prep food to take to work, still cook from scratch. None of that has changed, but some of our ‘go to’ choices for what goes into those meals are no longer an option. We need a little more protein to make up the balance, so we usually have to cook an extra dish whilst dinner is on the go. These small changes however have had a big impact, to the time we have, the planning we do and the way we operate as a team.
I won’t lie, week one was hard and week two ended in an argument, but now in week three we have found that balance and it is all beginning to feel worth it. Not just for our individual health, as an added benefit the health of our relationship has improved. We have discovered that the only way to effectively make these changes work is by doing it together. Prepping food together means spending time together, talking to each other about worries and about successes. Sharing things that we would probably have shared anyway, but maybe only in passing. This way we focus on those things, especially what is working. We revel in the wins rather than nod and smile at them before moving on.
Whatever your situation, get the people you share your life with involved. If you want to make a change get your other half on board, a small change will be easier for both of you to sign up to. If you are a family, make it a team effort. We leave kids out of these decisions far too often, their enthusiasm can be a massive support, plus they’ll have ideas you won’t have even considered. Embracing change as part of a team means you get more than just the physical health benefits, you get the mental health ones of sharing a goal, sharing problems. Once you start it’ll open up doors you didn’t know were closed and conversations you didn’t know where there to be had.
*by which I mean the noun diet define as: The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
– Food Prep ideas at @GetLeanOrEatTryin *coming soon*
Carnival of the Mind 