31 Days to a Better Diet: Introduction
Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized
If I told you that in 31 days you could have a better diet and better health, would you believe me?
While you may want to change your diet, it often feels too hard. A task so enormous and overwhelming that you just can’t do it now. Your day is filled with commuting to and from work. At work you’re busy, stressed and the boss just keeps piling up your inbox. While weekends are spent socialising, doing chores and catching up with family.
And even if you had the time, how do you wade through all the complex nutritional messages and work out what’s right for you? Eat more vegetables; reduce your saturated fat; watch the sugar; buy organic; trans fats are evil; are you getting enough calcium; low carb; high protein. On and on it goes.
Little wonder most people put off changing their diet.
Small incremental changes
However, what you’re eating today affects your health and vitality now. So over the next 31 days I’m hoping to provide a roadmap for improving your diet. Each day I’m going to post a task. One single thing for you to do that day, which will make your diet better.
It might be a new food to try, a recipe, an awareness exercise, or a different way of looking at your diet. And if you do each of the tasks slowly and steadily your diet will improve.
31 Days to a Better Diet
Last year during August I ran a series of posts: 31 Days to Better Energy. And this year I’ve decided to repeat the pattern with a twist. This year August is 31 Days to a Better Diet.
Over the next month I will be posting one diet task every day. Something for you to do to improve the way you eat. You’ll be reading posts from me, but I’ve also asked some other bloggers to take part. People who have themselves improved their diet and their health. I’ve asked each of them what’s the biggest change you’ve made to your diet?
Update: you can now see all the posts on the "31 Days to a Better Diet page.":/blog/2008/09/18/31-ways-to-a-better-diet
What you’ll get from the 31 Days to a Better Diet
If you take part in the 31 Days to a Better Diet, by the end of August you will:
- be eating more fruit and vegetables
- have a better awareness of your eating patterns and how to make your diet work for you
- have tried some different foods and increased the variety in your diet
- be on the way to controlling hunger and the portions you eat
- have worked out some strategies for eating well when you’re busy
Each task category will be marked by one of the graphics above – so you can follow the changes you’re making.
Today’s task: make a commitment
It’s all about daily tasks. So today’s is to make a commitment to yourself to make your diet better. How much change can you handle in August?
Over the next month, given your life and your schedule, how many tasks do you think you can do each week? Are you going to check in every day and try out the suggestion. Or are you only able to complete two or three tasks a week?
Or maybe you already eat plenty of vegetables, but are really interested in completing the awareness tasks.
What can you do during August? Be practical and reasonable. Don’t aim too high, but make a commitment now.
Feedback & Weekly Summary
I’m particularly keen to find out what you’re doing and how you’re going.
- If you’re at home and try a task, come back and leave a comment. What did you do? Was it easy, difficult, surprising? Would you do it again?
- Ask questions: Some tasks will really benefit from community involvement. There are some smart readers out there, so if you have a problem or thought, leave a comment and come back to see the suggestions.
- If you work in an office why not challenge some of your colleagues to take part? You can then support and encourage each other throughout the month. Making a difference to the way you all eat together.
- If you’re a blogger then write about what your experiences and let me know. Tell your audience what you’re doing and how you’re managing
- I’ll also be taking part and will leave comments about how I’ve approached each task and what I’m doing to make my diet better.
Each Friday I’ll be posting a roundup of the week. A list of the tasks, along with a summary of what readers have been doing. So let me know the changes you make and I’ll include you, your office, or your blog in the weekly roundup.
So best of luck everyone and welcome to the 31 Days to a Better Diet.
What commitment are you making during the 31 Days to a Better Diet?
To view all the 31 Days to a Better Diet tasks click here
Photographs by Sanja Gjenero, G & A Scholiers, Benjamin Earwicker, Hannah Boettcher and Vika Valter.
01 August, 2008
Comments
I am sure I eat too many refined carbohydrates. Am in an office environment, and if I can’t be bothered to make lunch in the morning, I tend to raid my stock of two-minute noodles for lunch (never buy take away food, at least).
My plan is to buy a packet of low-GI wraps each week, and try and make a salad wrap with plenty of vegetables and some low fat meat (tuna or chicken) each day. That would be a big improvement, I think. Other than that, I already don’t eat dessert, and eat lots of fruti, and muesli for breakfast. But lunch is where I will put my efforts.
Kathryn, I look forward to this feature. I really need some lessons on awareness and tips on controlling hunger— that sort of thing. Dealing with eating without overeating, and this sounds like it will be a great place for some ideas.
Fantastic idea for a series Kathryn. You are such a wealth of information – thank you!
I love this idea, Kathryn! I’m in for sure. And since it’s still July 31 here, I can even prepare myself overnight! :)
I am so looking forward to this. I am commiting myself to doing at least 4 of the tasks every week, and hopefully be blogging about it as I go along.
So looking forward to this month of challenges. I reckon even the ‘best’ eaters are going to learn a lot.
I do love me some homework.
Adam – like the way you’re thinking. You can keep all the ingredients for wraps at work and make them as needed. A much better choice than 2-minute noodles.
Cookinpanda – awareness and over-eating are two of the topics that will be explored over the month. If these are your two areas, then follow the tasks marked with pictures of the: surprised woman eating lettuce, and the kitchen scales. Look forward to hearing about your progress.
Ricki, Rozanne & Lucy glad to hear you’re on board. I’ll be doing many of the tasks as well, so look forward to swapping notes!
This sounds like a great series. I am really motivated to make some changes to improve my fitness (I signed up for the free session with a personal trainer at my gym today!) so I will try to follow all your suggestions. I would like to work on eating more veggies and coming up with some more healthy snacks for work. I love my bag of almonds but it gets a bit old.
well for someone that is loathe to take you these challenges, I’m looking forward to this! Whilst I eat good food my habits have slipped to an almost woeful state so I know it’s going to be good.
hope you don’t mind, I’ve also suggested avm customers have a go.
I’m keen for this challenge. It comes at a great time for me when I have just been thinking about making some changes. I’m committing to implementing at least 4 of the tasks per week.
Grocer – I did spot the mention and have been meaning to say “thank you”. Really appreciate it.
Well done all for the commitments you’re making. Lovely to hear from you.
I think i’ve already got a few challenges on my cards these few weeks, but i’m interested to see what the tasks are so lets me put down for a tentative!
A great idea, I’m looking forward to participating. I will be looking forward to your posts about portion sizes. I eat healthily but if I know a meal is stacked with vegetables and low in fat I tend to really pile up my plate just because it is healthy. That then distorts my idea of portion size when I am eating something like pasta and I pile that up too!
I would definitely like to try some of the ideas mentioned. My goal for August is to eat only one meal a day with fish/meat, and to eat meat only twice/week. I’ve started trying to ease into a vegan diet and have noticed a huge improvement just in the last week or two, so for the month of August I’d like to really cement that.
Hi, This sounds like fun but we are going to be on a biking tour the second half of August so I will move the second part of the month into September – if that makes sense. I cook almost every day for my husband and myself and am always looking for ways to make our meals healthier and tastier. I’m open to trying your suggestions daily, but we are on the other side of the world so specific produce suggestions may be impratical. Still, I’m looking forward to your posts!
I’m going to get in the spirit by trying to get my five portions of fruits and veggies a day. Let the challenge commence…
Sue I saw you’d set yourself an couple of challenges this month. Interested to hear how you go with those. While you may not do the tasks in 31 Days to a Better Diet, you may have thoughts / perspectives / suggestions on them. As someone who has changed their diet quite significantly over the last year (?).
Jacqueline, Laura, Sharon & Mallika – well done for making your commitments. I’m going to try and keep the suggestions do-able wherever you’re living.
I am going to commit to 3-4 tasks a week. About every second one. I have been making a few changes in the past month so this will be great encouragement to keep going. I have been working on eating veges every day for lunch and eating legumes at least three times a week.
As a nutrition student I SHOULD be eating quite well… but the reality is that most of the time I don’t!
I have a fairly good grasp on what a ‘healthy’ diet pertains to, but actually making those changes to my own diet has been something I have been thinking of doing for a long time… I mean I have improved my diet dramatically since I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 3 years ago, but there is still much, much more room for improvement…
I am hoping that this series will help me to make the changes that I know I need to, I mean I would feel very strange telling people how to make changes to their diet when my diet is so poor itself! I will be blogging about my progress each week and contributing to discussion when I can…
Again, yet another great initiative of yours!!
Amanda & Tara – well done and lovely to have you on board.
Tara – I think there’s always room for improvement. In all our diets. Recognising that and doing something about it are the first steps.
Hey Kathryn, I have sent you an e-mail. This is very interesting.
I’m making a commitment to re-start food journaling again. I’d blogged about this way back last year when I joined the lean plate club, but went way off, gained back all the weight and need to re-approach it in a better way. Today I started again. Thanks for the inspiration. I’m now subscribing to your blog in my Google reader.
Logging your food is one of the best ways to really see what you are putting into your body, if you click my name you will get a free site that has great food logging features, it even makes suggestions of better foods for you based on what you enter.
I use it to keep my cheatin to a minimum – when I have to look at 500 calories for those 3 strips of bacon I ate (not to mention the fat) I think twice about doing it again.
Although I’m more than a month late for the official start of this challenge, I’m going to commit to reviewing the list of tasks each day for the next 31 days (I’m even going to set an alarm on iCal to remind me!). I’m also going to commit to blogging about my experience each day.
And, I’m going to swear off Jimmy John’s for the next 31 days. God help me.
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