Stick with a healthy diet plan

There are around 250 million Americans 18 and older. More than 117 million have to contend with a chronic disease or disorder that’s diet-related, according to researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The study, published as an NCHS Data Brief, found that only 10% of adults said they’re sticking to a weight-loss-oriented diet on any given day. But it isn’t easy to change your diet! So let’s explore what’s known about creating behavior change and how that may help many of you adopt nutritional approaches to health that will change your life .

How to Reprogram Yourself Visualization. Neuroscientist Russell Poldrack runs the Poldrack Lab at Stanford University, which is dedicated to understanding decision-making. He says when it comes to breaking old habits and adopting new ones, it can be helpful to visualize yourself acting out a bad habit (eating a bag of chocolatechip cookies) and then imagine you are practicing good behavior right on top of the bad one.

Positive thinking. One U.K. research group looked at 129 studies on strategies for behavior change and found that if fear, regret or guilt is your motivation, it makes it harder to change and to have the change stick. Focus on the good results that will come from upgrading your nutrition: longer life, more energy, fewer wrinkles, a happier mood.

Taking baby steps. B.J. Fogg, a psychologist and the director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford, has created a “Tiny Habits” technique that helps you begin to accept a new behavior, expand it and stick with it. He says the key is to nudge yourself forward gently.

For more help making small changes with big results, check out the free Tiny Habits program at www.tinyhabits.com/join. It includes a 25-minute setup and then five days of a three-minute routine during which you practice your new habits.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.