Make good habits stick
Set yourself on a healthy — and yummy — track for 2019
Scrolling through the most popular New Year’s resolutions that people have made over the past few years, a few key themes pop out. Nearly 40 per cent of people said they intended to exercise more, a third of us vowed to lose weight or eat more healthily and between 12 and 15 per cent of people wanted to learn a new skill or hobby, take a more active approach to health, or spend more time on personal well-being.
The idea of New Year’s resolutions is a noble one but getting them to stick is actually really hard. The thing is, we hate change. For the most part, the habits we do acquire tend to be those that give us some form of pleasure or instant gratification.
Developing a good habit, which usually entails discipline and self-restraint, is rarely going to be easy. The hardest thing for people to do is to change. Apparently it takes around 66 days before something can be considered a habit in that it no longer requires Herculean self-control to perform. For our synapses to actually shift takes a full year and for them to shift permanently takes three years.
So don’t beat yourself up if the changes you hope for are harder to implement than you think.
When it comes to well-being, the simple nightly ritual of evening dinner shared together around the table makes a nourishing habit. It’s easy enough to set the table, light some candles and put on some relaxing music. Setting the scene like this creates a sense of welcome, and invites a relaxing rhythm for everyone to sink into and enjoy at the end of day.
In our house, developing healthier eating habits is increasingly focused on moving towards a plant-based diet, supplemented by sustainable, affordable fresh seafood. As my daughter Rose and I say in our summer annual, Together, the trick is not to think of it as healthy food, rather as yummy food that happens to be good for you. Try these three fabulous summery recipes to set you on the right track for 2019.