How many times have you decided it was time to start eating healthier?
Maybe after a vacation, a holiday, a disappointing doctor’s appointment or simply realizing that some of your better habits had quietly disappeared.
You know the routine.
Find some new recipes. Make a shopping list. Clean out the pantry. Promise yourself that this time you’ll stick with it.
And for a while, things go pretty well.
Until they don’t.
Maybe you travel, have company, eat out more often or just get tired of figuring out what’s for dinner every night.
And suddenly you’re wondering how you ended up back where you started.
Sound familiar?
Maybe the problem isn’t your motivation
I’ve worked with people for years who know a great deal about healthy eating. Some could probably teach a class on the benefits of a whole food plant-based diet.
Yet knowing what to eat and making it work in everyday life are two very different things.
Especially after 50.
We have years of habits behind us, people we share meals with, health concerns we didn’t have when we were younger and schedules that don’t always cooperate.
And let’s face it, even retirement doesn’t necessarily mean we have more time.
So when someone tells me they’ve tried to eat healthier before but couldn’t stick with it, I’m less interested in what went wrong than in what we can learn from it.
Was the plan too complicated?
Did it require more cooking than they realistically wanted to do?
Were they trying to change too many things at once?
Or did they simply need more support?
Those answers tell me a lot more than just another promise to try harder.
Start with what your body is telling you
Before you make another long list of things to change, consider starting with a few questions.
- How is your energy throughout the day?
- Are you comfortable after meals, or are you dealing with bloating and digestive problems?
- Do you find yourself looking for something to snack on an hour after eating?
- Are your joints bothering you more than usual?
- And when does eating the way you want to eat seem easiest? When does it become a struggle?
These are all clues.
Our food is either making us sick or helping our bodies heal. Learning to recognize how our everyday choices affect us can help us decide what deserves our attention.
That doesn’t mean every symptom is caused by food or that you’ll see dramatic changes overnight.
It means paying attention instead of guessing.
Make a few changes you can actually live with
Once you have a better idea of what you’d like to improve, choose a place to begin.
Maybe that means adding beans and greens to meals you already enjoy.
Preparing a couple of simple meals ahead of time so you have something healthy waiting when you’re tired.
Or figuring out what to order at your favorite restaurant before you’re sitting there hungry, staring at the menu.
Small changes? Yes.
But they’re also opportunities to learn what works for you.
I often remind people that healthy eating has to fit into your life, not the other way around.
That’s why I spend as much time teaching strategies as I do teaching recipes.
Knowing how to prepare a healthy meal is important. Knowing what to do when you don’t have the time, ingredients or enthusiasm to prepare it is just as important.
What if you approached your next restart differently?
Instead of trying to change everything on any given Monday, what if you spent a few days focusing on one thing?
Notice how you feel.
Make a couple of meaningful food changes.
Pay attention to what makes them easier or harder.
Then decide what to keep doing.
You might be surprised by what you learn.
And if you’ve tried before, don’t discount that experience. You’ve already collected some useful information about what works in your life and what doesn’t.
Put it to work.
Because after 50, we have too much living left to do to keep starting over with the same plans that didn’t work the last time.
A better restart doesn’t begin with trying harder. It begins with understanding what you need to do differently.
