Changing lifestyle habits is not easy for anyone. Healthcare professionals, whose job is to help their patients do so, are definitely no exception to the rule.
It is in this article that the expression “Practice what you preach” takes on its full meaning. Indeed, I challenged myself to change one of my eating habits, as a registered dietitian.
The challenge
Drinking enough water has always been difficult for me, being completely satisfied with only two or three glasses of water a day. Knowing that my needs are about 2.5 L of fluids per day, and that I was not reaching more than a quarter of this goal, it was imperative for me to work on this aspect of my diet. As I would have done for one of my patients, I gave myself a goal:
-Drink, at least, 1.2 L of water per day, within a week.
But why 1.2 L if I have to drink more than double? Although this goal is not enough to meet my fluid needs, it is realistic and achievable. I could indeed have set a higher target, but this would increase the chances of failure, especially considering my starting point. I have to give myself a chance to succeed!
My progress
The first day was synonymous with preparation. My strategy was to pull a 1.2 L bottle of water from the back of my kitchen cupboard, wash it, and refill it. This tactic not only allows me to follow my progress visually during the day, but also to be able to accomplish my objective, no matter where I am.
The preparation seems to have paid off at the beginning of the week: my goal was reached during the first three days of the challenge! The second day, I even managed to exceed my target of 1.2 L of water per day, by filling my bottle a second time around supper time.
However, things took a turn for the worse halfway through the week. My fourth day was much less structured than the previous three. I was no longer in front of my computer with a reminder displayed on the screen. Despite my efforts, it was a spontaneous outing to the restaurant that made me forget my objective. The next two days, as unstructured as the last, were also not successful. Indeed, being outside the house, it was difficult for me to have my water bottle by my side. Even after drinking during the day, without my famous bottle, I could not follow my progress and measure if my goal was reached or not.
However, I did not let these failures affect my last day of the challenge: I filled my water bottle once more, and finished it a few hours later, to end the week well.
Back to my goal
In short, I reached my goal four days out of seven. Let’s see what allowed me to reach it for more than half the days, but no more.
My successes
I did well to set myself a goal of 1.2L per day, rather than aiming for double. Indeed, a higher goal would surely have earned me a 0/7, and would not have encouraged me to continue the habit. Setting myself a strategy from the start has also been fruitful, allowing me to measure my progress every day.
My difficulties
Despite my preparation, I was still confused by the unexpected, especially when I was outside the house. Although I thought that preparing myself a bottle of water would have been enough to achieve my goal despite my travels, it was not the case. I failed to come up with alternate strategies, not only when faced with a challenge, but also at the very beginning of the week. Although I was prepared to overcome water fatigue, having found tastier alternatives, I didn’t think about the other possible pitfalls.
In short, this little experiment shows that even a goal as simple as drinking more water, a habit that is free and easy to work on, presents challenges. This is why setting goals that are achievable and preparing a solid action plan that prepares us to overcome the pitfalls with the help of a registered dietitian is essential to changing your lifestyle habits in a sustainable way. These healthcare professionals understand the difficulty of changing their lifestyle habits, as my experience clearly demonstrates, and are there to take stock of the successes and difficulties encountered and to help you adjust the objectives during your appointments and follow-up, always without judgement.
Do you also want to take on the challenge of changing your lifestyle? Make an appointment with me, to do it the right way!
-
Jasmine Brousseau
Registered Dietitian
-
Jasmine Brousseau
Registered Dietitian (Virtual)