Making one small change each week

[ToriTheStoryteller]

I can't do overhauls, I don't want to count calories but I recognise that I'm living in a way that isn't making me feel very happy or healthy.

So, I'm going to make one change starting today, then add in another next week, and so on. By the end of the year I'm hoping that will ads up to a significant change for the better in how I feel, look and live.

Anyone else up for a more gentle alternative to massive resolutions? I'll update each week anyway even if no-one replies, so I record what I've done😂.

Week 1: No phone use after 8pm. I'm hoping that will improve my sleep, it's got out of hand in the last few months.

Can anyone recommend a nice tasting Green tea?

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vmbm?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Here is a nice podcast about green tea you might like.

It's so great to see all the steps everyone is taking, there are lots of ideas I might steal (but I don't think green tea is one unfortunately, I can't get past how much I hate the smell!)

Been a bit shit on my own habits and completely forgot to make a new one this week as life has gone tits up since last week. BUT I'm back on the wagon now, not going to stress or try to add a new habit for this week, I'll just concentrate on the current ones, try to de-stress over the weekend and think of something new for next week. 🙂

I actually enjoy a green tea now, I just forced it down at first, but now I find it quite refreshing!
I have the one with jasmine in it.

And I gave up on dropping the frothy coffees. Life’s too short!

I agree @DustyLee123 I hated green tea but it's fine now. I just pushed through a bit like you have to do with olives initially.

I've had a relapse over the past week or so. It's half term this week so have struggled to keep up good habits or embed any new ones so have agreed to give myself the week off and start afresh next week without giving myself a hard time about it.

Have been cleaning and decluttering while I've had a few days off work and have a charity shop run to do tomorrow which will help with day to day stuff moving forward so all is not lost.

Ive struggled with the apple and orange every day, sometimes it just doesn’t happen, but that’s ok, I just pick it up again another day.

What a lovely idea! I am always an all-or-nothing girl so tend to throw myself into things then get discouraged (by lunchtime).

This week I plan to;

• eat a healthy breakfast. I am planning for natural yoghurt, fruit, a few nuts and a boiled egg. I have two bananas that need eating up and some frozen berries I can cook.

Not sure how I've only just seen this thread (considering how many hours a day I spend on Mumsnet!). What a great idea!!

I have some healthy habits in place already but the cutting down on phone time is on my list to do. I tend to have no phone after 10 but might try bringing that forward to 9.30. My problem though is wasting hours early evening on it when there are plenty of other things I could and should be doing.

I am a big frothy coffee fan and don't think I could give them up! I've been cutting down on sweet things for just over a week now. Left to my own devices I can eat far too many calories in cake, biscuits etc.

I might get back on the green tea after many years off it. One thing I read is that you shouldn't leave the bag in for longer than it says on the box - that's what makes it taste really bitter. Will get some later I think.

Hi all. Lovely to see more of you joining and I'm getting ideas for future weeks too. Lots of green tea aficionados so maybe I need to cave and give it a go.😃

I managed to get my new habits back in check at the end of last week which I'm really pleased about. In previous years I might have just given up but seeing a new post pop up on this thread made me feel more accountable to start working on habits that I know were making me feel better.

So Week 8: this is quite a big one for me and it's no afternoon snacking. I love healthy meals but the post-lunch dip can end up with crisps...then cake....then biscuits. It's definitely an all or nothing situation, so that means it needs to be "nothing" 😂

Hello!

I did not manage to have my planned for breakfasts of yoghurt and fruit- I think i need more protein because it seemed to play havoc with my blood sugar levels (which can be a bit dodgy although I recently had a test for diabetes and was fine apparently).

So this week i plan to try and work out what a good and healthy breakfast for me is as building on the last one small change.

But i also want to really up my exercise. No specific plans as yet- just looking for and taking advantage of opportunities.

Green tea.... hmmm..... my family all love it but I can't quite manage it yet...

I need some help with this

For the green tea I’d suggest only leaving the bag in for a maximum of 2 minutes to start.

@WinterLobelia you could try a savoury breakfast like omelettes with vegetables. I think that's what dr Michael Moseley says he eats or someone else dr ish from a podcast.

@WinterLobelia I had a vegan recipe book from the library last week that had recipes for savoury porridge, sort of like a risotto but with oats instead of rice. Sounded really tasty without the sugar of fruity porridge.

What do you want to try, broken down in weekly habits that are as tiny as you want them to be?

You could choose something really simple to start, like using a hand cream every night so you have a relaxing fragrance. Or add in one piece of fruit with lunch?

Thank you! I shall experiment. I like the sound of eggs and savoury porridge!

@WinterLobelia realised the book is still waiting to be returned. Here are the savoury porridge recipes.

My aim is to take my medication every day. I don't know why I find it so hard to do. It's just a few thyroid tablets but I'm struggling to be consistent.

Thanks @ToriTheStoryteller ! I like the look of the carrot and spinach one very much! That;s very much my sort of thing.

Thanks to everyone for all the inspiration.

My small step is to remember to take Vit D supplement.

It is advised for everyone in the UK and can help stave off auto immune problems. I know the NHS says not strictly necessary from Mar/April onwards but I'm going to keep taking. Not sure how much sunlight I get all rugged up in winter coat/gloves/hat? I do try to walk at least 30 mins outside each day.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/

And get to sleep by half 9 or 10pm if I can (I need minimum 10 hrs sleep, as I have chronic fatigue).

Michael Mosely podcast on getting an early night - its when as well as how much apparently. I have got into bad habit of going to bed between 11 and 12 and research says going between 10 and 11pm can have a really big impact on heart health!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001w86r

Hello. I have been doing this since the beginning of the year. Nice to get some inspiration here! My habits so far are:

• big glass of water before bed and on waking
• no biscuits with tea 😥This was really hard but I couldn't stop at one biscuit so it had to go.
• no alcohol at home (ok on nights out!)
• eat breakfast at home. I was having a pastry and coffee out far too often!

I'm hoping that by doing these I can stop the weight gain!

@Alltheyearround Micheal Mosley does an episode on vitamin d as well

@Cappuccinfortwo good luck with your goals!

It was seeing this thread pop up that reminded me to take my meds that I said was going to be my small change

This is such a good idea, OP. I wish I'd started when you did, but I'll aim to start from next week. I need a real overhaul health wise - I'm post menopause and overweight.