Get better eating habits with the power of 1 tiny change right in front of you

Your eating environment (or any environment) is more important than willpower. Find out how to fix your eating environment and your eating habits with one tiny change.

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I have finally killed my obsessive email-checking habit!

And what a change: I’m more productive. I enjoy my work more. And I’m less crabby!

After struggling for years (literally), I made one simple change, and BOOM – I’m done with this time-wasting habit!

What was this stroke of genius?

I moved my mail icon from the middle of the dock on my laptop to the far left side, where it’s visible only in my peripheral vision.

That’s it. I made a tiny change in my environment, and the effects are huge.

Now when I mindlessly drag my cursor to the middle of the dock, I stop short. Instead of the mail icon, I see Contacts, iMovie, and Evernote. Email checking averted. No distraction. I throw my arms in a victory pose and get back to work.

How could a simple hack wrapped up in 5 seconds fix a problem that, over the years, poached hundreds of hours of productivity?

The answer is so obvious

– it’s nuts I didn’t figure it out ages ago

The environment rules

Once I removed the ability to blindly check email, I stopped. The part that makes me want to kick myself in the tush instead of pat myself on the back is that I know this stuff. I teach this stuff.

My expertise isn’t productivity or time management; it’s food, nutrition, and health. But it all works similarly.

More than discipline or lack of discipline, our environment dictates what and how much we eat. Because the environment rules.

I’m sure I’ve avoided millions of calories and gobs of extra pounds by keeping sweets out of my sight. Not out of the house, just out of sight.

And I certainly never keep them at eye level.

• I put my dark chocolate-covered almonds and all things dark chocolate in the cabinet above my refrigerator. Even with high heels, I can’t reach my treat without dragging a stool from the other end of the kitchen.
• I tuck away other temptations – like Wonderful Salt and Vinegar Pistachios or Trader Joe’s Dried Soft and Juicy Mandarins with a delightfully thick coat of sugar – into a closed cupboard.
• Fresh baked goods go straight into the freezer or get stashed in an area of my dining room that gets few visitors other than dust bunnies.

Your eating environment is fixable

-and same for your exercise environment

I’m not into torturing myself, so my favorite strategy to resist temptation is simply to remove it from the spotlight.

Motivation comes and goes, and willpower is unreliable. The environment, with an abundance of food and too many opportunities to be inactive – is stacked against us.

If I left hot-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies on my busy kitchen counter, I’d eat many more in the hours after baking them than if I relegated them to cool out of sight in the dining room, where there’s less activity.

Without cookies in sight or arm’s reach, I readily reach for radishes, jicama, and hummus for a snack. I feel healthier. I am healthier, and my healthier habits move along, gaining momentum.

When I rely on my eating environment instead of counting on uncountable willpower, I make easy my best friend.

And it’s not just me.

She fixed her exercise and lunch problems with 1 simple change

A former client craved morning exercise because being active set her day off right and led to a calmer morning and a more mindful and healthful lunch. But she’d been struggling to get out of bed on time. After weeks of failing to will her sleepy-eyed self out of bed, she came up with a perfect solution:

She stopped watching TV on her comfy couch where she regularly fell asleep.

Here’s how that 1 thing in her environment changed the way her mornings played out.

She watched nighttime TV in a place not cushy enough to goad her to sleep, prompting her to get into bed on time and sleep more soundly. And that led to turning off the alarm and dressing for the gym instead of hitting the snooze button and burying her head under the pillow. And in turn, that led to a calmer morning and a more wholesome lunch she enjoyed with her full attention.

Change 1 thing in your eating environment

If I stored chocolate in easy reach, my entire diet over the last 3 decades would be very different. A friend told me her diet improved when she moved her headphones to her bedside table. After doing that, she meditated every morning before getting out of bed, and she credited her solid morning routine to a better day, a healthier diet, and steadier blood sugar levels.

Simple Changes = Big Difference

By the way, here are 5 steps to develop a morning routine.

What is a one-time change or decision that will improve your eating and exercise habits in a big way?

• set a bedtime
• use smaller dishes
• rearrange your pantry or refrigerator
• fill a pretty fruit bowl
• make room in the pantry so no food is on the counter (except a bowl of fruit)
• banish the candy dish
• make space to use your home exercise equipment
• buy comfortable walking shoes

Start a new routine

What can you start doing that – with habitual practice – will improve your physical or emotional health? Some ideas:

• plan your meals
• prep salad vegetables after grocery shopping
• pre-portion your treats
• pack your lunch
• eat a salad with dinner
• take a 5-minute break between chores or work projects

Simple changes in your health habits collect more good habits, bringing you life-changing rewards. So be on the lookout for your next best move. You can grab other readers’ ideas in this post about changing your eating habits.

And now, I am patting myself on the back. I made it through this entire blog post without mindlessly checking my email once. I’ve never done that before!

If you’re struggling with your eating habits, you might be making 1 of these super common mistakes.

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Stop making these 5 common mistakes and start rocking your health goals.