Making and Breaking Habits

Do you ever wonder how many habits you have made and broken in your life? It's in our nature to cling to the familiar – we are wired to move towards a more rhythmic way of life, like the magnetism of a catchy song or a perfectly paced novel. We might like to think we are whimsical and spontaneous all the time, perhaps in an attempt to make ourselves seem more interesting and attractive, but we all have our routines and we all fall into habits.

Most of the time I am unaware of my utter compliance with the routines I follow day to day, but it does crop up now and again. A morning without my phone, an uninterrupted encounter with nature, an inspiring film, a conversation with my niece or an old lady at church - they cause me to question why I do mostly the same things every day. We can blame other factors for lots of things in life, but when it comes to our habits, routines and happiness – these are things we have some power over.

A colleague shared an article with me last week about making healthy habits in your twenties. The idea, according to the NY Times, is that the patterns you establish right now will "impact your health, productivity, financial security and happiness for decades".

At work we talk a lot about exercise while scooping handfuls of custard creams out of the biscuit jar. This is normal for anyone who works in an office, (which, by the way, is a perfectly legitimate career path and is not included in the starter pack for the boring millennial who decided to work in marketing), but I haven't been to the gym in nearly 8 months, despite a deep desire to do so. Why? I've fallen out of the habit, and while that was so easy to do, getting back into it is not.

Reading that article, however, helped me figure out a way to do get back into the habit of going to the gym. It was the trigger I needed. I like the gym, I like working out, I like that sense of achievement when I finish a class or a good run, I like ticking it off 'worked out' in my bullet journal habit tracker, I like how good I feel afterwards, I like how it keeps me in shape. But I don't like the change of routine, I don't like getting up early, I don't like joining new gyms, I don't like being the most out of shape person in class, I don't like being the new person and everyone somehow knowing it.

But the pros outweigh the cons, and when I gave myself a reward to look forward to, I had another reason to kickstart that habit again. I didn't want to miss out on fresh bread from Bakesmiths, toasted and smothered in peanut butter and jam! So I put all the cons of going back to the gym out of my mind and put all of my effort into focusing on the reward. It worked.

You might hate peanut butter and jam, cringe when people give you compliments, have no inclination to join a gym, but maybe there is another habit you want to break, or pick up again, because you know the long-term gratification is better than the instant. Naturally, we are lazy. But there is no time like the present and no one but you who can make the change. Don't put it off til tomorrow. Choose your path, live mindfully, and eat as many biscuits are you want.

The Food Hospital

I never watched the TV programme of The Food Hospital on Channel 4, but I love to flick through the book every now and again. There's something therapeutic about that – food and reading combined. It's evokes a wonderful 'can-do' feeling inside.

I bought The Food Hospital two years ago after a particularly insufferable Christmas period. My body decided to behave in the most irrational way. I felt sick, had headaches and stomach cramps. I just felt awful. It upset me because I knew it was down to my diet, but I didn't have a clue where to start with specific go-to foods for my condition (which is Crohn's disease, in case you were wondering). 

My sister recommended this book because she had seen the TV show, and I found it in my local Waterstone's for just under £10. It's a fantastic book filled with information and recipe ideas catered to particular conditions you might not even think diet is related to.

The contents page clearly lays out what's in the book in appropriate categories. Gut Feeling covers topics such as IBS, Crohn's disease and constipation. On The Outside looks at issues like cellulite, acne and nail problems, Mind Matters covers all things brain, from stress and insomnia to anxiety and depression. Just For The Girls offers tips on how to deal with horribly heavy periods, the hellish sting of cystitis and the dreaded thrush. The Food Hospital goes right into the nitty-gritty stuff that everyone needs to know about but is too scared to ask, and was never taught about in school.

After a short but sweet introduction, there is a well being quiz which gives you a rough idea of where you are health-wise and what you should be aiming for with your diet and lifestyle. I find things like this motivating. I have always loved quizzes and surveys. When I was little they were my favourite part of a magazine. I loved answering questions to find out which celebrity I was like the most. There's something about being likened to something, and slotted into a category which is comforting and makes you feel OK. I don't know why people oppose it so much in other contexts.

Each condition has a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid, as well as a case study and a recipe of a dish or snack designed to help ease symptoms of the illness. The recipe linked with Crohn's disease is one of my all time favourite dishes – Pad Thai!

When I was suffering with depression I learnt a lot about how oily fish, dark chocolate and certain types of nuts helped – and they really do help. Having a recipe like the one pictured above is a lifeline if I am ever having a particularly bad day and need a boost. It may sound silly but if you have ever experienced it you will know just how much diet can affect the way you feel. Medication and talking have their parts to play, but diet is another important factor.

Flush out that pesky UTI with a glass of homemade cranberry juice. Tart, but effective, and it's much better for you than the stuff you get from the supermarket.

Kedgeree! Another dish I love, and one that's good for asthma – who knew?

There is such a vast range of recipes listed in the book, and they all look fantastic. There's something about the layout of everything as well – the font, the colours and the columns – it all looks so neat and nice and trustworthy.

Fortunately, if you're like me and don't know what a lot of words mean (and my job is all to do with words... yeah), there is a handy glossary of terms at the back of the book so you can refer to it whenever you come across something foreign looking, like, phytonutrient (which is, apparently, a nutrient found in a plant, like beta-carotene).

You can buy The Food Hospital here for £10 (and free P&P). I would highly recommend the book if you are looking for something specific or if you just want to improve your diet. It's not a heavy read, and you can easily leave it and come back to it just like any other recipe book. Also, it's a nice book just to have. Like I said, reading and food are two of my favourite things and the two combined make for a perfect half hour snuggled up on the sofa.

Healthy Granola Bars

After four weeks of free sweets and biscuits on my desk at work, I finally decided to pack some kind of healthy snack into my lunch box and get back on track with the healthy eating. As much as I love mint humbugs and Maryland cookies, they do not love me, and I definitely prefer the way I feel without a whole load of sugar inside of me. 

Praise the Lord for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! He has the best ideas, including this ketchup curry, these baked eggs and these granola bars — a recipe I have adapted to make even more healthy than it is already. A couple of years ago I made the original recipe, and the bars were great, but I was feeling adventurous so I added and took away a few ingredients, and the end result wasn't half bad.

Ok, they're a littttttle bit crumbly, but crumbly and granola kind of go hand in hand. Plus, it's what's on the INSIDE that counts. And that's a lot of good stuff. I substituted some of the butter for coconut oil — my latest love, and omitted the sugar entirely, because the honey and dried fruit make it sweet enough for me. The nuts, seeds and oats make these granola bars a really nutritious snack which will give me that much needed boost of energy when I'm starting to feel sleepy at work. I used the left over crumbs to eat with my cereal in the morning and in natural set yoghurt in the evening.

Recipe for Healthy Granola Bars

Ingredients

• 200g oats (not jumbo)
• 125g no added sugar peanut butter
• 150g mixed dried fruit — I used apricots, raisins and morello cherries
• 150g mixed seeds and nuts — I used the omega seed mix from Holland & Barret and a mixture of chopped almonds and pecans
• Grated zest of one orange
• Grated zest of one lemon
• One tsp vanilla 
• 75g butter
• 50g coconut oil
• 75g honey

 

This is my favourite no-added-sugar peanut butter. It comes in a few varieties and the one I like best is the crunchy original. It's got a great taste, texture and I have been known to eat this straight from the jar.

Method:

1. Put the oven on at 160°C and grease and line a 20cm baking tray. Put the butter, coconut oil, peanut butter, honey, vanilla and grated citrus zests in a large saucepan and let it all melt on a low heat, stirring from time to time.

2. Add the oats, dried fruit, nuts and seeds and stir everything together, then spoon the mixture onto your tray and spread out, pressing down with the back of the spoon so that the surface is smooth (ish).

3. Stick it in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until it's golden brown and the house is smelling wonderful.

4. Hugh says it's important to let it cool in the tin before cutting it up, so I went away and distracted myself with some Orange is the New Black (omg — new favourite show) and came back when it was well and truly cooled!

I told you they were crumbly. But still, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't. 

I am going to try and make these more often because they are SO good and they curb my sugar cravings like no other. You can follow the original recipe if you don't care about the added sugar because they are still super healthy and yummy, and, err, the pictures on the original recipe look a lot better than the ones I made... heh.

Loving: The Pre-Christmas 'Detox'

December and detox are two words that just don't go together. Ever. Except for this year, because it's OK - it's only for two weeks. I can still enjoy Christmas. And, the strangest thing of all is that I am loving it.

Why?

It has come to my attention recently just how disgusting I have been feeling, on the inside and out. My skin is terrible, truly. If you read my post about make up for problem skin then you will know I already suffer with acne and it's a pain in the bloomin' bum, I tell you. It does tend to get worse during the winter but this year more aggressively so, and it's been getting me down. I've been to see my doctor who kindly prescribed me antibiotics and cream to wear at night as it is mainly painful under the skin problems I am having, but I wanted to improve my diet to see if it makes a difference.

I have also been feeling really sluggish and bloated as of late. It may be because I haven't been exercising as much (it's winter and I have no one to go running with - can anyone really blame me?) but I have been eating a lot of junk too, and it's time to snap out of it before I over-indulge and ruin Christmas.

N.B. I am not trying to lose weight.

Source

When?

It was my sister's idea to stop eating sweets up until Christmas about a week ago, and we both agreed to start straight away, with the exception of opening our chocolate advent calendars every day. One day into it and we had both failed, miserably. A week later, I was complaining to my mum about how rubbish I felt and she suggested the 'detox' again. She encouraged me to do it as it's only for two weeks. I thought to myself, I can do it, and I genuinely think that was my problem before - not having a realistic goal to reach.

In the past I have tried to cut out junk but because I was doing it indefinitely, I found it impossible. Sometimes, to train your body to eat treats in moderation, you must eliminate it entirely from your diet for a short while and then reintroduce it. I found this difficult to do alone, but my mum is an excellent motivator and we have both succeeded for two days now, and I am so proud of us both.

The 'Detox'

I call it a detox, but really, we have only eliminated sweet, sugary foods and drinks from our diets until Christmas Eve. My mum doesn't eat very much rubbish anyway, but I love chocolate, and biscuits, and cake... I have a horribly sweet tooth, I may have a problem. Two days without any of it is a real milestone for me in itself, which is ridiculous, but it's such an achievement for me, and by the end of the two weeks, I know how happy I will be with myself for having the will power and strength to see it through.

Breakfast day 1: glass of water, green tea and porridge with raisins.

I am not cutting out fat or carbohydrates from my diet - I am not trying to lose weight. I am just eliminating the sugary treats that my body does not need, as well as drinking more water and green tea to try and clear up my skin and flush out any rubbish on the inside. 

Sticking to it

I thought it would be really difficult avoiding my favourite sweet treats but knowing I have promised my mum makes me more motivated not to give in. It's all too easy to let yourself down when it comes to exercise and healthy eating, but not when you have made a promise to someone else.

The Benefits

 

I love waking up in the morning and having a flat stomach because I haven't been eating junk. For three days now I have woken up without feeling bloated and disgusting. I love how I know that everything I am eating is good for me and I am getting all of my five a day and drinking lots of water and green tea, and I love how happy it is making me. Happiness is a feeling, a state of being that I am all too conscious about not taking for granted. It is a wonderful gift to be happy, and to feel it through self-motivation and self-control is fantastic.

Reaching a goal creates an amazing sense of achievement and self-worth, and it sounds self-indulgent, but sometimes we need that, whatever the goal is. 

Source

In no way am I suggesting this 'detox' is what everyone should be doing two weeks before Christmas, because not everyone will want to, or need to, and that's fine - I'm no expert, in fact, I don't know much about nutrition at all. This is more about reaching personal goals and the positive physical and mental effects of cutting out unnecessary foods, habits or activities in our lives. I think it will make me appreciate Christmas even more, and make all my favourite sweet treats taste even better. Is there a 'detox' you have thought about doing? I'm thinking of doing a social media detox, or a TV detox. It can be anything you find yourself over-indulging in, and it's a great way to re-evaluate the way you live your life.