The most common question I hear is I want to eat healthier, but I don't know where to start
I used to eat a typical Western diet
Lots of unhealthy stuff for 35 years of my life
And then I transitioned to pretty much the healthiest diet that science can deliver anybody can do the same
so I'll try to describe the process step by step so that you can do it if you want to of course you don't have
To do everything I did. Maybe you just want to apply some of the changes and not others
That's totally up to you. This process is completely flexible. So let's get started with level one a great first step is fruit
Fruit is healthy duh. Everybody knows that right?
Bear with me there's a lot more to it
I'm gonna give you all the specifics in a second which fruit and how much but first
Why should this be our first step out of everything else?
why not more broccoli or
Less sugar or any of the thousands of things we can do
There's a couple reasons why I think more fruit is an ideal first step
We all know fruit's healthy but few understand just how healthy it really is. not eating enough fruit is the number one dietary risk
factor for disease in the US
So if we're going to fix things why not start there? second reason, it's a relatively easy step. fruit's delicious
so it's not a big ask. the third reason is momentum. the most important thing when it comes to changing habits is not
Making the change itself. It's sticking with it
There's no point eating super healthy for like a week and then falling off the wagon in the long run. It's meaningless
So we want to take solid steps that are sustainable in the long run for years, decades,
Maybe your entire life. steps that we can build on. never
Underestimate the power of a small change they add up and before you know it you've done a 180 but for that to work each
Step needs to stick. If you go to a financial advisor a lot of them will recommend starting by paying off your smallest debt
Why the smallest? shouldn't you start with the biggest one? The one that has the most interest? theoretically
Yes
But starting with the smallest one builds your confidence that you can get something done because you start to see actual
Progress you can actually check it off your checklist and you start to believe that you can get things done
and that creates momentum and that kind of psychological tool is
critical when it comes to changing a habit
same logic with food we start with something small that most people can do and stick with and
We build from there even if eating more fruit is kind of an obvious step
It's an ideal solid foundation for what's coming next. Alright, which fruit are we going for? Whatever you prefer
Remember the idea is to get the ball rolling if you love mangoes then mangoes it is for you if you love grapes make it
Grapes if strawberries are your jam then strawberries it is the idea is to achieve consistency
Alright and how much? I recommend you just start with one serving a day that's on top of what you already eat
So one extra serving of fruit if it's a big fruit like an apple or a banana or an orange
That's one extra piece if it's something smaller, like grapes or strawberries then a handful or a small bowl
Why just one serving if it's healthy why not get three or four?
Because we want the habit to stick. slow and steady wins this race you're shooting for a small change that you can maintain
Day after day after day not a massive change you drop after like a week
what if you already eat a ton of fruit? well chances are you can add one more and still see some additional benefit and
Here's some evidence
This study found that the more fruit people ate the lower their risk of cardiovascular disease up to about 850 grams
That's 2 pounds of fruit or approximately 6 servings. So 6 apples are 6 bananas in one day
That's a lot
If you're already eating this much fruit, then you're ready for step 2
But most people are definitely not the USDA recommends one and a half to two servings a day
Which is not a lot it only puts you here and yet how many people in the US eat that much?
12%. clearly we have a long way to go Americans aren't going anywhere near fruit. Unless of course, it's this one. okay
What if you already eat six servings a day?
First of all Congrats you're in a very small minority one thing you can do is start looking at variety
Maybe you eat the same three or four fruits over and over for most people it's usually apple orange banana
Rinse and repeat. throw in some raspberries or a pineapple or try a persimmon get adventurous when it comes to food and health
It's almost always a good move to mix things up. And how are we supposed to have our fruit. again,
however
You prefer because the idea is to enjoy it so that it's easier to stick with
But here are some ideas: on your cereal, for breakfast, for dessert
As a snack between meals or in a delicious smoothie. any of those work great, but I suggest you pick one
Whichever you prefer and stick with it day after day
So it'll reinforce the habit. on the next video in the series we'll go over step 2
In the meantime, I suggest you do this for about a week or two until the habit sticks until becomes second nature
so enjoy that delicious extra piece of fruit for a dessert or snack or whatever fits your lifestyle and
Definitely pat yourself on the back for taking this first step towards eating healthier and I'll see you on the next one