We’re three days into the New Year, and many of us are trying everything in our power to stick to the resolutions we’ve made for 2022. Lifestyle shifts, like hitting the gym every day, doing a cleanse, or starting a new fad diet, are high on most lists. And how could they not be? We’re unstoppable in the New Year — or at least for a few weeks, right?

But what happens come February? Diets don’t work, motivation fades, and willpower is limited.

Additionally, that diet or cleanse you go on will set you back more than you think. According to Tribole and Resch, founders of Intuitive Eating, diets have been shown to cause biological damage. Chronic dieting …

• Teaches the body to retain more fat

• Slows the rate of weight loss

• Decreases metabolism

• Increases binges and cravings

• Causes satiety cues to atrophy

• Causes body shape to change

You can learn more about fad diets — what they are, why they don’t work, and what to do instead in my guide, What Are Fad Diets?.

As you may have guessed, I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I am, however, a big fan of sustainable behavior change. Rather than continuing the cycle of yo-yo dieting, use your newfound motivation to make a change for good by rethinking your approach to food and nutrition. A great place to start is by looking at what and how you eat. But before we change what you eat, let’s take a look at how you eat.

You may be wondering why that matters. Or how it could ever take precedence over what you eat. But trust me — it’s more important than you may think. Your body’s ability to digest and metabolize food goes beyond the nutritional breakdown of the food itself; the way you eat impacts your digestion, energy level, weight, and productivity.

So instead of going on a diet and restricting your intake, let’s take a look at your relationship with food — let’s take a look at how you eat. Give it a try. At least for a week.

Week one focus: how you eat

Be aware of your meal. Relax and take some time with it. Use your senses to see, taste, and smell what you’re eating. Finding satisfaction and pleasure in food is okay. Tip: remove yourself from your desk and take a deep breath at the start of your meal.

Share a meal to slow your pace. Conversing with co-workers, friends, and loved ones will naturally slow the rate at which you eat, helping you to be more present with your meal and in tune with your hunger cues.

Take a look at your eating frequency. Ideally, you’re eating every 3 to 4 hours. Small frequent meals help control ghrelin (your hunger hormone), which influences how you eat — mindfully or in a chaotic frenzy. If you want to have control over how you eat, you need to control your ghrelin level. The simplest way to do that is by monitoring your eating frequency. Tip: it may help to set an alarm throughout the day until your hunger cues strengthen and eventually become your reminder.

Week two focus: what you eat

When you’re ready, let the focus widen to incorporate what you eat.

This is where you can begin to evaluate and adjust:

• How balanced your meal is

• Calories and macronutrient profile

• Where you source your food (dining out, prepared, packaged, raw)

• Cooking method used

We’ll dive into what you eat in a future post, but remember, health is a daily practice, not a January reset.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: That sounds great and all, but I’ve tried everything. What do I do if I need more support?

A: I’m glad you asked! The timing may be just right because I’m launching a 21-Day Reset + Renew program with Dani from Alive with Dani. We’ve put together a three week experience designed to help you release unwanted habits while empowering you to feel your best in body and mind. Through daily movement classes, mindfulness tools, and an approachable nutrition and meal plan program, you’ll learn tools to feel energized, grounded, and more like YOU with a strong community by your side.

Q: Why should I focus on how I eat before I focus on what I eat?

A: It’s often harder to change what you eat as that requires education, preparation, sacrifice, and discipline. At the end of the day, we all have to eat. You can slow down and eat mindfully with a salad the same way you can with a cheeseburger. So allowing yourself to focus on how you eat rather than what you’re eating can help you make small shifts in consumption that actually stick. When you have a little success under your belt, it makes those harder changes (like what you eat) seem a little more manageable.

Q: What’s so bad about dieting?

A: Chronic dieting teaches the body to retain more fat, slows the rate of weight loss, decreases metabolism, increases binges and cravings, causes satiety cues to atrophy, and causes body shape to change.

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This post was written by Kelly Powers, MA, RDN. Kelly is a Registered Dietitian and Culinary Nutritionist who takes a holistic approach to nutrition and health. She is a recipe developer with a food blog highlighting whole foods, simple recipes, and her life in San Francisco. Kelly is the creator of Weeknight Dinners, a weekly meal plan program that helps users get back in the kitchen and feed themselves well. Kelly specializes in the Mediterranean diet and sustainable behavior change, helping her clients reach their health goals while improving their relationship with food.