How To Be More Consistent with Heart-Healthy Eating

If you’ve committed to eating more veggies, fish, and beans, but then slipped back into old habits, you’re not alone!

Researchers found that the percentage of people in a cardiac rehab program whose eating habits were rated “good” jumped from 30% before to 91% during the program, but then dropped to 49% a year later. Three years after the program it was down to 42%.

Why is it so hard to stay on track?

I don’t t think it’s motivation or commitment. It’s not knowledge either. Even if you know what you “should” do, actually doing it consistently is another matter. Among the most common reasons (with relevant blog posts I’ve written):

1. Fear doesn’t last. A cardiac event or related diagnosis is frightening, and fear is a powerful motivator. Thankfully for most people, the fear fades away. But once it’s gone, you’ll need something else to motivate you. (Recommitting to Heart Healthy Eating? Start Here.)
2. There isn’t enough time once you return to your busy life. Planning, shopping, and preparing healthier food does take time, and you probably have many other responsibilities. (10 Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks I Learned Writing a 30-Minute Heart-Healthy Cookbook)
3. The food might not have as much flavour. Preferring tasty, satisfying food is only natural. After eating the same way possibly for decades, you may find it hard to adjust to new foods and flavours. Tofu? Quinoa? No thanks. (Watching your sodium? 5 surprising ways to boost flavour.)
4. You may need to learn to cook a new way. If you don’t, you’ll end up with a lack of variety, if you don’t have many dishes in your repertoire.
5. You may feel exhausted. Fatigue can be a bigger problem for some people after a heart event than they expect, so you may lack the energy to cook, day after day. (What to cook when you don’t feel like cooking)
6. Restaurant and prepared food gives you few heart-healthier options, and eating out is a big part of our culture. It’s how we connect and socialize.
7. Your family may not be on board. You want to eat fish, they want steak. You want to cook, they want takeout. Eating (and living generally) for better heart health is like being a fish swimming upstream! (How to make Heart-Healthy Meals Your Whole Family (might) Eat)
8. Many heart-healthier foods are expensive, and it’s likely to get worse. (Guides to budget-friendly fruit and vegetables, whole grains and proteins, and nuts and seeds.)
9. Unnecessary restrictions. Sometimes people take heart-healthy eating to an unsustainable extreme. Declaring “No sugar, no salt, no fat, no matter what,” is understandable after a health scare, but a moderate approach may work better in the long run. 
10. Emotional eating is another commonly-cited challenge. Eating to relieve stress or other difficult emotions isn’t necessarily a problem. There are worse ways to cope! But if it’s your only stress management tactic, it may start to affect your health. (Are You Craving All the Carbs?)

So what can you do about it?

First of all, give yourself so much grace. Self-compassion, treating yourself like you would treat a friend, is actually associated with greater motivation to make needed changes in your life, among many other benefits. Considering all of these barriers, I bet you’re doing great.

Second, decide which of the challenges listed above is getting in your way right now. (Or is it something else?) Try to address one problem at a time. Are these problems we can solve? Absolutely!

Brainstorm ways to address the problem. Some will work, some won’t. Don’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board.

Reach out for help if you can. A loved one or health professional might be more objective. If you can access cardiac rehab services, is there a nurse, dietitian, or counsellor you can work with? Someone connected to your doctor’s office? It can’t hurt to ask. Just having an appointment in your calendar will keep it top of mind.

Work with a dietitian

Dietitians aren’t just experts in food and health. We also study counselling skills and how best to support people in changing habits.

But you already met with a dietitian? You took a class in cardiac rehab and it didn’t help?

Maybe it wasn’t enough. Surprisingly, a 2017 report found that working with a dietitian for less than six hours “generally showed no benefit”!

Wait, what?

Yes, you read that right. They found that people who worked with a dietitian for at least 6 hours were more likely to see an improvement in cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure and LDL cholesterol.

In fact, “…dose-response effects were evident, with increasing intervention intensity associated with larger improvements.”

Changing lifelong eating habits means working through the barriers above and probably more. It takes time!

How I can support you

If you live in Alberta, we can look at your unique situation and I can help you make a plan.

But if not, you can start by signing up for my weekly(ish) newsletter, for a regular dose of inspiration in your inbox.

To connect with me and others on the path to heart-healthier eating, you can join my free “Sweet Spot Heart-Healthy Cooking Club” Facebook group, where friendly experienced heart-healthy cooks share ideas, support newcomers, and have fun.  

If you’re looking for even more support, you can join my Sweet Spot Kitchen program, where I take you step by step through four milestones along the way to heart-healthier eating: Knowledge, Meal Planning, Recipes / Meal Ideas, and Behaviour Change. Nail each of these and you’ll have many of the tools you need. I also host monthly workshops and office hours for members.

Change means tackling the barriers above, experimenting in the kitchen, and persevering. Working with health professionals and surrounding yourself with others who have similar goals will help. It takes time, but it’s doable!