If you are like me, and most other people out there, you would much rather grab a big bowl of ice cream than have a piece of fruit. Don’t worry, all hope is not lost. There is a simple, yet effective technique to help you start making healthier choices when it comes to what you eat (especially when you are home).
Introducing the CAN technique. This 3 step technique has been proven to help people make healthier choices.
- Make the healthier options more CONVENIENT.
I’m sure that nobody else has this problem, but here is something my wife and I tend to do. We will go grocery shopping, but a bunch of strawberries and grapes, put them in the fridge, and a week later complain that they went bad before we got to eat them. Why is that? Well, we like to make sure out fruit is washed first. When you get hungry, who feels like washing fruit when you can open a bag of chips and eat? The solution is simple. As soon as you get the fruit, wash it and put it in some Tupperware. You could even take it a step further and cut up any fruit that you would normally cut before eating. I remember one time, as soon as we got home, we washed and cut the fruit, put it all in a big bowl, and put it on the top shelf in the refrigerator. For a few days, we were constantly snacking on fruit. Why? It was convenient (just like the candy bars right next to the register at most stores)
- Make it ATTRACTIVE.
There was a study done with brownies. They presented brownies to diners on 3 different plates (paper, average, fine china). Not only did brownies on the nicer plates score higher on their taste rating, but the diners were also willing to pay twice as much for them. THEY WERE THE SAME BROWNIES! So, that brings us to the important question……..Why? Because the brownies were more attractive on the nicer plates. I know what you are thinking right now. “I want a brownie.” Sorry about that, but it’s a simple example that really gets the point across. Go eat an apple. Anyways, making your healthy options appear more attractive will increase the likelihood that you will eat them. Remember the bowl of fruit I had? It was an assortment of colorful fruits, nicely cleaned and cut (attractive to the eyes), and was conveniently located. WIN WIN. - Make it NORMAL! The chances of you buying/eating a food that is not viewed as normal are far less than buying something everyone else is getting.
Buying healthy food should not be weird. It is as normal as you make it. How often do you sit down to watch TV at home with a nice bowl of fruit in front of you? Sounds kinda weird, huh? Well, try it a few times. You’ll find it isn’t weird at all, and honestly, most fruit is pretty delicious. Don’t make healthy options the exception, make them them the norm. The more you do this, the easier it will get!
