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Our environment plays a huge role in our habits. Have you ever gone out with friends vowing to not have alcohol and when everyone else was letting the drinks flow, you gave in? Or maybe you were determined to “get back on track” with your nutrition and exercise but after a night of binge watching Netflix you decide to sleep in and succumb to ordering Uber Eats again because you don’t have anything in the house for dinner and you’re too tired to think about it after a long day of work and staying up late the night before.
The people we surround ourselves with and where we hang out, our planning, or lack thereof, what food we bring into our house, all contribute to the ease OR difficulty of us reaching our goals…
What Does It Mean to Prime Your Environment?
We make decisions all day long from the moment we wake up, until we lay our head down at night. It’s understandable we reach a point of “decision fatigue”. We just don’t care anymore after a certain point and choose the path of least resistance.
One of my favorite books is Atomic Habits by James Clear. In it he says:
“Prime your environment to make the next action easy.”
When we take some time to plan ahead and prime our environment to make the next action step easy, we take away the decision fatigue. In other words, what can you do today to make things easier for future you?
Practical Examples of Priming
An easy example of this can be:
- Setting your clothes out for the gym the night before, so you can roll out of bed and throw on your gym clothes. You don’t even have to think about it.
- While you’re at it, fill up your water bottle and get your Go Go Squeeze packets ready too.
- Or, pack your gym bag the night before and put it in your car so you won’t need to stop at home and grab it after work.
Priming your environment when it comes to your nutrition can feel like an even bigger challenge. But imagine how much easier it would be to “stay on track” when you're tired at the end of the day and you open the fridge and find that past you already grocery shopped, planned and prepared food. All you have to do is dish up!
How to Create a Supportive Nutrition Environment
All of that said, let’s talk about some ways to create an environment at home that is conducive to our overall goals when it comes to nutrition:
- Take some time each weekend (or any day of the week that works for you) and plan out what you want for each meal — breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks.
- Use that plan as your grocery list and go shopping for just those ingredients.
Batch Cook and Prep for the Week
This doesn’t have to mean spending all day in the kitchen, but:
- Batch cooking some carbs, protein, and veggies can go a long way.
- It ensures you have food on hand to grab quickly during the week when you're busy with work, kids, etc.
Keep Protein Ready and Accessible
Protein is satiating and often the most challenging macronutrient to hit. Most convenience foods tend to lack protein and be higher in carbs and fats. So:
- Keep easy-to-grab options like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs and egg whites, beef jerky or Chomps sticks.
- Prepping some protein each week with batch cooking makes hitting your goals much easier.
- When we stay on top of protein, we stay more satiated and are less likely to experience cravings.
Stock Your Kitchen With Foods You Want to Eat
Trying to get more colors (fruits and veggies) in your diet?
- Buy veggies and cut them up, putting them in easy-to-grab bags for snacks.
- Keep a bowl of fruit on your counter so you’re more likely to grab a kiwi, apple, or orange when the munchies hit.
Studies show that having these foods not only available, but visible helps you make better choices in the moment.
Limit Foods You Tend to Overeat
I’m a big proponent of eating food you enjoy and not keeping anything off limits. However:
- If you know you struggle with limiting yourself to a few Oreos, keeping them out of the line of temptation for a while might be helpful.
Hydration Hack: Carry a Water Bottle Everywhere
Keep a water bottle with you like it’s your new BFF.
- You will likely drink much more water if you keep a water bottle nearby.
- Staying hydrated can help energy and brain function.
Final Thoughts
While it takes a little bit of planning and thought ahead of time, taking that time to make some changes to your environment and plan ahead can eliminate your decision fatigue and make it a little bit easier for you to hit your goals.
Just ask yourself:
What would make life easier for future me?
Future you will likely be so thankful that past you took the time to plan and prep.
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