Limit yourself to 2-3 tiny goals at all time. The following goals are just suggestions but they need to be personalized to each individual. Goals need to be achievable, enjoyable, and not take up too much mental effort.

We list levels 1-3 for each category of goals. Slowly step through each level of goals overtime. Please don’t be an overachiever and aim for an ambitious goal – we are aiming for easy level-ups that blend into your daily routine, not ones that takes up too much mental effort or upends your eating patterns. 

Within each level above, there are many ways to set your tiny goal. For example, to eat better dessert, you might start with a tiny goal of “Eat fruits” that you can easily check off. Goal-setting is a skill that we can work on together.

* The Exercise section is not covered in this post.

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Drinks

Level 1: Skip daily alcohol

• Let’s discuss this one together. 

Level 2: Skip daily sugary drinks

• Boba… any Starbucks drink where they pump in syrup… These are not meant to be daily habits. Ask for the smallest size if you crave the taste. The body doesn’t need to consume any more than the first few sips.
• If you’re drinking lemonade or iced tea, you also don’t need a whole large portion of it. Hack the system by diluting the drink with water, while still focusing on enjoying the taste without feeling like you’re depriving yourself. 

Level 3: Only drink water or tea

• Aim for no dairy in your tea or coffee at all. 
• If you must have dairy, substitute with almond milk. 
• Learn to enjoy tea – go shopping for ones you like. 

Fasting

Level 1: Morning Fast

• Consider starting with morning fasts. They might be the easiest. 
• If you are hungry in the morning, swap breakfast with a drink like homemade tea or coffee that has dairy. Overtime as your body gets used to the feeling of hunger, try dropping the dairy. 
• Eat lunch at 11:30am. 
• Don’t overcompensate for lunch. Hunger is just a perception. You can be satiated by still eating the same amount of food as before. If you’re really famished in the afternoon, consider adding in a healthy snack. 
• Secretly pat yourself on the back for saving money each day and teaching your body to start the day burning yesterday’s fat. 

Level 2: Evening Fast

• Consider not eating after 8pm. Consider sleeping early to break the habit of late night snacking. Brush your teeth at 8pm. Consider the kitchen closed. Look forward to your morning weigh-in because your body unusually loses some weight at night. 

Level 3: Dinner Fast

• When you are successfully fasting in the mornings and occasional late evenings, consider building a habit of skipping dinner all together, or making your portion very small to still participate in family dinner. This is counter-cultural due to many social activities around the end of workday dinner, but skipping dinners regularly can be very effective if you’re not eating out or hosting dinner. 
• Try replacing dinner with a juice or smoothie that is mostly vegetables. Smoothies can be more filling, but be careful not making it too unhealthy by putting in excessive dairy. 

Carbs

Level 1: Better Dessert

• If you eat unhealthy desserts daily, consider reducing your portion so you still enjoy the taste, participate with your family, but put less of the bad stuff into your body. Be happy for others that they enjoy it, but also be happy that you’re not just adding a layer onto your waistline.
• Instead, consider eating fruits that you like. But don’t make this a big deal where you feel like you’re giving up the dessert (that might make you crave the dessert more after). 
• Cleanse your palate right after your portion of dessert to cut the craving with fruit, decaf tea, or brushing teeth. It’s okay to step away from the dinner table and start doing other things instead of watching other people eat. 

Level 2: Low Carb at Home

• Pick one meal (e.g. dinner) where you think you can try going low carb most successfully. Consider the hours after that meal and how you might feel. 
• Aim for low carb just on weekdays when there’s more of a controllable routine. 
• Only prepare carbs that your kids like. Just make enough portions for them. Prepare the same amount of vegetables that you like to replace the carb. Eat those and protein until you’re quite full. 
• Secretly celebrate the fact that you’re giving your adult body good fuel, instead of fuel that it doesn’t know what to do with except to store around the waistline as muffin tops. 
• No need to weigh yourself right after eating a low carb meal. Your weight will mostly stay the same so we don’t want this to feel discouraging. The effect of eating low carb will start to show after a week as your body starts to burn through stored fat. 

Level 3: Low Carb All the Time

• Eating out: Try ordering something without carbs when you go out. You can even ask the server to skip the carb when bringing out the food. No one will judge. 
• Eating at a party: Sample whatever you want, compliment the host. Take a deep breath for the next sentence… It’s okay to toss a plate that has food left and call it done. Parties are about strengthening relationships. Talk to people, ask interesting questions, and always hold some healthy drink to sip on. The point of parties doesn’t need to be about storing unhealthy food inside of your body. 

Guilty Pleasures

Sometimes people have personal rituals of guilty pleasures (e.g. drink Coca-cola 3x a day) that are deeply ingrained into your soul. They define who you are. It’s okay! Let’s embrace those, and figure out strategies to slowly help your body while still celebrating what makes you unique. We love the spirit of these habits, but perhaps your uniqueness or rebellion to the norm doesn’t need to be food-related. 

Level 1: Awareness

• Rank your guilty pleasures in order of preference and frequency. Write down why you love them or why they’re special to you. 

Level 2: Hack Your Brain

• We love that you want to prove to the world that you can still live even if you don’t follow all the good rules of health. The counter-cultural spirit is good, and we’re all for it. 
• Consider using a different part of your life to be rebellious – how about running a triathlon? Or doing something crazy like building a tiny house? Perhaps your body doesn’t need to take on this unnecessary burden of rebelling through eating. 
• If your life motto is “enjoy life”, know that life can be quite enjoyable! Consider enjoying life around food that your body is built for, and experimenting with creative ways to cook it. Do you need to support mega corporations (e.g. Coke or Starbucks) whose sole business will succeed if it can convince everyone that its product is a daily thing, when in reality it’s supposed to only be an occasional indulgence? Some things are more special when enjoyed occasionally, without making it a daily obsession.

Level 3: Replacement

• Don’t cut out guilty pleasures, but try lowering the frequency or swapping for something else you like that’s a little healthier. Less frequency will help you savor and enjoy them more. 
• Or… learn to love a healthier replacement.