What to do after I have been told to change my diet completely (and I am in total panic)?!

The worst thing you can do is to attempt to completely change your eating habits overnight. It is a great chance that you will fail.

If you want to change your diet successfully, please try to follow the SMART goals approach.

Start with baby steps that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.

Goals will be different to everyone.

It all depends on so many factors:  your current diet, lifestyle, readiness to change, knowledge about food, cooking skills, food preferences, and product availability, to name a few.

Just relax, sit down with your favourite cup of tea and think about where you can start. Brainstorm your ideas with household members and people around you that can give you support.

Some examples:

I will eat a healthy breakfast three times a week.

I will reduce sugar by half in my morning porridge within the next 14 days.

I will eat a healthy salad for lunch five times per week.

I will reduce the can of soda I drink per week by half by the end of next month.

I am going to have five days per week without chocolate bars.

I will try one new vegetable every week.

I will cook dinner containing fish once per week.

I will eat a portion of mackerel once a week.

I will eat one food of five different colours every day.

I will eat 40 grams of fibre every day.

I will eat 3 grams of Beta Glucan per day.

 Etc …  Etc …  Etc …

Once you set your goal, please think about what you need to do to achieve it. Then, do your “research” around it, look for recipes, plan ahead, and think about preparation around it.

Once you have achieved your goal and feel confident about maintaining that change long-term, think about the next one. It can extend your previous one, e.g. from: “I will eat a healthy breakfast three times a week” to “I will eat a healthy breakfast every day for a month”. It can also be something not related to the first one.

And give yourself a small reward once you have achieved your goal (obviously a healthy one ;))Don’t overwhelm yourself with changes! Remember: Baby Steps but consistently!

Obviously, you need to have some knowledge of what you need to change. So I created a Facebook Group, where I aim to provide valuable and practical information about food and dietary intervention for people who have been told that they have abnormal blood lipid levels and are at risk of health complications.

I try to give you practical advice and tips on what to eat and what not to eat and explain why. I post recipes, infographics and articles that address particular problems and explain common misconceptions.

I am trying to give you as much general information as possible about effective eating patterns that you can follow, change how you eat and help yourself by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

You can use all those resources to set up your SMART goals.

To help you even more, I plan to publish a recipe book soon in a PDF downloadable format (so stay tuned 🙂 ) that you can keep on your phone or tablet and easily access.

Many of the recipes from the book have already been posted in this group. All recipes will be packed with fibre-rich fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean protein, healthy fats and low sodium,  taking inspiration from recommended cardiovascular eating patterns such as the Mediterranean Diet, Portfolio Diet, and DASH diet.

Good luck with your SMART goals, and best wishes to you all.

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* DISCLAIMER: The content of this article is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in any media published by myself.