The Healthy Habit System

Building Your Own System for Healthy Habits: A Dietitian’s Guide

Yes, you can!

We all have goals when it comes to our health—whether it’s eating more veggies, making a habit of drinking more water, losing weight, running a marathon, or creating a consistent with workout routine that sticks. But here’s the truth: creating a goal alone won’t get you there. It’s the systems you create that lead to lasting and transformational change.

As a registered dietitian, I see women setting ambitious health goals but struggling to maintain them because they don’t have a plan that fits their lifestyle.

The key?

Building a system that makes healthy habits automatic and effortless, while ditching the all-or-nothing mindset that keeps so many stuck.

Here’s how:

1. Start Small and Build Momentum

One of the biggest mistake women make is trying to overhaul everything at once (been there, done that).

Instead, focus on one small habit at a time. If your goal is to eat healthier, start with adding one serving of veggies to your lunch each day. Once that becomes routine, build upon that habit.

2. Make It Obvious and Easy

Healthy habits should fit seamlessly into your day- you should not need to overhaul your life to make room for healthier habits, and a healthier you.

If you want to drink more water, keep a water bottle on your desk. If you want to eat more fruit, store pre-washed berries at eye level in your fridge. The easier a habit is to do, the more likely you are to follow through.

3. Ditch the All-or-Nothing Mindset

Too often, women feel like they have to be “all in” or not bother at all. But health is about progress, not perfection.

If you miss a workout or eat something unplanned, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Let me be the first to tell you: PROGRESS IS NOT LINEAR. It ebbs and flows. Give yourself grace. You are human, and although you may be superwoman, you are not a robot.

4. Pair Habits with Existing Routines

This is called habit stacking, and it’s a game-changer. For those of you who have read Atomic Habits by James Clear (a #1 New York Times best seller), you'll be familiar with this. Habit stacking involves attaching an activity or behavior you want to start doing (a new habit) to something you routinely do (an existing habit). Let's dive into a few examples:

Let's say you want to drink more water. You could:

• Drink a glass of water (new habit) right after brushing your teeth (existing habit).

If you want to get more fibre into your diet, or increase your consumption of vegetables, habit stacking may look like this:

• Always add a side of veggies (new habit) to your dinner meal (existing habit).

Want to train for your FIRST marathon?

• After waking up (existing habit), put on your running clothes and go for a run (new habit).

5. Get Support and Stay Accountable

Surrounding yourself with a supportive community makes a HUGE difference (hello accountability!).

Find an accountability partner, join a group, or work with a coach. You don’t have to do this alone! This difference this can make in your success is truly transformational- coming from someone who works with a coach and is in a supportive community, herself!

The Bottom Line

Healthy habits aren’t about willpower; they’re about designing a system that works for you and reframing your mindset (more on that later).

When you make small, intentional changes that fit your lifestyle, they become second nature—and that’s how you create lasting transformation.

My 6 week starter program is great way to connect with a like minded community and have a coach to help keep you accountable.

This program is designed for those who want to work at their own pace but still have access to the supports they need while learning new, and transformation tools.

Does this interest you? Click here to learn more.

What’s one habit you can start with today? Let me know in the comments!