Earthy30 level 1: Tips for success
As with forming any new habit, there's a number of things you can do to give yourself the best chance of completing Earthy30 level 1 and cracking on with level 2! In this blog, we’ll be talking about three tips to help you get a head start. These are:
Creating the right environment for success
Having fast, healthy fast meals to hand
Keeping your scorecard somewhere visible
1. Create the right environment for success
The idea behind Earthy30 is creating a healthy habit around eating more of the foods that are good for you and less of the ones that aren’t. To make this habit easier, you can create the right environment for success in your kitchen.
You might have heard this before in the context of quitting smoking or drinking: One of the first things you would do is chop up all your cigarettes and throw all your alcohol out the house. Every time you open a cupboard, you hardly want cases of beer or bottles of wine to be tempting you in the wrong direction!
The same is true of Earthy30: Get rid of your crisps, biscuits, pork pies and sausage rolls.
Replace them with: Fruit, veg, nuts and seeds.
I tend to do a weekly shop on Abel & Cole to make sure that I have several meals tee’d up for each week. This habit lessens the chances of spontaneously ordering something in or smashing a take away from Fish House (the local chippy).
If I’m feeling a bit naughty, I make sure I have enough healthy foods to snack on that take me in the direction of 30 different plant-based foods:
Almond butter, banana, honey and black sesame seeds on gluten free toast
Fruit, nuts and natural yogurt
Smoothie with pea protein powder, almond milk and frozen fruit
2. Fast, healthy meals
If you’ve come home late from work or the gym… Or if you’re tired after a tough day with the kids, the temptation is to call Deliveroo or Uber Eats. This is OK every now and again—but don’t make an expensive habit out of it. Instead, have some fast, tasty and easy meals to hand.
I normally keep a few microwavable meals from All Plants stashed in the freezer. Not only are they all plants but they’re fast and healthy too. Here’s my latest order to show you what I mean.
3. Keep your scorecard visible
You’ve heard of out of sight and out of mind? Well, this is the opposite. In sight and in mind—keep your scorecard visible.
Mine lives on the table where I see it before most meals. Not only does this help keep motivation levels high, but it makes it easy to see what you need to eat to make up the 30 different plant-based foods a week.
Celebrate the journey
According to Dr Andrew Huberman, one tactic that Navy Seals employ during selection (or BUDS) is taking it one step at a time and celebrating the small milestones. The idea of a week of gruelling exercise and no sleep is enough to scare even the hardest of us, but simply making it to the next meal is a lot easier to palate. In this way, you get a little dopamine hit for each micro milestone you pass. It’s the dopamine that fuels your will power and keeps you going!
Filling out your Earthy30 scorecard is the same. Notching up a few points after each meal is a great way to keep you motivated, week in and week out.
Are you up for the challenge? Start today!
