Why Brushing Your Teeth Matters in 2022

By Lydia Wallie, Nutrition Director

New Year’s came and went…did you create any resolutions or goals? Some people love creating goals and others are more content to stay day-to-day in their routines and habits, maybe creating tweaks here and there. Whether you’re the former or latter, the most important thing in goal-setting is to create a plan!

In a research study on goal success, “College students took on a goal to eat an extra piece of fruit each day for a few weeks. While some students simply committed themselves to the goal, others supplemented their commitment with implementation intentions. That is, they planned in advance how, when, and where they would eat the extra fruit. Although the two groups of students reported equal commitment to the goal, students who formed specific plans were more likely to increase their fruit intake.” (1)

Within that same research paper, it was found that specific planning is most effective when implementing one single goal. Think about it, if you’re creating specific detailed plans on how, when, and where for six different goals, that could begin to look overwhelming and then what are the chances of even starting? But there’s a caveat…

“Researchers have suggested that people with multiple goals are more successful if they think their goals are working together to help fulfill a common purpose, rather than thinking about them as distinct goals.” (1) This sounds familiar…like blending your fitness and nutrition goals. What a great idea!

This is exactly what we do with Nutrition Kickstarts and Nutrition Coaching. You get to work on one habit at a time, or you can work on multiple habits that are part of that common goal of becoming fitter and healthier. These are the habits that are the path to your goal…Actually, rather than a goal, it’s a lifestyle, because we work on fitness and nutrition every single day. And then, eventually, it will be like brushing teeth where it’s autopilot and you have to do it. In the same way that you don’t want that “gross I need to brush my teeth” feeling, you don’t want the “I’m so tired from eating junk and sitting 24/7” feeling either.

If you haven’t already joined the Nutrition Kickstart, ask about our waitlist for the next one in Fall 2022, or ask about our other Nutrition Membership options like Coaching and Meal Plans.

Sources:

(1) Too Much of a Good Thing: The Benefits of Implementation Intentions Depend on the Number of Goals.