Small Changes. Big Results?

This time of year life is so robust. Yet I’ve been thinking about the small stuff. In this quest for achieving and maintaining a balanced life, I’ve discovered that it’s about constant refinement. Once you nail down the healthy habits that make you feel good, you continue making miniscule adjustments so that those habits become even easier to sustain. Here’s a look at some of the little shifts I’ve recently made.

Seltzer Oh how I adore those frisky little bubbles! A couple of months ago I started buying seltzer very regularly. By very regularly I mean that I can down a liter in two days. (I go for the plain Jane fizzy water and sometimes add a squeeze of lemon.) Early on, I blogged about what was likely the very worst thing in my diet: Diet Coke. It wasn’t until several weeks into my new carbonated habit that I realized I hadn’t had a DC in, well, several weeks. I hadn’t even wanted one and still haven't had one since. The cold, crisp bubbly water completely satisfies whatever it was that DC seemed to achieve, but without any of the fake sugar, fake dye, and caffeine. This is why a seltzer maker is at the top of my holiday wish list. Although I recycle the bottles, it seems like such a waste when I could whittle my usage down to a single reusable bottle. Come December 25, I hope to be sipping homemade seltzer out of one of these bad boys:

Vitamins This is by far the simplest change of them all. But before I clue you in, let me give you the low down (at least my low down) on vitamins. (Specifically the ones that I’ve decided to take: a daily multi, calcium + vitamin D, and omega-3.)

Will popping supplements like Tic Tacs prevent disease, help you live longer, make you smarter, and ward off wrinkles? I have no stinking idea. But I will tell you that in every article I’ve written about cancer prevention, sources emphasize taking a daily multivitamin. It’s not a panacea for a crappy diet, but if you already eat reasonably well it can help fill in any nutritional gaps. There’s also no question that getting enough calcium and vitamin D daily is crucial for bone health and much more. I’m not sure I buy the science saying that we should pump ourselves full of D, the vitamin du jour, (especially in light of recent research), but getting at least enough if not just a little more than the RDA (which is based on preventing some old-school disease called rickets) won’t hurt. And finally, take omega-3. It’s good for your heart, your brain, your mood, and the list goes on.

In short, I follow the advice Michael Pollan sets out in In Defense of Food (if you haven’t read it, run—don’t walk—to the bookstore now): “Be the kind of person who takes supplements.” Why? The jury is out on whether vitamins will do all the fabulous things we hope it will. However, studies have found that in general people who take supplements are healthier than those who don’t. One reason may be because they live an overall healthier lifestyle and believe that taking supplements is part of that—whether or not vitamins actually have any direct impact on their healthiness. I get that. So, in order to be the kind of person who takes supplements, I thought it would be good to take supplements. At worst (within recommended doses) they’ll have absolutely no effect. At best, they’ll offer a leg up on an already healthy lifestyle.

Finally, here’s where the change comes in: Instead of storing my supps in the back of a cabinet where I forget to take them on a daily basis, I moved them to my kitchen counter. There’s a caveat: I’ve reported on how leaving your vitamins in a humid place, like your bathroom can decrease their potency. So I’ve been careful to place them in a location where they are not exposed to much humidity. Plus, my kitchen has pretty good circulation and doesn’t exactly feel like Miami in July, so I think I’m in the clear. Ever since moving those suckers to the counter, I’ve remembered to take them every single day. I don’t even have to think about them—I see those fat bottles and toss my daily dose down the hatch.

Oatmeal As we all know, I’ve struggled with breakfast options in the past. It started off with the granola fiasco, followed by eggs, which didn’t crack it for me, and then on to yogurt (good in summer, not hearty enough in winter). But I think (hope?) I’ve finally found my solution in the humble oat. When I mentioned to a friend and habitual oatmeal eater (the lovely and talented Leslie Goldman) that I feel hungry five seconds after eating a bowl of oatmeal, she offered this sage advice: “Eat more.” What a difference more has made. For the past few months I’ve been chowing on a bowl of oatmeal every morning made with either 1 cup of instant oats or ½ cup of steel cut oats (if I have time to make it, I prefer the latter thanks to its thicker texture and nuttier flavor). I cook it on the stove (I cannot properly work a microwave to save my life) and then drizzle raw agave, mix in about 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseed (for fiber and additional omega-3’s), add a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and some freshly grated nutmeg and I’m good to go until lunchtime.

So what, exactly, are the payoffs of these little changes? Only time will tell. Fortunately, I'm willing to wait.