We’re excited to kick off a new blog series aimed at supporting our members in developing the five most impactful factors for health and happiness. This month, we have a guest post from our resident "EAT" expert—Coach and Dietitian Darian Kotchorek.

Avoiding the All-or-Nothing Mindset

Making a lifestyle change often brings a surge of motivation. You’re ready to go all in—completely overhauling your diet, eliminating entire food groups, or trying a challenge that requires you to eat foods you’ve never even heard of. But this "all or nothing" approach can quickly lead to feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and ultimately reverting to old habits.

When it comes to nutrition, sustainability is key. Slow, steady progress may not be flashy, but it’s what leads to long-term success. Improving how we fuel our bodies has a profound impact—not just on performance and recovery but also on sleep, energy levels, mood, and even how we connect with others.

So where do you start? Here are four practical ways to create sustainable nutrition habits that will actually stick.

1. Focus on Adding, Not Subtracting

Instead of fixating on what needs to be eliminated from your diet, shift your mindset to what you can add. Before worrying about calories or macronutrient breakdowns, simply focus on improving the quality of your meals.

Here are a few easy ways to start:

If you rarely eat vegetables, try adding just one serving to one meal per day.
Boost your breakfast by adding a protein source, like Greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, or a protein shake, alongside your usual toast or fruit.
Balance your caffeine intake by drinking a glass of water for every cup of coffee.
Prevent evening cravings by incorporating an afternoon snack—something with protein and fiber to keep you full.
Swap out your nightly bowl of chips for high-fiber popcorn paired with a protein source like turkey bites or jerky.

Rather than overwhelming yourself by changing everything at once, start by improving just one meal or snack. Once that becomes second nature, build from there.

2. Build a Balanced Plate

Once you’ve started working on food quality, the next step is making sure your meals include the right balance of macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fats. These three components work together to stabilize blood sugar levels, keeping energy steady throughout the day.

When blood sugar spikes and crashes, it can lead to cravings, fatigue, inflammation, and sluggish recovery from workouts. To avoid this, aim to include a protein source, a fiber-rich carbohydrate, a healthy fat, and some color (vegetables or fruit) in each meal.

Here’s what that could look like:

Breakfast: Eggs + back bacon (Protein), whole grain toast (Carbohydrate), peanut butter (Fat)
Lunch: Chicken (P), whole grain pita (C), tzatziki & feta (F), cucumbers & peppers (Color)
Snack: Greek yogurt (P), berries (Color), granola (C)
Dinner: Lean ground beef tacos (P), tortillas (C), cheese & avocado (F), lettuce, tomatoes & salsa (Color)

This structure makes meals satisfying and ensures you’re getting a variety of nutrients to support your goals.

3. Set Up Your Environment for Success

Relying on willpower alone to make good choices is a recipe for frustration. Instead, shape your environment in a way that makes it easier to follow through with healthy habits and harder to slip back into old ones.

Make healthy options visible. Cut up vegetables as soon as you get home from the store so they’re easy to grab. Keep a water bottle on your desk or bedside table as a reminder to stay hydrated.
Reduce decision fatigue. Have a go-to meal or snack that requires no thought—like keeping a rotisserie chicken on hand for easy protein or prepping overnight oats for breakfast.
Keep essentials accessible. If protein-packed breakfast foods aren’t in your fridge, it’s going to be much harder to eat a balanced morning meal. The same goes for vitamins—keep them in sight, whether that’s next to your toothbrush or coffee maker.

As James Clear puts it in Atomic Habits, "If you want a habit to be a big part of your life, make the cue a big part of your environment."

4. How Much Should You Eat?

Once you’ve built consistent habits with food quality and balance, you may start wondering about portion sizes. Since individual needs vary based on body size, activity level, and genetics, one-size-fits-all recommendations aren’t practical. However, an easy and flexible way to estimate portions is the hand method:

Palm = Protein portion
Fist = Vegetable portion
Cupped hand = Carbohydrate portion
Thumb = Fat portion

This method helps ensure each meal is balanced while allowing room to adjust based on your needs. For example, if you’re training hard, you might need two cupped hands of carbs instead of one. A larger individual might need more protein than a smaller person.

These guidelines provide a helpful starting point without requiring obsessive measuring or tracking.

Final Thoughts

Sustainable nutrition isn’t about perfection—it’s about making small, consistent changes that build over time. What works for one person may look different for another, and that’s okay! The key is to focus on progress, not perfection.

If you’re looking for more personalized guidance, feel free to reach out to me at darian@vitalitynutrition.ca or 306-480-6771—I’d love to help you on your journey to feeling and performing your best!

Building Sustainable Nutrition Habits: Small Steps, Big Impact