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Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian As this blog is being written in early spring, the seasons are literally changing - spring is coming! And with the literal changes in season often come changes in the seasons of our lives. The people who are most consistent with their nutrition for the long-term (years, not weeks) are those that learn to roll with the changes and find ways to do the best they can. Let's check out 4 ways you can adapt your nutrition goals to fit the season you're actually in: 1. Assess what else is going on! We don't eat in a bubble. Nutrition is one thing we might be focusing on amongst many other things in our lives. In this season right now, what else is happening that's important? Maybe you have kids starting a new sports season with a new schedule. Maybe you or a family member gets much busier with work this time of year so cooking responsibilities have to shift. Take a minute to take stock of what else is happening and think about how that impacts your ability to make nutrition changes or tackle your health goals. 2. Focus on the changes that actually matter for you! If you're in a busy season, you may not have capacity to do everything you "should" in terms of healthy eating. This is where prioritizing different components of what healthy eating means for you can help. The things you focus your effort on right now should be the things that make the biggest difference, not the things that make a minor difference. For lots of people, this could mean focusing on including enough fruits and vegetables, including enough protein, planning and packing balanced snacks, or drinking enough water. If you're managing a specific medical condition that has a nutrition component, work with your doctor or dietitian to figure out what changes will give you the biggest impact for your effort. If you can't give it 100%, any amount of effort is still better than none. Maybe you know there will be a lot of take out or convenience foods in your diet, but you can still get enough water. Maybe your eating schedule will be inconsistent, but you will prioritize protein when you do have a chance for a snack. Whatever this time looks like for you, be realistic about what you can accomplish and what that may look like. 3. Plan for what you can! Yes, everyone knows meal planning is useful for a lot of reasons. For busy people with lots of priorities and schedules to manage, planning can make the difference between eating well and being less stressed, and feeling like you're flying by the seat of your pants. You don't need to plan for every single meal, but planning for the ones that may be the most stressful can be beneficial. If you have nights you know are very busy, plan that dinner ahead. If you're working long hours, plan for your snacks. Even if the plan is to grab a pizza, you're cutting down on making decisions when you're already stressed and making your life easier. 4. Know that good enough is good enough! No one is doing nutrition perfectly all the time (maybe professional athletes but someone else is probably doing the prep, planning, and cooking). Make sure to remind yourself that doing what you can is still enough. In busy seasons, not everything can be a priority. Doing your best with nutrition if you would otherwise just give it up is still a step in the right direction. Making one small change is still a step in the right direction, even if it's not focusing on every single change you could possibly work on. In the last example where our dinner plan is to grab a pizza, adding a vegetable (a salad, a veggie tray, a bag of baby carrots, etc.) still makes it a more balanced meal, even if you feel the meal isn't the healthiest as a whole. The bottom line is that doing the best you can where you're at is always going to be better than not trying at all and waiting until things are perfect - because they never will be! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more info about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!