What is a healthy eating contract?
When I talk to people about a healthy eating contract, many of them usually tell me it’s their first time hearing it. So what is it? A healthy eating contract is a simple but SMART contract you create for yourself to commit yourself to eating a healthy diet and living a healthy lifestyle for a certain period of time.
Research has shown that such contracts affect our behavior and help us to achieve our goals. Similar contracts that I’ve created are a fasting covenant, and a covenant not to hurt oneself that I often create with my suicidal patients.
When creating a healthy eating contract or any similar contract, the key is to be very specific and spell out the things that you will do and not do. For a healthy eating contract, spell out the kinds of foods you will eat, the number of times a day you will eat, the quantity you will eat at each meal. Clearly write out the foods that are a problem to you and commit that you will not eat any of those. Don’t be vague. The more specific you get, the better.
Determine to stick to this detailed, well-thought plan for a period of time, say one week, two weeks, etc.
You may spell out the environments you will eat. For example, say for the next month,
- You will only eat when sitting at a table and using cutlery.
- You Promise to only eat home cooked food for a period of time.
I will be creating a sample Healthy Eating contract with checkboxes and space below for people to use to customize. If you would like a copy, please contact me.