Making Healthy Changes Even When You’re Still Figuring It Out
Written by Olly Leicester, Health Coach
Olly Leicester is an experienced health coach. After 5 years working in the NHS he is now coaching online 1:1, and delivering corporate workshops on workplace wellbeing topics – food habits, stress management, sleep, and good energy.
Change is constant, and your daily choices shape your future health. The good news? You don’t need to get everything perfect. Progress comes from making slightly better choices than yesterday. But how do you decide what to change? We’re all living unique lives with different routines, responsibilities, and environments. So, what works for someone else might not work for you. But you’re already taking a step forward just by being part of a health-focused community. That matters. Every small step counts.
Make better choices easier
Let’s be honest: the modern world doesn’t make healthy living easy. Supermarkets are designed to tempt us. Fast food is cheap and everywhere. That’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility to navigate.
Here’s how to take more control
1. Plan your shop, plan your health
If it’s in your house, you’ll probably eat it. So, start with your shopping list. If you’ve written a shopping list, then you’ve effectively designed your health plan for the next few days. Never shop when you’re hungry, and ideally shop online to avoid impulse buys. Stick to the perimeter of the store, fresh food lives there.
2. Clear out the clutter
Make your environment work for you. Clean out your fridge, freezer, and cupboards. Donate or bin anything that doesn’t support your goals. If it’s in your home, it’s only a matter of time before it’s on your plate.
3. The antidote to impulse is planning
Think ahead. Just like a business plans its targets, you can plan your meals. Start small, maybe it’s prepping breakfast for Monday or sorting a healthy lunch for work. One habit I love? Boiling six eggs every few days. Now, I always have an easy, satisfying protein source on hand. That tiny habit changed my whole lunch routine, and now I feel full throughout the afternoons and don’t hit a mid-afternoon slump like I used to have.
Start small, build momentum
Success builds confidence, and confidence fuels change. Don’t try to overhaul everything overnight. Start with one change. Build on it. Tiny habits, as BJ Fogg teaches, create real, lasting progress.
Of course, you’ll face challenges. You may slip up or need to start again. That’s not failure, it’s part of the process. Learning to eat well is like learning anything new. It takes time, patience, and practice.
You can learn the skills for healthier living at any stage of life. I’ve been coached, and now I coach others, because real change is possible, and it’s worth it.
If you’d like to take the next steps together, please do get in touch.
Olly Leicester, Health Coach
Olly Leicester is an experienced health coach. Having coached hundreds of patients over five years in NHS doctor surgeries, Olly now coaches online and has designed 4- to 8-week health coaching programs to help busy working professionals prevent or reverse chronic lifestyle diseases.
