5 Ways to Get Your Family on Board with Food Change 

People naturally resist change, and especially when you mess with their meals. We all have our favorite foods, right? So if you try to tell your loved ones they should be eating something other than their mealtime favorites, you’re going to get some crazy looks, or maybe some words aimed in your direction. We’re not just talking kids either – I get it! 

It’s a recognized fact that getting children to eat anything other than their two or three favorite foods can be really tough. Unfortunately, a lot of adults are the same way. How can you convince the people you care about that they need to make healthy food swaps? It can be difficult at best, so let me share with you some great tips I’ve used in my family. 

If you need help getting your family on board with food changes that promote health and well-being, here are 5 proven methods. 

1 – Be a Master Negotiator 

Regarding healthy eating battles, you can’t win them all. Your kids, your spouse, your roommate and other loved ones are going to be absolutely resistant on a specific food item. Don’t beat your head against the wall in this scenario. Compromise: Tell them they can keep eating that food as long as they add another healthy meal to their diet.  

This requires give-and-take. A pizza or fast-food meal once or twice a week is not that bad if you can incorporate two or three healthy foods into a person’s weekly diet at the same time. As time unfolds, you can make more changes. 

2 – You Have to Walk the Talk 

If you smoke, it’s going to be pretty tough to get your kids to listen to your anti-smoking spiel. The same is true when nutrition is concerned.  

You have to model what you believe by eating a nutritious, healthy diet before you expect the other people in your home to do the same. Just when you think you’re about to give up all hope, the people who see you becoming healthier and happier by eating smart might just decide to join you. This is more effective than preaching, which can create resentment in your household because people may feel you think you’re better than them by how you eat. You can simply eat and live the way that makes you feel good and others may notice and become curious about how you’re doing it. 

3 – Make Smart Food Swaps 

If your home is full of unhealthy food, guess what everyone is going to eat? Place healthy snacks in plain view. Remove highly processed foods from your counter tops, pantry, refrigerator and freezer. If food has ingredients you can’t pronounce and you don’t understand what they are, get rid of them. 

An apple looks like food. Bananas looks like food. Pour a bowl of your child’s favorite cereal and take a look at it. Does it look like food? It surely doesn’t, because it isn’t. If you remove all (or at least most) of the unhealthy food from your home and replace it with healthy alternatives, your family is going to inevitably eat better. 

4 – Be a Nudger, Not a Nagger 

You don’t want to force anyone to do anything. Rather, you want to supply them with the information needed so they can make the right choice. This means gently nudging your family in the right direction, instead of nagging. You have probably noticed that your family members will sometimes resist doing the right thing even when they know it is best for them. This sometimes happens because you are constantly nagging and browbeating them to do so. 

5 – Take One Meal at a Time and Don’t Expect Miracles 

The only thing you can truly control is how you behave and react. That’s it, and don’t forget this. Getting your family on board with healthy eating decisions is probably not going to happen overnight. That means you shouldn’t make gigantic changes that affect every meal and snack overnight either.  

A return to health can actually occur pretty quickly when you eat the right foods, but expecting an instant 180-degree, about-face change regarding what your family eats is simply unrealistic. 

Try this instead: Replace one unhealthy meal each day for two or three days the first week. Slowly make more meal swaps after this. Pull back when you see resistance and take your time. Combined with the 5 tips I listed above, you’ll eventually achieve the benefit of lasting health for you and your family. 

What sort of challenges do you face with implementing new healthy foods into you and your family’s diet? Share below! 

Lastly, if you want to learn more to help you and your family implement healthy food strategies, click here for my free guide on 15 Foods to Never Feed Your Kids. These are the foods you definitely want to avoid and swap out as fast as you can! 

Wishing you well, 

Dr. Jessica