This year, why not make a New Year’s resolution that you will actually keep?

If “getting (insert your kid’s name here)’s ADHD under control” is on your list of resolutions, then you’re likely planning to try some diet and lifestyle changes.

Maybe you’ve been following me (or others like me) and are hoping to put some of my advice into action.

Making resolutions is great – but making the wrong resolutions is a recipe for failure.

Here is an example of a bad resolution:

January 1st: “We are never going to eat sugar again.   I’m sick of the sugar rushes, I’m sick of the kids being angry when the rush wears off, so we’re done with sugar….for good.”  

We’ve probably all made this type of resolution before – only to have given up by around January 15th.

It’s no wonder – why do we feel like we can go from eating a diet full of sugary treats to “cold turkey” overnight?

Let’s think about it in a different way.  Would you ever say something like this?:

“Well guys, that’s it, I’m only speaking Spanish from now on.  It’s going to be hard. I have some basic knowledge of Spanish. I have Google translate. I might have to put in a lot of effort every time I speak, but it’s possible and I’m going for it!  The best way to do it is just to dive right in and never look back*.”

Your reaction to this would likely be somewhere between raising a suspicious eyebrow and telling that person that they are clearly insane.  But when someone tells us they’re cutting out sweets for the rest of their lives, cold turkey, despite a habit of eating a daily donut and despite a lack of knowledge about what to eat instead, we often don’t have that same reaction.  In fact, we might decide to join them on this journey toward doom!

The reason extreme dietary resolutions don’t work is that eating differently, like learning a new language, is a skill. Just like a language, it is best learned one step at a time, gradually.  It is best learned with a teacher who is already fluent in that language. 

Just like learning a language begins with learning simple vocabulary, learning to eat well begins with something simple like, perhaps, replacing a daily donut with an apple.  Then maybe drinking more water over juice.  You wait until each change becomes habitual before moving on to the next one.  This takes TIME. 

In my case, going from a pretty typical Canadian diet of chocolate bars, diet Coke, pizza, and Kraft dinner, to a balanced diet took over 5 years.  But it stuck!  And now, it’s effortless.  Just like a fluent Spanish speaker doesn’t use a dictionary for every sentence they speak, I don’t often look up recipes or think about meals because it’s habitual.

I also no longer suffer from crippling brain fog and irritability that are directly linked to high-sugar diets.

It takes time to become “Fluent in Nutrition” and becoming “Fluent in ADHD Nutrition” is a bit more complex. The best way to do it is to practice with a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.  Think of it as having a Nutrition tutor.  There is a lot of misinformation out there about food and ADHD so having an expert guiding you will help you to avoid making mistakes and can make the transition easier. 

This year, if you are interested in making ADHD New Year’s Resolutions you will actually keep; resolutions that will lead you and your family toward big results, click here to book a free assessment call today and we can discuss working together.

A great option for most families is my “Thriving With ADHD” Group Program. Check out the details here.

*Interesting note: there is a guy who is actually famous for doing this and he’s fluent in several languages:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Lewis