A new year means…a fresh start.
New gusto.
New wind beneath your wings to: Clean up your diet, change old habits, start a new program, pick up a new hobby, apply for a new job, get more organized. Make new resolutions.
This past week Google ran analytics on the top “how-to” questions and they came up with these top hits:
- How to crochet
- How to write a resignation letter (from your job)
- How to lose weight fast (will touch on this one later)
- And, how to make kale chips (fun fact: see below for the perfect-crunch kale chip recipe)
People are ready for change, newness and self-development.
So when it comes to getting what you want—making things happen…what’s stopping you?
Take a new diet for instance:
You signed up for a 30-day Whole 30 (Eat real food! Woo hoo!) or vow to get back on the bandwagon to try Weight Watchers for your third time (Eek! Calorie-restrictive diets don’t last)….
Depending on the TYPE OF MOTIVATEE you are, directly impacts what you are going to get out of the program.
Recently, I stumbled upon a podcast from “Balanced Bites” with Gretchen Rubin, a writer and happiness/habit researcher best known for her New York Times’ best-seller, “The Happiness Project.”
In this podcast, Gretchen describes the four different personality types for habit change, listing them as:
Upholders
Questioners
Obligers
And, Rebels
In short, these are defined as:
Upholder—accepts rules, whether from outside or inside. An upholder meets deadlines, follows doctor’s order, keeps a New Year’s resolution, works hard to “do everything right.”
Questioner—questions rules and accepts them only if they make sense. They may choose to follow rules, or not, according to their judgment. They often think: Why am I listening to you anyway? When it comes to a program or another individual telling them how to change or what to do. They often customize the rules to fit them (i.e. “Why a 21 day challenge?”… “Why not 14 or 30?”).
Rebel—flouts rules, from outside or inside. They resist control. Give a rebel a rule, and the rebel will want to do the very opposite thing.
Obliger—Accepts outside rules, but doesn’t like to adopt self-imposed rules. They often meet outer expectations; but do not meet inner expectations. For instance, they say, “I would love to exercise. I loved to run in high-school”…but they can’t find the motivation to get to the gym—outside the training schedule and workouts prescribed by a coach or team.
A few more concrete examples for you to consider from Gretchen’s insights and my own:
- An upholder can train with a trainer or exercise on her own; a questioner can do either if he thinks it makes sense; a rebel will do neither, because the fact that she has an appointment or an item on her to-do list makes her want to disobey; an obliger can meet a trainer, but can’t get to the gym on his own.
- An upholder stops at a stop sign at 3:00 a.m. in a small deserted town; so does an A questioner decides whether it’s safe to stop. A rebel rolls through the stop sign at 3:00 p.m. in traffic.
- An upholder chooses to eat veggies because they make him feel great; a questioner wonders what she can get away with on the veggie front (A green smoothie a day? A supplement with 400% Vitamins A, C and K for the day?) ; a rebel lives on the edge—sure ‘veggies are good for you’, but they don’t taste great or sound that great; an obliger can eat more veggies when a nutritionist coaches him to eat more veggies, but otherwise, the thought is not there.
- An upholder sticks to the ‘rules’ on the Whole 30—no grains, dairy or sugar for 30-days, no questions asked; so does an A questioner doubts if one cookie, or chili with beans, or 1 glass of wine at least 3-4 nights after work will make a difference. A rebel reads the Whole 30 guidebook, signs up for the challenge, buts picks and chooses which “rules” he follows—customizing the approach.
In order to “succeed” this year with any new intentions or goals, consider identifying what kind of ‘habit-changer’ you are.
(That way you know how you “work” best to get the most out of your goals, challenge or program).
Take Gretchen’s quiz for a little more insight.
As promised…HOW TO BAKE THE BEST KALE CHIPS EVER:
How to Make the Best Kale Chips Ever (with optional Cheesy Sauce):
Ingredients
- Kale
- Olive oil (or other cooking fat: ghee, coconut oil, grassfed butter)
- Sea salt, freshly ground pepper pepper, to taste
- Lemon juice (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees
- Wash kale, pat and dry
- Remove leaves from stems and break up pieces of kale for the ‘chips’
- Place the kale in a mixing bowl and add olive oil and seasonings
- Place kale in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in oven for approx. 30-35 minutes, until crispy
- Check every 10-minutes and toss/flip as needed
Optional Cheese Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cashew nuts
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder—to taste
- water to get the right consistency – thick, but creamy – about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
Directions:
(If making cheese sauce) Mix all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add water until you get the consistency of a cheese sauce.
+
Then make your kale chips:
(Follow recipe above), and before placing in oven: pour the Go Nuts “Cheese” Sauce over the kale until fully coated
Place on a baking tray and bake at 135° C for about 25 minutes – flipping over half way through.