The idea behind the Fatty Liver Diet is for you to make permanent changes that will help your liver repair and prevent you from getting sick in future.

That doesn’t have to be scary. It’s all about forming small, sustainable habits that, over time, build up to a healthier you.

How are habits formed?

Research shows there are 3 steps to forming a habit:

1. Cue or trigger: Something tells your brain to start a behaviour. It might be a certain time of day, a place (the kitchen), an emotion (feeling stressed or sad) or another action (watching TV).
2. Behaviour: We act when we’re exposed to the trigger. For example, we might walk into the kitchen and automatically open the fridge door. We might grab for something tasty that’s sitting on the bench, or we might snack on chips while we watch the footy.
3. Reward: The habit makes us feel better. If we do the behaviour often enough, the brain starts to anticipate the reward as soon as it sees the cue. Over time, the behaviour becomes automatic.

Decide what new habit you need to form

Some of the habits and behaviours we’re suggesting on the Fatty Liver Diet might be new for you.

Start small. Think of one tiny thing you can slowly introduce into your life that will gradually set you on the right track. For example:

• Drink a glass of water
• Eat a handful of nuts or seeds
• Go for a walk, even if it’s just around the house
• Do some squats or stretches
• Fill half your plate with veggies first, before you add the protein or grains
• Go to bed half an hour earlier

You don’t need to change everything all at once. You are much more likely to be successful if you try to change one small habit at a time.

Create a trigger

Consistency is the key to making new habits stick. You need to repeat the habit so often that you do it without thinking.

One way of doing this is through habit stacking.

This means that rather than trying to develop a brand-new habit from scratch, you piggyback it onto something you’re already doing. Your old habit becomes a reminder to do the new one.

Habit stacking works because you’re not relying on motivation to do your new habit, you’re associating it with something you already do until it becomes automatic. Here’s how:

• Step 1: Think of a habit that you already do regularly. For example, brushing your teeth when you wake up, making tea or coffee in the morning, or sitting down at your desk. Make sure it’s something you do every day.
• Step 2: Think of a tiny new habit that you want to add, like drinking a glass of water. The key here is to think small. Make it almost too easy.
• Step 3: Write down your new formula. ‘After I make my cup of coffee, I will drink a glass of water.’ Or ‘After I finish going through my emails, I will stand up and stretch.’
• Step 4: Make the new habit easy. For example, if you want to remember to take your pills after you brush your teeth, then put the pill bottle next to the toothbrush.
• Step 5: Once you start to do the new habit automatically, then increase it. For example, if you started with 5 squats, then gradually increase to 10 and then 15.

After a while, you can build up a chain of new habits: After I make my cup of coffee, I will drink a glass of water, then do 5 squats, then take my pills.

Make the new habit easy

The easier a habit is to do, the more likely you are to keep doing it consistently. Small changes to your routine and environment can make healthy choices feel more automatic over time.

Here are some tips to help make liver-friendly habits easier:

• Pre-prepare meals and snacks so you always have something easy and balanced ready to eat
• Keep cut-up veggies and salad in the fridge ready to go
• Cook extra portions and freeze leftovers for busy days
• Keep the foods you want to eat regularly easy to reach at home
• Keep fruit in a bowl on the bench and put cut-up veggies at eye level in the fridge
• Prepare food when you’re not hungry
• Avoid shopping when you’re hungry
• Make healthy foods more enjoyable with herbs, spices and plenty of variety

Strengthen your new habits

It can take at least a couple of months for a simple behaviour to become a habit. Sometimes, it can take much longer than that – some research suggests that new habits can take almost a year to form.

A habit strengthens when:

• The cue is consistent
• The behaviour is repeated often
• The reward is satisfying

To ensure consistency, we suggest trying a habit tracker. Write down your new habit, then give yourself a tick for every day you do it.

We’ve put together a template to get you started. Fill it in every week or month and see how your habits are changing for the better.

 

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