Experts Advise Starting Diets with Small, Manageable Steps for Lasting Change

Many people struggle to maintain new healthy lifestyle habits because drastic changes often feel overwhelming and unsustainable. Dr. Aya Ben Shalom, a senior instructor at the Hali Maman Diet Network, explains that the key to successful dieting lies in adopting "mini habits" that require minimal effort and can be integrated gradually. These small actions help build new neural pathways in the brain and trigger dopamine release, which motivates continued progress.

Dr. Ben Shalom recommends practical tips such as drinking a large glass of water before coffee in the morning, using the "two-minute rule" to start new habits by committing to activities that take less than two minutes, and placing a water bottle near your keys to encourage hydration when leaving the house. She also suggests adding just one colorful fruit or vegetable to each meal and preparing visible, ready-to-eat vegetables in clear containers at eye level in the fridge to increase consumption.

These incremental changes are designed to avoid the resistance that comes with radical lifestyle shifts and instead foster sustainable, healthy routines. The article was published on July 26, 2022, by Mako Health and updated the same day.