If you’ve been thinking about making some changes to support your gut health, now is a great time to begin. I’ve always loved the ‘clean slate’ feeling of the new year, it feels like I’m being given a chance to start anew. According to behavioural scientist Katy Milkman, this ‘fresh start’ effect offers an ideal moment to pursue new goals - research shows we are more motivated and put in extra effort at the start of a new beginning - like a new week, month, or year.
Getting started is one thing, but sticking with new behaviours long enough for them to become habits—something we do automatically with little effort—requires more than motivation, which naturally ebbs and flows. Happily, we can turn to the field of behavioural science (the study of human behaviour and decision making) to learn the best approach to building habits. So, before I share ideas for looking after your gut this year, let’s explore what actually works when it comes to successfully changing your behaviour.
1. Start small, then build up
Big goals are exciting, but they’re often too overwhelming (I’m going to write a book! Run a marathon!) or vague (I’m going to eat healthier!) for us to gain traction. Research shows that small, simple goals (like drinking a glass of water when you wake up) are more easily achieved and become habitual faster than large, complex ones (like doing 50 sit ups when you wake up). Once you’ve mastered one small habit, you can build on it or add the next one to your routine.
2. Make a concrete plan
Once you've chosen a habit or a goal to work on, you can increase your chances of success by making a plan that spells out when, where and how you’ll take action. So a goal of running 5 kilometres might get broken down into a plan of downloading an app or programme, deciding on the times you can realistically fit in three weekly sessions, and writing them into your calendar. Your plan might look something like: I’ll run Monday before work, Wednesday when I finish work and Saturday morning. You could also include what kit you’re going to wear or finding an uplifting playlist to accompany your run. A supportive reminder on a post it note or an alarm on your phone ‘it’s time to run, you got this!” can also help cue you when it’s time to take action.
3. Make it enjoyable
Doing things that are good for us can feel difficult, because they often involve pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone. And that’s usually where we meet resistance. Sure, you might feel amazing after a gym session, but dragging yourself out of bed for it? That’s another story. One way to overcome this resistance is to make the activity as enjoyable as possible by pairing it with something you love—a strategy called temptation bundling. It can help you stay motivated to get difficult things done.
For exercise goals, this might mean teaming your workout with your favourite podcast or audiobook, streaming a Netflix show while cycling on a stationary bike, or saving your favourite gym clothes for workout days only. If your goal is budgeting, you could treat yourself to your favourite coffee shop drink while crunching the numbers. For healthy eating, it might look like batch cooking while binge-watching a new series or buying your favourite fruit to top your porridge with.
4. Work out what you’re up against
No one’s immune to obstacles when chasing their goals, but the challenges you face will depend on your personal circumstances. Your job is to figure out what’s likely to get in your way and plan how to navigate around it. For example, if your goal is to drink less alcohol, but your go-to way of unwinding is heading to the pub on a Friday night, you might struggle to cut back. In this case, you could plan something fun and alcohol-free each week instead—like a cinema trip or dinner with a friend. Identifying your specific roadblocks and having alternatives ready makes it much easier to stick to your goals.
5. Don’t sweat it if things don’t go exactly to plan
Winston Churchill famously said, “Perfection is the enemy of progress,” and it couldn’t be more true when it comes to building healthy habits. Life happens, and there will be times when things don’t go according to plan. The good news? Research shows that missing the occasional chance to practice your habit won’t derail your progress. What really matters is getting back on track as soon as you can—ideally the very next day.
Being flexible with your approach also boosts your chances of success. If your plan was to workout at lunch but your meeting runs over, can you get out for a walk after work instead? Or could you do a workout at home today? Or, simply aim to return to your routine tomorrow. The key is to do the best you can in the moment.
It also helps to ask yourself, “What will I do if this happens again?” Anticipating potential hiccups and planning how to adapt makes it easier to stay consistent over time.
7 powerful daily habits that can benefit your gut health
Now you know the science, here are a few ideas for daily habits you can develop that can have a positive effect on your gut health. If you already have your own idea - go for it. Just remember to team it with the steps above to give yourself the best chance of success.
1. Eat a veggie starter with your dinner
Vegetables are a good source of fibre, which feeds your gut bacteria and helps create a healthy gut environment. But most of us don’t eat enough vegetables (or fibre!), which is where this habit steps in.
Start every evening meal with a vegetable starter or add a vegetable side alongside your meal. It could be as simple as a tomato and basil salad, some cucumber slices, or half an avocado. Need low FODMAP options? Try a zingy carrot salad, a handful of cherry tomatoes, or a spinach and rocket salad. Remember to make this enjoyable by choosing veggies you like, and learning how to make some simple, delicious dressings.
2. Start a mindfulness micropractice
Meditation is a practice that helps us cultivate the skill of mindfulness —the ability to focus on the present moment and observe our thoughts and feelings without being swept away by them. Studies have found that a regular meditation practice can strengthen the parts of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and problem-solving. It can help lower stress, which can be a common trigger for gut symptoms, especially in people with irritable bowel syndrome.
If you’re new to meditation, start with a daily 5-minute practice like this one. Studies have shown that frequency is more important than duration, so a brief daily practice is more effective than a one off weekly session. This could be a great habit to stack on after your morning shot of Symprove.
3. Eat a piece of fruit with your breakfast
Only 1 in 3 adults in the UK eat the recommended five servings of fruit and veg a day - a habit that can lower your risk of multiple chronic health conditions like heart disease and cancer. Making a habit of eating a piece of fruit with your breakfast means you’re already 20% of the way there after your first meal. Fresh, frozen, and dried fruit all count. Choose a fruit you enjoy and remember that fruit can be cooked too - poaching pears or making a fruit compote with frozen fruit can make this a really delicious habit. But an apple grabbed at the end of your brekkie works too!
4. Pick a night to be plant based each week
Eating lots of different types of plant foods can support gut health by increasing the diversity of your gut microbiome, but most of us eat the same dishes on repeat. Break out of this routine by nominating one or two nights a week to cook a new plant-based meal. Not only will this increase the number of plants in your diet, it’s also a fun way to explore new foods and cooking skills. Batch each recipe and within a month you’ll have a freezer stocked with extra meals for busy nights that your future self will thank you for. Check out these plant-packed recipes for inspiration.
5. Make nuts your mid afternoon snack choice
If you want to up your afternoon snack game, think about making nuts your go to option. They’re little powerhouses of nutrition, containing fibre, polyphenols (plant compounds that also nourish your gut microbes), and healthy fats. Plus they count towards your weekly plant points. You don’t have to eat them solo - team with your favourite fruit, some dark chocolate, or popcorn. Toasting them before eating (you can do this with a whole back rather than with each handful!) makes them even more delicious.
6. Leave your phone in another room when you go to bed
You and I both know it - scrolling your phone before you go to bed can make it harder to get to sleep, and affect the quality of your sleep too. And getting good sleep is a no-brainer when it comes to your health —improved mood, better concentration, a stronger immune system. Quality sleep is also linked with gut health and vice versa - disrupted sleep is thought to affect the microbiome in unhelpful ways.
Smartphones are built to be rewarding and addictive to use, so don’t rely on your willpower - it’s better to get into the habit of leaving your phone in another room at night (or at least on the other side of the room) replacing that evening scroll with something else like reading a book or doing a wind-down stretch.
7. Move your body for 20 minutes in the morning
Regular exercise supports all aspects of health - including your gut health. It can help prevent constipation, support microbiome diversity and ease bloating. But it’s easy for exercise to take a back seat when there are so many other demands on our time. Moving at any time of day is great, but getting into the habit of moving in the morning for 20 minutes can help set you up for the day, give you a sense of achievement and a dose of feel-good endorphins. Taking your movement outdoors offers another win-win - exposure to morning light can help you sleep better at night too. Make it something you enjoy and remember the power of temptation bundling with a podcast, audiobook or the promise of a coffee after moving your body.
To learn more about gut health, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
Sources
Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice. National Library of Medicine. (2012). Link.
Teaching temptation bundling to boost exercise: a field experiment. ScienceDirect. (2020). Link.
Evening and night exposure to screens of media devices and its association with subjectively perceived sleep: should “light hygiene” be given more attention? National Library of Medicine. (2020). Link.
