How to Choose a Food Habit for Keeps

August 13, 2025

Hey hey — welcome to class! Today, we’re talking about how to choose a food habit for keeps.

Notice I said a food habit. Just one.

Because let’s be real — the most important decision you’ll make on this journey is which habit to build first. Trying to change multiple habits at once? That’s a recipe for burnout.

So yes, narrow it down to just one.

Pick the right food habit and strategy? Progress feels like, “Oh, I can do this.”
Pick the wrong one? You’ll be fighting yourself every single day.

Working hard is important, but working hard on the wrong thing is like running in the wrong direction — fast, but lost.

Why Most People Pick the Wrong Habit

When most people think about changing their eating, they start with the end result:

• “I want to lose 20 pounds.”

• “I’m giving up sugar.”

• “I’m going vegan.”

Sounds good, right? The problem is, these goals focus on what you want, not who you want to become.

Inside my Skool classroom, I go deeper into how identity plays a huge role in your habits — and how to use that to actually break them.

Identity + Culture: Where Food Habits Really Come From

Most books and programs skim the surface when it comes to how culture shapes identity, how identity protects culture, and what happens when they clash. I go deeper in my book and program Fed Up, but here’s a quick insight for this 21-day challenge:

"Some of our food habits didn’t just come from hunger — they came from history.
Sunday dinners with fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.
Being told, ‘You better eat everything on your plate.’
Cake and cobbler for every celebration.
We didn’t just pick these habits up — they were handed down, generation to generation, like recipes.
And some of those recipes came from a time when survival meant making the best out of what we had. But survival food doesn’t always translate to thriving food."

Shifting the Focus to Identity

Instead of chasing the next diet or cleanse, focus on becoming the kind of person who naturally eats in a way that supports your health — no matter the setting.

It’s not: “I’m trying to lose weight before vacation.”
It’s: “I’m the kind of person who maintains my health year-round.”

Because here’s what happens when you’re “trying to lose 10 pounds for summer” (in my Drake voice):

• Summer sneaks up and you never quite hit your goal.

• Or… you lose the weight, then gain back more after it’s over.

It’s not: “I’m cutting fried food for 30 days.”
It’s: “I’m the kind of person who craves food that makes me feel alive after eating.”

Yes, fried food and greasy food can taste good in the moment. But once you retrain your taste buds and reset your body, it doesn’t hit the same way. And if you actually pay attention to how you feel afterward, you’ll notice it:

• Sluggish.

• Heavy.

• Tired.

Now, compare that to how you feel after fruit or a fresh salad. You don’t crash afterward — you have energy.

That’s not just willpower. That’s you rewriting your programming — cultural, generational, and even ancestral — and proving you can honor your roots without being chained to habits that don’t serve you.

Why This Works

When your habits line up with your identity, you don’t have to force them anymore — they become part of you.

Every choice is either a deposit or a withdrawal from the identity you want to reinforce.

• Skip the soda? Deposit.

• Pack your lunch? Deposit.

• Start your day with electric fruit instead of sugary cereal or just coffee? Deposit.

The more deposits you make, the stronger your identity becomes. Soon you’re not “trying to eat better” — you just do.

Your Turn

Ask yourself:

Who is the type of person that has the food habits I want?
What’s one deposit I can make today toward that identity?

When you break patterns that no longer serve you, you’re not just changing your plate — you’re changing your story… maybe even your family’s story, too.

And trust me — grandma’s giving you the head nod.

Extra Credit: Meditation

Gratitude for joining today’s classroom! Since you stayed until the end, here’s your extra credit assignment: Meditation.

What does that word mean to you?

If you don’t know, think about it. Have you heard of it and never tried it? Have you tried it and didn’t like it? Why?

However you’ve thought about meditation in the past, if you’re not practicing it now, I want you to look at it as your lifesaver for breaking bad food habits.

Yes… meditation.

Over the next couple of days:

• Look into it.

• Read about it.

• Watch a short video.

• Try it once or twice.

Then come back to the classroom and share what you discovered. We’ll unpack it together next time.

Class is dismissed! ✨