We all struggle making lasting life changes. I’m often asked how I made the changes necessary to lose – and more importantly – maintain a 150 pound weight loss. One of my favorite examples is the turkey sandwich evolution.

In the past there had been repeated, dramatic declarations of I WILL CHANGE MY DIET COMPLETELY, STARTING TODAY AND LASTING FOREVER. That all or nothing mentality led me to quickly crash and burn each time. I knew it was time to make small, easy-to-maintain changes.

White bread, turkey, and LOTS of mayonnaise, was always my ‘go to’ easy sandwich. I knew it wasn’t healthy but it was better than my 8 pieces of bacon BLT. As I started to lose weight, it was clear a change in food habits had to play a part, and my beloved turkey sandwich needed a makeover.

My turkey sandwich evolution ended up taking weeks and five steps:

• Step 1: I added lettuce and tomatoes to my sandwich. Delightful.
• Step 2: After a few weeks I switched from white bread to wheat bread. No small feat.
• Step 3: Next I swapped lettuce for spinach. Mmm, roughage.
• Step 4: Next came a switch to light mayo, a particularly rough change for a girl who grew up eating mayonnaise sandwiches. (Yes, seriously.)
• Step 5: Finally, I took away one piece of bread and started eating an open-faced sandwich.

If I’d made these changes all at once, it might have lasted a week — if not just one single sandwich. Instead, making small changes and allowing each to take hold resulted in a lasting change.

So when you wake up and decide that today you’re going to start exercising, stop smoking, lose weight, and get a new job!! Geez. Help yourself out and break it down, instead. Can you go for a 5 minute walk? Then speed up your walk for a minute — just one. Tomorrow can you walk 2 minutes longer? Perhaps you can take the stairs up to your office, or even just take one flight and use the elevator for the rest. Park farther away in the parking lot. Baby steps!

I started with a turkey sandwich. What will you start with?