I recently saw a new book in my local library that I knew I had to read and share with the Personal Kaizen community. Liquids Till Lunch: 12 Small Habits that Will Change Your Life for Good by MaryRuth Ghiyam is a 2021 release with a title that made me skeptical and a subtitle that made me interested. I wondered – how many of her 12 small habits would agree with the Personal Kaizen 10 Rules for Life?
The author is a certified health educator and nutritional consultant with several episodes of personal loss as defining life experiences. This post will cover MaryRuth’s 12 Small Habits that Will Change Your Life for Good in the order she shares them in the book. I’m adding my own personal commentary after each of her habits. Hope you enjoy!
Liquids Till Lunch
This first small habit is the title of MaryRuth’s book and basically a recommendation for daily intermittent fasting – only eating three small meals per day at noon, 3 PM, and 7 PM. I personally see greater scientific benefits in a 3-day fast, but intermittent fasting also works for some people. I question making this your first small habit as it seems like it would be challenging to many people. I would rate this habit a 5 (out of 10) since fasting does have many benefits.
Chew Your Food Until It Becomes Liquid
I have always chewed my food thoroughly, but not necessarily until it becomes liquid. This habit might be recommended because the author sells healthy vegetable smoothies. I have a hard time suggesting this habit become a big priority for anyone. I rate this a 3 out of 10.
Drink Half of Your Body Weight in Ounces of Water
Experiencing my first 3-day fast reminded me of the need to drink plenty of water. I have seen this rule of thumb before, and believe it makes a great starting point for how much water to drink. 7 out of 10.
Portion Control
This small habit is a smart one as you grow older and your metabolism naturally slows. The easiest way to succeed with this habit is actually to replace your plates and bowls with smaller ones! 6 out of 10.
Eat Healthy Foods
Another food-related habit? This author is clearly a nutritional consultant. Eating healthy foods certainly relates to our Rule 2. The author suggests getting organized – planning your meals in advance so you can make a grocery list and buy the right foods to make your meals. Good advice, but basic. This habit still rates a 6 out of 10 for me.
Get Fifteen Minutes of Direct Sunshine Each Day
This is a simple but important habit that not everyone focuses on. Those of us who live in northern latitudes need to make sure we get enough vitamin D (from either the sun or supplements) in the short and cold winter months. I rate this a 9 of 10 since it is important but not obvious to all.
Sleep Seven to Eight Hours
Sleep is a critical time for the body and brain to recover. I rate this habit a 7 of 10, primarily because people have different needs for sleep. Some people do well with five hours of sleep while others struggle if they don’t get nine hours every night!
Fifteen Minutes of Stretching
I personally see the importance of stretching and have shared my 7-minute morning stretching plan with the Personal Kaizen community. I also believe stretching is a great way to begin an exercise plan. 8 out of 10.
Thirty Minutes of Exercise Daily
Speaking of exercise, MaryRuth recommends 30-minutes daily. She mentions the benefits to both your physical and your mental health. I’m not sure if a 30-minute daily habit is small though. 7 out of 10.
Stress Less
I agree, that this isn’t a small habit! High stress means higher cortisol levels, increasing cellular damage. MaryRuth doesn’t share enough actionable ideas for stressing less. I can’t really rate this habit since it isn’t one.
Think Positively
Like stressing less, this may be easier to say than do for many of us. Here, MaryRuth recommends the habit of positive thoughts to fill your day with gratitude. I agree with the importance of this habit and have made Rule 4 of our 10 Rules for Life to Live in the Moment with a Positive Mindset. I’ll rank this a 9 of 10.
Believe in a Universal Force of Goodness
I like the final habit in MaryRuth’s book. It is important to focus on the areas in your life that you can control or influence and ignore the areas you do not impact.
Much of our life involves luck and chance. Experiencing an accident and winning a lottery are chance occurrences, and there is no point worrying about these areas we do not control. The author suggests you just move forward every day. I rate this final idea a 7 of 10 and relate it a bit to the Personal Kaizen Rule 10.
Summary
Working with MaryRuth could be a helpful experience for some individuals struggling to get their life in order, but I’m not sure the book will be particularly helpful to many. It is interesting to see some overlap between the Personal Kaizen 10 Rules for Life and MaryRuth’s 12 small habits that will change your life for good. I’m sticking with the 10 rules though!
