Photo by erikthenorsk

I always struggle with how to advise people during the New Year.

On one hand I know that willpower-based New Year’s resolutions are a ridiculous farce that are bound to fail. On the other, I think any time of year is great for getting serious about making real healthy changes.

The key difference, as usual, is whether you focus on restraining yourself from pursuing your physical and emotional needs (certain failure), or whether you focus on building lasting habits you actually enjoy.

If you’re serious about building better habits, step one is being aware of your current habits. Step two is being realistic about which habits you can improve and how to go about doing it. Once you figure those out, you must consolidate the new habits with repetition.

Easy, right? Not a chance.

Self-awareness is one of the hardest things for the human brain. Turns out it is even harder when it comes to food, especially for people who have dieted for many years. (Research shows that chronic dieters are particularly oblivious about their bad habits).

This is one of the many reasons it can be useful to have a coach when you’re starting out. Coaches can help you recognize your existing hangups, suggest proven ways to overcome them, and help you stay accountable until the habits stick.

If you’re interested in having a coach to help you kick off 2015, the folks at Rise have agreed to offer Summer Tomato readers a special discount to start the New Year.

Rise is a mobile app that connects you to your own private nutrition coach via your iPhone (Android coming soon). Their unique model allows you to photograph your meals and get specific, personalized feedback from your own Foodist Approved nutrition coach.

The Rise coaches are familiar with Foodist and my philosophy on habits, so there’s no logging calories or entering specific foods from a generic database. It’s just a simple, easy-to-use interface that takes the guesswork out of eating.

If you’re interested, follow the steps below and you’ll get both your first week free and an additional $10 with payment.

• Go to www.rise.us/r/FOODIST (url is case sensitive) – you must signup on the website
• Click “Sign up”
• Pick your coach
• If you use the exclusive Foodist link you will receive $10 off your first month
• Start working with your coach

I haven’t found an easier way to bring the power of personal coaching into your home.

Happy habit building!