Stop Depriving Yourself: The New Way to Be Healthy
Don’t think about what you can’t eat, think about just adding more of what you should eat. (Photo: Henry Leutwyler)
While most diets are about strict rules, deprivation isn’t always motivating. I learned about a concept called ‘crowding out’ from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition during my education that I always share with my clients. Don’t think about what you can’t eat, think about just adding more of what you should eat. Add more healthful, nutrient dense vegetables and fruits such as broccoli, spinach, berries and apples. You don’t have to overhaul your current diet, just add lots of healthier items to the mix. By adding more nutritious items, your cravings for less healthy food will start to diminish. I’ve seen it happen many times.
I often do a grocery shopping tour with my clients and we explore the many vegetables and fruits that they have never eaten. It opens people’s eyes to an array of delicious food they are not familiar with. For example, there are a great variety of mushrooms for making soups, sauces and stews. Mushrooms provide Vitamin D and many people are deficient in this very important nutrient. Also, I find that most people are not familiar with Jicama. This root vegetable has probiotics in it. Probiotics help gut health. After you peel away the outer skin, you can slice it and top it with lime or throw it in salads and place on veggie platters.
Here are some ways that you can implement crowding out in your diet:
Fill up on healthy nutrient dense foods first. When your stomach fills up on salads, lean meats, whole grains, roasted veggies and fruit, you will not crave fried, greasy overly processed food. When you consistently build your “better eating muscle”, over time you will be less likely to add junk to your plate.
Drink more water. Often we have cravings or feel hungry only to misread our body’s signals. Instead of eating or reaching for unhealthy food or sugary drinks, good old H20 will stop the signal for food in its tracks. When you simply hydrate, you may find that your craving or feelings of hunger go away. I recommend that you drink half your body weight in ounces a day. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces a day.
Make a plan. By planning ahead, you will be less tempted when you have what you need at hand. Purchase an insulated lunch bag and cut vegetables and fruits, put nuts in bags and carry along throughout your day. I even do this when I am not working as I always have a healthy snack on hand. Create a meal plan for your week, shop and prepare your food in advance. When you take the time to plan and prep, you will be less likely to give in to last minute poor choices. If you are going out to a restaurant, read the menu online and figure out what you will order in advance. Going into a restaurant hungry and seeing people’s plates may temp you to order a poor choice.
The best part of the crowding out concept and taking daily small steps to increase better nutrition, is that you can still eat your favorite foods. You can still have an indulgence. By utilizing this strategy, it will help you consume more nutrient dense foods and be a framework for positive lasting change.
Related:
What I Learned From My Sister, Health Coach Linda Arrandt
Want to Finally Get Healthy? Hire an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
