More of This, Less of That

As North Americans, it feels as if we often have an all or nothing approach to many areas of our lives. This is very true in the world of healthy eating. We seem to find ourselves in a never-ending cycle of over indulging and then promptly forever swearing off of candy, chips, pizza, cookies, etc. The truth is that this method rarely works and if it does, it is usually with copious amounts of determination and only for short periods of time. It is actually just a “more of this, less of that” issue.

What if we starting looking at healthy eating a little differently? Let’s make a pact to erase the whole ‘good food,’ and ‘bad food,’ classification system that we have been using. While we are at it, let’s also forget about the whole guilt after eating thing. Let’s approach food with the knowledge that all food are options to be enjoyed. We can still acknowledge that food choices have varying levels of nutrient density and begin implementing strategies that make more room for more nutrient dense foods in your life. A little more of this and less of that, if you will.

One of my favourite strategies when working with clients is instead of banning certain foods, we make more nutrient dense choices a priority. We can still eat some chips, while at the same time are also actively looking for ways to increase our raw veggie intake too. For example, have one small bowl of chips paired with carrot sticks and hummus.

Think you drink too much coffee? Try drinking from a smaller mug and aim to add 2 extra glasses of water per day. Slowly but surely as you make room for healthier habits in your life, your tastebuds shift and you will find yourself skipping the chips every once in a while, and enjoying carrots & hummus on their own. Most often it is these smaller shifts in habits that set you up for long term success. My point is that eating nutritiously isn’t meant to be a punishment. It is actually a beautiful way to show yourself some love. What is one thing you can do today to fit in more nutrients to your daily diet?

Photo by Negar Mz on Unsplash