‘Crowding Out’ For A Sustainable, Balanced Diet
Mar 04, 2024
If you have yo-yo'd back and forth between eating well and not, or there is that craving that's been niggling at you and that you just can't seem to crack—here is a super tool to help shift you towards more consistent healthy eating in a more gentle and kind way.
"Crowding Out" Unhealthy Foods by “Crowding In” Healthy Foods
Adding more good foods, snacks and drinks into your diet is never a bad idea, and if you’d like to make “crowding in” a thing in your life, you can start by exploring adding more water, vegetables, whole foods, sweet treat substitutes, water to your diet and why not some laughter. These form the foundation of any healthy diet, as they will provide a lot of the essential nutrients and minerals you need, while ensuring you get the energy boost to tackle your to-do list on any given day. The more healthy foods you can “crowd in”, even when it comes to weekends where you might not be so keen to cook, the better.
“Easing Out” Unhealthy Alternatives
I like to use the term “Easing Out” rather than “Crowding Out”, as the latter is usually far too focused on ignoring your cravings, and avoiding any indulgences. When you’re adding in more healthy food to your diet, what ends up happening is a natural easing out of the unhealthy alternatives over time. High sugar snacks, “chemicalized” artificial junk food, alcohol and other notable troublesome options are essentially phased out of your diet over time, especially so as you start to feel better from eating more healthy food regularly. Cold turkey has never worked for me. So here’s the twist. Rather than putting these on the ban list full-time, “easing out” means they can be part-time indulgences, and soon you’ll notice you’re craving them in smaller quantities than previously, because your body is nourished in an entirely new way from the healthy food you’ve added in systematically.
Learning More About Eating Well
Learning to eat well is an ongoing journey that often entails a couple of highs and lows, as well as a bunch of lessons. The more you engage with healthy food, and the more you learn about how it benefits your mood, energy levels and the overall functioning of your body, the more likely you are to start paying closer attention to what you’re putting into your body to begin with. Nobody is walking around with a checklist and a marker to punish you if you fall off the wagon, so remember to be kind to yourself along the way!
The idea is to gently navigate back into the “crowding in” phase when things start to slip a bit, and not to allow any form of self-beating about indulging in comfort food here and there. This has to happen within some limits of course, and by doing so, your healthy habits will begin to trump the unhealthy ones more naturally over time. If you’d like more tips about healthy eating, keep an eye on the Hello Happiest Instagram or touch base with me about a coaching session or two to empower you on the journey.
By tapping into this less extreme approach to the food you eat, you’ll be running for the celery and seed crackers right after the chocolate aisle quite willingly! Make this a delicious process, and you'll enjoy the ride.
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