Carolyn Hansen: Try the ‘addition’ idea for your healthy eating plan

The whole idea of an addition diet is to focus on adding foods into your diet that contribute to your health balance. Photo / 123rf

OPINION:

Elimination diets have been around for a while now, and they put the focus on food groups that need elimination from your diet. They are filled with words and phrases like ‘can’t’, ‘don’t touch’ and ‘bad for you’ - all pointing the fingers in a negative direction.

It’s no surprise, then, that many people ‘fall off the bandwagon’ when trying to improve their eating habits while following such negativity. But just as all things in life change and evolve, so too does healthy eating, and there’s a new kid on the block gaining popularity called the ‘addition diet’. Even the name sounds positive, and reflects positive images into our psyches.

The addition diet represents a real shift in perception (a psychological shift) from negatively approaching our diets to coming at them positively. It shifts the ‘can’t’ to ‘can’; a much more empowered way of doing things.

Human beings are curious by nature. If we are told we cannot do something or cannot eat something, it seems as though a trigger goes off inside, and suddenly we want those things more than ever. That’s when real battle begins.

The addition diet avoids this negative ‘dieting’ trigger by allowing you to add foods, not subtract them. This puts your mind in a different mindset - a healthy, positive mindset, one that eliminates negative words and thus put you on a direct path to success.

Diets in general teach us to remove unwanted, unhealthy foods such as bread, sugar and processed foods, but they fail to inform us on what to replace those foods with, so all we’re left with is a big gap in food and meal choices, and unfortunately, we end up filling these gaps with ‘junk’ foods.

The first thing you will need to do before beginning your addition diet is to make a list of foods that will be added to your eating plan.

Here are some foods that should be considered - focusing, of course, on real, natural, whole fresh foods. Your goal should still be stellar health and vibrant living, and that can only happen with real live food. This list is only an example, and not the be-all-end-all.

Vegetables: Be adventurous… try some vegetables that you have not been willing to try before, or possibly some you have not had in a while. Vegetables such as sweet potatoes are perfect choices.

Protein: This is another area that you can get adventurous in. Quality proteins include things such as grass-fed meats, fresh fish from the ocean and free range poultry and eggs, or vegan options all cooked from scratch.

Healthy fats: Coconut oil is one of the perfect fats to replace some of the ‘bad fats’ that may be lurking in your kitchen cabinets.

Nuts and seeds: There are lots of raw nuts and seeds you can add – nutrient-rich and packed full of healthy fats.

The whole idea of an addition diet is to focus on adding foods into your diet that ‘contribute’ to your health balance, and by doing so, you automatically ‘crowd out’ the ones that are ‘subtracting’ from your health balance.

So, if you are ready to shift your diet perceptions from negative to positive, then it’s time to start making a list of foods you’ll want to incorporate into your addition diet.

You have just discovered a healthy eating secret. It’s not only about what goes into our bodies, but about what not’s going in. Think on that one for a moment.

- Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness.