Giving up vices is all the rage in January.\u2002In 2024, the trend appears to be towards giving up alcohol and toxic positivity as well as sugar and animal products.\u2002Great! Swell, I say!\u2002However, I propose you tweak your thinking just a teensy little bit to approach your New Year\u2019s resolution with an attitude of abundance rather than scarcity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s say you want to reduce your sugar consumption in January.\u2002Excellent choice.\u2002According to health.harvard.edu, excess sugar consumption can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammation, weight gain, and fatty liver disease, which are all linked to higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. It seems to me, even if you’re not experiencing any overt negative effects, it is still a prudent choice to reduce your sugar intake.\u2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you decide to cut it out.\u2002You read the labels and you vow to avoid anything with added sugar, sucrose, corn syrup, even organic evaporated cane juice<\/em> — haha — they tried to trick you but it didn’t work!\u2002For the first two weeks of January, all you can think about is how you “don’t eat sugar.” And a weird thing starts to happen.\u2002The more you think about not eating the sugar, the more you think about the sugar.\u2002You begin to obsess about the sugar, so you look up all the reasons it is bad for you, so that you can strengthen your resolve.\u2002You Google sugar and why it is bad.\u2002You watch YouTube videos and Netflix documentaries about the sugar.\u2002You begin to resent The Sugar and the mysterious (maybe even conspiratorial?) hold it seems to have on you.\u2002The Sugar becomes The Forbidden and after a while your inner rebel emerges, whispering in your ear about your “precious”.\u2002You’re hungry because you haven’t done anything other than remove thing A without a thought as to what you will replace it with.\u2002Inevitably a gigantic swing ensues from puritanical avoidance of all things nectar, syrup, and anything ending in “-ose” to hedonistic lust for Mrs. Baird.\u2002The pendulum swings from one extreme to the other and before you can say \u201cpowdered donut,\u201d you’re off the wagon, on the ground, rolling around in a heap of maltodextrin, middle fingers in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if there was a different way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enter the “crowd out” method. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s ridiculously simple.\u2002Instead of focusing on what you will take away, what if you focused on adding more of something better for your body?\u2002More leafy greens, more healthy fats, more Ezekial bread, more real food.\u2002I’m not talking about tricking your stomach by stuffing it full of romaine lettuce and baby carrots — that doesn’t actually work because it doesn’t lead to feeling satisfied.\u2002You body is not an idiot.\u2002Your body feels full when you feed it ample protein, some dietary fat, and fiber and nutrient rich plants.\u2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think eggs and veggies or greek yogurt and berries for breakfast — aim for 20-30 grams minimum each meal.\u2002Have some chicken or plant-based protein with lunch, plenty of veggies with a protein source for dinner.\u2002Stuff that beautiful body full of whole plant-focused foods, whole protein sources, add some avocado and watch the craving for sugar naturally reduce to a minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use the crowd out method for any habit you are trying to change — toxic positiviy?\u2002Try crowding it out with MORE being real about how you feel.\u2002Keep in mind, the thing you add in order to crowd out the thing you want to quit needs to have a similar effect.\u2002It has to be an equal trade.\u2002So, quitting alcohol?\u2002Simply swapping for water isn’t going to cut it.\u2002We drink alcohol to feed another need.\u2002Instead find healthier methods for taking the edge off, such as running, reading, napping, hiking, petting your dogs, etc.\u2002Crowd out toxic people with healthy relationships, crowd out trashy TV with a trashy book. Crowd out meat with really yummy vegetarian dishes.\u2002You get the idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am confident that this simple shift in focus from removing to adding is going to serve you well in 2024. And further more, I hope you read this post with the tongue in cheek flavor that was intended. \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Giving up vices is all the rage in January.\u2002In 2024, the trend appears to be towards giving up alcohol and toxic positivity as well as sugar and animal products.\u2002Great! Swell, I say!\u2002However, I propose you tweak your thinking just a teensy little bit to approach your New Year\u2019s resolution with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,13,19,21],"class_list":["post-29","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition","tag-diet","tag-health","tag-protein","tag-wellness"],"yoast_head":"\n