First, Add the Good

"But I love my junk!" People keep saying this to me as if it's the last line in their personal health story. Well, even a love of junk food doesn't have to stop you from improving your health. After all, if junk food alone really killed people, the average life-span of most Americans would be like 7, right? In my opinion, the main problem with eating empty calories is that they replace the nutrient-dense foods our bodies so desperately need. There are overweight people actually suffering from malnutrition for this reason. In fact, some experts even theorize that modern "epidemics" like anxiety, depression, poor sleep and stress are results of chronic malnutrition because of the prevalence of empty calories in the American diet.  When you consume so much junk, you have no room left on your plate or in your stomach for the foods that actually contain the essential vitamins and minerals you need for good physical and mental health.

At IIN we have a theory called "crowding out." The idea is that rather than trying to reset your health by avoiding the bad foods you love, you first incorporate good foods you need -- like water and greens. It's simple: make yourself drink 8 oz of water upon waking and see if you still need both cups of coffee.  Have a large serving of spinach or another colorful vegetable with your steak and fries.  Eat the vegetables on your plate first and you might notice that not all the fries disappear or that now 4 oz of steak seems like plenty.  Even if you still clean the plate, you have done something positive for your health by making it more colorful.  Interestingly, a lot of people do lose weight fairly quickly when they practice crowding out despite the main rule being to "eat more of something." Most of us have a set range of calories our body can consume in a day and if you fill up on healthy, fiber-rich veggies and fruit and drink lots of water you just won't have as much room for the junk, even if you allow yourself to sample it.

Basic psychology explains why crowding out works better than a strict diet that forbids certain foods. Like the bad boy in high school, foods become so much more appealing when we are told they are off limits. A friend told me that on her first few weeks of South Beach when fruit was not allowed, all she could think about was fruit despite not eating enough of it before going on the diet. We all know this syndrome, apparently it even affects the maybe-human Gwyneth Paltrow who says just the word diet makes her want to eat more. It makes sense.  So, if you want to do something positive for your health, first ADD the good stuff.  You might just notice you subtract the bad without even missing it.