One of the best strategies I learned from Andrea Nakayama for achieving long-term success with my nutritional protocol is the principle of “crowding out”.
As Andrea explains it, the idea of “crowding out” is that we bring in new foods that are within our chosen path before or during the removal of the old foods. For instance, we might come in with our 28 to Great healthy whole-foods donut holes before ever saying goodbye to our old form of the dessert.
Andrea has found that “crowding out” is key to her clients’ success because it allows us to see and feel that deprivation is not on the menu. Once your mind is set at ease that you can still eat your treats, you’re more likely to find the incentive and determination to stay the course.
In 28 to Great, we’re on a mission to “crowd out” the foods that don’t serve us with more nutritious whole-food options. I’d love to share some of the upgrades I’ve made along the way. Give them a try!
Upgrade your butter with ghee or coconut oil. Both of these options are healthful at slightly higher heats and don’t contain constituents that a good number of people are sensitive to, without even knowing it. Olive oils is also a fantastic choice, but Andrea recommends only using it at lower temperatures or not cooked at all (like in a dressing).
Read more about ghee here.
Upgrade your coffee to green tea. Green tea stimulates the production of your white blood cells to boost your immunity. It contains antioxidants that have also been proven to support the health of key areas that include your digestive health, oral health, and anti-inflammatory processes.
Upgrade refined sugar to dates or raw honey. Dates and raw honey contain nutrients and fiber that slow the delivery of the sugars into your system, allowing for more sustained energy through the day. As Andrea says, “refined sugar is just empty calories!”
Upgrade no or low-fat products to their full fat, whole foods counterparts. Once the fat is removed from something it has become a “processed” food. Your body can do a much better job of digesting foods in their whole form. And when the good fats are removed from our foods, they actually become higher in sugars!
Upgrade white rice to brown rice, quinoa or millet. Did you know that some whole grains like quinoa are actually a complete protein and contain more calcium per weight than milk? While our whole grains contain vitamins and nutrients, like our mood-pleasing B vitamins, the refined grains do not.
Upgrade your store-bought cereal to our quick homemade muesli. The processing involved in most packaged cereals don’t allow for the delivery of many nutrients that will fuel your energy and health. They’re also high in sugar. Just the opposite is true about our easy-to-make morning muesli!
Upgrade your quick oats to steel-cut oats. One of our main 28 to Great principles is to upgrade to whole and less-processed foods. Those quick cook oats are basically pressed and processed steal-cut oats. The faster they are to cook, the more processed they are. We recommend going back to the nutrient dense steal-cut oat! (Try cooking them the night before.)
Upgrade your wine to sparkling water with a splash of pomegranate juice. I get it. . . it’s hard to be at a party without a glass in your hand. During your 28 to Great journey, take on the challenge and leave the wine for those very special occasions. Otherwise try our favorite burgundy beverage, loaded with antioxidants, pomegranate juice with sparkling water. You’ll be surprised at how good it is!
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