For a long time now “health” has been defined by subtraction: removing weight from our bodies through rigorous exercise and removing foods from our plates.
This method has proven to be ineffective as it has contributed to slowed metabolism (the rate your body burns fuel), yo-yo dieting, increased weight gain, heightened body image distress, and eating disorders.
Maintaining our health is an important part of caring for ourselves, so we are now put in the position of having to redefine health and what it means to pursue health on our own terms.
Let’s consider flipping the definition completely and taking an additive approach to health: adding in variety of foods, and adding necessary and enjoyable movement/exercise which will add strength, endurance, and flexibility to our bodies.
This concept is in line with Intuitive Eating, a concept developed back in 1995 that focuses on reconnecting with yourself and allowing your intuition to guide food and movement choices. Here’s how to do it:
Acknowledge the role diet culture plays in your beliefs about health.
We are taught how to diet but not often taught how to eat for nourishment, satisfaction, or enjoyment. This is the root of our associations and assumptions that healthy eating = dieting.
It is important to acknowledge that we have a polarized view of nutrition that has become deeply engrained in our culture. The two sides are:
Eating whatever, whenever I crave all the time.
Or limiting, dieting with no awareness of balance – removing “unacceptable” foods.
Generally speaking, we are not taught about the space in between; a space where all foods fit and nourishing our bodies is not something to be controlled by a diet, but rather something to be attuned to within ourselves.
Take some time to reflect on how this dynamic has impacted your definition of health, as well as your habits in pursuit of health. If those habits aren’t working for you then it is time for change.
Define Health For Yourself
If you have concluded that diet culture’s definition of health is not serving you well, then it is time for a new definition all together. Allow yourself to mold this definition to your specific needs without judgment or comparison.
Some questions to consider might be:
Do I feel really well, inside. Bursting with natural energy and vitality?
Do I feel ‘fit’ and/or strong?
What can I do to help myself feel good?
What way of eating serves my needs and is tasty?
Is my current pattern of alcohol consumption working for me, or could I decrease it?
How does my mental health factor into my overall health?
Learning to define health for yourself is an intuitive process that involves trust and compassion. It is important to trust yourself, especially if you identify that your needs are different than the gold standard of “health” that diet culture portrays.
If that is the case, you are always going to be inundated with messages about health, wellness, and the ideal body type, and it will be your job to trust in the definition of health you have established for yourself.
Consider what foods/movment you would like to add in…
This is where the additive perspective really shines. Rather than making a list of foods to eliminate from your diet, consider the alternative.
For too long, dietitians and other health professionals would advise people to cut things out of their diets for health reasons. Cut out high fat, dairy, get rid of grains, cut the carbs, ditch the eggs, skip sweets, avoid packaged foods and so on and so on.
It was a lot of ‘don’t’ and not a lot of ‘do.’ This can make you feel overwhelmed, for one, and it can also cause a feeling of extreme desire for the foods that are on the no-no list.
Similarly, if you are trying to lose weight and eating salads with only veggies for lunch, sure, it’s healthy but not that satisfying. Eating this way, or trying to make your food fit through the eye of a needle only stimulates intense food cravings which are impossible to ignore and will drive you to binge on not so healthy foods.
Then you are not only back to square one, but have guilt feelings as well and are left in despair as to what to do next.
So to make a positive change, lets take that ‘healthy salad’ and add in some ‘accessories’ as a smart way to not only make your salad feel heartier but also add flavor, texture and satisfaction to your meal.
ADD simple things – for starters add some protein, slices of chicken, beef, beans, salmon or chopped hard boiled eggs, some healthy fats like avocado or chopped toasted nuts or seeds for some crunch, some fresh or dried fruit for sweetness and so on can go a long way toward helping you really love your salad.
What’s more, getting more protein into your diet, as the “add, don’t subtract” mindset encourages, can help you drop pounds without sacrificing muscle mass which is the engine of the body, helping you to burn up the food you eat as fuel.
ADD in a healthy delicious dessert or treat a couple of times a day – some homemade healthy sweet treats made out of nut butter, nut flour, dried fruits and seeds, coconut products and so on. For hundreds of free, healthy, no bake, sweet treats and dessert recipes go to my Blended Bites blog here: https://blendedbites.com
If you focus on what you can ADD you will have no time or room in your diet to worry about what you should NOT be eating.
Its about making food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel good. Remember that you don’t have to eat perfectly to be healthy.
This approach focuses on what foods you enjoy and are wanting to add from a nutrition standpoint, rather than eliminating foods that diet culture has deemed as “bad” or “unhealthy”.
By adding more nutritious foods to your meals, you will learn how to construct a balanced plate (eg. always including a form of protein) that not only satisfies your cravings but also provides essential nourishment.
This leaves less room in your diet for empty calories. Now read that carefully. It’s about having less room, not no room, for those special foods you enjoy or crave.
This means if you feel like eating a cookie with lunch, go ahead. But you might find that your desire for it isn’t as strong as it once was. The key is having the freedom to choose, which prevents that feeling of missing out — common in traditional diets.
Also, rather than committing to “getting back on track on Monday” which aligns with an “all or nothing” approach, consider a slower and more gentle approach.
Once you have identified some foods and types of movement you would like to ADD to your life, choose one at a time and experiment with how it fits into your daily routine.
For example, if you would like to eat more vegetables, start with trying to incorporate veggies into different parts of your day to assess what time works best for you, is most realistic, and most enjoyable.
If you wish to add more movement into your life, maybe make just one (or two max) workouts a week for starters and fit that into your life. If that works, add another and so on.
Most people take the opposite approach and try and go to the gym 4 or more times a week and wonder why they fail a few weeks or months in. As a long term gym owner I see this happen ALL THE TIME!
Taking a non-judgmental stance to these positive changes is incredibly important as it will validate that food and movement are not “good” or “bad” and will reinforce the message that you are making mindful choices that serve your unique definition of health.
Going against the societal norm is never easy, but hopefully we can all find motivation in the fact that society’s definition of “health” has not served us well.
Whether it has made us question our body’s hunger, propelled us to try a fad diet, crazy exercise regimes or made us feel unworthy, diet culture has shown itself to be a friend to self-hatred, and an enemy of self-compassion.
This should be enough evidence for us to move away from diet culture and lean toward trusting ourselves and ditching the SUBTRACT approach to a new ADD approach to define and improve our own personal health on our own terms.
