All too often, diets don’t work because they come from a place of deprivation. We’re told if we want to see results we must eliminate certain foods, but rarely told what to replace them with. You complete your diet, maybe lose a few pounds, but slowly start to see old habits and foods making their way back into your life. Diet’s may teach us how to lose weight temporarily, but they don’t teach us how to make lasting lifestyle changes. In this post, we will focus on two key concepts to lasting change: crowding out + habit stacking, and a few simple steps to place these practices into consistent motion.

What Is Crowding Out?

A simple practice of crowding out less nutritious options by incorporating more nutrient dense foods. The goal is to focus on adding as many colors and whole foods as possible into your day. This approach places the focus on providing your body with the most nutrients before adding in those treats!

What I Habit Stacking?

If we want something to last we must make it a habit. Why don’t you have to remind yourself to brush your teeth each day? Because you’ve made it a habit! It’s easier to incorporate a new habit if we stack it onto an existing. While you brush your teeth do ten squats. Soon enough we won’t need the queue of teeth brushing to remember to do our squats.

In order to build consistent habits I rarely recommend starting with everything day one. Pick a few different habits you want to form and focus on them each day.

The approach in a week like this is to add as many nutrient dense foods as possible! Each day you will have a different key to focus on. If you are focused on giving your body as much good fuel as possible, you may just find you don’t have the appetite or desire for other empty calories you may have turned to in the past. We will dive into habit stacking in the next section but ideally you will be building onto each day as the week goes on. Day 1 drink half body weight in oz of water, day two drink half body weight in oz of water and add a smoothie, day three do the two previous and add three colors to each meal. By the end of the week you will be well on your way to making each of the above principles a habit! Consistency not perfection is key to any lasting change. Hit all the 7 principles and still want a cupcake? Go for it! Treats still have a place in a balanced diet. With placing a strong emphasis on nutrient dense foods you may just find your palate changing over time for less of empty calories and more of foods that make you feel strong!

Sample Week To Habit Stacking

Day 1-2 Hydration + Smoothie For Breakfast

Hydration:

Dehydration can often be confused for hunger. Staying properly hydrated throughout the day will allow you to tap into true hunger cues. In addition, staying hydrated will help combat poor-digestion, fatigue, and skin issues. Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces today.

Tip: Add slices of cucumber and mint to your water for a nice little twist. Fruits like strawberries, apples, lemon/limes are also great add-ins.

Smoothie:

Packed with nutrients, smoothies or smoothie bowls are great swaps to alternative breakfast options like cereal or bagels. Be sure your smoothie incorporates fat, fiber, protein, and greens to balance your blood sugar. This week make the following smoothie bowl recipe to keep you full all morning!
1 Heaping Handful Greens (Ex. Spinach) 1/2 Cup Frozen Berries
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1 Cup Almond Milk
1 Scoop Protein Powder
Top with chia seeds & berries

Day 3-4 Three Colors + 7-10 Fruits/Veggies

Colors: One way to add variety to your meals and crowd out any empty calorie foods is to search for ways to add color to your plate! At each of your meals today aim to incorporate three unique colors into your meals! For example, during breakfast add strawberries, blueberries, & spinach to your smoothie. Lunch, make a purple cabbage salad with edamame, & pineapple. For dinner roast salmon with broccoli, and purple sweet potatoes! This is a great way to get those phytonutrients and can be a fun game to get the kids involved.

7-10 Fruits/Veggies: Make it a point to add 7-10 different fruits and veggies to your meals today. This may seem like a lot at first, but with just a little planning you may find it a fun little challenge. Smoothies, salads, soups, and stir-fry’s are excellent ways to add variety. With the added vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber from these nutrient dense foods you may not feel the desire for that bag of chips after all!

Tip: Packed at peak ripeness, frozen veggies are fantastic substitutes for a quick dinner. Sauté frozen broccoli, edamame & carrots to be served over riced cauliflower & grilled chicken for an easy dinner! There’s 4/10 veggies right there!

Day 5-6: Try Something New + Start With Greens

Try Something New: While having a line up of go-to recipes on hand can be helpful, variety can keep the spice in eating healthy! Once a week experiment with a new recipe for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Eating healthy does not have to be boring and exploring different cooking techniques and cuisines is key to not falling into ruts of ordering take out or relying on frozen meals. I suggest ordering a new cookbook and mapping out which new recipes you want to make for the month. This can be a game for the whole family and will help you be prepared in meal planning.

Start With Greens: Before digging into your dinner start with a plate of greens. Not only will this help you get some added veggies, but also fiber to help keep you full throughout the night. Think beyond the basic side salad though! Experiment with different greens like kale, arugula, chard, and spring greens. Add cucumbers, peppers and zucchini for a nice crunch. I like to make my own dressing to avoid added preservatives in store bought versions.
6 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijon
1/2 lemon
Salt/pepper

Day 7: Add Protein Rich Snacks: Having ready to go snacks available will help you avoid grabbing for that handful of chips while keeping you full until your next meal. When looking for snack options, aim for something with fat, fiber, and protein. Options like an apple with nut butter, roasted chick peas or veggies with hummus are all great options. For something more on the go, try a date/nut bar.

1 Cup Dates
3/4 Cup Cashews
3/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Salt
Place all ingredients in a food processor for 3-5 min. Once formed into a ball roll out flat and cut into bars. Store in an airtight

Habit Stacking

Forming new habits is essential for lasting change. In order for this change to occur specificity and consistency must be applied to our goal. If you have a goal of running a marathon, simply saying I’m going to do a few runs throughout the week and eat healthy won’t help you reach your end goal of a marathon. Instead creating a plan to run 4 days a week at 6:00 am for 60 minutes with a long run on Sunday of 3 hrs will help remove any ambiguity when life gets busy or you don’t feel motivated-because trust me you will not always feel motivated! The easiest way to form a new habit is stack it onto a pre-existing habit. Let’s say you have a goal of doing 20 pushups every day but are struggling to be consistent. Instead of thinking, I will fit in those 20 push- ups sometime today, find a habit on auto-pilot to stack it to.

Goal: 20 Push-ups

Habit: Brush my teeth
After I brush my teeth I will do 20 push-ups.
The queue of the toothbrush will remind you to do the push ups.

In order to reinforce the behavior of the new habit, implement some type of reward you enjoy, that still aligns with your overall goal.

After I brush my teeth I will do 20 push-ups After I do 20-push ups I will make a cup of coffee

By establishing a set of queues, and reinforcing the work with a small win you will eliminate the tendency to push off “the work” until you find time.

Pick a few goals or habits that are important and meaningful to you and have fun with this experiment!