Subtracting by Adding

I talked yesterday about food change overwhelm, and diet fatigue relating to chronic illness. So today I want to share one of the first action steps that helped me to get unstuck. (And still helps me, if I end up stuck again).

Removing foods gets stressful over time. And it’s not healthy to just keep removing foods, especially as I was having to eliminate foods that for most people are considered very healthy. (Spinach!? High histamine. Strawberries?? High histamine). If we just keep removing foods, we lose important nutrient variety.

And sometimes, removing one more food, that is contributing to my overall inflammation, but not causing me severe emergency level reactions, felt so horribly depriving. I would put it off over and over again.

So I decided to start by adding to my plate, something I knew my body needed. Not to replace something else. Just to add something.  Sometimes it was a handful of plain lettuce. Sometimes a few pecans. Even a drizzle of a healthy oil over a food. Anything to up my nutrition.

As I increased my nutrition intake, adding to my plate, I found I sometimes ate less of the foods that were contributing to my symptoms. I didn’t crave them as much. But even if I did, I just added other healthful things to it.

If I looked at my plate, and tried to picture a balanced meal, what did I need more of? What was missing? It doesn’t matter to me, if it’s a culinary-appropriate addition, I just add it. In my coaching I call trying to balance the foods on the plate, creating the Magic Plate. Even just by adding to what is there.

If you feel stuck with making food changes your doctor is suggesting you make, have you tried to start by adding in some of the things your body needs, and see if other things possibly get subtracted as you go? It’s a win, either way as your nutrition will be improved!

Spring Gouette
Author: Spring Gouette

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