Say Yes to Healthy Foods…

…rather than no to unhealthy foods. It turns out that dieters who focus on avoiding foods are less successful than those who focus on adding healthy foods to their diets. Avoiding foods you love the most appears to set people up for failure. Instead, allowing occasional treats whilst increasing the amount of delicious and healthy foods in the diet leads to success (1).

Whether you are changing your diet in order to lose weight or clear up a health problem or just to feel healthier, both now and in the future, here are some tips for success:

• Focus largely on things to include rather than things to avoid.
• When deciding which unhealthy foods to avoid think of those that you like but could easily forgo, instead of giving up your very favourite foods.
• When deciding which healthy foods to include think of those that you enjoy rather than those you don’t really like.

Always check with your doctor or medical specialist before embarking on any dietary changes, especially if you have a medical condition, are on medications or are pregnant or breast feeding.

References

1. 1. Meredith E. David, Kelly L. Haws. Saying “No” to Cake or “Yes” to Kale: Approach and Avoidance Strategies in Pursuit of Health Goals. Psychology & Marketing, 2016; 33 (8): 588