A great way to improve your diet slowly and gradually, without depravation, is to deploy the method of “crowding out.” 

Instead of going on a restrictive “diet,” crowding out entails slowly increasing your consumption of nutrient dense fuel foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, to gradually reduce the ratio of processed foods and/or the amount of animal products you eat. 

For many this strategy is a way to optimize your diet for health, without the overwhelming all or nothing approach. 

According to theWall Street Journal, chefs are taking note and reorienting restaurant offerings to appeal to this trend. 

The article explains, “Several trends have converged in a perfect culinary storm. Awakened by the national obesity crisis, many Americans want to eat more healthfully—though perhaps not enough to leave the table hungry. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends eating red meat no more than twice a week. But chefs know that dividing the portions across many meals is a smarter strategy. Studies show that having even a little meat on the plate makes for more satisfied diners. Increasingly, chefs like Jody Adams in Boston, Michael Solomonov in Philadelphia and Alain Ducasse in Paris are finding delicious ways to strike a balance between health and hedonism.” 

Read the full article: Meat on the Side: Modern Menus Shift the Focus to Vegetables.

It's a challenge to let ourselves slow down. 

As Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, says, "We seem to have a complex about busyness in our culture. Most of us do have time in our days that we could devote to simple relaxation, but we convince ourselves that we don't. It seems there is always something that needs doing, always someone who needs our attention."

Moore continues, "Unfortunately, we don't get a lot of support in this culture for doing nothing. If we aren't accomplishing something, we feel that we're wasting time."

We all need time to ourselves, where no external demands are being placed on us, to recharge. How can you cultivate more time for yourself on a regular basis? 

Learn more about self-care by working with a wellness coach.

The New York Times has reported welcome news: New diabetes cases have begun to fall in the United States. 

The article asserts that, "the rate of new cases fell by about a fifth from 2008 to 2014, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first sustained decline since the disease started to explode in this country about 25 years ago." The Times mentions the following possible reasons why the decline occurred. 

• Eating habits have finally begun to improve. 
• Soda consumption is down
• Physical activity has started to rise
• Obesity rates, a major driver of Type 2 diabetes, have flattened
• People realize the danger of a sedantary lifestyle
• Many realize the result of healthier habits is a better quality of life

Still, however, "diabetes afflicts one in every 10 American adults and is the country’s leading cause of blindness, limb amputations and kidney dialysis." 

“It’s not yet time to have a parade,' said Dr. David M. Nathan, the director of the Diabetes Center and Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. But he noted, 'It has finally entered into the consciousness of our population that the sedentary lifestyle is a real problem, that increased body weight is a real problem.”

Read the full article. 

Want to work on anything this article brings up, such as eating habits or becoming more active? Contact Thrive Wellness Coaching to schedule a free wellness coaching session. 

Heidi Swanson's Natural Food Guide
The term natural is open to interpretation, but here is what it means to me: Natural ingredients are whole--straight from the plant or animal--or they are made from whole ingredients, with a little processing and as few added flavorings, stabilizers, and preservatives as possible, thus keeping nutrients and original flavors intact; for example, tomatoes crushed into tomato sauce, cream paddled into butter, olives pressed into olive oil, or wheat berries ground into flour. Read more.