At some point when considering your daily nutrition, you might find yourself asking why it might be so hard to overcome cravings, tempting treats like dessert, or that daily can of soda. Sometimes these “little things” can be some of the biggest setbacks when it comes to tipping the edge to really creating a healthier lifestyle, and finding self-empowerment when it comes to the types of foods we choose to use to fuel ourselves.

This is why it might be worthy to consider elimination of certain foods (or drinks) before we can potentially “moderate” them fora more “balanced” or “mindful” approach to dieting and nutrition. Here are a few benefits of practicing a short elimination, before re-introducing, and moderating, those foods we had eliminated.

• For a practical length of time, it’s a simple, actionable item: you simply do not consume the food—whether it is artificial sugars, alcohol, dairy, gluten—and there are no gray areas. You find success on the daily simply by avoiding that food!

 

• Sometimes it gets a little worse before it gets better. Many processed foods might contain artificial sugar, which continuously keep us wanting more. So you may feel a bit sluggish, without your sugar fix, or have a little bit of an occasional headache from the lack of sugars, but in time, this will go away! You just have to give your body the time to “detox” and understand that it’s going to survive just fine without those artificial sugars!

 

• You come to learn that you don’t really miss much once you actually start to remove certain foods or drinks from your diet. Something like eliminating those few too many drinks at happy hour on Friday night with a glass of lemon water or sparkling water, not only saves you the calories, but also allows you to feel a little more liberated from the societal pressure to “fit in” with certain social behaviors that could be holding you back from achieving your goals in a more practical and effective fashion.

 

• Physiological systems will run a little smoother! Whether it’s improved sleep, higher energy, less bloat and better digestion, minimizing inflammation-inducing foods and drinks just improve so many aspects of your overall well-being!

Though daunting to some, elimination of foods for 4-5 weeks is completely doable, especially with a clear goal in mind for the elimination. After those 4-5 weeks, reintroducing the foods back in can then be moderated in order to re-visit the idea of creating a “mindful” approach to eating.

Interested in challenging yourself this fall with your nutrition? Check this link out!