Add More: A Different Approach to Better Nutrition

When most people decide they want to improve their nutrition, their first thought is usually:

What do I need to stop eating?

No more cookies. Cut out carbs. Stop eating after 8 p.m. No more fast food. No more sugar.

But what if improving your nutrition started with a different question?

What can I add?

At Ironclad CrossFit, we’re not going to tell you that you can’t have a cookie. You’re an adult. You can have the cookie if you truly want to.

When constantly focusing on the foods you “can’t” have, it turns those foods into an even bigger focus. When every choice becomes a battle between “good” and “bad” foods, eating well can start to feel like something you have to endure rather than a lifestyle you can actually maintain.

That’s where an additive mindset comes in.

A More Positive Way to Think About Nutrition

An additive mindset changes the way we feel about improving our nutrition and focusing on what we can add shifts the conversation in a positive direction.

We can begin asking, “What can I do to make my next meal a little better?”

This small shift puts the focus on opportunity! Nutritious choices should feel like something we're choosing to do for ourselves, rather than rules being imposed on us.

And there is research to support this shift in mindset. A 2020 study followed more than 1,000 people working toward New Year's resolutions and found that people who set approach-oriented goals (focused on what they wanted to do), were more successful after one year than those who set avoidance-oriented goals (focused on what they wanted to stop doing) (Oscarsson, 2020).

Think: “I’m going to add a vegetable to dinner” rather than “I’m going to stop eating junk food.”

How we frame our goals matter! Instead of constantly practicing restriction, we're practicing the behaviors we actually want to become habits.

Think of Your Day Like a Pie Chart

Imagine everything you eat throughout the day represented by a pie chart. There is only so much space.

As you intentionally add more whole foods like fruits, vegetables, quality protein sources, whole grains, healthy fats, and other nutrient-dense options, they naturally begin to occupy more of that chart.

And as they take up more space, there is simply less room for highly processed, less nutrient-dense foods to dominate your day.

You didn't have to ban them.

You didn't have to create another food rule.

You changed the balance.

That distinction matters because a sustainable approach to nutrition doesn't require every slice of the pie chart to be "perfect." A cookie can fit. Pizza can fit. Going out to dinner with friends can fit.

The goal isn't perfection. It's building a foundation that supports your health, performance, and life.

Small Additions Become Habits

Restriction often asks, “How long can I avoid this?”

An additive mindset asks, “What can I consistently do more of?”

That might look like adding protein to breakfast every morning. Keeping fruit at work. Adding a vegetable to dinner. Drinking a glass of water with each meal. Preparing one more meal at home each week.

Those choices may seem small, but that's exactly the point. None of those changes require completely overhauling the way you eat. But practiced consistently, those small additions begin to change the overall quality of your diet.

We're not trying to eat perfectly for two weeks. We're trying to develop habits we can still be doing two years from now.

Try It This Week

For the next week, don't worry about removing anything from your diet.

Instead, choose one thing to add.

Add a serving of vegetables to lunch. Add protein to your breakfast. Add a piece of fruit to your afternoon snack. Add another glass of water. Add one more home-cooked meal to your week.

Start there.

Because sometimes improving your nutrition isn't about eating less.

It's about giving your body more of what it needs.

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Rooting for you, 

Coach Savanna