Small nutrition changes with a big impact

When it comes to behavior change, people fall into two camps. Those who go balls to the wall, all out, cold turkey, 180-degree shifts because baby steps are a slippery slope. Or those that need bite-size chunks (no pun intended), as I give in my book WORK WELL. PLAY MORE! Productive, Clutter-free, Healthy Living – One Step at a Time. Even small nutrition changes can make a big impact. For those who need levels or think that a small nutrition change won't make a difference, I challenge you to consider the changes in this article and their impact. This is post one of a three-part series on small changes in nutrition, physical health, and productivity.

Example Small Nutrition Changes

Cream in your coffee: Two tablespoons of cream in your coffee (and how many people stop at one cup?) per day adds up to 16,425 calories per year. That can put on about 4.5 pounds. Two cups? Double it. Nine pounds are enough to make your pants feel tight, right? I can't drink coffee black, but if you can, and the cream doesn't make a difference, forgo it and save the calories. If you intermittent fast, it also keeps you from breaking the fast. Cheese on everything – I love cheese. For my husband, it is a food group. However, there are many things that cheese is added to where it doesn't add value (or make it worth the calories). Suppose I have a burger, and I'm loading it up with ketchup, mustard, pickles, and sauteed onions. In that case, I'm probably not going to taste the cheese. Before you add cheese out of habit, consider if you'll be able to taste that gooey goodness first. Pasta or rice – Changing 1 cup of rice to 1/2 cup of rice and 1/2 cup of riced cauliflower twice a week saves you 8800 calories per year or about 3 pounds per year. That doesn't seem like much, but imagine if you substituted with riced veggies or shirataki noodles on most days. You're also getting the added benefit of more fiber, vitamins, and minerals with less processing. Is there another small nutrition change you can think of that could make a big impact?