Just Add Carrots
Can mindful additions overcome our addictions?
A couple of weeks ago one of my regulars came in for snacks and cocktails. I hadn’t seen her for a while and noticed that she was glowing and looked super fit. We got to chatting about it and she said the secret to her success was to “just add carrots”. She explained that diets had never worked for her because she felt she was always depriving herself, so this time around she decided to add some kind of vegetable before every meal or snack.
Her advice to me was: so you want a snicker bar? Great! First, have some cucumbers or some celery and then, knock yourself out; have the chocolate. With this method, she lost about 20 pounds over the course of a few months.
I thought about what she said and realized that her method might be a great way to retrain my brain. Depriving myself of things I enjoy always makes me feel like I’m being punished, but adding healthy habits could make me feel better and maybe want less of the junk.
So I decided to apply the “just add carrots method” to a few problematic areas of my life that are detrimental to my well being: whiskey, BBQ chips, and social media.
My plan was to add one healthy thing in each area before eating, drinking, or scrolling. Maybe it sounds too simplistic, but the thing is, I’ve tried…
