I saw a headline the other day that said, “The Benefits of Cutting Sugar Out of Your Diet in 2025.” I didn’t read the article, but instantly had two thoughts. First, there are so many benefits to cutting sugar out of your diet. This list would include lowered inflammation, better sleep, improved brain function, more balanced mood, more stable energy, weight loss, and more. So, cutting out sugar would absolutely be one of the more powerful things a person could do if interested in improving their overall health. But then came the second thought… cutting sugar out completely is extremely hard and almost every person would fail.
That headline got me thinking about the idea of cutting out versus cutting down. No matter what your health goals are, you must set realistic goals if you are ever going to achieve them. And trying to completely eliminate anything is often just too hard. A much more probable, and still super impactful, strategy would be to cut downon something.
Let’s say you drink two cans of soda per day. Well, the average can of soda has approximately 150 calories. So, two cans per day adds 300 calories to your daily diet. That equates to just over 2,000 calories each week, and over 100,000 calories each year. Because 3,500 calories equate to about one pound of body fat, cutting those two cans of soda out could lead to an amazing 30 pounds of fat loss over one year. I have actually seen this exact scenario happen with patients. They cut out their habit of drinking two sodas per day, changed nothing else, and lost 30 pounds in one year.
But if you love soda, crave it, and can’t imagine life without it, instead of cutting it out completely, how about cutting your consumption in half. Now you still get that burst of joy, are much more likely to be successful, and would still lose 15 pounds of body fat over one year. That is significant. Not to mention all the other benefits, outside of just fewer calories, such as consuming half the sugar, half the artificial sweeteners and flavoring, and half the caffeine.
The average American spends 2 hours and 24 minutes per day on social media. This adds up to 870 hours of screen time each year. Of course, cutting that out completely would be a worthy feat, but let’s face it, that is unrealistic for most people. The odds of eliminating it entirely are low. And once you fail, you would likely return to that 2.5 hour per day average. Instead of cutting it out, how about cutting it down? If you cut that time in half, you free up a ton of time to be more productive, work on more worthy endeavors, earn more money, advance your career, learn a new skill, or get out and experience life. Cutting your screen time in half, which still gives you 1 hour and 12 minutes of social media bliss, adds about 435 hours of free time to your life over the next twelve months. How much time is that? That equates to, incredibly, almost eleven (11) 40-hour work weeks. Wow! What could you do with all that free time?
Cutting out is best, but cutting down still leads to amazing outcomes. No matter what it is you are trying to cut out, you will find much greater success with cutting it down first. Cutting down for a year is not only much more likely to xxx than cutting out, but cutting down for a year will bring you more benefits than cutting something out completely for just a few weeks.
If you can completely cut out the sugar, soda, chocolate, social media, or whatever other bad habit you are trying to kick, then do it. But if you’ve tried it before, failed before, and are like just about every other human on the planet, start with cutting it down, not out. Your success rate will go up, you’ll see that you can live with less, you’ll experience tremendous benefits, and it’s the next best thing to cutting it out entirely. So, stop stressing about cutting something you love out… and start today by cutting it down. Remember these words as you strive for better health and a better life…Progress…not perfection.