What is Real Food Anyways?

Food and eating should be an enjoyable experience, not something to be feared. There is a lot of misinformation and myths continuously circulating around nutrition, and my goal is to help clients filter through the nonsense and start eating to support their health and thrive everyday. No more dieting or thinking about what you “can” and “can’t” eat – it’s time to stop constantly being at war with food and find the foods and lifestyle that help you live optimally, in the present and years from now.

I strongly believe that every person is different, and this means that there is no one-size-fits-all way of eating. Not one plan works for everyone and in fact, everyone’s nutritional needs are different. I think it is important to develop a plan and strategies that fit your body and your life. You can build a nourished body from a foundation of real, delicious foods. You deserve to be healthy, happy, and comfortable in your body. This means you have to trust yourself, trust the process, honor your body and believe that you can succeed.

The word diet in today’s health industry has been redefined as “a temporary weight loss program.” But really, when I say diet I am referring to the sum of what I eat, not a temporary, quick fix, restrictive program. I eat a REAL FOOD diet.

What exactly is real food?

The food you eat should be anti-inflammatory and make you feel better, not worse. We can attribute the way feel, mentally and physically, to what we eat. When you change your relationship with food, you see how much it might have been disrupting your life by constantly inflaming your body, impacting your hormones, and making you uncomfortable. To thrive in the present, you must consume foods that are anti-inflammatory and avoid things that promote inflammation. Some of these foods might be naturally occurring and perfectly fine for some people, but everyone is different. Food interacts differently with different people. So ask yourself, is it naturally occurring? Can you find egg whites or skim milk in nature? Or the more obvious, can you find Honey Nut Cheerios in nature? The answers are obviously no, and these altered foods are just a result of marketing efforts by big companies and the food industry. Real food is the stuff your body was designed to eat. You don’t find Special K cereal, egg whites, or skim milk naturally. These foods are processed and stripped of the nutrients that were meant to have and your body is meant to absorb. Forget the cereal and have some real protein, eat the egg yolk and all its Vitamin A, and ditch the milk or get some full-fat happy cow milk. I know that no one is perfect… especially in today’s modern world, it’s hard to always get real, wholesome food. There’s a lot of convenience foods that I rely on in my busy life, and I know how my body will respond to these conveniences. There are also certainly times when I just want to have a bowl of peanut butter ice-cream or some chocolate chip cookies. So I do. And I enjoy every bite. Which brings me to my next point: I don’t “allow” or restrict myself from certain foods.

I don’t believe in telling you what you “can” and “can’t” eat.

When we break it down, we can see how simple REAL food and nutrition is.

• Eating real, whole, natural, delicious foods and meals most of the time
• Finding real food sources and eating things that are as close to nature as possible
• When I eat the foods I want that might not be the best quality, I do it 100% guilt free
• Listening to my body — eat whenever I’m hungry and stop when satisfied
• Not having any “forbidden” or “off limit” foods

You can choose what to eat by figuring out what your body can do without and what it needs to avoid.  Does this mean being restriction? Being in tune with how certain foods make you feel and choose to restrict what you want. I eat what I love. You don’t love food that makes you feel badly, so you choose not to eat them. With this mindset, eating real food is not restrictive – it’s liberating. You are in complete control.