Sugar. Sugar. More sugar.
That was what I craved constantly. I have always had a sweet tooth. But when my son was little and we lived in an apartment building with a convenience store downstairs (with access to candy at all times!), my sugar addiction got out of control. I could finish a giant bag of chocolate covered raisins or creamy caramels in no time flat.
The more my sugar addiction grew, the more my distaste for vegetables grew. I remember turning down salad and joking that it just wasn’t my thing.
Um…..salad is everyone’s thing. I must have sounded so silly.
Fast forward a few years and my favorite aunt gets diagnosed with cancer. She died within a month of the cancer being discovered and my world got turned upside down. So many questions. How can someone that didn’t even look sick have cancer throughout her entire body? How did she not have any symptoms?
Having someone so close to me die from cancer was a wake up call. My anxious tendencies kicked in big time and I became terrified of getting cancer myself. I began researching everything I could about cancer prevention and healthy living.
A few months into my journey, my brother got diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and almost died from one of the medications he was prescribed. This second incident solidified my resolve to live a healthier lifestyle and increased my skepticism for pharmaceuticals.
For 10 years I had been dealing with chronic UTIs and an increasingly difficult bowel routine. I was on antibiotics more than 12 times a year and was sick of feeling helpless. I wanted to take control of my health and stop putting my fate in the hands of doctors.
At the time I knew absolutely nothing about nutrition. I could identify basic food groups but that was about it. I had no idea what a macro nutrient was or how much my body needed. I didn’t know what micro nutrients were or why they were important. I didn’t even know what an avocado was and had never eaten one in my entire life! To top it all off I was not good at cooking either. The thought of eating healthy was OVERWHELMING.
I had no idea where to start.
So I did the easiest thing I could think of. I decided to drink more water and cut out sugary drinks. That seemed doable. Once I had mastered that I made it a goal to eat the number of servings of fruits and vegetables recommended by the Canada Food Guide. And once I had mastered that, I started upping my fiber intake. One step led to another and pretty soon I was having green smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch, and making Pinterest worthy suppers.
Over the last 8 years I have read dozens of books on nutrition, scoured the internet for the latest research on health, and have used nutrition and natural medicine to cure my chronic UTI’s, drastically improve my digestion and bowel function, and heal chronic pain.
But I remember how overwhelming it was to think about eating healthy and changing my lifestyle. Heck, I still get overwhelmed sometimes with all the conflicting opinions and research that is thrown around in the media. The fear of doing something wrong is enough to make you want to just do nothing sometimes. Stick with what is easy and familiar.
But I am here to tell you that that is not the answer. That even though healthy eating can feel complicated, it doesn’t have to be difficult.
Over the years I have tried A LOT of different things to improve my diet. And what I have come to know is that all effective diets have a few things in common.
- Eat real food.
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
- Eat less junk.
That’s it.
No secrets. Not magic formulas. Just consistency.
After much experimentation I found a winning formula for how to kick-start healthy eating habits. Even after years of eating healthy, I have to do this to get back on track when I have overindulged during holidays or over summer.
5 Steps to Easy Eating
- Choose Real Food: Pay attention to the ingredients in your foods. When buying groceries, especially kitchen staples like broth, mayonnaise, ketchup, and salad dressings make sure there are no chemical additives, MSG, or artificial flavors. Or better yet make your own!
- Have A Nourishing Breakfast: Breakfast is the first opportunity to nourish your body. Having a few sweet and savory options that you love will set you up right for the rest of the day.
- Make Lunch Simple: Soup, salad, leftovers. End of story.
- Have Fun With Supper: Have a few go to favorites, but mix it up by trying new recipes and experimenting with flavors!
- Don’t Deprive Yourself: Life is about moderation. Indulging in a cookie after dinner will not ruin your health goals. Should you eat ALL the cookies? Probably not.
To make your journey to a healthy lifestyle easier I made a 7 Day Healthy Meal Plan Kick-start for you to download for free.
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