Real Food Lifestyle- What It Is + How To Get Started

I like to think of a real food lifestyle as eating whole, real foods found in their most natural state. Foods that have been grown, killed or produced from nature. To give you an exact definition: Avoiding refined and processed foods, and those that have artificial ingredients such as certain preservatives and additives.

You may be wondering what foods fall into this category

1. Fruits

2. Vegetables

3. Lean meats and seafood

4. Unrefined grains such as brown rice, whole grain bread and pasta

5. Healthy fats like nuts, seeds, olive oil, coconut oil

6. Dairy products like milk, yogurt, eggs and cheese

7. Natural sweeteners like honey and pure maple syrup

8. Drinks like water, milk, all natural juices, coffee and tea naturally sweetened

These are the foods that fall outside of this category

1. Refined grains like white flour or white rice

2. Refined sweeteners like sugar, corn syrup, cane juice or artificial sweeteners like Splenda

3. Anything out of a box, bag, or package that has more then 5 ingredients

4. Deep fried foods

5. Fast foods

I have been eating this way for 5 years now! I got started when I came across the 100 days of real food blog and read about the 100 day pledge. You can find that blog here, they have a ton of great resources and recipes!!

Immediately I was intrigued and wanted to adopt this way of eating. I got rid of everything that wasn’t on the real food list and started buying only those things on the list. I love it so much and have never looked back, it has just become a lifestyle that my family follows.

If this sounds like something you want to get started with here are some steps you can take.

1. Get rid of anything in your fridge or pantry that does not fall into the real food guidelines.

2. Make a grocery list including foods from each category above (fruits, veggies, meats and seafood, unrefined grains, healthy fats, dairy products, natural sweeteners and drinks).

3. Look at pinterest, google and cookbooks to help you come up with recipes.

4. Eat and cook all of your meals at home

5. Limit eating out to 1x per week (personally we do 2x per month).

6. If you have a craving for sweets or fried foods only eat them when you have cooked them at home. (This is one of the tips from the 100 days of real food blog that I thought was great!) If every time you have a craving for cake or fries and have to make them from scratch you may not eat them as often because it takes a whole lot of work to actually make those things.

7. Follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time eat real foods and the other 20% of the time eat whatever you want. Let’s face it, you aren’t going to give up birthday cake, fast food, the Starbucks drink that has become your habit when you go to the mall, or the wine you drink at girls nights, forever. So choose to eat those kinds of foods 20% of the time.

I chose to start eating this way because I wanted to start eating a healthier diet then your typical college diet. It was during my last year in college I adopted this lifestyle. I also choose to continue eating this way because I know I am giving my body foods that fuel it and foods that are best for it.

I have more energy, feel better, and am healthier overall because of choosing to eat this way. It’s something that has become super important to me, to feed my family the healthiest foods possible, free from additives, preservatives, and all the other junk in most foods found in our supermarkets today.

These why’s on the 100 days of real food blog have also become my why’s. If you are wondering why this is a lifestyle you should consider click the link here.

Do you struggle with your nutrition? Have you tried over and over to start eating healthy only to fall off the wagon and go back to your old ways of eating junk food?

I would love to help you overcome those things! So I’ve created a new program launching soon. Click the link here to join my email list and get first dibs + a special offer only available to those on my email list. More details coming soon!!