How to Eat Real Food Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed by real food?  Help is here!

Real food is defined as those foods that are nearly intact–they are similar to how you would find them in nature. You know, the foods that your great-grandparents probably ate and not the pre-packaged “food-like” items that fill many of our grocery stores. Unfortunately, we have strayed so far from what we were born to eat that we now have to do tons of research to know what we “should” be eating. That research can easily lead to overwhelm.  While there is no shortage of information, it is not easy to navigate especially when your time is a precious commodity. We want to help you easily transition to a diet based on real food quickly, easily, and without those awful feelings of overwhelm.  

Eliminating real food overwhelm by taking baby steps

Making one new change a month allows you to really solidify your routine. If you approach the changes slowly, they will become your habits, your new normal.  By the time you are done, you will have forgotten about life before these new habits!  

Find your biggest reason for wanting to eat real food

What is your motivation for transitioning to a cleaner diet? Improving your health quickly, longevity, and altering body composition are all compelling reasons to improve your diet. Whatever the reason, it is important to identify your why so you can prioritize your diet modifications.

Keep your motivation high by finding a quick win

Find just one thing in your current diet that is pretty unhealthy but isn’t an essential part of your current diet and simply stop buying it. Remember to pick one, and only one, unhealthy thing and find a healthier replacement for that item before you even move on to considering the rest of your foods. One example of a quick win is eliminating unhealthy sweetened beverages.  You can substitute your conventional soda for an organic soda in a glass bottle that you add carbonated water to in order to reduce your sugar intake. Whatever your win turns out to be, celebrate it!  Don’t feel silly being your own biggest fan, it is important to feel great about what you are doing.  You are making real, positive changes!  

Upgrading your real food ingredients

The title “upgrading your ingredients” may give you some anxiety because so often an “upgrade” brings a higher price tag. It is necessary for many of us to prioritize our foods and decide what we can live without, and exactly what holds the most important for us health wise.  Our priorities may not be the same as yours, but we approach our clean eating by choosing the highest quality animal products, fats and oils, and grains that we can find. Grab our shopping guide from the Community Library to see both “pristine” and “clean” foods for each major food group.  

Finding good real food substitutions

Look for real food substitutions that have 5 or fewer ingredients. Creating a substitution plan may be something that you wish to do right away or more slowly. Remember, if you start to feel overwhelmed, slow down and make one positive substitution each month and no more than that.

Setting yourself up for success

As long as things in life are going normally, you should be well prepared to stick to your positive changes. However, life is rarely “normal”! This is why it is important to be prepared for the unexpected and have some real food backups, freezer options, emergency options, and even snack options. Our favorite way to make sure we stay prepared is to cook double batches whenever possible and freeze the extra.  This has saved us many nights when supper plans simply fall through.  

To sum up

• Resolve to make one new change a month.  
• Find your “why” for wanting to change your diet and consistently remind yourself of this
• Determine a quick diet change that is a big win and then celebrate how awesome you are for making this change.
• Upgrade the quality of your ingredients. Prioritize which food groups are the most important to you and address them in order. Check out our shopping guide in the Community Library (FREE, just request access) to see both “pristine” and “clean” foods for each major food group.
• Find real food substitutions for the foods you eat and create a substitution plan.  Go as slowly as you need to.  Remember that this is a journey and not feeling overwhelmed by changes is key to making these new habits stick.
• Set yourself up for success by having healthy backup foods for when life just gets crazy.

Remember, you can do this, one small step….one crunch...at a time!   Save Save Save Save Save Save

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