A Few Ideas On Success On A Real Food Diet
Starting a real food diet does not have to be terribly hard. The secret to achieving your goal is to find an approach that works for you. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to work.
Think Long-Term
I’d advise you not to think of your diet as a short term effort, or as something to adhere to inflexibly for a few weeks. Instead, view it as a process in which you constantly try to improve your food choices.
Should you slip up — accidently consume a whole package of Oreos in a single sitting (or whatever your personal food demon is) — don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re only human! Just recognize it as an opportunity to identify a possible pitfall, and try to find ways to avoid it in the future. With that in mind, here are some tips.
Consume More Good Fats and Protein
No matter what we do, we are designed to love foods that are high in sugar and fat – and to avoid starving ourselves. It’s a built-in survival mechanism, and it makes it extremely difficult to stay with many typical diets. The great thing about eating a real food diet is that going hungry just isn’t part of the plan. You simply need to focus on eating good real food.
One example of this is trading classic low-fat diet foods for more satisfying choices. Real foods that are rich in protein and healthy fats – think eggs, grass-fed meat and dairy – will help you stay satisfied.
When I switched my usual morning meal from soy milk and granola to scrambled eggs, it made an immense difference for me. My energy level throughout the day became far more stable, plus the mid-morning crashes and sugar cravings vanished — and I lost some body fat. Also, my cholesterol is excellent, but that’s a story for another time.
Tried But True Advice
A classic bit of dieting advice is to be mindful of your eating — especially being mindful of when you start to feel full. As you follow a real food diet, you may well be eating foods with more protein and fat than you’re used to. These foods will satisfy you much more easily than low-fat or high carbohydrate foods. Work on noticing when you’ve had enough, and your portion sizes will adjust themselves.
Although the usual diet advice is to not go back for seconds, I can’t advise that. For me, it just encourages loading up my plate with more than I truly want or need, and feeling like I need to finish everything. I think it’s a healthier plan to begin with a tiny portion and return as often as you need to. Just proceed slowly, and notice how satisfied you feel between servings.
Ease Through Cravings
Should you struggle with cravings – don’t struggle too hard. The more you upgrade your diet, the less they will bother you, so surrender a little if you must. Also – if you don’t feel fewer cravings in time, you should reevaluate your diet and experiment a bit. Keep trying to eat less sugar, and make sure you’re getting some healthy protein and fat with each meal.
I also highly recommend making sure that you always have one treat available to you. Mine is good ice cream, made with premium real ingredients. Just try to make it a healthy real food version of whatever it is that you really enjoy, and don’t go crazy with it, of course. Knowing that you can have that one good thing can go a long way toward keeping you in the right state of mind about your new diet.
Keep In Mind That It’s Worth The Effort
Finally – please remember that you deserve to eat well. I won’t lie – it does take some additional effort to seek out and prepare healthy real foods. With practice, it will get quicker and easier – but in the meantime, remember that you are totally worth it!
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