inFORM: Keepin' it Real Introduction

Fanciful claims and sensational headlines dominate magazine covers and Twitter feeds. Miracle pills, powders, and potions promise to banish belly fat and cut five pounds in one week. Oh, and “for less than $10 a day, you are guaranteed to lose weight while eating delicious pre-packaged foods like pasta, pizza, chocolate bars, and even ice cream sandwiches!” Really?!

According to Money magazine, Americans spend more than $60 billion dollars a year feeding the diet industry’s bottom line. We are emptying our pockets at an alarming rate in the endless pursuit of health, but are we getting any healthier? No.

Obesity rates in adults have more than doubled since 1980. Rates in children have tripled. Tripled.

Ironically, the number of diet programs has risen right along with the rates of obesity. We get sicker, fatter, and sadder despite the inundation of quick-fix programs. We grow more frustrated and weary with every calorie we count and gram we graph. Friends, the answer to our problems isn’t a meal replacement shake, processed protein bar, or math equations.

The answer is food.

Real, nourishing, healing FOOD. Hippocrates so famously advised, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” But how? With all the misinformation and conflicting opinions out there, how can we keep it real and not fall for the mounds of BS that surround us?

Does anyone really enjoy feeling hungry and deprived? Guys- we don’t need to. Life is meant to live in abundance. Food should be enjoyed without guilt.

It is my mission to empower you with the tools and knowledge you need to nourish your body, feel your best, and look your best. I want you to feel confident knowing that you are providing yourself and the people you love with clean, wholesome nutrition. You can design the life- and the vitality- you want for yourself.

So, yeah! That’s the story behind Keepin’ it Real. Let’s get started feeling awesome!

Three ways to feel awesome today:

1) Begin a love affair with fat. First of all, get over the idea that fat makes you fat. It doesn’t. Sugar makes you fat. Fat helps you become lean, energized, smart, and sexy.

Try these sources of healthy fats:

• Saturated fats from happy, healthy animals such as ghee, organic eggs, grass-fed meats, and antibiotic free poultry.

• Saturated fats from extra virgin coconut oil and coconut.

• Monounsaturated fats from olives, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, wild salmon, and ground flaxseed.

• If you tolerate dairy, use real cream, full fat cheeses, milk, and yogurt. Fat-free and skim are not the answer. Your body needs fat. Period.

Side note: Make sure you tolerate dairy. Not sure? Completely remove it from your diet for 10 days. Add it back in and see how you feel. For some of us, dairy brings on acne, digestive problems, and sinus issues. Others can do dairy just fine. Try a little self-experiment.

Another side note: My husband recently removed dairy. After 10 years of him sawing logs next to me every. single. night., he no longer snores. So...give it a try!

2) Think about your drink.

Real drinks don’t contain artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. They don’t have cheap sweeteners like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. They don’t have trans fat in the form of partially hydrogenated oils. Read your labels! If you see these ingredients, move along, Savvy Shopper. Move along.

What should you drink?

• Plain green, herbal, and black teas

• Black coffee (add real cream if it works for you)

• Water with lemon

• Red wine or vodka with soda if you like a cocktail now and then

3) Breakfast is not a piece of cake. Don’t eat cake for breakfast. You may be thinking, “Umm...no one eats cake for breakfast.” Actually, most Americans eat cake for breakfast.

Cake = muffins, donuts, toast, cereals, waffles, pancakes

You see, when you eat a breakfast full of baked goods and grains, your blood sugar spikes. Insulin is secreted to clear the sugar from the blood stream.

Where does that sugar go? If you eat a lot of cake-like products, that sugar is stored on your belly as fat.

What happens after the insulin surge? Your blood sugar crashes and you feel sluggish and hangry after two hours. Yes, hangry! No one likes a hangry person. Don’t be that guy.

I sure hope these tips were helpful!

Here is my family’s favorite “no-cake” breakfast recipe. I like to make up a big batch on Sunday, so we have easy breakfasts ready for the week.

Breakfast Hash

Cook Time: 15 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

• 1 pound ground turkey

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 2 red or yellow bell peppers, diced

• 2 teaspoons each sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, cumin, coriander, and paprika

• 2-3 eggs per serving