The most important thing I can tell you is if you are resourceful and committed to living a healthy lifestyle then no matter the financial challenges you are experiencing or the lack of experience you have in the kitchen, you can live a healthy and abundant life. I think what is tripping many of us up along the way is this word “healthy” and grasping the true meaning of that word while so many people are determined to confuse us for the benefit of their own selfish desires to sell us either cheap processed junk food and call that healthy or really expensive foods, plans and services that re deemed crucial for living a healthy lifestyle. I think with all this dishonesty and blatant intention to make money, consumers are now rebelling against healthy and just don’t care anymore.

This Is Not A Solution.

We have only one body and the sooner we learn to take care of it, the sooner we can learn to help our kids, husbands and friends take care of theirs and then all of us will have the strength, stamina and mental agility to live our lives to the fullest. Why else are we here on this planet?

Being healthy is actually quite simple and the answer for how we can access health comes quite naturally to us if we shut out the noise on the wellness blogs and turn up the internal volume and listen to what our bodies are telling us. Though there are building blocks for living a healthy lifestyle, defining what foods and lifestyle choices are healthy is personal and intuitive because each of us has our own emotional, physical and mental triggers that can throw us off balance and the wisdom and tools to use to to bring us back in harmony. That alone is the first step to living a healthy lifestyle; recognizing the triggers (foods, relationships and daily choices/practices) that take us off our feel good path and understanding intuitively what we need to do to get back on it. That’s what being empowered is and that is not only healthy but damn sexy too!

Living A Healthy Lifestyle Is NOT Dependent On the following:

  • Buying expensive superfoods.
  • Eating a raw food, Paleo, Atkins, Gluten-free or any other “diet”
  • Drinking green juices every day.
  • Taking yoga.
  • Being Vegan.
  • Being Vegetarian.
  • Depriving yourself of a sweet treat or a piece of bacon every once in a while.
  • Throwing everything in your kitchen and pantry away and spending tons of money restocking it with “healthy” foods you have no experience with.
  • Drinking almond milk or any other packaged nut milk for that matter.

Living A Healthy Lifestyle IS about the following:

  • Whatever you are eating you feel good in the process and after! You have energy, are happy and free from any pain in the belly, headaches or depression.
  • Knowing all fresh whole foods, grains and nuts are superfoods. Nature does not discriminate and has delicious nutrition to share with everyone no matter if they spend one dollar or twenty.
  • Being mindful of how your body responds to certain foods so you can create a lifestyle plan that works just right for you.
  • Being a conscious consumer, consuming more fresh whole foods and avoiding packaged and processed ones that are loaded with synthetic additives, emulsifiers, trans fats, salts and sugars.
  • Being mindful your meat consumption and understanding that if you are going to eat meat that it comes with a moral responsibility to have more respect for the life of the animal you are about to eat and to spend more on sustainable pastured meat from your farmer’s market or local rancher.
  • Eating way less meat and dairy in general. Meat should play a more supporting role than a starring one in your meals. Also, stop eating it at every single meal. A health body is one that is more alkaline so load up on those fresh veggies. That’s healthy.
  • When in doubt, buying more frozen organic veggies to incorporate in your meals and avoiding the canned stuff.
  • If you are on a budget being more choosy with your packaged foods. Having less of the good stuff because it’s more expensive is better any day than having more of the “cheap” icky stuff.
  • Knowing that the following should always be certified organic otherwise don’t eat these foods: potatoes, zucchini, papaya, strawberries, blueberries, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, rice, wheat (all breads and cerals), eggs, meat, chicken and dairy.
  • Spending less time on your phone and computer and more time engaging your friends and family.
  • Cooking more meals at home and eating out less.
  • Making your own muffins, cakes, breads and cookies at home.
  • Investing in a water filter or buying water from a water store that sells ultra filtered and alkaline water. Stop spending money on plastic bottled water that has absolutely no value. You may as well drink it straight from the tap – and if you live in the mountains that is what you should be doing anyway.
  • Eating without guilt or fear. Healthy means being stable in your mind and emotions as well as your physical body so if you are torturing yourself during and after eating a slice or two of pizza or some cookies, I would just rather you didn’t eat them. Guilt and fear attached to food is very unhealthy. Don’t do it.
  • Most important, going at your own pace. I would much rather hear you say that you ate one organic whole apple a day than no fruit at all. Go to the farmer’s market and just buy a head of lettuce and a few spring onions to get your feet wet. Open yourself up to new flavors and experiences. That is badass healthy!
  • Follow your intuition and have common sense: Eat what makes you happy while knowing that some of those happy foods like bacon, ice cream, soda, candy and cookies are meant to be eaten in moderation!

I hope this gives you some clarity when you are reading blogs and websites that are defining what healthy living is. Intuitively, We know what is healthy, just like intuitively, we know the difference between right and wrong. We aren’t as clued out as the world makes us think we are. We are smart, capable and knowing so it’s time we own that and trust ourselves more because when it comes down to it, we are all that we have so why not love ourselves a little more. Only great things can come from that.

XO