Week 1… Real Food & the 5 Ingredient Rule

Have you ever heard you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet? When it comes to optimizing your health, I believe this statement to be true. While I am an advocate of exercise and movement, I am first an advocate of understanding how to fuel the body correctly with real food. When your body is fueled properly, exercise becomes more effective, you feel better in your daily activities and your overall health improves.

This first habit is a critical one to spend time on and can be a difference maker in how you feel, how you think and also how you age. Knowing what real food is and incorporating it into your daily routine is a powerful tool focused on health gain.

So what is real food? Simply defined, it is unrefined, unprocessed whole foods that do not contain added artificial ingredients and have not been altered. It is food that comes from nature- both plants and animals. These foods are typically found around the perimeter of the store and and include frozen fruits and vegetables.

When it comes to nutrition and lifestyle change, there are several resources I use to guide my practice as well as my personal health journey. One of the first resources that resonated when I began my focused health journey, was a cook book called a 100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake. It was, and still is, a great resource for me. As I shifted our family to more of a real food focus several years ago, it was my guide and source of practical information that enlightened my awareness to healthier eating.

To be honest, even though I was a health care professional, a former athlete and pretty health minded overall, I was confused about what foods were truly healthy. The many health claims found on food packaging and in advertising makes it difficult to know what is or isn’t good for you. Claims such as low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie, fat-free, sugar-free, low-cholesterol, and heart healthy are EVERYWHERE and often steer us to choose foods that really aren't helping us get healthier. It can be very confusing! This resource answered the many questions I had and helped me to confidently start making some simple changes that I still follow today.

Here are some basic rules taken directly from 100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake. I have found it to be a good guide to follow when choosing real food, and I hope it helps you too!

Real Food is…
1. Whole Food that is typically 1 ingredient like brown rice, or no ingredient label at all, as with fruits and vegetables.
2. Packaged food with no more than 5 unrefined ingredients.
3. Dairy products like whole milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs and cheese.
4. Breads and crackers that are 100 % whole grain.
5. Wild caught seafood.
6. Locally and humanely raised pastured meat products (chicken, pork, beef and lamb) antibiotic free, nitrate free.
7. Dried fruits nuts and seeds.
8. Naturally made sweeteners.
9. Products of nature vs products of industry.

Real Food is not...
1. Labeled "low fat" "low carb" or "low calorie" (in most cases).
2. Made with refined sweeteners (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup) or artificial sweeteners (aspartame or sucralose brand names of Equal or Splenda).
3. Anything deep fried in refined oils.
4. 100 calorie packs or any foods made with refined grains.
5. Packages with loads of ingredients, some of which you cannot pronounce.
6. Highly processed foods that are labeled organic (cheddar crackers, organic cookies or organic candy).
7. Meat from factory-farmed animals.
8. Most anything from a drive through window.

Leake, Lisa, 100 Days of Real Food, 2014, pg 9-10

To get started on forming this health habit, here are some practical strategies I recommend:

1. Familiarize yourself with the rules above and slowly start filling your cupboards and refrigerator with real food options.

2. Read ingredient labels to know what is in your food. If the ingredient section on the box has more than 5 ingredients and you aren’t able to pronounce what is listed, think twice about whether or not your really need it as it’s likely not feeding your health.

3. Find recipes that are focused on real ingredients and healthy spices. Check out some of my favorite resources and recipes here on this website! Many of the recipes included are ones I started using several years ago. Make it a goal to try 1 new recipe a week that is real food focused.

4. Give yourself some grace! We live by the 80/20 rule in our household. Eighty percent of the time we are striving to fuel with healthy choices while also living an active lifestyle. This provides a realistic balance that we can stick to and feels right for us.

5. Look at food as medicine. Ask your self, is what I am eating or drinking fueling my health or is it perhaps contributing to disease? The rules above can serve as a guide to will help you find your answer. Slowly start removing the items that are not benefiting you and your health and replace them with ones that are.

6. Remember this is a process and takes time. Have fun with it and slowly integrate these concepts into your day to day. In time it will become a habit and a way of life and your body and mind will thank you.

   A real food focus is a great first step on your nutrition journey. Stay tuned for more strategies on nutrition, as well as other lifestyle habits and that will compliment your real food focus and help you on your optimal wellness journey.