The real food pyramid....

You're here because you're interested in your health, right? If you take one thing away from this post, let it be that you need to educate yourself and not depend on the government, food industry or nutritional 'experts' to deliver unbiased information. As tempting as it is for me to highlight the flaws in the traditional food pyramid which we are all familiar with, I won't. It's been done to death, and a quick search will yield days of reading material which should suffice in convincing you that all you need is real food. 

There's no need to overcomplicate things... 

This is all you need to know. 

Everyone has to start somewhere, and I'm the first to admit that when I decided to make a change, I really had no idea what I should be eating. Information given to us in the media is generally biased to whatever global corporation is footing the bill for the advertorial. Prime examples include the promotion of white bread as a useful addition to our diet, the suggestion that a doughnut for breakfast is better than holding out for something nutrient rich a little later or the most recent I've seen, the promotion of a bowl of sugar for breakfast. The point is, you need to educate yourself, make decisions wisely and trust your instincts. We all know processed foods are bad, it really comes down to making a choice and owning it. 

I use the word choice, because you have a choice. You can choose to stay as you are, filling your body with chemicals and additives, or you can turn things around and eat tasty,real food. You'll be amazed at how much you can do with natural, fresh ingredients.

For quite a while, I lived on salads and steamed vegetables because I genuinely didn't know what to cook, and I was afraid if I deviated from what we all know to be healthy food, that I'd start to veer off track and stop making progress. The problem with eating the same foods all the time is that you'll get bored, and you will cheat... we've all been there! You don't need to have excellent cooking skills, or a massive weekly food budget... Like I said in my last post, leave your excuses to one side, and make the choice to live a healthier lifestyle. 

I cook all the time now, I even bake cakes! The key is finding a balance... the odd treat won't hurt, but you need to be mindful of undoing all the progress you've made that week by eating everything in sight...

It's really important to recognise that eating Paleo/Primal, doesn't mean that portion control should go out the window. Yes, you're eating unprocessed food, but this food still contains calories...The cakes I bake use healthier ingredients, but they're not an every day feature in my diet...they're a treat..

If you're just starting out, two books I've read that I found excellent were 'It Starts With Food' and 'The Paleo Solution'. They're both really easy to understand, and don't throw out endless amounts of scientific information. Like I said... there's no need to make things difficult...

It's simple...lots of meat & vegetables, nuts and some fruit. Anything that was produced in a factory & packaged in brightly coloured boxes with ingredients you can't pronounce shouldn't be on your shopping list!