Whole 30 challenge

One of the things that people never seem to believe is that I don't crave chocolate, or bread or pizza... I honestly don't. It turns out that when you fuel your body with real foods, and ensure you're not lacking in nutrients then your body doesn't want sugar or wheat any more.

If you're thinking of cleaning up your diet, I can't recommend Paleo/Primal enough. Take the Whole 30 challenge. Be strict.. challenge yourself to eat only real food (fish, meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables and nuts) for 30 days and you'll be shocked at how healthy you feel. You should expect to see an improvement in your energy levels, mood and sleep patterns... you will most likely lose weight too! 

One of my favourite things about the Whole 30 challenge is that it's not like the 'miracle' diets out there. It doesn't promise you'll drop 20lb in 30 days, or that you'll lose 10% body fat in a week... what it will do is change your tastes, adjust your habits and cravings. 

An argument I come up against all the time is that Paleo/Primal lifestyles are too expensive. My response is always going to be the same...Food is how you fuel your body and maintain your health, how can you put a price on that? As a follow up (not being a judgemental cow here by the way)... how much did you spend on alcohol over the week? You're willing to spend €50 on drinks at the weekend which only serve to damage your health, so why not readjust your priorities and spend that cash on decent food? 

I can't deny it's more expensive to choose real food over processed food on special offer in the supermarket... I guess you've just got to make a choice.. 

Ideally we'd all eat grass fed meat, nitrite free bacon and organic vegetables... but we're all busy, we can't be perfect all the time.. and yes, all that organic food is expensive. Don't give up on eating clean just because you can't be perfect 100% of the time. You can buy meat and vegetables in the supermarket.. it doesn't even have to be Superquinn... ALDI/LIDL are fine. My point is, you don't have to go to a farmers market (let's be honest, they are more expensive).. you can eat good food on a budget. Regardless of where you're buying your meat and vegetables, it's always going to be 100 times better than the alternative frozen ready meal.....