The other day a friend of our family was over at my house. She was talking about how her hormones were out of whack and that was causing weight gain and making it difficult to loose weight. She had been to a holistic nutritionist and did a consult with here but then told her each visit from there on out would be $200!! She proceeded to tell me how she is not able to pay that kind of money and then on top of that, buy the suggested supplements and food. I was just listening , waiting for here to finish so I can tell her a less expensive way…..Then my husband interrupted her and said “your talking to the right person”. She looked at me as if a light bulb went off and and said “oh yeah, you know this kind of stuff”. I humbly smiled and was feeding her information over the next 2 hours. I was also making a fruit salad for breakfast that I shared with her.

Since she had no clue what real food was, I hand wrote her a page, front and back just off the top of my head to ease her into it based on the foods her family enjoys. Things like:

Take out any foods containing soy, wheat, and corn (sounds more simple than it is when you buy ready foods).
No vegetable oils, use coconut oil and olive oil instead of other oils.
Use brown rice pasta instead of wheat pasta (eventually and hopefully this would not a regular in any diet, but to help ease the shock of the transformation).
Cut out soda
Use oat flour to bread chicken and fish instead of wheat. Oat flour can be made by grinding dry oat meal in a food processor.
Since she uses Pappy’s seasoning for everything, I suggested that she go online and get a recipe to make it at home, that way she can just have the powdered spices and unrefined salt without the added preservatives and table salt which contributes to stiff joints and swelling as well as other health problems.
Switch salt to pink salt or other unrefined salt.

There were other suggestions on things to switch out and also to incorporate such as yogurt, whey (since she is diabetic), flax, chia, spirulina, fermented cod liver oil, and so on. I also drew her a plate and divided it into 3 sections = 50% non starchy vegetables, 40% protein, and 10% for the rest. Now, this will not work for everyone, and should be used as guidelines.

I also shewed her some reflexology points that she could used when in pain and she went on her way.

When she left, I thought of so many other things I should have said, or included, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her, so I thought I will just give her my books and let her get inspired, which is why I am working on A Nutritional Makeover in the first place!!

Later that day, she sent a text to my husband asking what was in the breakfast I made, she had energy all day and couldn’t believe it. She wanted the recipe, so I directed her to my blog here, the only difference is I added coconut oil and chia seeds to this recipe.

I saw her a few days later and she told me she had not needed to take insulin since she saw me and she was taking it 5x a day! She thought is was a miracle breakfast, but didn’t realize that was only the kick start. She had made drastic changes and even went through all the food in her house and threw out almost everything, including her Pappy’s!

That was pretty impressive to me that she is so gung-ho on making this change. Her husband even said the outline is doable but was freaking out that she was throwing it all out, she even dumped cat litter over the bag so there was no temptation for him to retrieve it out of the dumpster 🙂

I though this experience/story should be shared in case anyone else out there in the same situation can get motivated to make a change.

The following is a part from my book “Total Fitness Routine, An Introduction to Real Food & Fitness” that goes in further detail:

Real Food Fitness Nutrition Guidelines

Depending on your goals whether weight loss or just overall health, included here are various sample meal plans that you may wish to follow. These are just guidelines; listen to your body’s needs.

Guidelines that form the base of A Nutritional Makeover (if you’re not sure what it means, don’t worry, start where you can and feel free to contact me with questions):

Eat the right foods for proper nutrients; If you eat whole grains – legumes, beans, A Nutritional Makeover will teach you how to properly prepare them for maximum digestion. Healthy fats, local (non GMO)/seasonal fruits and vegetables, and if you eat meat – pasture-raised/grass fed animal products.
Use unrefined salt and spices that do not have additives of any kind.
Proper digestion; incorporate Super Foods, natural supplements and Pro-Biotics
Learn to create a Meal Plan based on your culinary preference, ethnic background, geological area and seasonal availability.
Exercise regularly; physical activity, walking, biking, yoga, sports, etc…
Exercise Your Face! It will help you look and feel young.
Use natural hygiene products and keep a close eye on your nails and skin, they reflect what is going on inside your body. Take care of your inside so the outside will glow. Try dry loofah brushing, salt scrubs, natural/homemade beauty and cleaning products and pamper yourself with homemade face masks.
Follow the keys to health and well being; manage stress, get enough sleep, stay well hydrated, control blood sugar, detox your body, and hormonal balance.

It’s very simple, but not always easy, our busy lives often get in the way. Changing your lifestyle nutritionally may seem like a difficult process, but through A Nutritional Makeover you will be introduced to simple concepts that focus on one phase at a time. Keep an eye out for it!

Daily drinks:

Any of the following meal plans should include:

DRINK WATER!! Drink at least 6-8 Cups of water and/or 2 Cups herbal tea a day, along with fresh foods that contain water (fruits and vegetables; smoothies or freshly juiced. Even soups contain water and beneficial gelatin if made with bones). If you need water during your workout, drink it – stay hydrated.
Drink ½ -1 Cup probiotic drink.

Detoxification:

If you’re looking to Detox, here is a simple formula to follow.

Tip for Weight Loss and Overall Health:

(The following suggestions may not be for everyone, please listen to your body’s needs as we are all individuals)

Many people have benefited from eating a diet high concentrating on:

First on unlimited non-starchy vegetables (at least 5 servings a day).
Then focusing on a High protein- 1 gram of protein per body weight, per day (from clean sources).
Along with upping natural healthy fat intake (the right kind) is extremely important when upping intake of protein and can be extremely dangerous if you eat a low fat diet at any time. All meals should contain a sufficient amount of fat in the form of vegetable fats; coconut oil and avocado, grass-fed butter or ghee, animal fat from grass-fed only, or extra virgin olive oil (in moderation).
Less carbohydrates- between 75-150 grams per day, while trying to avoid and breaded foods made of wheat, corn and soy (any foods containing gluten seem to be a contributor to weight gain in some, so if you are trying to lose weight but don’t want to worry about “carb counting”, just try cutting out gluten until you have achieved your goal, then slowly incorporate it back in unless you have discovered a gluten intolerance).
Try to eat 50% raw to make sure you are getting proper digestive enzymes to help break down the food you are consuming. Raw foods include; vegetables, fruits, sprouted legumes, grass-fed dairy and pro-biotic foods (whole fat yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, or other fermented foods) and drinks (kombucha, kefir, water kefir, beet kvass, rejuvelac.)
Every 1 hour, drink ½ Cup of water or herbal tea hot, warm, or room temperature; not cold, not sweetened.
Make sure you don’t have drinks with your food, its best 1 hour before or after. Sometimes drinking kombucha or hot tea (or even hot water) shortly after eating food is good for digestion, which is a traditional practice in some cultures.

Not Losing Weight?

If you are exercising right and eating right but not losing weight, you may have a further condition and should seek the advice of a health care professional, and/or explore the possibility of certain food intolerances; gluten, dairy, soy, and corn are the main culprits amongst others.

There are other possibilities of different allergies, by doing a simple elimination diet or blood tests, you can find out. (An elimination diet is just taking out certain foods for a certain amount of time while documenting how you feel, then introducing them back in one by one while documenting any changes; positive and negative.)

Sample Meal Plan; Real Foods

Not everyone likes the same kind of foods; just do your best to stay away from processed foods such as foods that have a nutrition label or foods with ingredients, foods from a can or a box and already prepared foods of any kind. If you are new to “Real Foods” this concept may seem overwhelming, but it’s not. My goal in life is to help transition one woman at a time to simply understand what that means and help them apply it. So please do not hesitate to contact me if you need help.

Tips for saving time:

The most important first step is to make a weekly meal plan. If possible, let it revolve around the produce that is in season.
Cut vegetables ahead of time, every few days.
Buy baby spinach and/or mixed baby greens in a 1 lb tub (most every store carries organic baby greens and spinach in the refrigerated section in the produce.
Cook broth once a week and store it in the fridge.
If you are going to eat beans or legumes, soak them and cook ahead of time then put them in freezer sized portions in Ziploc baggies instead of using cans.

This sample meal plan has many options that are Paleo, Primal, dairy free, and Gluten Free friendly. If you are trying to get a certain amount of vitamins and minerals daily, you will need to do the homework to figure out the amounts of food you need, however, it is not necessary unless you feel you must.

Summarize:

To sum up what was already introduced –

First load your plate with non-starchy vegetables
Make sure to include healthy fat with the vegetables
Then protein
Then carbohydrates. If you are going to eat grains, legumes and beans, let them be a small side serving, not your main focus in the meal and make sure they are properly prepared.

Depending on the time of year, you may want BBQ or a bowl of steaming stew. The main thing is to eat what you like while avoiding what’s bad. Meaning, take the foods you love and give them a makeover. You can even create deserts to mimic the “bad” ones you love for an occasional treat. Let the internet be your guide in making your favorite foods healthy.

Try to make homemade bone broth and use it in place of water for recipes. Bone broth is excellent because of the gelatin; it contains magnesium, calcium, and enzymes to aid with proper digestion (plus weight loss).

(These meals can be eaten in any order you choose, or substitute any foods you like. This is only for an example; feel free to create your own.)

BREAKFAST–

Since we all function differently, different foods will have various effects on each person individually. For me, smoothies work well during the spring and summer months. During winter months, I prefer eggs. We all like different things and different times. I have only 3 choices here for breakfast, but you can create your own, just make sure it has protein and healthy fats such as coconut oil, grass-fed butter or ghee, or animal fat.

Smoothie (1 Cup berries, 2 Cups greens; baby spinach, kale or other, 3/4 Cup fresh squeezed orange juice, coconut water or water, 1 Tbs. flax seeds or chia seeds, and 1 Tbs extra virgin coconut oil and any additional (optional) super foods you would like to add) Blend all this in a blender instead of juicing so you will get the beneficial nutrients in the fibers as well. Or you can choose a different smoothie of choice. Making a “Green” smoothie by adding organic baby spinach is an excellent way to get your raw non starchy vegetables in.
Fresh fruit/berry salad with 1-2 cups fruit/berries, 1-2 Tbs. EV coconut oil, 1 Tbs. chia seeds, 1 Tbs. unsweetened coconut flakes.
Egg frittata or omelet

SNACK–

Homemade Laura Bar or Almond Joy energy balls, these are great for a long lasting energy boost between meals. Make sure if you are constantly on the go, pack a couple in your bag for when hunger strikes!
2 Tbs. nuts or seeds with a slice of raw cheese
Smoothie (same as breakfast)
Yogurt drink, if you choose to add dairy only use grass-fed and preferably buy raw and make yogurt yourself.
Boiled egg 1-2
Dates (6-8) or other dried fruit (1/4 Cup)
Hummus and veggie sticks

LUNCH–

Sardine (or other fish such as tuna or salmon) Salad,
Soup or stew would also be good especially made with homemade bone broth.
Cottage Cheese Salad or Greek Yogurt
Salad; 3-4 Cups greens (mixed baby greens work great for this or other greens), homemade salad dressing, and a protein; either 1-2 boiled eggs, 1 can tuna, 1 can sardine, or other fish that has been baked. (Note, I do not recommend canned food, except in this case. Of course if you can get fresh fish that is wild caught is better.) And you can add 2 Tbs. of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds if you want.
Japanese Soup; Seaweed soup make with wild caught fish broth if you can.
Sprouted lentil salad or Lentil Soup.
Lentils and brown rice or quinoa porridge (soaked) with a simple salad.
Stir fry, use a good protein source, Braggs amino acids or naturally fermented soy sauce, and broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, kale, or anything you like. You can have it alone or with quinoa.
Quinoa lettuce wrap tacos
“Cheesy” Kale Sauté; kale, red palm oil, garlic, nutritional yeast. You can also do this with cauliflower or broccoli and steamed fish.
Hummus and veggie sticks
Steamed cauliflower and broccoli with tahini sauce
Baked salmon with tahini sauce and steamed cauliflower and broccoli.
Baked garlic and lemon chicken with grilled vegetables or a large salad.