Have you ever experienced food cravings, energy crashes, fatigue, bloating, aches and pains, digestive upset, skin rashes, chronic inflammation, unstable moods, binge eating or feeling out of control around certain foods?

Have you ever attempted to address these issues – by restricting or eliminating certain foods – with mediocre results?

And then attempted to address them again, promising yourself that this time will be different? You will be more disciplined. You will have more motivation and willpower.

We all do this right? Approach a stubborn problem in the exact same way we always have, yet expect different results. Albert Einstein would call this the definition of insanity.

Try Differently for Lasting Change

It’s not trying harder. It’s trying differently that really gets results.

” If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.” – Author Unknown

In order to make any progress in the direction of our goals, we must be willing to swallow our pride and admit that there might be a different way – a better way. A way we have never tried before.

Maybe – just maybe –calories aren’t all created equally and eating fat doesn’t always make us fat. Maybe agricultural foods – a relatively new introduction to our diets – are not as healthy as we once thought.

It can be scary to turn these popular paradigms on their head, but if you aren’t getting the results you are looking for, it might be worth the gamble. Do your research.

Different Action

We then have to demonstrate the courage to step outside of our comfort zones and actually give our new approach a fair shot. Until we go thirty full days eating only real food, how can we say it’s too hard, too expensive, or not worth the effort? It could be the uncharted territory that finally solves your most longstanding physical ailments – the ones you surrendered to being stuck with for the rest of your life.

So many of us quit as soon as the going gets tough, instead of seeing our efforts all the way through. This is especially true when forging better nutrition and exercise habits because there are so many ways to fall off the wagon these days (which in itself is not normal!). We get impatient. We want the results right now.

When something isn’t working for us, it’s probably because of they way we’re approaching it. Instead of doing the same thing only harder – with more discipline, focus, and intensity – what if we took a completely different approach?

Our Eat Real Food Academy graduates are always marveling how once they overcome the initial learning curve, it’s actually easier – not harder – to just eat real food. Especially when they start to realize all the benefits to their health.

What if this were the missing link for you?

Do you want in? Eat Real Food Academy registration opens January 14th, 2015. 

Last week I shared a simple yet reliable tool for distinguishing a food craving from genuine hunger. All you need to do is honestly answer this question.“Would I eat baked salmon and steamed broccoli right now?”

People who have experienced the benefits of eating real food — from reduced food cravings, to regulated appetite, to overcoming chronic disease — can sometimes be overly enthusiastic when sharing with others.

We mean very well, but in a noble attempt to help people conquer their health challenges and feel better naturally, we may come on a little too strong. And maybe even exaggerate the positives a teeny weeny bit.

If this is the case, the person we’ve just spoken with may leave our conversation thinking, If I eat Paleo, then I won’t crave junk food anymore. Sweet, count me in!

Let me start off by saying that it’s the rare person who goes Paleo and subsequently finds chips, M&M’s and ice cream repulsive.

Junk food is built to be craved

Think of your favourite packaged snack or sweet treat, and odds are that it will continue to light up your taste buds, and pleasure and reward centres in your brain, no matter how much kale and salmon you eat. It’s just that by making nutrient dense, real food the focus of all your meals, the junk food likely won’t call your name quite as loudly each night at eight o’clock.

When trying to successfully inspire others to adopt healthier eating habits, we owe it to them to set clear and realistic expectations.

The Halloween candy will never taste disgusting, but you will very likely be able to resist it like never before.