Take The Real Food Stew Challenge:
Eat at least three cups of Real Food Stew
by lunchtime every day for thirty days.
Try it! You have nothing to lose. (Well, some body fat and brain fog perhaps...)
RealFoodStew: Concentrated Fuel for a Modern Lifestyle
Some RealFoodStew cooking
RealFoodStew is a simple-to-make, nutrient dense stew. It was created as Athlete Fuel, but anyone can benefit from eating some RealFoodStew every day. It's made with ingredients from four ingredient categories:
- Meat
- Vegetables
- Herbs
- Healthy Fats
There are slightly restrictive ingredient guidelines, but mostly there's a lot of flexibility. You can make RealFoodStew forever and never make two batches that are alike.
The RealFoodStew Challenge Explained
Chances are you're eating what our Industrialized Food System has to offer. In other words: you're gobbling down the "Standard American Diet" or something close to it. The RealFoodStew Challenge is a way to get well-proportioned macronutrients and gobs of essential micronutrients into your body for a change.
Eating some Real Food every day for 30 days will encourage your body begin to heal.
You'll be able to see what happens when you dramatically improve your nutrient intake and eat "real food" and (*gasp*) some Healthy Fats long enough for some positive changes to take effect. If you've been living on the Standard American Diet like most of us have, the results are likely to be dramatic.
Your mind and body will thank you!
RealFoodStew Ingredient Guidelines
Meat
Lean meat is preferable. One notable exception would be organic grass-fed meat, which contains Healthy Fat. Include the meat "juice", fat and all.
Vegetables
Use only non-starchy veggies, and as fresh as possible. Include some Greens. Canned ingredients aren't banned, but they should be minimized.
Herbs
You can start with any herbs you have available. Ideally herbs will be as close to garden-grown as possible.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats like grass-fed butter and coconut oil are an important part of the recipe. Don't leave them out! Butter from grass-fed cows and coconut oil are not the only Healthy Fats, but they're easy to find and easy to include in your batch of RealFoodStew.
Q&A
How does this work?
In a nutshell, the RealFoodStew Challenge is an uncomplicated way to make a positive-nutrition agreement with yourself. If you accept the challenge, you will eat some healthy Real Food every day for long enough to let your body start healing.
Will I lose weight?
Maybe. That's not the point... at least not during the Challenge.
Chances are it took you a while to "gain weight" so allow some time for it to melt off. For now you need to spend some time healing your body and repairing your metabolism. Once that happens the "weight" (really body fat) can come off naturally and permanently.
How many calories are in RealFoodStew
It doesn't matter! Don't count calories. Measure yourself, don't weigh yourself. It's only thirty days, just do it. Unless your doctor insists you count calories, of course.
(As a side note, if you insist on trying to "starve yourself toward better health" you're certainly better off eating RealFoodStew than you are eating some Industrial Food that is supposed to make you Slim real Fast.)
What if I get hungry?
If you get hungry, drink some water. If you remain hungry, eat. Use your judgement about what you choose to eat. Try to avoid Evil Carbs (processed foods a.k.a. "Industrial Foodstuffs", essentially), at least until after lunchtime. You'll find that by avoiding carbohydrate foods, sugars and grains especially, your appetite will be much more stable.
One trick is to eat so much RealFoodStew and Healthy Breakfast Food that you become full and you''ll crowd out the carbs.
What if I Want to eat Carbs?
Go ahead if you must. Just be sure to eat plenty of RealFoodStew for breakfast and probably lunch. Before you eat carbs, eat some RealFoodStew. Or maybe eat RealFoodStew with your carbs to diminish the carbs' negative effect.
What if I don't like the taste of Veggies?
If you're worried about the taste and/or texture of veggies, cut them extra-small and cook your RealFoodStew a little longer.
What if I love the taste of Veggies?
If you enjoy the taste and/or texture of veggies, cut them into larger chunks and shorten the cooking time. Re-categorize some veggies for late addition to your RealFoodStew.
What about Exercise?
Exercise if you feel like it -- and you may. Don't be surprised if you start wanting to get out and move around more. If so, and you weren't exercising before, walking is fantastic exercise.
If you're already exercising you're probably safe doing whatever you're already doing. RealFoodStew was originally created to fuel an athletic body. Notice whether your workouts improve from the extra nutrition the stew provides.
What about Sleep?
Getting enough sleep is more important than exercising.