Last week I wrote about the bridge between knowing and doing— how awareness and education are essential, but they are only the beginning of the wellness journey.

Once we begin to understand what supports the body — what stabilizes blood sugar, nourishes the gut, supports the brain, and preserves muscle — the next question naturally becomes:

What does that actually look like in everyday life?

One of the phrases I often use with clients — and you’ve probably heard me say many times — is simple:

Eat real food.

In fact, if someone asked me to describe the foundational way of eating I believe supports long-term health, that would probably be the phrase I would start with.

Strip away the diet books.
Strip away the conflicting nutrition headlines.
Strip away the complicated food rules.

And just come back to this simple idea:

Eat real food.

But the moment we say that phrase, another question quickly follows:

What actually counts as “real food”?

One helpful starting point is this:

Food that still resembles where it came from.

Just returned from nine glorious days in France—a country I've come to know better over the past couple of years—and each visit leaves me with an intense desire to return and explore more of its corners. 

This trip was especially sweet: my daughter, working in Paris for the Para Olympics, had been persistently nudging me to join her post Olympics to explore. 

My husband was working in Lyon, my son in Croatia, and we all found ourselves convening in Paris, coinciding perfectly with my daughter's engagement in Provence!