100 Days of Real Food

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
    • Welcome
    • Original 100 Day Pledge
    • 100 Day Budget Pledge
    • FAQs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Resources
    • Our Shop
    • Meal Ideas & Resources
    • Mini-Pledge Progam
    • School Lunch Packing Chart
    • Favorite Amazon Buys
  • Blog
    • What Is Real Food?
    • How to Start
      • Real Food Tips
      • Eating Out and Travel
      • Food Shopping
      • How to Cook
      • Kitchen and Home
    • School Lunches
    • Snacks
    • Kids
      • Picky Eaters
      • Fun Stuff
  • Meal Plans
    • Real Food Meal Plans
    • School Lunch Plans
    • Free Weekly Dinner Plans
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
    • Welcome
    • Original 100 Day Pledge
    • 100 Day Budget Pledge
    • FAQs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Resources
    • Our Shop
    • Meal Ideas & Resources
    • Mini-Pledge Progam
    • School Lunch Packing Chart
    • Favorite Amazon Buys
  • Blog
    • What Is Real Food?
    • How to Start
      • Real Food Tips
      • Eating Out and Travel
      • Food Shopping
      • How to Cook
      • Kitchen and Home
    • School Lunches
    • Snacks
    • Kids
      • Picky Eaters
      • Fun Stuff
  • Meal Plans
    • Real Food Meal Plans
    • School Lunch Plans
    • Free Weekly Dinner Plans
×
Home » What Is Real Food? » Healthy Eating

Finally a New Normal that Works (Reader Story)

This is a reader story by Jana Snyder, a mom of two grown kids and wife of 30+ years. She lost 30 pounds, improved her brain fog and shoulder pain, and really learned to cook - in her 50s - all thanks to real food! She likes to help others get healthy through food on her blog. If you’d like to submit your own real food story, you can do so here.


In my 30's and 40's, I went through various ways of eating: no constraints, low carb, back to no constraints, then cutting out sugar and wheat. But nothing stuck for long. I continued to gain a few pounds every year, on average. At my heaviest, I had an excess 35 pounds on my small-boned 5'5” frame.

In my early 50's, I watched my dad succumb to an autoimmune disease and lost my mom bit by bit to Alzheimer's. Studying up on their diseases opened my eyes to the connection between food and health and completely changed my approach to food. I was too late to save them, but not too late to save me!

What Changed

I was skeptical about the basis for the Paleo diet, but I kept reading from those who followed it about huge positive changes in their health. So I tried it for a while: no sugar, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no alcohol! I think the thing that makes Paleo produce radical health results for so many people is that the extreme restrictions force you to break your dependence on processed foods. It is a little challenging to live with for the long-term though.

Over the last year, I've settled into a way of eating that works for me, for good. And by that, I mean that it’s easy to live with forever, keeps my weight at a steady healthy number, and keeps my body and mind feeling good!

In addition to losing weight, brain fog, and body aches, I learned a completely new way of cooking! I'd previously been a recipe-follower. But focusing on whole foods and learning how to do ingredient prep radically changed how I cook, and now I usually just make dishes up as I go. Cooking has gone from being a chore I have to get done to being a creative outlet – and a labor of love for the ones I feed!

Finally a New Normal that Works - Reader Story on 100 Days of Real Food

Want to Save this Recipe?

Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get great new recipes from us every week!

Save Recipe


-

My Food Philosophy

Inspired by my hale and hardy farming grandparents, my guiding principle is avoiding food that's been "messed with" in the last several decades - since the rapid rise in obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. And enjoying to the full the foods that are close to how nature makes them. That means cutting out processed foods completely at home and avoiding them as much as possible when eating out.

My formula is pretty simple. I aim to make sure every meal contains:

  • A whole-food protein
  • One or more healthy fats
  • At least three different kinds of nutrient-dense vegetables

Low-glycemic high-nutrient fruits are sometimes swapped out for one of the veggies or treated like dessert. I allow grains, beans, and dairy in some meals, in small quantities, and try to stick to whole-food, chemistry-free options.

A New Way of Life

I really think I can live this way forever! I lost those 35 pounds in 2014 (combining my diet changes with moderate exercise), and I've kept them off (within a range of five pounds) for more than two years! My cholesterol and blood pressure improved. I love how I feel, and I love the food I enjoy.

Real food forever! :)

More Healthy Eating

  • Steak with veggies.
    Steak with Veggies
  • Spaghetti squash with meat sauce.
    Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce
  • Healthy breakfast bowls.
    Healthy Breakfast Bowls
  • Stuffed acorn squash.
    Stuffed Acorn Squash
60 shares

About Lisa Leake

Lisa is a wife, mother, foodie, blogger, and #1 New York Times Best-selling author who is on a mission to cut out processed food.

Comments

  1. Kristin says

    February 22, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    Wow, you do look years younger! I lost my Mom to breast cancer and while she lead a healthy lifestyle, it make me extremely picky about what I feed myself and my girls. On the flip side, I continue to try and convince my dad (heart/cholesterol issues) to eliminate processed food, but he rarely listens. So frustrating.

    Reply
    • Mary Green says

      February 28, 2017 at 7:54 pm

      Kristin, don't feel bad. It's the "powdered butt syndrome". People will rarely take advice from the person whose butt they powdered years ago. My step-parents would not listen to me either. They were raised on boxed food, and by golly, it tasted just fine! What did I know.

      Reply
  2. Hélène says

    February 22, 2017 at 2:55 pm

    Could be her daughter in the 2nd pic!! Uh may zing.

    Reply
  3. Amy H. says

    February 18, 2017 at 4:35 pm

    Those two pictures look like they are of two different people! Congrats on finding the right path for yourself for a lifetime, and thank you for sharing your story.

    Reply
  4. Taste of France says

    February 16, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    She looks about 15 years younger.
    Good for her that she didn't lose the weight and then say, OK, that's done, and go back to her old habits. It's a way of life (and a way of life that most thin and/or healthy people maintain).

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Welcome!


Meet Lisa! Lisa is a best-selling cookbook author, wife, mother, and passionate home cook. Lisa began blogging in 2010 and has created a community of millions of people who share her love of healthy living, real food ingredients, and family recipes.

Learn More

Popular

  • Sausage stir fry.
    Sausage Stir Fry
  • Sausage broccoli pasta.
    Sausage Broccoli Pasta
  • Chicken sausage pasta.
    Chicken Sausage Pasta
  • Sausage and potatoes.
    Sausage and Potatoes

Seasonal

  • Spaghetti squash boats.
    Spaghetti Squash Boats
  • How to cook spaghetti squash.
    How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
  • Air fryer popcorn chicken.
    Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken
  • Healthy blueberry pancakes.
    Healthy Blueberry Pancakes

Footer

↑ back to top

Browse

  • Cookbooks
  • Meal Plans
  • Recipes
  • Favorite Products
  • Free Downloads

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Blog

  • About
  • Comment Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Partner With Us
  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 100 Days of Real Food