Start by improving your diet.

As you’ve learned in Well, Well, Well, the power of real food is the first key to optimal health. To make continual progress improving the way you eat, take one step at a time. Meaningful changes do not happen overnight. Be patient.

Begin today by picking one thing and taking action: choose a single food item you want to improve, eliminate, and/or replace. Some suggested action steps start on the opposite page. Or, choose from any of the action steps throughout the “Eat Well” section.

When the time is right, move on to a second step. As your health improves, your taste buds and body chemistry will change and your cravings for ultra-processed food will lessen. Your energy will increase.

Your instincts will return as your brain clears. It’s all about honoring your gut feelings, taking back your power, and intentionally choosing exactly what you eat. Should cravings for the old ways of eating intensify, it just means that unhealthy bacteria are dying off. It’s a sign you are doing well.

My family and I follow the dietary principles in this book every day, as do many of my colleagues. When we started eating this way over twenty years ago, we’d focus on one product category at a time—like salad dressings, or snack foods—and figure out how and where we could buy groceries that fit our needs.

Addie and I aim for the ideal. But we compromise when foods on our shopping list are not available. It’s often a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. We weigh the facts, and allow give and take. It takes effort, but it’s worth it when your health and your family’s health are on the line. Bit by bit, month by month, our diet continues to improve. Yours can too.