It means the calories in/calories out model is misleading. 

It's a distorted and limited view of food that can lead to weight cycling.

There are two main reasons for this.

One is that real food is self-moderating.

That means that food, as your ancestors would understand, can't be overeaten and doesn't behave in your body the way more highly processed food does. 

Here's an example I teach in my weight loss programs:

Take a bowl of lentils (sub in any bean you really like for this example). You make a big pot prepared just how you like them. You eat one bowl and pretty quickly feel full. It's tasty, but no matter how much you like them, it's unlikely you'll down another. Plus, how many times have you sneaked into the kitchen for a late-night bowl of beans? I'm guessing never. 

Two is that real food behaves very differently in your body. A fiber-rich meal creates a protective barrier around your food that prevents about 30% of what you're eating from being absorbed for energy 😮

Think about that for a moment. Not only does real food make it simple to eat the perfect amount, but it also protects your body once inside. 

Real food is a game-changer. Your kitchen is the best place to access it.

Now you're starting to understand why making your own food every day is so damn important. 

Your kitchen is a tool for well-being, and I want you to feel confident to use it.

COOK! is a video-based course that teaches modular, intuitive cooking using only real food.

"The videos are engaging, authentic, and instructionally strong."

M. H.

It's one part love letter to real food and one part systems-based approach to health.

If you could cook alongside an experienced home cook, what would she teach you to make simple, delicious, and nourishing meals?

Well, this 👇

COOK! teaches you to make food without friction.

It's also a deeper understanding of the food principles that drive not another diet. That's the 'why' we're so devoted to real food.

There are a million YouTube videos on how to fry an egg, but there's nearly nothing about how you walk into your kitchen and make meals daily using real food.

That's what COOK! is all about. Helping you feel empowered to use and love your kitchen.

Eating real food is crucial to every life outcome that matters to you. It's nearly impossible to fulfill that mission with takeout and packaged foods.

Hence, COOK!

Haha, I promise I don't. Recipes make for fun reading and I use them here and there. 

Recipes are instructions on how to make a particular dish a particular way. No more, no less.

Cooking three meals daily from recipes is unsustainable and exhausting. 

You need intuitive cooking to feed yourself (and others) every day. This requires a looser approach based on systems, ingredient categories, and blissful simplicity.

Recipes are useful for making specific dishes (keep your favorites!), learning new flavor combinations, and trying techniques (although the latter often is better done by following a YouTube tutorial, many of which I include in this course).

They aren't practical for the daily work of meal making, which is where the real gains in health come from.

Cooking in systems is how your kitchen will make sense to you.

Not at all. You'll create an inventory of ingredients and techniques you'll use over and over to create variations you thoroughly enjoy.

Cooking by heart, which is the best description I can give this process, makes for infinite possibilities. Part of the beauty of home cooking is that it's never really the same thing twice.

This course purposely tackles lots of options, techniques, and approaches so you never get bored with what you're eating.

The idea is to cook like one might make music, with fluidity. 

The know-how to make real food from your kitchen without fuss so you can realize long-held health goals.

And:

1. Access to the professionally shot modules in COOK! 
2. Any and all future updates. 
3. Two members only cook-along workshops per year.
4. The ability to comment with your questions and dish suggestions inside the course.
5. One price for life. No monthly subscriptions or yearly re-ups. 
6. The confidence to feed yourself pleasurable, nourishing meals without much forethought. In other words, food freedom.

Gadgets are occasionally useful but more likely, aspirational clutter.

Think about that pilates/weight machine/treadmill that ended up as a clothes-drying rack.

"But in this way, the Instant Pot sitting untouched on the shelf can also be a reminder of the unfulfilled promises of the single life-changing appliance."

Here are a few other things that have failed to turn people into daily home cooks: fancy kitchens, more recipe books, produce (I see you with all that goodness rotting in the drawer), meal prep containers... I could go on. 

We're so used to the idea of buying things to make us into the people we want to be that no one stops to ask, is that how it's done?

I'm pretty sure it isn't.

Who am I to say?

I devote all my time to helping people create lives that produce healthy outcomes. What brings people to change is to expose the fallacies in their thinking and show them easy ways to incorporate healthy practices. In other words, not things: ideas.

This course is based on that principle. 

Each module is designed to be taken in 15-25 minutes. You can spend more time exploring the resources provided.  

The idea behind lifetime access is to explore at your own pace. 

Once you start taking in the material, you will have a period of learning and building skills.

The chapters are designed to be easily understood, and the additional resources provided can help you expand your learning as needed.

In the long run, you'll save loads of time and money (both in eating out and the health costs associated with a poor diet).

If self-care is important to you, making easy, nutritious meals should be at the top of your to-do list in bold letters. It's that important.

I don't know your kids or what they will eat. Well, that's not exactly true. The fact that we've agreed as a society on what 'kid food' is is a problem.

I raised three children, and I know first-hand that food is unbelievably unhealthy.

It's causing obesity to skyrocket in children and saddling them with long-term health problems. 

Kids need real food. Every day at every meal. Yes, there will be a learning curve. Yes, they might object a bit. They'll also learn how to take care of themselves for a lifetime.

You have the ability to customize it to your family's preferences. The whole idea is to be flexible. I like beets, but maybe your family thinks they're gross (roast 'em before you give them the brush-off). No problem, the same approach applies to any vegetable you like.

"I also like it for my kids—I've already shifted to prepping veggies and whips ahead and combining them for meals as opposed to having clear "recipes." I joke that the kids' plates look like an artist's paint palette with lots of different choices of whole foods they can choose from.

Appreciate your work!"

Lastly, cook with your children. It gives them agency, they learn self-care, and it's a beautiful way to spend time together. 

I know because that's exactly what I did. The kitchen is a life-affirming place when you know how to use it.

Jeez, tough crowd.

The idea isn't to hand you a bunch of dishes (you're thinking of recipes) but to teach you how to make your own.

My food is awesome, FYI, but I'm sure yours will be even better.

The short answer is that it might. Eating real food every day helps you eat less naturally. 

Losing weight often requires addressing a variety of factors at once which our Weight Loss For Life program specifically tackles.

This course functions as a standalone product and as a companion to our popular weight loss program. Think of it as the 'How To Eat For A Lifetime' side of permanent weight loss and a part of your total well-being.

Real food improves every aspect of your health including sleep, mood, and brain health. You'll likely see your energy, sleep, and mood improve as well as save money. 

Plus, you'll enjoy your eating food that much more when you know each delicious bite supports your total well-being.

This course is divided into three main sections.

Welcome!

•  5 Quick Questions

• Meet Rebecca

• How To Use COOK! (For Maximum Impact)

• You aren't a chef, and that's a good thing.

• MEALFLOW, An Introduction in 4 parts.

Essentials To Make Your Own

• Dressings Are Food Architecture
• Beans Are Always A Good Idea
• Whip It Good
• Roast ALL The Veggies (And Fruit)
• A Savory Breakfast Wins The Day
• Plain (Whole Milk!) Greek Yogurt Is A Kitchen Workhorse
• A Good Salad Fixes Everything 🥗
• Grains Are Modular, Delicious, and Adaptable 🍲
• Greens Make Life Good
• Put An Egg On It 🍳
• Tinned Fish Is 🐟 The Power Move
• Two Weeknight Chicken Dishes To Make On Repeat
• Tofu Would Like The Freedom To Be Itself
• It's Probably A Soup
• Vegan Whips Are Fun Too
• I  🧡Ground Meat (And Not Ironically
• SALT, FAT, ACID +
  
  • Fat
  • Acid
  • Salt
  • Emulsifier
• Your Pantry
  • Tools I Recommend
  • Your Umami Cheat-Sheet
  • Build A Pantry - Shop In Ingredient Group
  • Genius Ideas

Nourishment Principles And Best Practices

• Real Food Will Set You Free
• The NAD Food Principles
• Low Sugar Helps You Trust Your Hunger
• The easy way to read and use recipes
• Fermented Foods Lower Inflammation
• Easy Ways To Ensure Moderation
• Embrace Simplicity
• Avoid These Common Kitchen Mistakes

Please don't. 

The best thing to do is to start with what you have on hand and then buy as needed.

I'll make recommendations for tools that create more ease in meal preparation. You can decide as you learn what might be worthwhile for you.