About the Blog
Healy Eats Real focuses on sharing healthier versions of your favorite foods as well as helpful info on natural health.
You will find a wealth of original real food recipes that are gluten-free, keto, paleo, sugar-free and more! You’ll also find healthy living tips and informative nutrition articles to help you on your health journey.
I believe that by avoiding processed foods and integrating whole, natural foods we can all nourish ourselves and live vibrant healthy lives!
Looking for some tasty healthy recipes or articles on health?
About Me
My name is Hannah Healy and I’m the creator of Healy Eats Real. I am blessed to live in the beautiful San Diego, California where healthy delicious food is abundant!
My 90 pound weight loss
I lost 90 pounds over the last 2+ years and I know it sounds like a lot (and it is a lot!) but in reality it took a really long time of consistent day-to-day work that was sustainable for me to stick with long term in my life.
Want to know the #1 thing that helped me stick to healthy eating & exercise which led to my 90 pound weight loss??…
Working on myself emotionally & mentally
I know that probably sounds weird. Most people think that we just need the right diet plan or exercise regimen to stay motivated, but that wasn’t the issue for me. I tried a million different diet plans and exercise regimens over the years and none of it stuck.
It was only when I started working on myself emotionally and mentally to improve my self esteem and get support from others that things started to change. It was the mindset shift that helped me want to take care of my health from a place of self-love rather than punishment for not looking a certain way.
It’s only by taking the focus OFF of weight loss and dissatisfaction with my body that I was actually able to lose weight. The most transformative thing for me has been loving myself no matter where I’m at and through that I’m capable, willing and able to take care of my body by eating well and exercising.
I wanted my transformation to be sustainable so I didn’t want to do some quick crazy crash diet just to get unhealthy again right after. Truly, I only lost an average of 3 pounds per month, but if you multiply 3 lbs times 30 months (2.5 years), you get 90 pounds. Slow progress, but it’s consistent and sustainable. I knew if I did more than that I would feel starving or deprived and want to quit.
My goals had nothing to do with the numbers on the scale and more to do with what actions I could accomplish. At first, my goals were 15 minutes of exercise 4 times a week, no sugar (because I’m a sugar addict), moderate meals, and working on myself emotionally with support from others to avoid emotional eating or eating when I’m not hungry.
Weight loss is a part of my journey, but it’s not the most important part of it. I’ve lost 90 pounds, but the better gift I received through this work is self-love, compassion and acceptance. Through the internal work I did I lost a lot of resentments, self-loathing and shame. This mindset shift wasn’t brought on by the weight loss. This emotional/spiritual evolution is precisely the thing that enabled me to love myself enough to take care of myself and my body for myself…not for others.
My journey away from vegetarianism
I have been interested in natural living from a young age. That interest has taken me to many places in my life. In high school I decided to become vegetarian and stuck with it for 11 years. I’ve always loved animals, so I felt good about avoiding meat. At that age, I went back and forth between eating well and eating junk and I couldn’t seem to shake blood sugar roller coasters and constant cravings. So I tried for years to stick to a healthier vegetarian diet to help it.
After years of guess work and trying to refine my vegetarian diet to be the healthiest and cleanest diet, I finally came to terms with the fact that avoiding meat for so long had really taken a toll on my health and I didn’t realize it until I had some health issues that I couldn’t ignore. Some people can do well on a vegetarian diet, but for me it wasn’t working.
My blood sugar was constantly up and down because my body doesn’t respond well with low-protein and high carbs. Because of that I had constant sugar cravings that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times I detoxed. I was hungry all the time despite eating full balanced meals. I was deficient in vitamins and minerals despite taking multivitamins. The worst part was that my anxiety was off the charts, which I’ve since learned can be related to an amino acid deficiency since amino acids are needed to form serotonin and endorphins in the brain and quality meat is one of the few bioavailable source of amino acids. I generally felt terrible despite trying so hard to have the healthiest diet and lifestyle.
So, about 7 years ago I decided to incorporate humanely raised, grassfed meats into my diet and started feeling better. My sugar cravings went away, my blood sugar evened out and I finally felt full after eating meals!
Now I’m eating a more “real foods” style diet with focus on organic veggies, pastured meats, nuts, seeds and the gluten-free sprouted grains or soaked beans/legumes.
Sharing my journey and helping others live a natural and healthy life along the way
Now I am sharing my experience with nutrition and my healthy recipes on Healy Eats Real. I hope to inspire others to take their health into their own hands too!
Want to know more about my experience as a vegetarian and why I decided to switch?
Here’s more on that subject: Why I Stopped Being Vegetarian
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