Why my REAL Approach is different—and why it works for people who are curious about plant-based diets but aren’t sure it’s something they can actually do

You know you want to eat healthier, and the idea of a more plant-based diet has been bouncing around in your head for months like a toddler with a sugar buzz. 

But… 

• You’re stuck in that in-between space between “I think this is something I want to try” and “I don’t even know where or how to start.”

• You’re curious, but also hesitant because you’re not sure it’s something you can actually stick with. 

• You’re interested, but also low-key resistant because “healthy eating” hasn’t exactly gone great for you in the past.

• You’re open to the idea of making some plant-based changes, but also actually committing to it feels waaaay out of your comfort zone. 

And that is exactly how most people feel when they start to seriously think about adopting a plant-based lifestyle. I definitely did. 

It can feel scary at first—like you’re going to have to become this new weird, kale-eating, cheese-avoiding, militant vegan/hippie if you’re going to make this work for you. 😱

And if you want to become that person, you do you. 

But it’s absolutely not required, and it’s not how I work with people who like the idea of eating more plants but are stuck in that “Should I or shouldn’t I?” phase.

I’m going to walk you through the approach I use inside my 1:1 coaching program, Plant-Based Enough, that helps plant-based eating stop feeling like a school project you keep putting off and start feeling like… just something you do.

I've learned most of these things myself the hard way... but I've also realized that these are the non-negotiables that make this way of eating something people can actually stick with.

You've got plenty of information. You need an approach that actually works.

When most people decide they want to eat healthier, they do what they’ve probably always done whenever a new idea strikes (and it's most definitely what I did when I started down this path).

They Google.

They scroll social media.

They save recipes.

They buy weird groceries they’ve never heard of and have no idea what to do with.

And for a couple weeks, it seems… promising.

Then life happens. The novelty wears off. The influencers’ promises don’t magically come true, and suddenly you’re eating a sleeve of Thin Mints for dinner and wondering how you got here. Again. 🤦‍♀️

It's almost never that you didn’t try hard enough. It’s that most plans tell you what to do... but then leave it to you to figure out how to actually do it.

The heart and soul of what I do is about creating habits that make eating more plants feel like the natural choice—not just on the good days, but on the crazy, not-so-good ones, too.

That’s where the REAL approach comes in.

The REAL Approach (and why it doesn’t fall apart after week three)

When working with clients, everything we do is guided by four simple ideas that I call The REAL Approach. If it doesn’t fit into these parameters, we move on. Period.

REAL stands for:

Real life first

Enough beats perfect

Adjust and move on

Less to think about

These aren’t steps you “complete.”

They’re pillars that shape everything we do—so we create your personalized version of plant-based eating instead of expecting you to subsist on swiss chard and sadness while walking through life in a cloud of patchouli and lecturing people in the meat department at Kroger. 😶‍🌫️

Here's what it actually looks like in action.

Real life has to come first—or none of this works

It’s easy to make a plan when you’re full of motivation and good intentions. We all do it. We convince ourselves we have more time, more energy, and more willpower than we actually do.

Then reality shows up and you’re like, “Oh, right. I am not that person.” 🥺

When a plan stops making sense in your crazy, day-to-day life, it stops being a priority—and if it's not a priority, well... we all know what's going to happen next.

Real life first means we don’t start with food. We start with you.

• What you’ve tried before

• What has worked for you in the past

• What hasn’t worked—and why

• Why you’re even drawn to plant-based eating in the first place

• What your schedule, energy, and actual commitments honestly look like

On the surface, “I want to eat more plant-based” sounds like a food decision.

In reality, clarity about where you’ve been and where you’re going matters way more than what’s on your plate. Especially at the beginning.

If it were as simple as buying different groceries, you’d already be doing it.

“Enough” beats perfect every single time

I’m going to come right out and say it: eating 100% plant-based is NOT realistic for most people. I do this for a living—and I don’t eat perfectly plant-based 100% of the time.

The idea that you have to change everything (forever!) is enough to send most people running for the hills before they even give this a fair shot. 

So instead, we figure out what plant-based enough looks like for you. Meaning, what is enough to:

• Keep you moving toward your goals

• Be in line with your values and what’s important to you

• Make you feel good about your progress

• Prove to yourself that you can actually do this

• Still live your regular life

That “enough” line might include flex days. Or intentional exceptions. Or certain situations where you decide ahead of time that you will just do the best you can.

And yes—sometimes we challenge those boundaries. But we start with something you can stick with even when life gets messy.

Because the goal is never perfection.

It’s sustainability. 🎯 

When things go sideways, you don’t start over—you adjust

This is the part where a lot of people get stuck.

One unplanned exception turns into, “Well, I already blew it, so what’s the point? I’ll start over Monday.” And suddenly you’re back in all-or-nothing mode.

Adjust and move on is about treating those moments as information—not failures.

Life happens. Plans get shoved down the garbage disposal.

But that doesn’t mean anything went “wrong.” 

📋 It’s just data we use to learn from. 

That means we look at: 

• What was going on beforehand

• How you were feeling in the moment

• What was actually happening (and what you were making it mean)

• How it felt afterward

• What small tweaks we could make that might change the outcome next time

And then we move on—with more clarity, and without judgment or shame.

Everything you try here is an experiment. Some things will work amazingly and will easily become the new norm. Some things will give us useful information so we can make some changes and try something a little different next time (because there will be a next time).

That’s how this becomes something you learn from and keep doing—and not something you give up on and feel bad about.

The goal is to think way less about food

Changing how you eat takes up a ridiculous amount of mental space because you don’t just eat once a day—you’re making food decisions over and over and over again.

If every meal requires a ton of thought and effort, it’s only a matter of time before you rage clean the crisper drawer, drop F bombs under your breath, and start dialing the local pizza place. 🍕

Less to think about is where the rubber meets the road. It’s where we work on:

• Plant-based meals that actually fit your life

• Meal planning and meal prep strategies you can actually keep up with

• Stupid simple meals for those nights you just can’t make one more decision

• How to build in flexibility in a way that feels like you’re in control, not like you’re breaking the rules

All the clarity work + the practical stuff means you’re not coming up with a new plan every single night. You’ve got systems in place that actually work, go-to meals that require very little effort you can pull out on the extra crazy days, and maybe most importantly, you know where and how to pivot when things don’t go as planned.

You started with your real life instead of some fantasy version of it. You know what “enough” looks like for you. And when things go sideways, you adjust instead of declaring the whole thing a failure.

So food stops being this loaded, dramatic thing you’re constantly negotiating with yourself about.

You just… eat.

And that’s when it starts taking up way less space in your head.

Why this is so important (and what changes when you stop focusing solely on the food)

Most people skip all of this and jump straight into “I’m eating healthier now.” They ride the motivation wave that comes at the beginning, ignore all the rest, and hope willpower will carry them through.

But I'm guessing you already know that doesn’t usually work.

When life gets busy, the motivation fades, the willpower peaces out at the door ✌️, and it’s a whole lot easier (and less scary) to go back to what’s familiar. And when that happens, it’s all too easy to fall back into that “See, I knew I couldn’t stick with it” thought loop that keeps us beating ourselves up all the time.

But when you start exactly where you are—with your real life, your lived experiences, and your actual capacity—and start creating something from there, you’re building a strong foundation that can withstand whatever crazy shit life throws at you.

I’ve maintained this way of eating through two kids going off to college (and one later moving out of state), a career change, losing my mom, almost losing my dad, completely cutting alcohol out of my life, two moves, and all the little things in between. 

Am I perfect? 🤣

Hell no!

But I always come back to the whole food plant-based way of eating that makes me feel my best—because I’ve created my own version of a plant-based lifestyle that bends with me, on my best days and on my worst ones.

“Okay, but how do I know what ‘enough’ actually is?”

I can’t give you a number, or a list of signs to look for. I know that’s not the answer people want, but it’s the truth.

Because enough doesn’t live in a habit tracker or a checklist. 

Enough lets you feel good about what you’re doing, even if it’s not perfect. 

Enough holds up on the days everything goes according to plan and the days when the shit hits the fan and you want to hide under a blanket and binge Netflix. 📺

Enough means what you’re eating aligns with what’s important to you more often than it doesn’t.

If “flexibility” keeps turning into “Screw it, I’ll start over next week,” that’s not failure—it’s feedback. (Damn, that’s a lot of F words in one sentence! 🤣) That’s your cue to step back, re-evaluate, and try something else.

Enough usually sneaks up on you. 

It’s not a magical point on a timeline—it’s when you go to bed one night and realize you barely even thought about any of this all day. It just… happened.

If this REAL approach to a plant-based diet sounds like something you can get your head around, let’s put it to work in your actual life.

If you’ve been sitting on the “Should I or shouldn’t I?” fence when it comes to making plant-based changes, know you are definitely not the only one.

Saving more recipes or downloading another “Beginner’s Guide to a Plant-Based Diet” will only get you so far. But a program based on your own experiences, goals, and preferences—and built with your real life in mind? 

That’s what ultimately turns “I don’t know if this is for me” into “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

When we work together inside Plant-Based Enough, I’ll help you:

✔️ Understand what has been making this change feel harder than it needs to.

✔️ Dial in on your own specific why that keeps you moving forward even when life gets extra life-y.

✔️ Get super clear about what plant-based enough looks like for you… and how to roll with it when things don’t go as planned.

✔️ Build healthy, plant-based habits that you can stick with not just on the “Everything is great” days, but on the “Life is hard and everything sucks and I want to eat my weight in chocolate” days, too.

If you’re on the fence about plant-based eating—curious, but not sure you can actually do it—you're in the right place. I’ve got you!

👉 Click here to learn more and apply.