1) Where were you at before starting Small Steps to Wholefoods?

I have always been conscious of providing my family with healthy and wholesome food and would like to think that we were on the right track to a certain extent pre Small Steps to Wholefoods.

2) What made you take the plunge?

I had been following Lisa on Facebook and was keen to delve a little more into really focusing on what we are putting into our bodies.  I have dabbled with many different approaches to healthy diet and lifestyle and firmly believe that there is no one size fits all when it comes to diet and lifestyle, I believe that we can take bits that fit us from the many options out there and make it best fit our personal needs and the needs of our family.  This is why I joined up for the first Small Steps to Wholefoods and then the graduate program to consolidate the first as there was so much fantastic information to take in that I felt revisiting it would be beneficial.

3) What were the most important things you learnt through the program?

That taking small steps in regard to changing our eating habits is really important as it could easily become too overwhelming and seem all too hard.  There are so many knowledgeable people out there that we are able to tap into and I thoroughly enjoyed the interviews that Lisa recorded for us, I am in awe of what some people are doing and even if we take a little of that into our own lives we are doing good things for the health of our families.

4)  What did you love most about it?

I loved the sharing on the Facebook Small Steps to Wholefoods community page, help and advice was never far away and it was such a wonderful friendly and supportive group of like minded people all striving to increase our awareness of what is best for us and our families.  I loved the interviews and the wealth of knowledge we were able to tap into, we are so fortunate that Lisa had connections to people in high places in this field.  I also loved that the focus was on “Small Steps” and that at no stage did I ever feel that I was being judged or made feel guilty for some of my less than ideal pre Small Steps to Wholefoods eating habits. Every positive change we made was making a positive difference and was encouraged, applauded and celebrated. I love the ebook that Lisa produced, it is a great resource to revisit.

5) How would you say your life has changed since participating in Small Steps?

We as a family are far more mindful of what we are eating and I believe we are enjoying our food far more and having fun in preparing healthy meals and snacks.  We are as a family are choosing healthier food options and have developed healthier food habits and a greater awareness of what is good for us in regard to food choices. We have enjoyed growing our own fruit and vegetables which has been an enjoyable experience and we are more aware of the importance of buying organic produce where possible.  We love visiting farmer’s markets and knowing that the food we are eating is of the highest quality and preparing many dishes from scratch which enables us to know exactly what is going into the food that we are eating.

6) Any advice for those who are considering starting their journey?

Just do it!!.There are fantastic people out there who will be there with you every step of the way, take one step at a time and enjoy the journey! J

1) Where were you at before starting Small Steps to Wholefoods?

I have always been conscious of providing my family with healthy and wholesome food and would like to think that we were on the right track to a certain extent pre Small Steps to Wholefoods.

2) What made you take the plunge?

I had been following Lisa on Facebook and was keen to delve a little more into really focusing on what we are putting into our bodies.  I have dabbled with many different approaches to healthy diet and lifestyle and firmly believe that there is no one size fits all when it comes to diet and lifestyle, I believe that we can take bits that fit us from the many options out there and make it best fit our personal needs and the needs of our family.  This is why I joined up for the first Small Steps to Wholefoods and then the graduate program to consolidate the first as there was so much fantastic information to take in that I felt revisiting it would be beneficial.

3) What were the most important things you learnt through the program?

That taking small steps in regard to changing our eating habits is really important as it could easily become too overwhelming and seem all too hard.  There are so many knowledgeable people out there that we are able to tap into and I thoroughly enjoyed the interviews that Lisa recorded for us, I am in awe of what some people are doing and even if we take a little of that into our own lives we are doing good things for the health of our families.

4)  What did you love most about it?

I loved the sharing on the Facebook Small Steps to Wholefoods community page, help and advice was never far away and it was such a wonderful friendly and supportive group of like minded people all striving to increase our awareness of what is best for us and our families.  I loved the interviews and the wealth of knowledge we were able to tap into, we are so fortunate that Lisa had connections to people in high places in this field.  I also loved that the focus was on “Small Steps” and that at no stage did I ever feel that I was being judged or made feel guilty for some of my less than ideal pre Small Steps to Wholefoods eating habits. Every positive change we made was making a positive difference and was encouraged, applauded and celebrated. I love the ebook that Lisa produced, it is a great resource to revisit.

5) How would you say your life has changed since participating in Small Steps?

We as a family are far more mindful of what we are eating and I believe we are enjoying our food far more and having fun in preparing healthy meals and snacks.  We are as a family are choosing healthier food options and have developed healthier food habits and a greater awareness of what is good for us in regard to food choices. We have enjoyed growing our own fruit and vegetables which has been an enjoyable experience and we are more aware of the importance of buying organic produce where possible.  We love visiting farmer’s markets and knowing that the food we are eating is of the highest quality and preparing many dishes from scratch which enables us to know exactly what is going into the food that we are eating.

6) Any advice for those who are considering starting their journey?

Just do it!!.There are fantastic people out there who will be there with you every step of the way, take one step at a time and enjoy the journey!

1)  Where were you at before starting Small Steps to Wholefoods?

With about 10kg to lose I had done the regular programs such as ww and Michelle bridges.  While they were successful while on them I was really just following instructions and when they stopped so did my progress.

2) What made you take the plunge?

After altering our daughters diet to control eczema with great results without creams and meds.  I was really just winging it and when sstwf popped on  my Facebook I thought some guidance would be a great kick up.  I thought it might be time to fix our diet properly as I was so controlled and fixated on what she ate but my husband and I still really changed nothing…  as she got older it was hard to explain why she didn’t eat what we did.  Explaining to a 1 year old that she can’t have something cos it’s bad for you was really just saying ‘your parents are pretty stupid’ but luckily she was too young to question it!!

3) What were the most important things you learnt through the program?

I always knew that some of what we ate was not perfect but I thought most of it was ok.  I loved learning not just what was ‘bad’ like in ww and mb programs but why too.  It is so much more poignant if I know the whys and can put it into a context of self.  Now  rather than thinking this is bad for ‘people’ I think this is bad for me/daughter/family.

And broader from a personal understanding,  including regional and global setting (ie alexx) helps put everything in perspective.  Also hearing many variations of good food from many experienced people was great to work out what will work for my family and what won’t. Other programs are so prescriptive and you like it or lump it.  I have been able to change slowly and understand why I wamt to change.

4.  What did you love most about it?

Really Lisa you are the best thing about the program… I don’t think it would be this amazing with anyone else behind the wheel.  It seems to me that you really have the desire to make these positive changes in peoples lives. Never did i feel inadequate (even though there were days when I was!).  I felt supported even on my bad days.  You are inspiring and engaging in a totally down to earth way.

I loved the daily emails.  Even if I didn’t have time to watch the long video that day just having it pop on my phone kept me on track.  I loved the Facebook group.

5.  How would you say your life has changed since participating in Small Steps?

Really so many things in our lives have changed.  We really think about our food impact, not just individually but so much broader. It’s not about my weight or my husbands food preferences… we eat to nourish ourselves AND not to deplete the world at the same time.  I feel like I can accomplish so much more. I have more energy and less stress… Therefore less agitation and more patience with everyone around me… sad to say I didn’t actually realise that before I had less patience with my husband and daughter that I might have never known needed improvement and that would have been a terrible endpoint…

Happy to make my difference in the world.  As Alexx says we can make the world we want by trying so organic food is increasing here, not perfect but on our way.

Also really happy to report that this has been a lasting change (mostly haha) that hasn’t dropped off the moment the program did like so many others.

 6.  Any advice for those who are considering starting their journey?

You truly have nothing to lose here and potentially SO MUCH to gain.  Even if you take away only half of the information to ponder you will learn and grow and probably move onto small steps of your own along the way.

It’s the best thing I have done for my family in a long time, probably ever!

Where were you at before starting Small Steps to Wholefoods?

Just at the beginning of our journey.  I had started to cut out preservatives from the family diet (as much as my husband would allow lol!

What made you take the plunge?

My 7yr old daughter just doesn’t go to sleep.  She is regularly still up at 10.30pm (awake but in her room) and just doesn’t know how to fall asleep.  My husband and I were at our wits end trying to get her to fall asleep and with her sharing a room with her 3yr old sister and a new baby in the house we needed to try something different.

What were the most important things you learnt through the program?

Everyone is on a learning curve and you aren’t the only one who didn’t know and you aren’t the only one just starting out.

What did you love most about it?