Hi Growing Friend,

Welcome back! I know we're mixing things up a bit this month since we had so much information to process in our first newsletter. Now we're jumping into action items, starting our monthly challenge, and diving into your questions! Let's get going!

Quick Refresher + Your Action Steps

As a reminder, we learned how food scientists are literally engineering our food to be addictive and cause cravings. With that mind-blowing truth in hand, here are your action steps for this month:

Step 1: Give yourself grace
Learn and understand what's happening in your body. This isn't about willpower—it's about sophisticated food engineering.

Step 2: Try the 3-day method
When you have a craving, give yourself 3 days. If you still want it after 3 days, go ahead and indulge. If you don't, celebrate—you just fought back against engineered brain chemistry!

Step 3: Make the habit harder
If you do indulge after 3 days, don't make it easy on yourself:

• Want chips? Put a handful on a plate instead of taking the whole bag

• Craving cereal? Fill the bowl halfway, not to the rim

• Want Oreos? Grab a couple cookies and put the box back in the cabinet

I love this saying: Make good habits easier and hard habits harder. If you take the whole bag of chips with you, you're making it easy to eat the whole bag. If you only take a handful on a plate, you're making it much harder to overindulge.

This Month's Challenge

Let's cut out ONE food that you know isn't serving you—something YOU genuinely want to quit. Whether it's Oreos, sugary cereal, chips, or something else, pick just ONE item you've been wanting to eliminate.

We're committing for the next 2 weeks to avoid this food. Then let's see if you still want it come September.

Bonus level: Find a healthy alternative! Love French fries? Make them at home with fresh potatoes cooked in olive oil or beef tallow with sea salt. Craving Blue Bell ice cream? Try making homemade ice cream. Let's start making these foods in a healthier, real-food way.

Your Questions Answered!

"I had no idea this is what went into making our food! What was the hardest thing for you to quit?"

I had SO many food cravings at first! The 3-day method was honestly so helpful. I remember craving Dairy Queen Blizzards—I'd start my 3-day countdown, and there were multiple times I got to day 3 and still wanted it, so I drove there and got one! But there were also times I didn't.

Now I couldn't tell you the last time I had a Blizzard. I do still enjoy ice cream (it's literally one of my favorite treats!), but I try to have healthier versions: frozen yogurt with cocoa powder and chocolate chips, making protein ice cream with my Ninja blender—it's so much better than it sounds! I love Honey Bear ice cream from Sprouts.

The key is finding alternatives to foods I love so I don't feel deprived.

"What about foods that seem healthy but might still have these engineered 'bliss points'? How do I identify hidden processed foods or 'health' foods that are actually engineered?"

Check ingredient labels! If you see anything that's not real food, it's most likely an additive you want to steer clear of. I did another newsletter a few editions back that dives deeper into how to read ingredient labels, so check that out if you want a refresher on identifying these sneaky additives!

A Quick Shoutout

I want to give a quick shoutout to readers who have reached out and shared how helpful these newsletters have been on their health journeys! I love hearing from you and connecting, so please continue to reach out. I even got to have a coffee date with a reader I hadn't seen since our school days—so fun! I appreciate you all so much.

What's Coming Next Month

Next month, we're diving into a topic I'm not sure a lot of people recognize—the gut-brain connection. How is our anxiety causing our gut issues? How can we help manage this fascinating relationship between our mental and digestive health?

Can't wait to explore this with you!

Rooted in wellness & rising together,
Erica