One of the main resons people stop eating healthy foods is because they get bored of the food they are eating. When I see people “Eating healthy,” I often see people eating lots of baked chicken breast and salads.

Ew.

Before Sherry and I did our first Whole30, we agreed that having a variety of foods on the menu was imperative. I specifically called out baked chicken breast and salads which had a hilarious consequence: Sherry avoided chicken breast and salad recipes for a year! When I once suggested a baked chicken recipe, she said, “I thought you said you didn’t like baked chicken breast.” I laughed and told her that I liked baked chicken which is exactly why I wanted to avoid over-eating it on our healthy food journey. We both had a good laugh about that one.

There are many reasons why we succeeded in changing our lifestyle and eating habits, but one of the keys was, in our opinion, the variety of foods. We avoided diet burnout by having a wide array of foods to choose from. We have learned over the years how to make healthy, Whole30 and Paleo foods that are not only good for us, but delicious and filling. It’s the last two that matter the most: delicious and filling.

Delicious foods make you happy. They feed not only your body, but your emotional well-being. When you enjoy the food you eat, you do run the risk of over-eating, but when you’re eating healthier foods, your body will respond and tell you when you’re full. I think the benefits of delicious foods outweighs the downsides.

Filling foods are important because it’s easy to over-eat. That’s one of the biggest problems with high-carb foods; they are very easy to over-eat. Take rice. In and of itself, it’s actually not really that bad for you, but it’s very easy to get way too many calories from it. That’s why we avoid it (as it’s also a grain which is not Paleo).

I can honestly say that in the five years we’ve been Paleo and doing Whole30’s, I’ve never gotten bored with the food, and I’ve never looked at a meal thinking, “Ugh. Not this again.” When you enjoy your meals, you are more likely to stick with a healthy diet.