Many people mistakenly believe that being healthy means living a life of deprivation. Sure, if you’re a health conscious person you generally avoid toxic foodstuffs that might nullify your mojo. But people who make healthy choices for the long-term are guided by more pleasure than anything else.

A healthy, sustainable diet is a pleasurable one. It has to be. I’m absolutely blown away by the foods that I get to eat on a regular basis. It’s almost unfair. The flavor sensations, the colors, the textures, the overall party in the mouth experience. I aspire to help people discover just how good real food can be.

First of all, there’s pleasure within the constructs of the diet. The thousands of real foods that you get to eat (based on what feels best for your body) deliver tens of thousands of different options for you to feast on. The pleasure could be from something as savory as a grass fed ribeye, to as sweet and seductive as chocolate cashew ice cream with warm candied pecans on top. All made from real ingredients, of course!

The first pleasure is making the most of what you have access to, and getting the best quality ingredients possible.

The second pleasure comes from going outside of the usual structure of your diet to have a little something unordinary. Pancakes? Yes, please. Nachos? Yes, please. Cheesecake? Wait… Are you sure…? Yes, please!

These things are clearly not as “natural” as the whole foods used to make your other meals, but doing this right can make the difference between a long-term healthy lifestyle, or giving up because you struggle to convince yourself that pancakes aren’t delicious.

The key is, a health conscious person can indulge in these things every now and then, but they are truly there with the treat. They take it in, let their senses explore, and are present in their body to enjoy the moment and then move on. It’s not lying to yourself that these are healthy foods, but giving yourself permission to enjoy a treat and then get back to doing what feels best. I guarantee that if you keep eating pancakes on a regular basis, you’re going to look and feel like a pancake yourself. Indulge, and move on.

So, how do we best navigate this terrain? Well, we’ve got on a special guest who knows a thing or two about how all of this works. Today we have the CEO of the enormously popular website and brand MindBodyGreen, Jason Wachob. He’s here to share with you his best tips for living what he calls a truly “wellthy” way of life. Enjoy!