Our Origin Story
We are John and Rosemary Fotheringham, two thirty-somethings living in the Pacific Northwest. We paid off $66,000 of debt in less than three years to become debt free in January of 2019, and we’re now on the path to financial independence (yay!)
All throughout our debt payoff, we found ourselves binging on finance podcasts like Afford Anything and Choose FI, reading finance blogs such as Mr. Money Mustache, and devouring books including Your Money or Your Life, The Simple Path to Wealth, and The Millionaire Next Door. More recently, we’ve been immersing ourselves in the “Financial Independence” and “FIRE” (Financially Independent, Retire Early) communities, hosting local ChooseFI meet-ups, attending our first Camp Mustache, and our first FinCon.
We love the FI community and want to do everything we can to help spread the philosophy and basic principles. But along the way, we have seen one bit of pervasive advice on various FI blogs that kiiiiiiind of makes us want to bang our heads repeatedly on the desk: eating “rice and beans” to save money on the grocery bill. If not literally rice and beans, the recommendation usually involves a very high-carb diet with large quantities of flour, rice, beans, and potatoes to “bulk up” the meals.
With both of us being certified NTPs (Nutritional Therapy Practitioners) and having profound health transformations when we changed how we ate, we felt ourselves dying a little inside every time we heard such advice. We knew that this way of eating was low in nutrients and would result in nutrient deficiencies in the long term, which then decreases quality (and length!) of life.
And that was why we decided to be a voice advocating for what we believe in:
- Thinking in terms of nutrient density instead of simply dollars or calories.
- Showing that a calorie is not a calorie (each of the three macronutrients―fat, protein, and carbohydrates―have different effects on hormones, satiety, etc.).
- Eating real, whole, unprocessed foods that our great-grandparents would recognize.
- Eating low-glycemic foods that don’t spike insulin and support stable energy throughout the day.
- Eating to fuel function, support metabolic flexibility, and optimize gene expression.
- Eating locally, in season, and foraging when possible.
- Creating one’s own convenience instead of paying a premium for it.
- Incorporating traditional and ancestral food processing and preservation method such as fermenting, soaking, sprouting, and canning.
- Eating nose-to-tail, never letting any part of the animal go to waste and getting a wider range of nutrients, flavors, and textures.
- Supporting sustainable and regenerative farming practices that are better for animals, better for the planet, and better for us.
- Intermittent fasting from time to time to give our bodies a chance to restore and repair, save some money on food, and reduce the time needed to prep food or do dishes.
The thing is, eating real, whole, nutrient-dense, and organic food doesn’t have to be as expensive as people think.
Through lots of trial and error, we have figured out how to eat in a way that doesn’t break the bank but is still rich in nutrients, incredibly flavorful, and also―important with both of us working full time―low maintenance.
When we first examined our food spending, we were spending upwards of $1,200 a month on just the two of us (WERE WE EATING SOLID GOLD BARS?!). We decided to see if we could halve that to $600 and get by, and we did. Then, just for fun, we decided to see if we could halve it again to $300, and we did.
These days, we settle somewhere around $400-$600 monthly for food. It may be a little more than other peoples’ food budgets in the FIRE community, but we both strongly believe in the old adage:
“It’s better to pay the farmer now than the doctor later.”
Unknown
Our goal is to help you optimize your health just as much as you optimize every detail of your finances. The FIRE Community is one that really understands the concept of value and spending money where it counts. We think that an investment in food that supports your own health is worth the money―because if you retire but you’re not well enough to enjoy it, what’s the point, really?
Our Health Philosophy
We believe and teach that what you eat and how you live shapes your health. Good health isn’t “luck.” Food and lifestyle directly affects which genes are expressed and in what way. This is called epigenetics, and epigenetics trumps genetics. This is good news! You have the power to improve your health by eating a nutrient-dense, properly prepared diet and balancing the five fundamentals (hence, Flourish Fundamentals!):
- Nutrition
- Movement
- Sleep
- Relaxation & Restoration
- Connection
When these foundations are out of balance, we start to experience a host of unwanted symptoms: weight gain, skin issues, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, and worse. By supporting each of these foundations through diet and lifestyle, the body’s chemistry can be brought back into balance, helping people enhance their health naturally. The body’s default mode is health, if it gets the basic building blocks it needs to function properly and build healthy tissues.
For a real life example of the transformative power of the Flourish Fundamentals approach, you can read Rosemary’s transformation story about how supporting the foundations and transitioning from a Standard American Diet (SAD) to a properly prepared, nutrient-dense diet helped her overcome long-term struggles with weight, depression, anxiety, sugar addiction, skin problems, and painful menstrual cycles.
We embrace whole-body, nutrition-based approach, making sure that: 1) your digestion system is working properly, 2) you are eating the right kinds of foods to keep your energy levels stable and sugar cravings at bay, and 3) you are eating enough high-quality fats and proteins to keep you satisfied and nourished.
We believe in addressing nutrient deficiencies by using real food, and only using supplements as a true supplement―that is, they are in addition to a nutrient-dense, properly-prepared diet. You can’t out-supplement a bad diet!
You’re going to love how great the foods we recommend make you feel. On this website and in Rosemary’s books, you’ll find the types of low-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods that have nourished the human race for thousands of years, and allowed our ancestors to be naturally vibrant with health. It wasn’t until these foods began to fall out of common usage—coupled with the introduction of refined sugar, processed carbohydrates, and trans-fat laden vegetable oils—that so many of us became overweight and sick.
Eating this way will require some changes to the way you eat and live―but if you’re already on the path to financial independence, or you’re already there, you’re used to making incremental progress, day after day! The myriad benefits are well worth the extra time in the kitchen and having a little higher grocery bill than you would on the Rice and Beans Diet: increased energy, reduced/eliminated sugar cravings, better sleep, clearer skin, improved mood, balanced hormones, and fitting effortlessly into your favorite clothes.
Ready to dive in?
Radiant Reboot
Rosemary wrote her ebook Radiant Reboot: Reclaim Your Health, Increase Your Energy & Reboot Your Life in 30 Days as a sort of “nutrition coach in a book”. It walks you through a 30 day, self-guided clean eating program. If you’ve ever done a Whole 30, the food guidelines are similar, but it also gives you basic concepts around the foundations of nutrition so that you understand the WHY behind eating this way, 100 curated real-food recipes, tips for how to stock a nutrient-dense fridge and pantry, and much more.
Eat Your Sunscreen
If you’re going on a winter trip to a sunnier destination, or if the days are getting longer and sunnier, you want to be sun-ready! Unfortunately, much of the conventional advice around sun protection out there is inaccurate at best or actually harmful at worst. This is why Rosemary wrote the ultimate guide to sun exposure and sun safety, Eat Your Sunscreen: Superfoods to Boost Your Skin’s Natural Defenses Against Sunburn. You’ll learn why sun exposure is so important for mood and health, why chemical-laden sunscreens are nowhere near as helpful as we’ve been led to believe (and some better alternatives), and foods and nutrients that help you resist burning and aging and help you tan more easily―even if you’re naturally pale and even if you only have a couple weeks! You’ll even get recipes for sun-protective foods, and some non-toxic product recommendations.
RESTART® 5-Week Sugar Detox Class
The RESTART® Program is a group class that teaches the fundamentals of nutrition while also learning how to prepare and eat real, whole foods in a small group setting that provides support and accountability. If you’ve been dealing with nagging health issues and you’re ready to make a change and experience a health transformation, you’re in the right place!
RESTART® is part nutritional education, part sugar detox, part support group – an empowering combination! The 5-week RESTART® Program is a simple, powerful way to give your body a vacation from having to process toxins like sugar. With a 3-week sugar detox built right in, the program focuses on how to use real food to boost your energy and cut sugar and carb cravings.
Space is limited to the first ten participants who register for each cohort. Reserve your spot in the next class now!
Personalized Nutrition & Finance Coaching
If you want specialized help or extra support, we occasionally takes on coaching clients on a case-by-case basis. We special in working with other couples (brining a balance of masculine and feminine perspectives), but are happy to work one-on-one with individuals, too. You can work with both of us together, or request to work with just one of us. Contact us directly to set up a free 15 minute call to see if a nutritional therapy approach would be a good fit for you.
THE FINE PRINT: The content on this website is strictly our opinion and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All readers and viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Flourish Fundamentals does not take responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.