By now, you know that approximately 99.4756 percent of the things that you buy at the grocery store on a regular basis aren’t good for you. Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but you probably know that many of the things that you throw into your shopping cart when you hit the grocery store aren’t good for you. They’re processed foods that don’t contain any nutritional value and do little to stop the rise of obesity in this country.

But, what if I told you that you could eat healthy for an entire year simply by making one change in your diet? What if I told you that you could lose up to 20 pounds without even trying? What if I told you that you could avoid illness and go a year without getting so much as a cold? What if I told you that all you needed to do was…stop going to the grocery store?

Do you think you could do it? Do you really think you could do it? Rachel Hoff, a native of Vallejo, Calif., and her family didn’t think they could do it. But they tried it anyway last year, documented it on a blog called A Year Without Groceries, and they liked it so much that they’re now doing it for another year. They’re eating meals comprised solely of foods that they grow themselves, buy from farmer’s markets, and barter from other families trying to eat healthier. And they’re seeing a really positive effect on their health.

The family ran into their fair share of problems during the course of the year. Their bread machine stopped working once and they were without bread for a month. One of the trees they planted stopped producing fruit, forcing them to eat nothing but zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers for a few weeks in the middle of the year. And, of course, they’ve had to put forth a more effort when buying and trading food than they’d have to if they simply made a trip to the food store. However, they’re seeing positive results by avoiding the grocery aisles.

For starters, they saved an estimated $2,000 last year on groceries alone. Both Huff and her husband avoided catching the common cold throughout the year. She lost 20 pounds without counting calories. And, maybe best of all, the family’s decision to cut groceries out of their diet has brought them closer together because they’ve been forced to work together to put dinner on the table. They’re also constantly communicating about what they’re eating and how it’s beneficial for them.

So, do you think you could do it? If not, consider this: Huff was first inspired to embark on her one-year journey after she read No Impact Man, a book about a family in New York City who did the same thing as Huff and her family just did. That’s right—a family survived without groceries in the City That Never Sleeps and lived to write a book about it. So, if they could do it, why not you? That was Huff’s thinking and it could be yours, too.

You’ve probably heard this a thousand times now, but we’re going to say it again. Eating nothing but what you buy at the grocery store is not good for you. So if you learn anything from Huff’s journey, let it be that you can make a small difference in your life simply by cutting out groceries when you can. Eat foods purchased at farmer’s markets, cut back on processed foods, and see how it helps you. You might not be able to cut out groceries completely. But you can make small changes in the way you approach food that could change your life.

And, who knows? Maybe you’ll actually like it. As Huff proved, it can be done. Now it’s your turn to give it a try.

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