“Eating Clean” means eating foods that are as close to their
natural state as possible, while avoiding processed or genetically modified
foods. For example, Pepsi, Doritos, and Oreos do not occur in nature - they are
processed and made in a plant. Broccoli, apples, chicken and brown rice - these
things grow in nature. By eating clean, you are ridding your body of chemicals
and preservatives that were never meant to be there in the first place. Toxins
hide in our body fat and make it harder for us to lose the weight. Eating clean
rids our body of these toxins, literally detoxing our body naturally, fueling
our body with the nutrients we need, which in turn revs our metabolism, and allows
our bodies to let go of the weight. In
short - if you're buying something that is in a box, or a bag, flip it over and
read the ingredients. My rule of thumb is - if you can't pronounce the
ingredients and have no idea what it is - put it back where you found it, and
step away. Also, try to find packaged
foods that have 5 or fewer ingredients. Usually, the longer the list of
ingredients, the more likely there are lots of preservatives and artificial
crap that is best to avoid. Fresh food
is best, frozen next, canned is last.
So let's get down to business. I'll touch on each principal more
in the future during our challenge, but these are the basics.
Here's what to do:
1. EAT MORE OFTEN! (yes it's true) Eat 5 - 6 times a day, spaced
about 2.5 - 3 hours apart. I know, this may freak you out at first. I was also
scared to do this, thinking that eating more often would make it harder to lose
weight. But the opposite happened! I ended up never feeling hungry, because I
never let myself go too long without eating. My metabolism definitely sped up,
and I also found myself with fewer drops in energy due to low blood sugar. A good rule of thumb is to eat breakfast, a
snack, lunch, a snack, dinner, and then another snack if needed before bed.
2. Eat Breakfast EVERY DAY - within one hour of rising, if
possible. Shakeology counts as
breakfast, if you choose to have it in the morning.
3. Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates
at each meal. Complex carbohydrates include fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
So an example of this would be eggs with peppers and mushrooms, or salad topped
with grilled chicken, or a snack of almonds and an apple.
4. Eat sufficient (two to three servings) healthy fats every
day. Examples of healthy (unsaturated) fats include olive oil, nuts, avocado,
coconut.
5. Drink enough water each day. Ideally, you should consume half
of your body weight in ounces each day. At a minimum, drink 2 liters. It is
especially important to rehydrate after exercise.
6. Carry a cooler packed with clean foods. Doing so ensures you
aren't stuck somewhere - at work, in traffic, etc - without a healthy option
and have to sit there starving and miserable, or worse - getting something out
of the vending machine. At the very
least, keep a snack in your purse/glove compartment, such as nuts and dried
fruit or a Lara Bar (my favorite kind of bar—only 5 all natural ingredients and
nothing else!)
7. Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins,
nutrients, and enzymes.
8. Adhere to proper portion sizes.
Here's what to AVOID:
1. Avoid all over-processed foods, particularly white flour and
sugar. Do you know why it's white? Because they've stripped it of all its
vitamins and nutrients! There's literally NO good reason to have it. Also,
anything that says “enriched wheat flour” means it is not really wheat! They
had to “enrich” it because it was first stripped of anything good, then they
had to artificially put it back in.
2. Avoid chemically charged foods. If you can't pronounce
it/never heard of it - put it down!
3. Avoid foods containing preservatives. Who needs something
with a shelf life of a year?! That does not seem like "real" food to
me.
4. Avoid artificial sugars. Put down the Sweet & Low, Equal,
Splenda and everything else that is cooked up by chemists. Choose Stevia, 100%
real maple syrup, honey, or Agave Nectar to sweeten your coffee or tea. These
things occur in nature and that's what you want!
5. Avoid artificial foods like processed cheese slices.
6. Avoid saturated and trans fats.
7. Avoid sugar loaded drinks like sodas and juices and fancy
coffee drinks.
8. Avoid - or do your best to limit - alcoholic beverages.
Drinking wine before bed every night does nothing but halt your body from
burning fat. Alcohol contains a ton of sugar, so it acts like a piece of cake
in your body. Save it for once in a while - you will see a difference if you
cut out regular alcohol intake.
9.Avoid all calorie dense food containing little to no
nutritional value. These are anti-foods!
Think of food as fuel, and remember that whatever you are eating should
be giving your body something that it needs.
10. Avoid "super -sizing" anything. Eat smaller meals
more often throughout the day and avoid eating all of your calories at once -
your body can't burn a ton of calories all at once, especially if you've hardly
eaten all day - making your metabolism sluggish, and you'll store most of that
huge meal as fat!
I know that at first, this list can seem very overwhelming,
especially if you are new to eating this way. I want you to know that you do
not have to immediately change everything in your diet to follow this 100%
(although you certainly can, if you feel up to it!). If that is too daunting of
a task, no problem. Take it one baby step at a time. Pick one thing that you
think you can change right now. Maybe it’s cutting out soda, or switching to
Stevia in your coffee. Perhaps you can
try to eat 5 times per day instead of 2. Whatever you choose, make a commitment
to stick to that new change for a week, and then add on another change the
following week. Before long, you will be eating clean!
As always please ask me if you have any questions or need ideas
for healthy meals!!! I am here for you!
