What the Heck is Clean Eating?

 

 A friend of mine and I decided to eat clean all week this week. I will be starting Body Beast workout program in a week and she was wanting some better results. I try to eat clean as much as possible, but with a large family it is hard to do 85% of the time. I am dedicated to it this week, and we will go from here.

   The next question is what the heck is clean eating anyway? Have you heard of it? It is a fairly new concept and people are talking about it all over the internet. So chances are you have heard mention of it. When I first started looking into clean eating I was overwhelmed, confused, and bombarded by a lot of information. I kept going though. There are some great blogs out there with some really amazing recipes and tips. I have since then made many dinners that follow the clean eating principles. I have 4 kids so its hard to please all of them at one time. I have been pleasantly surprised that most of them have liked the things that we have been cooking. It is not that different really. I just don't do boxed dinners anymore like hamburger helper, etc.

   Also, a lot of people have the misconception that eating clean is expensive. There are aspects of it that are like you have to pay a little more for 100% whole wheat bread, but I basically spend the same amount at the store as I did before. There are many options out there now that make it easy and affordable to eat better.

Clean eating involves the following:

1. Eat whole foods: Eating whole foods, these are foods that haven't been messed with or been in a manufacturing plant. So they basically come straight from the farm to the store, of course some go to a plant to be packaged. Fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, low fat dairy products, unsalted nuts, and seeds.

2. Avoid processed foods: Processed foods are foods that have a label. If it has a label it means that it  more than one ingredient was used to make it. Do you have to stop eating all labeled foods? Of course not it is just not feasible in our day and time. Things like whole grain pastas, spice packets, etc
However, if there is a word on the label that you can't pronounce don't eat it!

3. Eliminate refined sugar: The only thing refined sugar is adding to your diet is extra calories. There are many alternatives to refined sugar such coconut sugar or pure, local honey. It takes a while to get used to not having it, but once you get passed that you will feel better.

4. Eat 5 or 6 meals daily: Eating 5 to 6 smaller meals helps to rev up your metabolism. Plus it also helps you from feeling SO hungry that you feel the need to eat the whole kitchen!

5. Cook your own meals: Instead of eating your meals from a box, cook your own meal! It is not as hard as it sounds. There are many great websites out there that have simple, CLEAN, recipes.. They are good, wholesome, and if my picky kids will eat it, I know yours will too!

6. Combine protein with carbs: One thing I have learned is to balance out your meals. Not all carbs are bad, and your body actually needs them because carbs are what gives your body energy! So one carb, to one protein. For example, if having baked chicken add in 1/3 cup brown rice or 1/3 whole wheat or multigrain pasta. You will be surprised at how full you feel from adding in good, wholesome carbs to your meals!

So to end, my suggestion is to start slowly. Trade out one item each week. If you eat pasta trade it out for multigrain or whole grain one week or 100% whole wheat bread instead of white bread. Don't try to go all in at one time because this will cause failure as you will get burned out. Take it slow, but steady and you will win this race.

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Nicole McDuffie
Independent Beachbody Coach