What is Clean Eating? - FREE 7 Day Group Starting June 30th

A lot of people thing they're eating healthy when they have low fat potato chips, a diet soda and a fat free cookie.  Food has changed so much in the last 20-30 years, it's hard to even distinguish what is food and what is a bunch of chemicals mashed together to make something that looks like food.  The best way to eat, in my opinion, is clean.

Clean eating isn't a diet.  It is a lifestyle.  It's not about denying yourself or starving, It's about eating with thought and planning.  By adopting a clean eating lifestyle your body will have a better chance at looking it's all time best.

Most diet plans want you to avoid a food, which is fine if you're allergic to dairy, or sensitive to gluten; however if we take the Atkin's diet for example, you are supposed to avoid carbohydrates but eat fats.  Yes, you will lose weight, but that's math.  If you avoid a food group you are taking calories away associated with that food group.  When you add that food group back in you will gain again.  So the best way to lose weight slowly and surely and keep it off is eating clean!!!!

I figured this out a few years ago.  I have had weight ups and downs.  In 2005 I lost a TON of weight.  For those of you who know me now, I'm about 142 now.  And at 5'7" and being fairly athletic, that's fine for me (I could probably lose a few lbs to be a better running weight, but this is pretty much my set point).  Back then I was 124 lbs.  I thought I was eating healthy - oatmeal for breakfast, fruit and yogurt for lunch, salad for dinner and popcorn for a snack, and a lot of sugar free jello.........Did you know you can eat the entire box for 40 calories?  I didn't care it was made of chemicals, just that I could eat a ton of it for no calories. That was it, every single day for a summer.  And you know what happened? When I decided to let myself have a taste of ice cream again, I went crazy.  I gained all that weight back in no time.  If I had just eaten clean, eaten proper amounts, and let myself have that random cookie once in a while, I would have been much better off.

Eating clean is not a diet you follow for a few months, denying yourself certain foods.  It is a lifestyle.  Fad diets don't work long term.  Of course everyone is different and you have to find the foods that work for you.  If you don't like brown rice, maybe quinoa will be a better option for you.  Just because it works for one person, doesn't mean it'll work for the other.  Experiment!!  Clean eating can be fun!!  And weight loss or maintenance is 80% nutrition.  But your best bet is to eat clean whole foods, most of the time.

Clean Eating Principles

- Eat 5 or 6 small meals every day

- Eat every 2-3 hours (I usually do 3)

- Combine lean protein and complex carbs at every meal (a complex carb can be a veggie)

- Consume healthy fats each day

- Drink half your body weight in oz of water each day

- Never miss a meal, especially breakfast

- Carry a cooler with snacks or meals with you throughout the day so you don't have to stop for fast food

- Avoid over processed, refined foods, especially white flour and sugar

- Avoid chemicals, preservatives and artificial sugar

- Avoid saturated and trans fats

- Avoid sugar loaded soda and juice

- Avoid alcohol (sorry guys, however I still have my glass of wine a few nights a week)

- Avoid calorie dense foods that have no nutritional value

- Eat fresh fruits and veggies for fiber, vitamins and enzymes

- Stick to proper portion sizes!!!

I am hosting a FREE 7 Day Clean Eating Group.  If you'd like to learn more and be a part of this group, please email me at meganmosley@ymail.com and I'll let you know how you can join!!