what is clean eating?

Clean eating is all about eating natural, unprocessed foods; foods without added sugar or chemicals, as close as possible to how they mature in nature.  Clean eating is not a diet, it is all about eating REAL food.  It is a lifestyle, and a fabulous one at that. Clean eating includes a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains.  There are many benefits of eating clean.  

What you eat will easily help you make (or break) your health and fitness goals. If you eat C.R.A.P., you will feel like crap! Turns out that old saying "You are what you eat" is TOTALLY true!   We know the best way to reach our health and fitness goals is through  healthy eating and exercise, but did you know nutrition is 80% and exercise is 20%?  That is HUGE!  Nutrition is extremely important in reaching those goals!                                                                

**Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day, spaced 2 to 3 hours apart.  This will prevent carbohydrate and energy crashes, boost your metabolism and help prevent hunger pains through regulating your blood sugar and insulin levels.

**Drink WATER! You should consume half your body weight in ounces of water daily.  Take your weight in pounds, divide by 2, that gives you the number (in ounces) of how much water you should be drinking in a day.

**Know your ingredients! Buy foods with the least amount of ingredients. You should be able to pronounce all the ingredients listed.  

**Eat a lean protein with a complex carbohydrate at each meal. This will keep your metabolism burning and limit those hunger pains (that lead to eating anything in sight).

**Never miss/skip a meal.  This helps your metabolism stay strong!

**Avoid refined foods such as white bread, pasta and flour. Aim to replace such foods with whole wheat breads, whole wheat pasta and whole wheat flour.

**Avoid artificial sweeteners such as saccharin (Sweet-n-Low) and aspartame (Equal).  These contain harmful chemicals and are just not good for you. Replace them with natural sweeteners such as honey (my favorite), agave nectar and stevia. 

**Avoid packaged frozen meals, as they often contain excess sodium, preservatives and sugar.  Meals such as Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice (more like UN-Healthy Choice) are packed with chemicals, preservatives, sugar, sodium and many other ingredients not included in a clean eating lifestyle.  Plan time to cook meals from scratch, place in your own containers and freeze! You can enjoy the ease of microwave meals AND know what ingredients are in them - because you made them yourself! 

TID BITS:

Be prepared! It is very important to not get held up at work or be sitting in traffic without clean snacks handy.

Don't come home at 6:30 PM and ask "What should we have for dinner?"  Make it a point to MEAL PLAN. This is, by far, the best way to stay on track with your meals. It takes a some time and discipline, but it makes for a rewarding and healthy week. 

Avoid calorie dense food with little nutritional value.  Limit your alcohol intake.  Whether you are eating clean to maintain your goals or lose weight, don't negate your hard work for one moment of guilty pleasure.  

Make meal planning fun!  Try new recipes, ask your kids for their ideas, or plan a "take-out" night and try to copy your favorite take out foods in the healthiest way possible.