Hi Everyone,
As my body continue to change with the change in my lifestyle and diet, the more I find that people looking on are somewhat misunderstood. Many people now think I am too "skinny" or I shouldn't lose anymore weight or some other comment I care little to remember. For the record I am 155lbs or just about 70.30kg and that by no measurement is "skinny", I have simply uncovered a method to eating clean and maintaining an consistent fitness routine. This in turn has allowed me to convert more fat into muscle, thus making me leaner.
What is Clean Eating?
According to fitnessmagazine.com clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being mindful of the food's pathway between its origin and your plate. With that said I define clean eating as the consumption of more whole foods that include one ingredient and/or very little processing. For example boiled eggs or green vegetable smoothie for breakfast is a easy way to eat clean.
Most clean eaters are also organic eaters as they tend to cut out foods produced or harvested with chemicals such as pesticides. I consider myself an average clean eater as my diet consist mostly of foods that have little processing, in that its not from a tin can or plastic bag and is often times prepared and/or cooked by me. I do have an occasional cookie or some other prepacked goodies and I also still eat bread, I try to have whole wheat breads and pastas most of the time or reduce the serving size if its refined grains. Though a proper diet can help with weight management, you should try to incorporate some kind of work out or fitness routine in your lifestyle.
10 Ways To Eat Clean:
Limit Processed Foods - Many processed foods contains added sodium, sugar and fats. Easy way to clean up you diet is to pay keen attention to the nutritional facts of your foods label; once there the ingredient list is too long or has terms you cannot pronounce stay clear.
Eat More Veggies - Increase your intake of vegetables, especially the green leafy kind like kale, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, pac choy and callaloo. Most veggies are high in vitamin A and K and are a great source of protein. They are also low on calories and high in healthy fibre which cause the body to feel full longer. A great snack idea is carrot it keeps away the urge to eat junk food while helping you maintain a slim waistline.
Reduce Saturated Fats - eating clean does not mean eliminating fats from your diet, instead swap out saturated fats for healthier ones. For instant using olive or canola oil and those from nuts such as peanut and almond. To cut back on saturated fat in your diet, try these simple swaps: top your salad with nuts instead of cheese, use peanut butter instead of cream cheese and replace mayonnaise with avocado on a sandwich.
Less Alcohol - Most people never realize the amount of calories in their favourite wine or alcoholic beverage. You can still have alcohol every now and then, however stay within the recommended limit. It not only keeps you sober it also keeps you slimmer.
Un-sweeten Your Diet - The issue with most pastries and desserts are the added sugar. When cleaning up your diet look for foods without sugar or sugar is at the bottom of the ingredient list. Reduce your intake of soda, candy and baked goods and beware of healthier foods that have added sugar like yogurt.
Cut The Salt - Eating or cooking with too much salt can increase your blood pressure. As such cutting back on processed/packaged food will help reduce your salt intake, as most processed foods contains more salt than their home-made version. You can spice up your food with herbs, spices, citrus or vinegar.
Chose Whole Grains - Whole grain foods contains more nutrients than refined grains, though it can often be costly. When shopping for grocery you can chose to get whole grain like pasta and bread of quinoa and brown rice. Many products will say wheat but ensure the first ingredient is whole wheat and not just wheat.
Eat Less Meat - The recommended serving of meat is 3oz which is the size of a deck of cards. Most times serving size at restaurants or even at home is larger than that, Though eating clean does not mean having no meat at all, reducing the amount of meat you consume will also help reduce your intake of saturated fats. You can use vegetable protein to make up for the absence of meat, food such as tofu, peas and beans are good options.
Have More Fruits - Most clean eaters or health nut see fruits as natures candy and use them to satisfy sweet tooth cravings. Fruits are high in potassium which helps to regulate blood pressure and also vitamin C. Having your fruits fresh is recommended but if that is not an option then canned or dried fruits with minimal processing is a good option.
Out With Refined Grains - Refined grains such as flour is used to make most cakes and pastries and also white breads and pastas. A good way to eat clean is to reduce or cut refined/white flour all together.
Clean eating is simple once you are in the frame of mind and consider it a lifestyle change and not a diet. By doing so you are not bounded by timelines and quick results, instead you can set small realistic goals and achieve them as you progress.
I almost never count calories, however I do read the label and ingredient list to see how the food I am eating will positively (or negatively) impact my health. I try to maintain a clean diet 80% of the time so the next 20% does not seems as critical.
I almost never count calories, however I do read the label and ingredient list to see how the food I am eating will positively (or negatively) impact my health. I try to maintain a clean diet 80% of the time so the next 20% does not seems as critical.
Let me know what are your thoughts on this growing concept of clean eating. Have you tried it and how does it work for you?
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Peace, Love, Prayers.
The Beautiful One
