Clean Eating Basics
The simple truth is, you cannot get healthy without eating healthy. At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or “real” foods. Foods that are either not processed at all, or are minimally processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible.
- Avoid most packaged and processed foods. The first step in clean eating
- Choose real foods
- Cut back on added sugars
- Avoid trans-fats/Limit saturated fats
- Make home cooked meals, eat at home
- Stay hydrated
- Limit caffeine and alcohol
The foundation of all clean-eating plans is limiting (or eliminating) all packaged and processed foods. But some recommendations include elimination of red meat, gluten and dairy. Others espouse juicing to ‘rest” your digestive tract (nothing could be further from the truth: food is the best workout for your digestive tract).
1) Make it A Lifestyle
- Clean eating is not a diet, it is a lifestyle
- Approach every meal as a lifestyle
2) Load up on Fresh Produce
- The golden rule of clean eating should be to include as much fresh produce in your daily diet as possible
- No matter if you’re a carb-cutter, carb-loader, paleo warrior, or intermittent faster, vegetables make every dietary system better and healthier
3) Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store
- Every store is different, but as a general rule, the periphery is the natural habitat of the fresh vegetable, meat market, whole-grain baked goods, and the nuts and dried fruits in the bulk bin
4) Eliminate Added Sugars
- Foods in their most natural state do not contain added sugar. That is why it’s called “added sugar”
- Generally speaking, eating right isn’t about avoiding anything in particular.
- It is about choosing simple, unrefined things and enjoying them
5) DRINK MORE WATER
- Water helps energize muscles
- Drinking water also helps the skin do it’s job of regulating the body’s temperature through sweating
- Feed your body
- Water is essential for the proper circulation of nutrients in the body
- Increases Energy & Relieves Fatigue
- Promotes Weight Loss
- Flushes Out Toxins
- Improves Skin Complexion
- Maintains Regularity
- Boosts Immune System
- Natural Headache Remedy
- Prevents Cramps & Sprains
Making Healthy Eating your Lifestyle
Part of making healthy eating your lifestyle is setting aside the time to do it right. This means sitting down to a meal whenever possible, preferably at a table, with the people you care about.
Balance your Diet
Two of the central ideas behind clean eating are balance and moderation. Don’t avoid carbs or dietary fats entirely on your clean diet approach, or you’ll find yourself dreading your meals. Get them in, adjusting the portion sizes to fit your particular nutrient and body goals.
Beyond Refined White Flour
Almond flour, coconut flour, brown rice flour, and oat flour are all excellent ways to reduce the simple carbs of any recipe and still create delicious treats. Yes, you can enjoy baked goods and eat clean at the same time. The secret is to open yourself to the world beyond refined white flour.
You must embrace whole foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains, plus healthy proteins and fats. And, cut back on refined grains, pesticides, additives, preservatives, unhealthy fats and large amounts of sugar and salt.
Eating clean is a good way to refresh your eating habits: it’s about eating more of the best and healthiest options in each of the food groups and eating less of the not-so-healthy ones.
