Eating Clean: Not just a fab diet its a lifestyle Change

I want to begin this off with saying: I am not trained or licensed in anything fitness related or a dietitian.

Six years ago I welcome a baby boy into this world barely weighing over 2lbs. My body failed both him and I. The lasting effects of an unhealthy life style lead up to an unhealthy pregnancy. I ate more sugar then Willie Wonka could make in a day and chips were and obsession. Around 14 weeks into the pregnancy I started to noticed swelling and things were just different then my first child. At first it was the normal line from the doctor “just cut your sodium in take and that will help with the swelling.” At 25 weeks I was admitted to the hospital for the weekend due to blood pressure way to high. Just 4 weeks later I was back having our baby boy way to premature. Six years later me and him are healthy and happy but it took sometime and changes to get here.

At age 25 I was taking blood pressure meds after the baby turned a year. I was taking my meds one morning and realized your 25 years old having to take BP meds everyday and still have a high bottom number something has to give. That was my turning point. I made an appotiment with the heart doctor and told him I was not happy with being 25 and on BP meds. He started to tell me that a lot of times changing your LIFESTYLE of eating can really help your BP. He gave me a list of FAB diets, as I call them, and I started to do my own research. I started to see that a lot of these were DIETs, not something I would want to stay on forever. If I stopped them would my BP issues just come back? Some even said not for long term use. That’s when I ran across an article on eating clean. I spent the better part of a week reading and journaling, which I still have, on what “eating clean” was really about.

Clean Eating in a nutshell is avoiding processed foods. If it comes in a bag pretty much the rule of thumb is to avoid it. Pick fresh over frozen and canned items. If not ALWAYS pick frozen over canned. Canned goods always contain a much higher sodium content then frozen or fresh and even more times a lot of hidden preservatives. Eating more produce is key. If you are a snackier, pick up a fresh fruit or veggie instead of that bag of chips. These things fill you up faster and for longer periods of time due to the fiber in them. You’ll begin to find just like stopping cokes, your bodies desire for  more water, it will also begin a want for more of these types snacks then the bad things. Skip things with added sugar. This goes back to the sodas! Natural sugar from fruit is what you are looking for on a clean-eating plan: white sugar that goes into your baked goods or your super sweet coffee or beverage is not. You will be surprised at the bread and yogurts that contain piles of sugar! Start becoming cautious to labels and learning how to read them. This next one was one reason I was sold on this lifestyle and why it helped me so much. Learning to look for salt in food. Learning to love the natural flavors of your food can be a hurdle. If you have added salt in the past, its time to stop now. Also begin to learn the foods that have added salt like, cottage cheese, bread, and we all know…..cereal. As you start to exile processed foods and prepackaged foods from your life you wont have to be as concerned about sodium in foods its the table salt you add you will have to watch. Cut out the caffeine!! This is so huge! If you read nothing else read this. WATER WATER WATER! Your source of caffeine is your one cup of coffee a day. You should be taking in no less then eight 8oz glasses of water a day. I go by the average women rule of 72 Oz’s of water a day. Go whole grain. Refined grains are on of those sneaky products that always find a way into your buggy. Its so important to look for real whole-grain products. Just because its advertised as multigrain or organic does not make it a clean food. Real whole grains will aid in a healthy digestion. A healthy gut is key to being healthy as well. Seriously…. Read the labels. A clean eat lifestyle is not all about counting calories. A low-calorie number is always great to see but knowing to look for crazy amounts of sodium, trans or saturated fat, or ingredients you cant pronounce will help you make the shift toward healthier choices and understand why you are doing so!

One important factor  to clean eating is eating 4-6 smaller meals a day. This can be the hill that a lot have trouble with because it was what made me start and stop more then once! Being prepared and going to the grocery store is key. Planning ahead is big and at first will seem like a lot but it becomes easier and you get quicker. I meal prep a lot so come lunch and snack time I have it there and I am not in the pantry wanting to eat my kids oreos. I know your wondering what to eat after that last paragraph of all what not to eat. Eating clean your options are a lot more open then on most “diets”. I am going to list out in categories the bare minimum of the musts . This can serve as your grocery list as a beginner.

Fruit…. apples, berries, kiwi, oranges, bananas, grapefruit, grapes

Proteins.. Chicken, Lean cuts of Beef, Any fish, any shellfish, Eggs, Lean ground turkey, Tofu, beans

Carbs… Brown Rice, Oats, Quinoa, Sweet potato, Ezekiel bread, Whole Wheat pasta

Nuts/seeds… Almonds, sunflower, hemp, flax, pumpkin, cashew, peanuts, nut butters

Flours… Oat, chickpea, Spelt, coconut, almond, rice, wheat

Dairy… Coconut, almond, rice, soy, fat free/low fat

Veggies… Kale, spinach, avocado, celery, carrot, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, lettuce, mushrooms, green beans, peas, peppers, edamame, eggplant, squash, zucchini, onion, cucumber

That list is just one of the first list I ever made to go shopping. Now when you get home with all these new foods you can prepare yourself meals and snacks so that you wont go for the bad things. I am a list maker. So making a meal plan for a week makes this work for me and helps me to better stick to it. I am going give you a “schedule” I went by and what meals I ate at first to help me learn this new lifestyle.

Sunday-Saturday: 7am-breakfast, 10pm-snack, 12 pm-lunch, 3pm-snack, 5pm-dinner, 8pm-snack.

Breakfast ( Pick 2): 1\2 cup oatmeal, 3 boiled eggs, 1\2 grapefruit, 1 banana, 3 slices turkey bacon, Greek yogurt.

Lunches: Tuna salad on Wheat, Grilled Chicken Salad, Stuffed bell peppers, Lemon Pepper fish, Apple walnut chicken salad, Grilled chicken wrap.

Dinners: Baked salmon with broccoli and green beans, Grilled Pork Chops with baked sweet potato, 6 oz grilled sirloin with baked squash slices, Cauliflower crust pizza.

Snacks: Apple with 1 tbsp. peanut butter, carrots and hummus, fresh fruit, fruit smoothies, nuts, Greek yogurt.

With any of this, portion size is key to achieving any change as well. You can eat healthy but eating a correct portion size is a must. 6ozs is a good size to start with. I did this then went to the fist size. No serving bigger then my fist.

Any change you make is progress. You are not going to wake up tomorrow and be able to do this all in one day. Taking it one day at a time and adding healthy things and taking bad things out one at a time was how I learned to stick to it. I did not eat clean and start working out at the same time. I began eating right before ever working out! If weight lose is your reason 80% of your diet and weight lose is in the kitchen. What you eat and do not eat is the biggest part. A lifestyle eating change is not easy, but clean eating allowed me to still be able to go to restaurants and eat out. Its choosing baked over fried, no butter instead of butter.

Throw your scales away! I learned that the hard way! Trust your jeans not your scales! Inches are so much more meaningful then weight. Most of all embrace the change!

I look at my life as an 80\20 thing. 80% is clean 20% is dirty. What I mean is 80% of the time I eat clean and healthy the other 20% I have learned to love the cheats. Anything in moderation is ok! Your mind and body still need those bad things every once in a while.

This is something I am more passionate about then most that are closest to me even know! I would love to help anyone who wants to embrace this lifestyle! This is just the start of me posting my passion for this.

Allow Pinterest to be your best friend. It has so many tips and tricks to read on. READ.. Educate yourself. Love you in the process. I would look in the mirror and hate me. Now I fall off the wagon and because I LOVE me I want to get back on.