CleanEating4Life

Eating clean is the practice of avoiding processed and refined foods and instead, focusing your diet on whole and organic foods. This is not meant to be a fad diet to help you quickly lose weight, but instead, a way of life to help you feel healthier, have more energy, and help your body to make the most out of what it consumes. You can also personalize your clean eating to benefit YOUR body the best, whether its to get proper nutrition, help prevent and manage diseases, shed some extra pounds, detox, and just all-around feel better and healthier.

Here are a number of ways that we’ve compiled to help you start eating clean to a happier and healthier lifestyle!

1. Begin by Choosing Whole Foods – In order to consider something to be a whole food, you have to determine what the ingredients are. Clean, whole food is food that is in it’s purest, untainted form: whole fruits and vegetables (preferably organic), whole grains, grass-fed and free-range meats, low fat dairy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds. Check your labels, or buy from reputable local vendors or farmers markets to ensure freshness and cleanliness. Whole food will have only one or two ingredients, and you’ll know what they are.
2. Cut Down on Your Processed and Refined Food Intake – Learn to read food labels, specifically the ingredient portion. Refined products are stripped of beneficial fiber, vitamins and minerals. Any food product with a long list of ingredients tends to be human-made and processed in a lab or manufacturing plant. If you aren’t sure what an ingredient is, let alone can’t pronounce it, think twice about putting it into your body; it probably shouldn’t be there.
3. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables – They are good for you! Fruits and Vegetables will add a lot of flavor to your cooking without the unnecessary salt and fats. Plus, they’re chalk-full of nutrients and antioxidants, are low in calories, and can help lower your risk for certain diseases. Hello healthy organs! Also, choose organic whenever possible. Organic fruits and vegetables will be fresher and won’t be coated with chemicals and pesticides. Yes, they do tend to be a little more expensive, but the benefits are worth it. At least attempt to buy organic when selecting fruits and vegetables from the Dirty Dozen list, a list that contains products that have the largest amount of pesticide use.
4. Eat 5-6 Times Per Day – Eating 3 meals and 2-3 small snacks throughout the day will keep your body energized and burning through calories efficiently all day long. When choosing your meals, include a lean protein, plenty of fruit and veggies, and a complex carbohydrate. With grains, choose products that specifically say “whole” wheat or grain to ensure it still has all the great benefits and that it hasn’t been refined or stripped of the good stuff. And snacks don’t have to be high in sugars and saturated fats. Make your own trail mix or have some fruit. This also brings me to my next point…
5. Cook Your Own Meals – Because you know what? You’ll know exactly what’s going into them. And it’s really not that hard. A little prior planning and preparation will get you far in maintaining a clean diet. Clean, whole foods do not need much work to prepare besides a little chopping or sautéing to make a satisfying delicious meal. And it’s easy to tailor most recipes to swap out healthier ingredients or use whole wheat flour instead of white flour, etc. There are many resources out there for healthy, TASTY recipes that your family will love!
6. Drink More Water – Seriously, do it. Your body is made up of water; it uses water to do the majority of it’s functions. 60% of your body IS water, so make sure you’re hydrating it with at lease 2 liters per day. Choose water as your main beverage during and in between meals to help circulate oxygen and whisk away toxins as well as improve the function of every vital organ system.

By incorporating these tips into your everyday diet, you WILL notice a change for the better. And should you ever relapse for a minute, your body will tell you about that too. Because our bodies are miraculous things; once they get used to eating a clean, natural diet, the processed foods will make you feel not so good. It’s your body’s way of telling you that that’s NOT the kind of food it needs. Listen to what your body says, pick whole foods, make your own meal concoctions and drink lots of water. Cheers to a cleaner, healthier you, 4Life!