Clean and Lean: How to Eat Healthily and Look Great

 

Clean Eating seems to be the latest diet of choice for wellness enthusiasts, with clean eaters focusing on consuming healthier, whole, unprocessed foods. However, while clean eating may seem like the latest in a long line of fad diets, the truth is that the principles of this diet plan are by no means new, and might provide real benefits to your wellbeing. The principles of clean eating are based on current nutritional science. Moreover, you’ll find that public health organisations make similar recommendations. Clean eating, therefore, is more than just a diet; it’s a lifestyle that maximises your energy and optimises your health. Moreover, the flexibility of the eating plan means you can adapt it to fit your routine. That said, there are eight core principles of Clean Eating that are always worth following:

 

1. Choose Whole Natural Foods: First and foremost, get rid of anything that came in a box, bag, can, or package – these are processed foods and have no place in a clean and lean diet (however, there are a few exceptions to the rule, like a bag of fresh green beans). If you want to eat clean and lead a healthy, holistic life, the majority of the foods you eat should be fresh, whole and natural, as most processed food has added preservatives and chemicals to increase shelf life.

 

 2. Eat with the Changing Seasons: Our society no longer has respect for the seasons, or eating with them. This means that the produce you eat is not as nutritional as it could be due to a lack of freshness and the time it has spent in transit. Any foods that are harvested for shipping all over the world are intentionally picked under ripe and sometimes sprayed with chemicals to maintain their freshness. Try to choose foods that are available locally and seasonally – shopping at a local farmer’s market or greengrocers instead of a supermarket can help you to do this.

 

3. Choose Unrefined Over Refined Foods: While refined foods may taste a bit nicer, this is because they have had most of their nutrition and fibre value stripped away in order to make the food more palatable and longer lasting. Whenever possible – which, we admit, is not all the time – increase your intake of whole grains like brown rice, millet, amaranth, and quinoa. Moreover, you should try to eat lost of beans, legumes and clean sugars such as honey, maple syrup, and dehydrated sugar cane juice.

 

4. Watch out for Fat, Salt, and Sugar: When you’ve cut out processed foods, avoiding fat, salt and sugar is far easier than you might think. Processed foods are often responsible for the excess levels of calories, fat, sugar, and salt in your diet, while clean foods are usually low in all of these ingredients.

 

5. Eat Some Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat at Every Meal: While you may need no encouragement to eat carbohydrates and fats, you might lack a certain amount of protein in your diet, especially during breakfast and lunch. Protein is important for building and strengthening your muscles and helping to curb your appetite – both of which are important for weight loss. However, it’s important to note that not all protein is created equal, so make your choice a little more wisely. Space it out and be aware of the kinds of meals you put together.

 

6. Don’t Drink Your Calories: If you’re trying to cut down on calories, why would you waste them on a beverage? By eliminating high calorie drinks like specialty coffees and soft drinks, you could lose an extra 400 to 500 calories a day. The top clean drink are water or unsweetened tea (any flavour), but you might also like to try low-fat or skimmed milk, buttermilk, lemonade sweetened with honey and 100% fruit juice diluted with sparkling water.

Categories: Clean Eating, Protein, whole foods

You Say You’re Eating Clean – But Are You Actually?

You don’t need me to tell you what you do to take care of your weight and wellness; cut back on all the crap you’re eating! If you’re yearning after Jessica Alba’s abs, all the exercise in the world won’t get you there unless you stop wasting your time and finally reduce your intake of sugar, high frequency cheat meals and processed foods. Abs are not made in the gym; they’re made in the kitchen. You may think you’re already taking care of your wellbeing by “eating clean” – but, let’s be honest, are you? What do you think eating clean means? It’s not about cutting back on the odd treat or only letting yourself indulge at weekends (although that is better than nothing), eating clean means that if you can’t kill it or grow it, you shouldn’t eat it.  That may hurt, so ask yourself how badly you want those abs. If you’re still up for the challenge, then read on!

 

1. Read the label: Most people think that the key to losing body fat is cutting calories, and burning off more calories than they consume. While this is indeed a vital aspect of anyone’s weight loss programme, it goes hand-in-hand with good nutrition, or avoiding processed foods. If you’re not sure what’s processed and what’s good for you, a good general rule of thumb is: If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. The fewer processes an item of food goes through, the better it is for you. When you read the label – which is a must if you want to know what you’re putting into your body – you want to see as few ingredients as possible. Two important products to avoid are canned foods and deli meats, as both are very much processed and full of nitrates.

 

2. Choose the right milk: When products lists added minerals and vitamins, this means the food is processed and not a good choice. This “added vitamin” rule applies with 2% and low-fat milk, so unfortunately you need to avoid these staple diet products. While the rule does not apply to soya milk, that is not to say that this is a decent alternative if you want to lose weight. Soy produces oestrogen, which causes your body to produce more fat, so it should also be avoided as part of a weight loss diet. However, this doesn’t mean you have to forgo your morning bowl of cereal or cup of tea; almond, goat or rice milk are all good choices.

 

3. Stay away from simple sugar: Another thing you need to clear out of your clean eating diet is simple sugar. Your body can process a maximum of three to six grams of sugar at one time, depending on your physical makeup. If you exceed your maximum intake of sugar, it simply turns into fat. Still, cutting out simple sugar is no mean feat, as it takes three weeks for your body to withdraw from them. Sugar is a chemical and, as such, does cause withdrawal. You might be tempted to replace sugar with Sweet-n-low or Splenda, but these are chemicals too. To satisfy your sweet tooth, you’re better off with Stevia or honey.

 

4. Steer clear of simple carbohydrates: Finally, you need to clean up your act with carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, such as white rice, white bread and white bagels, should be avoided at all costs. Rather, you need to choose a grain with at least three grams of fibre – but the more the merrier. Good choices include brown rice, old fashioned oatmeal and sweet potatoes.

Categories: Abs, body, Clean Eating, eating, processed, processed foods, simple, simple carbohydrates, Simple Sugar, Sugar, Weight Loss

You Say You’re Eating Clean – But Are You Actually?

You don’t need me to tell you what you do to take care of your weight and wellness; cut back on all the crap you’re eating! If you’re yearning after Jessica Alba’s abs, all the exercise in the world won’t get you there unless you stop wasting your time and finally reduce your intake of sugar, high frequency cheat meals and processed foods. Abs are not made in the gym; they’re made in the kitchen. You may think you’re already taking care of your wellbeing by “eating clean” – but, let’s be honest, are you? What do you think eating clean means? It’s not about cutting back on the odd treat or only letting yourself indulge at weekends (although that is better than nothing), eating clean means that if you can’t kill it or grow it, you shouldn’t eat it.  That may hurt, so ask yourself how badly you want those abs. If you’re still up for the challenge, then read on!

 

1. Read the label: Most people think that the key to losing body fat is cutting calories, and burning off more calories than they consume. While this is indeed a vital aspect of anyone’s weight loss programme, it goes hand-in-hand with good nutrition, or avoiding processed foods. If you’re not sure what’s processed and what’s good for you, a good general rule of thumb is: If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. The fewer processes an item of food goes through, the better it is for you. When you read the label – which is a must if you want to know what you’re putting into your body – you want to see as few ingredients as possible. Two important products to avoid are canned foods and deli meats, as both are very much processed and full of nitrates.

 

2. Choose the right milk: When products lists added minerals and vitamins, this means the food is processed and not a good choice. This “added vitamin” rule applies with 2% and low-fat milk, so unfortunately you need to avoid these staple diet products. While the rule does not apply to soya milk, that is not to say that this is a decent alternative if you want to lose weight. Soy produces oestrogen, which causes your body to produce more fat, so it should also be avoided as part of a weight loss diet. However, this doesn’t mean you have to forgo your morning bowl of cereal or cup of tea; almond, goat or rice milk are all good choices.

 

3. Stay away from simple sugar: Another thing you need to clear out of your clean eating diet is simple sugar. Your body can process a maximum of three to six grams of sugar at one time, depending on your physical makeup. If you exceed your maximum intake of sugar, it simply turns into fat. Still, cutting out simple sugar is no mean feat, as it takes three weeks for your body to withdraw from them. Sugar is a chemical and, as such, does cause withdrawal. You might be tempted to replace sugar with Sweet-n-low or Splenda, but these are chemicals too. To satisfy your sweet tooth, you’re better off with Stevia or honey.

 

4. Steer clear of simple carbohydrates: Finally, you need to clean up your act with carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, such as white rice, white bread and white bagels, should be avoided at all costs. Rather, you need to choose a grain with at least three grams of fibre – but the more the merrier. Good choices include brown rice, old fashioned oatmeal and sweet potatoes.

Categories: Abs, body, Clean Eating, eating, processed, processed foods, simple, simple carbohydrates, Simple Sugar, Sugar, Weight Loss