Several times, I've made reference to how I've been eating Clean. And have realized that not only have I not explained what that means, but that some of you are interested in what that means. And so, for the two of you who actually read this blog (!), I thought I'd fill you in...
1. Eating 5-6 small meals a day.
2. Combining complex carbs (fruit/veggie/grain) with a protein (meat/cheese/nut butter/legumes)
3. Drinking lots of water -- about 10 cups a day.
4. Avoiding processed foods and white sugar, white flour, white rice, etc.
5. Eating things as close to God's creation as possible (not factory created foods)
6. Reading food labels to become aware of ingredients (SO many things have sugar!!)
7. Eating foods with short ingredient lists, all of which must be identifiable (no science-speak!)
8. Enjoying every meal, and every bite -- guilt free!
Clean Eating IS NOT...
1. As hard as your mind is telling you it is.
2. Going to make you into the supermodel you know lurks inside.
3. A get-skinny-quick-plan.
4. An "eliminate a food group" diet.
5. A count each calorie/weigh everything/dole out points eating plan.
6. Bland, boring, or restrictive.
7. A budget breaker.
8. Going to shackle you to the kitchen and your knives, bowls, and pans.
Clean Eating is a way of life, and one that my entire family can embrace and enjoy. While I'm the one who eats clean 90% of the time, my family does eat clean as frequently as I can get them to. They've been harder to convert than converting myself, but they have been very receptive. In fact, our picky eater enjoys most, if not all, of the clean meals I make.
So you might be wondering: What's the point? Why Eat Clean?
I can only report on my personal discoveries since I've changed my eating:
- More energy, fewer "I need a nap!" afternoons
- Weight is coming of at a steady pace, without needing to restrict my intake of food
- NO MORE migraines!!! This is huge for me, and I believe tied to my consumption of Diet Coke, which is no longer on my menu (it's all chemicals and man-made junk)
- Variety!! Wow! We've started eating so many new things and they are all so tasty!
- Less skin breakouts
- Enjoyment of the TRUE flavor of foods
- Fewer cravings for sugar or sweet items, and naturally sweet things are sweet enough
- Lots of motivation to keep going, keep eating clean, keep moving...
I highly, highly recommend researching more on Clean Eating. I challenge you to try it for a couple months and see if you don't notice a big change in how you feel, and how you look. And then, once you try it, come back here and leave a comment letting me know how much you love it!
For further research (and really great recipes), I'd recommend:
The Gracious Pantry
The Eat Clean Diet Website
Tosca Reno's books
Clean Eating Magazine
I really want to start this. When we went on core retreat a couple of weekends ago, I mentioned to the girls that we could do this together. Share ideas and menus. God has really burdened me about eating lately. I should be an example of Christ in all things not just in what I do or say but even how I take care of my body. Thank you for your constant encouragement in my life. Love you girl!
ReplyDeleteI've pretty much cut sugar's out of my diet. Lost 13 lbs in 3 months and have enjoyed eating less processed foods of the past couple of months. Didn't realize there is a name for this...Thanks for the references. I was struggling to define the way I was trying to eat. Good Luck with your new way of eating.
ReplyDelete