So I’m going to give this “clean eating” thing a try. I’m going to be lenient with myself as I make a transition into something that I hope to make a way of life. So I’m not going to view this as a diet, but a way to be healthier. I might not be perfect, but I will make slow changes that I can sustain.
Honestly, this isn’t going to take as much change as you might think. Most of the foods that I eat are already pretty clean. I eat a ton of fruits and veggies throughout the day. It’ll be the little things that will need changing. I will need to read bread labels instead of buying the Sara Lee low calorie bread. I will need to watch for 100% whole wheat and not just pick up the bread or tortillas that LOOK healthy. It will require more label reading.
Another huge part of this will be slowly eliminating sugar. For now, I will concentrate on REDUCING sugar and artificial sweeteners. This may be a gradual move for me. Every morning I drink my coffee with a packet of sweetener and a little creamer. Substitutes must be found!I am happy to say that I can eat honey, agave, and stevia. I was a little worried until I found that out!
This will mean no more margarines and light spreads, but using real butter. It will be about more REAL food and less of the artificial stuff. I think it’ll be good for the body.
So I need you help! If you eat clean, are there any websites you recommend? Any books? Any tips? Any recipes? Any products? Help me out!
I start this on February 11th, so I want to be prepared. Any advice is appreciated!
It'll be a great thing. I always think what would be hard for me is ditching the processed snacks, like Fiber One bars, brownies, etc. I could do okay with meals, but snacks leave me stumped. I'm sure you'll get some good advice. There is a blog I follow who just started eating cleaner or GF or something. She has some neat things sometimes. I will email you her link. Best of luck! It'll be an exciting challenge for you. :)
ReplyDeleteI was also toying with the idea of clean eating and found a great site. It's called 100 days of real food. I enjoy it, even though I haven't fully committed. Hope you check it out I think you'll like it. There's even a 10 day pledge/challenge type thing that looks promising, lots ideas, and even some menus.
ReplyDeletewww.marksdailyapple.com is all about eating clean, real food. Mark Sisson details (using scientific studies) why something is nourishing or not, in laymans terms. Mark has written several books that I really liked. Some paradigm shifting recent reads were: "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Weston Price...Gary Taubes books-"Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "Why we Get Fat." Another favorite is "Nourishing Traditions." Nina Planck wrote a book called "Real Food" that was very informative. Okay- one last book..."Traditional Foods are your Best Medicine" by Ronald F. Schmid, N.D. I'm shifting over to cleaner eating since I had my daughter. Old habits can be hard to break, but I work on it everyday, and you are a source of inspiration! :)
ReplyDeleteI am one who has gradually changed my eating over a ten year period so that I now eat much cleaner.
ReplyDeleteI recently bought Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean Diet book and it is a good resource. If you go through half.com you can purchase the book for as little as $1.00 and the shipping is $3.50. The book sells news for $16.95. Good luck with your plan. :)
Thanks Caron for the tip! I'm checking out half.com today. Did you buy the newest version or the original?
DeleteHave you ever read Clean Eating Magazine? It's an excellent resource with gret recipes. Good luck with the plan Alissa, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteI suggest you look into the Paleo way of eating. I'm not super strict, but it did help me get into eating clean.
ReplyDeleteAs a suggestion, use real sugar and a little half and half in your coffee. Most low cal sweeteners of any kind aren't all that clean - agave isn't as good as it was once thought, stevia is usually mixed with some funky stuff now to bulk it up and all the other sweeteners are just crap. I use Organic Valley French Vanilla Half and Half now and it is delicious.
Stick with foods that you could theoretically make in your kitchen if ou wanted. Most commercial breads, whether whole wheat or not are not very clean. FIL your plate 2/3 full with fruits and veggies and drizzle some olive oil on them - no bottled salad dressing and then fill it the rest of the way full with as high quality (pasture raised is best) meat as you can afford.
I'm excited to watch you transition to eating whole foods!! If you have any questions, feel free to stop by my blog or shoot me an email. I struggled for years and it wasn't until I started clean eating that I finally started taking off the weight!!
Jessica
Http://healthyfor100.blogspot.com
Mauk.jessica@gmail.com
I can't agree more with the comments about Clean Eating magazine and anything by Tosca Reno!!! The mag. always has tons of recipes and (my favorite) a couple of weeks worth of sample menus with snacks!
ReplyDeleteAlso, be wary of the "whole wheat" label on breads... make sure its 100% whole grains, as well!
ReplyDeleteOh you feel so much better! And be full!! Real food for real people really works. Imagine that ;) Of course there will always be times when you'll just have to make the best decision for where you are, and what's available. Don't worry about it....stress over it...or think you blew it. Just do your best and move on. Small changes really do add up. Do your best to eat healthy...start trying clean/whole/natural foods...throw in some type of exercise, and you're good to go. Don't over-think this. It's not that complicated.
ReplyDeleteYesterday my daughter and I made chocolate chunk coconut oatmeal cookies. I had 2, with zero guilt. Plus some tastings of the dough if course. You can still live life healthfully, with treats in moderation. I often have a 1/4 of a dark chocolate bar with a serving of raw almonds for an afternoon snack... with my coffee :). Yesterday I had my square of dark chocolate with 24 butter snap pretzels...so good!....with coffee of course. I haven't had pretzels in forever...and the sweet/salty combo was delish.
You're a smart girl. You will figure this out. Don't let it consume you and make you miserable. You can do it!!
Check out Fit Sparrow on Facebook. I actually follow a lot of healthy eating/ healthy recipe / exercise and nutrition pages on FB. I'll email you some more later. I use FB mostly for this kind of stuff.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the blog and FB Peace, Love, and Low Carb. Some good recipes, even if not eating low carb. Philly cheese stuffed green peppers, I'm making this week.
Ok. One more(I really need to get in my run and elliptical ) but I just thought of Sally's Baking Addiction blog and Facebook page. Check it out. She has a lot of healthy recipes, along with sweet ones. I love the SkinnyPeanutbutter brownies. Great fuel for pre or post workout. I make a lot of her healthy recipes.
ReplyDeleteHave a good Sunday....
My sister is obsessed with the Ashy Bines Clean eating program. Here is a link
ReplyDeletehttp://cleaneatingdietplan.sites.hubspot.com/ashys-favorite-free-recipes-0
I think the best thing you can do is get rid of the artificial sweeteners. That will automatically clean up a lot of things that you might be eating. I agree with the other commenters to read Tosca Reno's books. I found them at my library.
ReplyDeleteAll these below have great recipe ideas. They all follow the Paleo/Primal lifestyle. Do not be afraid that you can not go 100%. Do what you can. If you really want to go crazy, try doing a Whole30. You WILL feel awesome when you complete it!
ReplyDeletewhole9life.com, balancedbites.com, robbwolf.com, paleomg.com, civilisedcavemancooking.com, and marksdailyapple.com
I am eager to read how this works for you. I have a bad habit of eating frozen things as I'm a vegetarian and it's so much easier to buy frozen substitutes.
ReplyDeleteEating real food is the best thing you can do for your body. It will thank you for that, you'll see :) I see other girls are quite fond of paleo/primal way of eating. I like (=eat) paleo too, but you can choose real food that is not paleo too. The best thing paleo taught me is listening to your own body and what's best for you. For example, my body does not digest almonds well but some of grains (and pseudograins) are alright :) Notice how your body reacts to certain types of foods and choose your diet accordingly :)
ReplyDeleteI see you have lots of help here...also look at Tosco Reno's website.
ReplyDeleteI am almost a clean eater... the artificial sweeteners and the coffee creamer are the last that need to go.... having a HARD HARD HARD time with that.... not sure I am that committed to it. I do love my coffee!!!
ReplyDelete100daysofrealfood.com is where I've gotten most of my info. There's a special right now on a real food book bundle, too!
ReplyDelete