What IS Clean Eating??

I've been reading fitness magazines for years and admiring all of the women's physiques which is definitely motivation, folks. Obviously they worked out and so do I but I kept asking myself what is the missing link here. I knew it was diet (how they ate...not these fads everywhere) but I wasn't sure exactly what that meant for a fitness buff. I did notice however, that they all kept throwing out the phrase....Eat Clean. "I work out and eat clean." Hmmm, what exactly does Eat Clean mean? I figured they ate really healthy but I still wasn't exactly clear on how to Eat Clean. Those of you who know me well know that I'm a researcher by nature so I began my quest to find out exactly how to Eat Clean. I discovered Tosca's book Clean Eating and quickly ran out to pick up a copy. Prior to this I had read the ABS Diet for women and discovered the 12 Super Foods and those were what I ate primarily. It made sense and we will get into those later. They are fantastic and should be incorporated into everyone's diet. I was eating "clean" mostly and didn't even know it!!

The principles of Eating Clean are really very simple:
 ~Eat foods whole in their most natural state ie: foods with the least amount of processing possible
~Eat frequently (every 2-3 hours)
~Portion Control

In a nutshell~Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Avoid processed, chemically laden, refined foods. If boxed, canned foods are a necessity, and sometime they are, pick the ones with the LEAST amount of ingredients as possible. You should be able to pronounce what is in your food otherwise, it has preservatives and chemicals (the bad stuff). I personally, prefer to "make my own" whatever it is I need if possible, i.e. pasta sauce, beans, etc. They can always be frozen.

It sounds a bit scary at first but once your body is off the garbage they fill our foods with you actually crave fresh, whole foods. Fruits, veggies, dairy, nuts, whole grains, lean meat, fish, and WATER!!! Lots & lots of water. My pantry has very few items in there now. It actually looks a little bare. I grocery shop every Monday for the items I need for the week and occasionally  need to make a quick stop by the store late week to make it through the weekend but It's to worth it. I have felt better in the last year than I've felt my whole life. When you think of your body as a car and your food as fuel it gives you a whole new perspective on what you put in your mouth. Cars are replaceable but we only have 1 body!

I just passed my book on to a friend and wish I could give EVERYONE their very own copy. I gave my sister in law a 2 year subscription to the magazine for Christmas~that's how much I believe in it.

This is just the beginning of a wonderful journey to becoming the healthiest we can be!
We will get more into foods, food prep, and planning ahead next time! Yes, we have to PLAN!!


Food for thought: Most people do more research on what electronics they will purchase and don't give the foods we put into our bodies a second thought.Food is the largest expense second to our mortgages and we don't even blink about filling our carts and spending our hard earned money on chemically engineered foods.  Open up your pantries and freezers and look at the ingredients labels on your  "boxes". I bet ya you can't pronounce half of the 10+ ingredients listed...:-)

Until next time~

Jess