What is Clean Eating?
There’s always a lot of buzz going around about eating clean. But what exactly does that mean? Eat organic? Low carbs? Low Fat? Eggs or no eggs?
“If it didn’t come from the Earth or have a mother, don’t eat it.” ~Jillian Michaels
Clean eating is choosing to eat whole, unprocessed, unmodified and unrefined foods. Sources of these foods include lean meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, coconut, avocado, olives and pressed oils.
Here are a few tips to help make it easier:
*Organic- Of course foods that aren’t sprayed with chemicals and pesticides are always going to better for you to consume. But if organic isn’t available or affordable, I’d rather you eat conventionally grown foods that are healthy for you instead of not eating them. For example, conventionally grown broccoli is still better for you than eating a large French fry.
*Lifestyle: Part 1- Eating clean is a lifestyle not a diet. Clean eating is a great way to ditch the dieting world forever. The difference between a diet and clean eating is that normal diets have an end date. Have you ever said, “No thanks, I’m dieting.” Eventually you’ll stop dieting and worst of all slip back into your old eating habits. With clean eating there is no expiration date…it’s a continuous journey.
*Lifestyle: Part 2- Yes, the lifestyle part is important enough to have a part 2! Since eating clean is a lifestyle, you will soon come to a mindset that there is no starting over on Monday. As Jill Coleman with JillFit Physiques says, “You’re always one meal away from burning fat.” Basically, if you mess up at breakfast you can start over right then and there.
*Plan Out the Week BUT- I suggest trying to plan out your meals and training for the week. It sets you up for success. BUT, you must be flexible. Things pop up unexpectedly and if you’re in the “ALL or NOTHING” mindset, you could be setting yourself up for failure and worse a major setback.
Eating clean can be a challenge. I am trying my best to eat as clean as possible. Writing tips helps me remember like a note on my fridge. Have other clean eating tips? Share in a comments.
Planning is a great way to try to keep on track. The gym that my husband owns gives all of their members a “Grub Guide” which basically lays out an eating plan that they can follow to help them eat better and cleaner. Every tip helps!!
good luck on your journey!
I love your great quote from Jillian Michaels — “If it didn’t come from the Earth or have a mother, don’t eat it.” YES! I recently wrote an article about clean eating as well. If you don’t mind me sharing the link, it’s: http://femfusionfitness.com/what-is-clean-eating/
We grow most of our food – vegetables and meat but I will admit to a very bad sweet tooth. I sincerely doubt the bottle tops I ate today had a mother….
But given that the bulk of my diet is very healthy I figure I can be bad once in a while
I’ll have to keep these in mind!
I like the mentality that you can always start fresh with your meal plan. These are some great tips to get started or back on track with clean eating.
I love how simply you describe clean eating. People often don’t realize the amount of processing their food goes through before it goes into their mouths! The fresh fruits and veggies are in your feature picture are beautiful and just go to prove that eating clean can be fun and delish! Like they say, you eat with your eyes first!
Great tips! I used to think “clean eating” was just to make sure your food was clean and not dirty. HA!
My biggest clean eating tips are to make sure that it fits for your personality, eating style and budget. Not every diet and technique will work for you… so find what works for you, own it, and stick to it. 🙂
I have always wanted a simple definition of clean eating. I never really understood it until now. Thanks
Great tips, I am eating clean too! I have cut out all added sugar which basically leaves me with anything that is grown from nature or protein!