The soul of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. It is not a diet; it's a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to an improved life - one meal at a time.
Eat five to six times a day
Three meals and two to three small snacks. Include a lean protein, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a complex carbohydrate with each meal. This keeps your body energized and burning calories efficiently all day long. I usually eat more like 6-7 meals/snacks a day.
Three meals and two to three small snacks. Include a lean protein, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a complex carbohydrate with each meal. This keeps your body energized and burning calories efficiently all day long. I usually eat more like 6-7 meals/snacks a day.
Drink at least two liters of water a day
Preferably from a reusable canteen, not plastic; we're friend of the environment here! Limit your alcohol intake to one glass of antioxidant-rich red wine a day. I have given up most alcohol and beer. I will have a glass of wine 1-2 times a week at 1-2 glasses per time.
Preferably from a reusable canteen, not plastic; we're friend of the environment here! Limit your alcohol intake to one glass of antioxidant-rich red wine a day. I have given up most alcohol and beer. I will have a glass of wine 1-2 times a week at 1-2 glasses per time.
Get label savvy
Clean foods contain just one or two ingredients. Any product with a long ingredient list is human-made and not considered clean.
Clean foods contain just one or two ingredients. Any product with a long ingredient list is human-made and not considered clean.
Avoid processed and refined foods
This includes white flour, sugar, bread and pasta. Enjoy complex carbs such as whole grains instead.
This includes white flour, sugar, bread and pasta. Enjoy complex carbs such as whole grains instead.
Consume healthy fats
Try to have essential fatty acids, or EFAs, every day.
Try to have essential fatty acids, or EFAs, every day.
Learn about portion sizes
Work towards eating within them. This for us was HUGE. I feel like I would always "over serve" my Husband at dinner and lunch. Take a look at this for a reference:
Work towards eating within them. This for us was HUGE. I feel like I would always "over serve" my Husband at dinner and lunch. Take a look at this for a reference:
Slow down and savor
Never rush through a meal. Food tastes best when savored. Enjoy every bite!
Never rush through a meal. Food tastes best when savored. Enjoy every bite!
Take it to go
Pack a cooler for work or outings so you always have clean eats on the go.
Pack a cooler for work or outings so you always have clean eats on the go.
Make it a family affair
Food is a social glue that should be shared with loved ones. Improve the quality of your family's life along with your own.
Pretty easy and straight forward, right? So what does a typical day for me look like? Depending on my day I eat about 2-2500 calories a day. I wasn't sure what I was burning during my workouts - and now that I have new polar HR monitor, I have a better understanding of what I'm burning and what I need to be eating. I burn anywhere from 200-500+ calories in a workout. On the average I will burn (on a rest day) about 1500-1800 calories just living. So I need to technically eat about 2300 calories to not lose any weight. I do not want to lose any more weight - I want to build muscle. Healthy foods help to do that. Eating fuels the body.
8am Breakfast: Option 1): egg white omelet with turkey bacon and fruit. Option 2): Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with almond butter and sliced banana. Option 3): Overnight oats with almond butter and strawberries. Option 4): Protein and egg white chocolate pancake with almond butter and blueberries. I also have coffee with fat free cream and Nectresse.
10am Snack: IV and I are usually on the go, so I will bring water with an apple and almonds, a yogurt with string cheese or a banana protein smoothie.
12: Lunch: Option 1): 4oz chicken breast, baby spinach and tomato salad with chia seeds and avocado. Option 2): 4oz turkey burger with sweet potatoes, warm kale and avocado. Option 2): 3oz tuna on wheat wrap with spinach, tomatoes and avocado. I love avocado and chia seeds, so I normally add them to anything I eat. Any of these are paired with grapes, apples slices or cottage cheese.
After my workout - I always have a whey protein shake made with 1 cup almond milk and a 1/2 a banana and ice.
3:00pm: Snack: This can be anything from Greek yogurt with granola, to a granny smith apple with almond butter. I love sugar snap peas - just as is...or cottage cheese.
6:00pm: Dinner: Option 1): 4oz yellow fin tuna with quinoa and mushrooms and a side of kale. Option 2): Crock pot turkey chili, Option 3): Stuffed red peppers...there are so many great recipes, I'll post a link below:
8:00pm Snack: I normally have tea and something. Last night I had yogurt, some nights popcorn...it depends on what I'm craving.
Some of my favorite websites for recipes are:
Skinny Taste: This is my favorite. She has the best recipes for everything in the kitchen!
Dashing Dish
Clean and Delicious
So please feel free to email, twitter, FB or IG me with question - learning about your body and what you put in it is a beautiful thing. I need to be both physically and mentally healthy - I have some very important people in my life that depend on me.
Food is a social glue that should be shared with loved ones. Improve the quality of your family's life along with your own.
Pretty easy and straight forward, right? So what does a typical day for me look like? Depending on my day I eat about 2-2500 calories a day. I wasn't sure what I was burning during my workouts - and now that I have new polar HR monitor, I have a better understanding of what I'm burning and what I need to be eating. I burn anywhere from 200-500+ calories in a workout. On the average I will burn (on a rest day) about 1500-1800 calories just living. So I need to technically eat about 2300 calories to not lose any weight. I do not want to lose any more weight - I want to build muscle. Healthy foods help to do that. Eating fuels the body.
8am Breakfast: Option 1): egg white omelet with turkey bacon and fruit. Option 2): Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with almond butter and sliced banana. Option 3): Overnight oats with almond butter and strawberries. Option 4): Protein and egg white chocolate pancake with almond butter and blueberries. I also have coffee with fat free cream and Nectresse.
10am Snack: IV and I are usually on the go, so I will bring water with an apple and almonds, a yogurt with string cheese or a banana protein smoothie.
12: Lunch: Option 1): 4oz chicken breast, baby spinach and tomato salad with chia seeds and avocado. Option 2): 4oz turkey burger with sweet potatoes, warm kale and avocado. Option 2): 3oz tuna on wheat wrap with spinach, tomatoes and avocado. I love avocado and chia seeds, so I normally add them to anything I eat. Any of these are paired with grapes, apples slices or cottage cheese.
After my workout - I always have a whey protein shake made with 1 cup almond milk and a 1/2 a banana and ice.
3:00pm: Snack: This can be anything from Greek yogurt with granola, to a granny smith apple with almond butter. I love sugar snap peas - just as is...or cottage cheese.
6:00pm: Dinner: Option 1): 4oz yellow fin tuna with quinoa and mushrooms and a side of kale. Option 2): Crock pot turkey chili, Option 3): Stuffed red peppers...there are so many great recipes, I'll post a link below:
8:00pm Snack: I normally have tea and something. Last night I had yogurt, some nights popcorn...it depends on what I'm craving.
Some of my favorite websites for recipes are:
Skinny Taste: This is my favorite. She has the best recipes for everything in the kitchen!
Dashing Dish
Clean and Delicious
So please feel free to email, twitter, FB or IG me with question - learning about your body and what you put in it is a beautiful thing. I need to be both physically and mentally healthy - I have some very important people in my life that depend on me.
You go girl! Thanks for sharing. I love avocado with almost anything. I want to try almond butter :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job sticking with it. It's tough at first, but gets easier. I'm always a little thankful that we found out about our grain intolerance issues as it set us on a lifelong path of super clean eating. Some days suck and I just want to go get a doughnut, but thankfully there is no DD's around here! We have been eating pretty clean since last March, and now we are finally ready for the exercise part of it all. Daily yoga seems to be working for me right now, but I am excited to start trying some other programs that focus more on building muscle.
ReplyDeleteWow, that was long winded. Anyway, great job and thanks for the motivation!
Great post! It's so sick to think about portions over here, especially when we go to restaurants. Derek and I always split meals because they give you a plate large enough for a small country! When we count calories, it's hard to only have a cup of this, and a cup of that and 3 or 4 oz of chicken! I'm gonna go check out skinny taste now!
ReplyDeleteI'm just stumbling on this post, and everything you said makes sense except it seems like you're getting to eat a LOT of calories...I just get so overwhelmed by trying to figure out if I'm eating enough to have a high metabolism but little enough to lose weight. Maybe I need a HR monitor to know?
ReplyDeletelove this info! trying to get the fam and myself to eat better is always high on my list. i get so sick of all the junk in food! just stumbled upon your blog, good stuff and super cute family! Oh and nice biceps!! :)
ReplyDelete