Becoming a healthy person involves a lifestyle change. I do not believe in crash diets or lose weight quickly schemes. There are so many different diets out there that claim various things that will either help you lose weight or become healthy. Most of these diets are restrictive in nature, and usually involve eliminating one or more different food groups. Some diets don't even involve eating real food, just shakes and bars!!! Now tell me, how on earth could that be healthy and sustainable long term??? It's not.
Now, for anyone starting out new with a clean eating lifestyle change I will outline some of the major differences between this lifestyle change and a diet. The biggest difference is that this is a complete, permanent change in lifestyle. This change needs to be forever, and needs to be a personal choice to be healthier and happier than you have ever been. It is not choosing to go on a diet to lose weight, although weight loss is a positive side effect for anyone over weight, it is a choice to acknowledge that your food choices need to change in order to feed your body food that it needs to live a healthy life. This change is not restricted to just you, it can and should extend to your family, and especially you're children. Who needs good nutrition more than little growing bodies???
There are no restrictions in this lifestyle change. I am a firm believer that you should be able to eat what you want (within reason) without guilt, without counting calories and without shame. What needs to change is the perception of food. The food that you want to eat should be food that will fuel your body and provide your body nutrition. It should not be a security blanket and it should not be a chemical that damages your body to just digest it.
I live with an 80/20 philosophy. I eat clean 80% of the time, and 20% of the time I indulge. As time has gone on I have actually found that the 20% has decreased because I no longer crave processed foods and when I do eat them I feel so sick. Just as your body adapts to eating processed foods, and craves them, it can adapt to eating clean foods and craving them!! I never would have thought I would crave a salad!! But I did just that. I got married not long ago, and about 2 days into our honeymoon in USA, eating and drinking whatever junk was about, all I could think about was eating some fresh vegetables, and craved them as much as a pre menstrual woman craves chocolate! Your body is so adaptable, so why not work to adapt it to want healthy foods?
The biggest difference between the clean eating philosophy and a diet is that you need to eat! No more starvation, no more binges. Eating clean and listening to your body. Eat when you are hungry and listen to your body's hunger signals. Some days you will want to eat like a rhinoceros, and some days you may not feel like much. As long as you are following your body's cues and making healthy choices then you are on the right track.
Eating every few hours is the key to success. Allowing yourself to get too hungry, and your blood sugar to plummet can cause over eating later. I always have a cooler bag full of fruit and other deliciousness to snack on if I'm out and about for a few hours. 5 - 6 small meals a day is what you should aim for. But you must watch your portion size, eating 5 - 6 large meals a day will just lead to an excess of food. To start with, measuring out portion sizes may be beneficial to gauge how much to eat, and then gradually it will become instinct as your body's hunger and satiety levels become more distinct.
Every person's food requirements are different, so the big challenge is finding a balanced way of life suited to you, full of foods you enjoy. I personally have a big sweet tooth so I enjoy lots of fruit and my clean baked goods, whereas my husband is more of a savoury person so doesn't eat much fruit and prefers dips and savoury snacks. My idea of heaven on a plate at breakfast time is pancakes smothered in maple syrup and banana, whereas Matt would love a big plate of bacon, eggs, hash browns and sausages. So in order to have a satisfying meal, it needs to be adjusted to your own tastes and preferences.
Breakfast. I love breakfast. I love waking up and tucking into something. I firmly believe that a good day starts with a good breakfast. If I skip breakfast I'm grumpy, lethargic, and I tend to crave more sweet/processed foods later in the day. Eating breakfast kick starts the digestive system, and gives you wonderful energy to get through the morning. If you're not a breakfast eater I know this concept is difficult to understand because generally food is the last thing you think of when you get up. Start off small, with something like a smoothie or yoghurt or even just a piece of fruit. Eating within an hour of waking is very important to stabilising your blood sugar. If you can't stomach a meal first thing, swap your morning snack and your breakfast around, having the smaller of the 2 when you get up, and your meal a bit later. The most important thing is to just have something clean and nutritious.
Eating regularly through the day is vital to feeling energised and vibrant. A lot of people seem to skip breakfast and/or lunch and eat a massive meal at dinner time. Not eating throughout the day causes your blood sugar to drop and your body to go into preservation mode. This means everything is slowed down and your body is not functioning to it's full potential. Then when a massive meal is consumed at the end of the day, blood sugar is raised and your body craves dense energy rich foods. This is because the body wants as much energy as it can get, to store for the times when you don't eat. And you know where it stores all this left over energy?? That's right, it your fat cells. Eating regularly throughout the day teaches your body that food is on constant supply, so there is no need to store excess energy, to get rid of it ready for the next nutritious meal. Since I have been eating clean, I have actually found that I eat more food than I did on any fad diet, but I am healthier and slimmer than eating on a stave/binge type diet.
To give you an idea on what foods to eat on your knew found healthy lifestyle written out what a typical day would look like for me. This is not what I have every day, sometimes I eat more, sometimes less. I am by no means perfect and like to indulge time to time. Some people may need to eat more than this and that is totally fine. This is just for some inspiration for the types of food you can choose from. Remember it's all about balance and choosing nutrition and health first. As time goes on I'll attach some more meal plans and ideas. Happy eating!
A Normal Day of Eats
I live with an 80/20 philosophy. I eat clean 80% of the time, and 20% of the time I indulge. As time has gone on I have actually found that the 20% has decreased because I no longer crave processed foods and when I do eat them I feel so sick. Just as your body adapts to eating processed foods, and craves them, it can adapt to eating clean foods and craving them!! I never would have thought I would crave a salad!! But I did just that. I got married not long ago, and about 2 days into our honeymoon in USA, eating and drinking whatever junk was about, all I could think about was eating some fresh vegetables, and craved them as much as a pre menstrual woman craves chocolate! Your body is so adaptable, so why not work to adapt it to want healthy foods?
The biggest difference between the clean eating philosophy and a diet is that you need to eat! No more starvation, no more binges. Eating clean and listening to your body. Eat when you are hungry and listen to your body's hunger signals. Some days you will want to eat like a rhinoceros, and some days you may not feel like much. As long as you are following your body's cues and making healthy choices then you are on the right track.
Eating every few hours is the key to success. Allowing yourself to get too hungry, and your blood sugar to plummet can cause over eating later. I always have a cooler bag full of fruit and other deliciousness to snack on if I'm out and about for a few hours. 5 - 6 small meals a day is what you should aim for. But you must watch your portion size, eating 5 - 6 large meals a day will just lead to an excess of food. To start with, measuring out portion sizes may be beneficial to gauge how much to eat, and then gradually it will become instinct as your body's hunger and satiety levels become more distinct.
Every person's food requirements are different, so the big challenge is finding a balanced way of life suited to you, full of foods you enjoy. I personally have a big sweet tooth so I enjoy lots of fruit and my clean baked goods, whereas my husband is more of a savoury person so doesn't eat much fruit and prefers dips and savoury snacks. My idea of heaven on a plate at breakfast time is pancakes smothered in maple syrup and banana, whereas Matt would love a big plate of bacon, eggs, hash browns and sausages. So in order to have a satisfying meal, it needs to be adjusted to your own tastes and preferences.
Breakfast. I love breakfast. I love waking up and tucking into something. I firmly believe that a good day starts with a good breakfast. If I skip breakfast I'm grumpy, lethargic, and I tend to crave more sweet/processed foods later in the day. Eating breakfast kick starts the digestive system, and gives you wonderful energy to get through the morning. If you're not a breakfast eater I know this concept is difficult to understand because generally food is the last thing you think of when you get up. Start off small, with something like a smoothie or yoghurt or even just a piece of fruit. Eating within an hour of waking is very important to stabilising your blood sugar. If you can't stomach a meal first thing, swap your morning snack and your breakfast around, having the smaller of the 2 when you get up, and your meal a bit later. The most important thing is to just have something clean and nutritious.
Eating regularly through the day is vital to feeling energised and vibrant. A lot of people seem to skip breakfast and/or lunch and eat a massive meal at dinner time. Not eating throughout the day causes your blood sugar to drop and your body to go into preservation mode. This means everything is slowed down and your body is not functioning to it's full potential. Then when a massive meal is consumed at the end of the day, blood sugar is raised and your body craves dense energy rich foods. This is because the body wants as much energy as it can get, to store for the times when you don't eat. And you know where it stores all this left over energy?? That's right, it your fat cells. Eating regularly throughout the day teaches your body that food is on constant supply, so there is no need to store excess energy, to get rid of it ready for the next nutritious meal. Since I have been eating clean, I have actually found that I eat more food than I did on any fad diet, but I am healthier and slimmer than eating on a stave/binge type diet.
To give you an idea on what foods to eat on your knew found healthy lifestyle written out what a typical day would look like for me. This is not what I have every day, sometimes I eat more, sometimes less. I am by no means perfect and like to indulge time to time. Some people may need to eat more than this and that is totally fine. This is just for some inspiration for the types of food you can choose from. Remember it's all about balance and choosing nutrition and health first. As time goes on I'll attach some more meal plans and ideas. Happy eating!
A Normal Day of Eats
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