How- To Eat Clean, 5 tips For Beginners

 If your not used to eating to eating a clean and healthy diet sometimes the hardest part about getting started is knowing where to begin. Everyone has a different idea and take on what clean eating  is! What's your idea of clean eating look like?

 I'm sure that each and every person would have a different answer to this question. Because there really is no 1 correct answer to that question because like I said above, everyone has a different idea on what it is. To me, clean eating means not eating junk food, not eating fast food. It means eating tons of fresh fruits, veggies, complex carbs, lean proteins and healthy fats. My version of clean eating does involve a cheat meal as well because let's be honest, we can't all be perfect all of the time. Not just me but a lot of people in health and fitness will tell you a good diet is 80% strict and 20% indulgent. One day I might keep my diet to lots of lean proteins and limiting my carbs, while other days I might eat more carbs than usual depending on which workout routine I may be doing. Eating clean is all about what works for you and your lifestyle, goals, needs and your routine.

 Below I will give 5 tips that I find to be extremely helpful when it comes to eating clean. That way when you do hopefully decide to make that leap, it will be a little easier for you.

  

1.) Read your nutrition labels. How often do you read the nutrition label on products that your buying? Probably not very often huh.I know I hardly ever did (did you know there is flame retardant in cooking spray). These labels tell you very important information that you need to know especially when your taking control of your health. There are a couple reasons why I read nutrition labels: 1.) Because sometimes I like to track my calories or my macros and it helps keep me accountable 2.) Because I like to know what's in my food that I'm buying (did you see my comment above about cooking spray). If you plan on eating clean then you need to know what's in your food and you don't want to be eating food with a bunch of ingredients that you don't know what they are and 3.) If you can't pronounce it then you don't need to be eating it. For example a jar of Spaghetti sauce shouldn't have 20 ingredients listed, its a freaking jar of Spaghetti sauce people. Don't know how to understand nutrition labels? No problem just click HERE

2.) Have a plan & support. I don't know about you but one of the things that helps keep me going is having support and people to keep me accountable. Which is why I offer monthly support groups to help keep you motivated on your fitness journey. The whole reason I got into accountability groups was because my husband is not into fitness, like at all! He lives off Mt.Dew and 2 corn dogs a day at work and I just can't do that. Even if you aren't into fitness, because lets be honest not everyone is, that doesn't mean that you can't eat healthy (in fact you probably should do it even more so than someone who is into fitness) but it's easy to fall off the wagon and loose your way. That's why having the support is so important. If you think your someone who needs that extra support leave me a comment below or send me an email at ChristiniMarie26@gmail.com so we can get you going!

3.) Real Foods. You might be wondering what I mean by real food. When you think about real foods think of things that grow in the ground, grow on trees, flew through the air, ran on land or swam in an ocean or river. Fish, eggs, meat, veggies, fruits and nuts are all great examples of what real food is. I mean I hate to burst your bubble and tell you, but those super yummy twinkies you love so much, there's nothing real about those. Any food that is provided from drive through window, comes out of a box (delivery or not) is not considered real food. It's important to remember this!

4.Avoiding the dirty dozen. When shopping for produce it's important to remember that you don't always have to buy everything organic. Did you know in order for something to be certified organic in the produce section it can be as easy as simply removing a certain pesticide from a farmers mix. So while not everything you purchase in the produce department needs to be organic there are certain things you should buy organic, 12 to be specific. The 12 fruits that you should buy organic are: Apples, Peaches, Nectarines, Strawberries, Grapes, Celery, Spinach, Bell peppers, Cucumbers, Cherry tomatoes, Snap peas, and Potatoes.   These 12 items, also known as The Dirty Dozen should be bought organically because they will contain the most pesticides.

5.Realize it won't happen overnight. This is probably the most important step out of all of them. You aren't going to get everything right the first few weeks or even the first few months of eating clean. You have lived your whole life eating junk food, processed foods, watching t.v. commercials and looking at billboards that promote an unhealthy lifestyle. So much of this journey is a mental one, which again is why having support is so important. It takes A LOT of willpower and your going to want to give up. Because honestly eating like crap is a hell of a lot easier! But you'll get there, you really will and while the journey is long, it's always worth it!


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