In our first post I listed “eating clean” as one of the simple points to living a healthy life. Lets now go into more depth on what “eating clean” really means. And it does not simply mean to wash your food, although that never hurts, especially when [1] preparing fruits and vegetables!
[2] The first mantra to eating clean is BE RID OF THE JUNK FOOD. 
While this may seem to be common sense, it often takes more than that to accept it. It takes reading it, hearing it, and practicing it. Processed, high chemical content, high sugar content, and high fat content foods are not a part of an eating clean ‘diet’. I’m careful with using the word ‘diet’ here because that often has negative connotations associated with putting the lock on all enjoyable foods.That is not what I intend to do here. My goal is to give you a resource to turn to on clean eating.
So, how often do you feel empowered, fresh, and fit after eating a donut or bag of potato chips? Never? I thought that would be the answer.
How often would you like to feel empowered, fresh, and fit after eating a meal or snacking? If your answer is “just about every time” (because believe me, I understand cheat days) then continue reading!
Before I lose my credibility, it is important to realize that by “cheat days” I do not mean consecutive ‘cheat days’. I mean an occasional day or two spaced out in the period of each month where you allow yourself to indulge in your favorite, maybe not-so-healthy, foods. This also does not mean you eat unhealthy the entire day, for that is just a downward spiral of losing control. What it does mean, is to enjoy that pleasure food, without overindulging, during one meal or one snack in that particular ‘cheat day’.
However, we all do have days where just about everything we consume during it is pretty unhealthy. This does not mean you say to yourself, “I give up, it’s all over, my diet has been ruined, might as well stop trying”. What it does mean, is that you were able to realize you were not as healthy in a given day as you would have liked to be. But, it’s time to kick the healthy eating back into high gear the next day; otherwise, that spiraling out of control feeling will start to creep up on you.
You may be beginning to wonder, “What’s up with all this talk, I thought I was going to be given an exact definition of eating clean”. Well, eating clean is not just about a definition. It’s about understanding what it means, what it entails, what it’s not, and factors that surround it. The ultimate goal when it comes to eating is to be able to trust your body. Naturally, your body knows what it wants in it and when it needs that food in it. However, as a society we have trained our bodies to work on a commercial schedule instead of on its natural schedule. We tell our body when we have to put food in it and what food we have to put in it; and this often does not coordinate with natural food cravings. Cravings for particular foods are your bodies way of telling you, “hey I need more protein” or “hey I need more sugar,” but these cravings are also misconstrued by what we force our bodies to eat. If someone who often eats sugar-filled snacks because that is what is laying around, then that person’s body will start craving unnaturally high amounts of sugar. And constant sugar cravings will lead back down that previously discussed spiral.
Eating clean is about getting back to a natural way of fueling your body. With natural whole grains, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, lean proteins, light dairy, and limited fats and oils. Here I use ‘natural’ and ‘fresh’ to refer to food products that are in their original, or mostly original, state. No added processed chemicals, artificial colors, or preservatives. That is a clean diet, and that is the kind of food our body knows what to do with- how to digest it and how to use it as fuel.
The bottom line is: Eating clean is putting natural, nutrient-packed foods into your body.
So what’s an easy way to go about this? When you’re in the grocery store, stay on one side of it. You know exactly where I mean. The fresh produce section. And plan out meals ahead of time for a few days at a time. Doing this makes it more likely that you will purchase fresh, non-processed food. Thinking about what you are buying ahead of time will also lessen temptations to go astray. Every few days, take another quick stop at the store for another fresh and healthy meal. Even better, stop at your local farmers market!
Stay tuned for more to come later on grocery shopping to reach and maintain health goals!
Posted By: Jennifer
Live, Laugh, Love Yourself
[1] Image courtesy of Zirconicusso from FreeDigitalPhotos.net
[2] Image courtesy of Lamnee from FreeDigitalPhotos.net