I've heard the term "eating clean" before and it seems pretty self-explanatory what it is, but until I bought the book I hadn't been so inspired to try it. I guess I thought I pretty much already tried to do it. And in a sense, I do. But there's something about reading the premise and making a commitment to really try it that makes a difference.
In a nutshell, eating clean is eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. It also means staying away from the junk that includes man-made sugar, bad fats (hydrogenated, trans-fat), preservatives, white bread, and any other ingredients that are unnecessary. An easy way to remember if a food is clean is: “if man made it, don’t eat it.”
A person that eats clean generally practices the following:
* Eliminates refined sugar
* Cooks healthy meals
* Packs healthy meals
* Makes healthy choices when dining out
* Drinks a lot of water
* Eats 5-6 small meals per day
* Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
* Always eats breakfast
One section of the book is devoted to "cooler" menus, which is all about taking your food with you, which makes sense for this style of eating. I do that when I go to work, but weekends I get in trouble. I leave the house not even thinking about being hungry and then I get busy with errands and have to grab a quick bite someplace. Eating six small meals is not about snacking, it's about PLANNING the six small meals. That's where your cooler comes in. Leaving the house with a day's worth of food. Think of it as life becomes a picnic!
I've discovered there are magazines about eating clean, clubs, blogs, and the list goes on. It's a real movement that may not be new, but my increased awareness makes it very visible to me right now. I'm on board with it.
I've also read so much lately about green tea being a fat buster, metabolism booster, and all sorts of other good things. And in my search, I've found that all tea is not created equal. The one that I've found was easy to brew and doesn't get bitter is Uncle Lee's Green Tea. I just happened on to it, but have since found out that Uncle Lee was the first tea manufacturer to introduce green tea into the North American market. The one I am using now is green tea leaves with jasmine.
My goals this week: no diet sodas and no alcohol.
3 comments:
you've got to read the China Study!! Good job on your goals for the week! I look forward to hearing about your success!
yay for you! I have been trying this approach since Luke was born, slowly learning more and more about "eating clean". My arguement is that God made the earth and everything in it perfectly. Everything that is natural and not altered by man is so amazing for our bodies. I still have a huge amounts to learn but it makes complete sense to me. I look forward to hearing more from you, hopefully you can give me some new ideas.
So, your book is called "Eating Clean"??? And, where did you get Uncle Lee's Green Tea? I have always been convinced this is what is wrong with American diets (maybe humans in general in 2009), and have a feeling this economy might be a subversive vehicle for everyone to rethink their extravagance (if you call the dollar menu extravagant) and go back to basics. I should be first in line, however, for the switch.
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