Eating clean?

Re: Eating clean?

• christinet1 member

  

  September 2013

  I try to eat clean most of the time! My wedding is in a little over 6 months, so I'm really trying to buckle down now! I buy lots of fresh or frozen fruits and veggies. Meats that are organic/grain fed, and I prepare most of my meals at home. A good tip is to make enough dinner to have for lunch the next day. I roasted some sweet potatoes last night and mixed them with cooked quinoa and spinach, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It was my lunch today, too! For breakfast I usually have greek yogurt, plain, but I sweeten it with a tsp of maple syrup and berries. I'll make salads for lunch sometimes and snack on almonds or cashews, cherry tomatoes, and grapes. I love smoothies, too! This seems to be working for me. Good luck! You can do it!!
  

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• freebread03 member

  

  September 2013

  I've been meal planning and eating clean for about 2 months. I make all my food on Sundays and put them in individual containers so I can grab and go during the work week. Lots of meatballs or ground meat since its an easy way to get protein (made from scratch obviously, and without any breading or oatmeal-just the meat, spices, and sometimes some onion and minced sweet potato). I also eat a lot of peas, sweet potatoes, and asparagus, and for breakfast, always egg whites (easy to throw in the microwave). I don't really snack-I just eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. Doing this I've lost about 10-12 lbs and feel great. But, once you start eating clean, a lot of "bad" foods will really mess your stomach up, so I have to be really careful when eating out or eating off my meal plan. I do eat pretty much the same thing every day M-F, but it makes it really easy and I save a lot of time by having everything prepared on Sundays. Check out Whole 30-a good intro to eating clean. Also remember that portion control is important too-just eating clean wont get you there on its own!

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• queenofhearts1728

  

  September 2013

  kat & matt said:

  Does anybody eat clean? I have been wanting to do this for a while but I guess I'm a little intimidated. I work out like a fiend, but am not seeing much results because I eat a lot of junk. I was just curious if anyone has some tips or some go-to easy recipes.

  Thanks,

  Katrina

  Tip #1: Plan meals and prep them ahead of time. I usually do three days worth of food, because I like to eat the meals as fresh as possible.  I do lots of salads because they're easy and sometimes I'm lazy lol, chicken with veggies, smoothies or oats for breakfast, and sometimes i will make 'adult lunchables': turkey and/or ham with a few slices of cheese and some fruit. I have been trying to cut out gluten, so this is great way for me to get in some meat without having to cook it, and not get stuck in a sandwhich rut. You can do a quick google search for 'clean' recipes and find a few blogs with awesome ideas.

  
  

  Tip #2: I don't believe in depriving yourself, so if you want chocolate or a dessert or something, DO IT. The key is moderation. Know your limits and whats foods you tend to binge on, and avoid those. BUT don't cut out sweets/comfort foods all together or you'll end up bingeing on them down the road.  

  
  

  It takes a lot of experimentation to determine what works for you, so don't get discouraged if you can't dive in right away and follow your plans to a T.  For me, I know I need sweets in order to stay on track in other areas of my diet, so I have chocolate fairly frequently. But I limit how much I have at a time, and I keep the types of foods that I just can't control myself on out of the house. 

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• iloveu4ever member

  

  September 2013

  I agree! Moderation is key and self control

  
   

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• kat & matt member

  

  September 2013

  Thanks for the tips

   

  

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• mommapizano member

  

  September 2013

  Prepping takes the thought process out of it for me. I like to have food ready to go so I don't even have a temptation to eat something else. The last thing I want to do when I'm starving and exhausted is cook something. Also, having some healthy snacks I can take with me is a big thing for me (like nuts, fruit, protein bar). 

  
  

  I don't ever deprive myself. If I really want a bite of something, I will take a few bites. 

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• mommapizano member

  

  September 2013

  I noticed you were looking for meal ideas too. I like to make turkey burgers and veggies for a quick lunch or some chicken over greens. Some lean turkey or ham with light cheese and a leaf of lettuce to wrap in is a good snack or I like low fat cottage cheese with fruit or a tuna salad with light mayo, cucumbers, avocado to mix it up. For dinner I usually do really easy with a protein (chicken, lean steak, turkey) and veggies. I do a lot of roasted veggies to try and make it a bit more exciting. I try and eat five times a day (2 snacks) to keep my body fueled and not to feel hungry!

  
  

  There are tons of recipes online. I really like the website Kalyns Kitchen and use it a lot of soup and entree ideas. 

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• kat & matt member

  

  September 2013

  I'm on day 6 of clean eating - no cheat meals. I will have a cheat meal next weekend - it's the Scottish festival and my family is Scottish. I can't resist a yearly sausage roll. My motivation is my engagement pics on 10/26, obviously my wedding in April, and for my health and general well being. I'm spending lots of time trying new recipes, learning all I can about clean eating. Also I think it's best if I don't complain to friends/fiance so it doesn't give them ammo.

  I guess I was eatin g a ton of sugar because I've been feeling really crappy since I started eating this way. I have headaches and feel kinda lethargic (although I work out 6 days a week).

  A friend of mine said you kinda start to feel better at day 12, but really it starts to feel natural after a month.

   

  

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