The 13 Rules for Clean Eating
1. Try to stick to the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time eat clean, 20% of the time, let yourself indulge. (most the time I stick to two cheat meals a week, or a full cheat day) (when I am really focused on weight loss, I stay closer to 90/10)
2. When it comes to food shopping, stick to the perimeters (the outside aisles). Try to stick to foods that spoil and stay away from foods that are processed and prepackaged (mostly the inside aisles).
3. When reading food labels, avoid foods that have lines and lines of ingredients. The best foods for you have very few ingredients!
4. Drink TONS of water. A lot of times when we think we are hungry we are actually dehydrated and need some h20!
5. Think about incorporating one veggie with every meal. Remember, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.
6. Stay away from sugary drinks, cream- based dressings and canned soups. (I prefer to stick to just balsamic and vinegar in my salads and use spices and nuts when I cook (especially in my salads and fish) If I eat soup, I'm usually making my own or buying fresh.
7. Swap white potatoes for sweet potatoes (I like to chop my sweet potatoes in slices and bake them for 20-30 minutes at 350 and season them with cayenne pepper, black pepper, and cinnamon).
8. Think slower digestive carbs and whole oats as your carb option. Ezekial bread or millet breads are good choices. Try to eat your carbs in the earlier part of the day as well.
9. Swap peanut butter for almond, cashew, pecan, and/or sunflower butters. You can also use the fresh almond butter made at Wholefoods. I order mine from Fresh Direct.
10. Olive oil and coconut oil are nice substitutions for butter and great for cooking
11. Shakes are a great way to get your greens in. It's also a fast and nutritious meal you can have on the go.
Ex) I like to blend baby spinach, kale, 1 spoonful avocado,protein powder (I use Garden of Life, raw protein powder in Vanilla) and add cinnamon in a blender to ensure I get my greens (A great option for people who don't like to eat their greens as you can't taste spinach in shakes- AT ALL!)
*For the protein shakes- I recommend dairy free and low calorie. I mix my protein powder with any type of berry and baby spinach (for greens) water, and ice cubes. Super simple and delicious. The earlier in the day, the more fruit I allow. Why limit my fruits? Fruits are carbs and sugar which if we don't use gets stored as fats. Keep that in mind...
12. Lean meats are a better choice than cold cuts. Red meats are also a good choice just make sure you are cooking them at home (to limit salt and butter intake) and always buy grass-fed cuts. In terms of fish, make sure it's always WILD.
13. Limit alcohol to 1-2 drinks per week! Remember, not all calories are created equal. 1 gram of carbs= 4 calories. 1 gram of protein= 4 calories. 1 gram of fat= 9 calories. 1 ounce of alcohol? 196 calories! Your body switches from metabolizing fat to metabolizing alcohol after only TWO drinks! SO be smart and limit it!
Keep in mind I am available for food shopping and assistance in food prepping.
Happy eating!