Clean eating put simply — is eating food in its most natural form, as nature intended it to be eaten. It’s not processed in a factory and it hasn’t been designed by food scientists. To eat clean is consuming the stuff that grows in the ground, is picked from bushes, plucked from trees…
It’s the food that flew through the air, swam in our waters or grazed on our land…
They weren’t designed in a laboratory.
They are just food.
Clean eating is eating real food with an emphasis on real.
Our bodies evolved thousands of years ago to eat, digest and absorb the goodness found in real food. Since our body is the only place we can live it’s vital we fill it with the right food if we’re to stay happy and healthy for longer.
It’s no coincidence these are the same foods that make us feel full, provide the fuel our body needs to function optimally and leaves us with lean, healthy physique with minimal body fat — even with minimal exercise. Add in a little exercise and watch your body transform from a lean to an athletic physique, from a flat stomach to a full-fledged six-pack.
The Rules of Clean Eating
By now you are getting to understand that Clean Eating isn’t a sexy new fad, it doesn’t require expensive shakes and it isn’t a short term fix. It is how you should be eating for optimal health, optimal performance and to make sure you tick all the boxes when it comes to getting the nutrients your body needs.
Bizarrely the best feature of Clean Eating isn’t the astounding results (even though that’s what drives so many people to start Clean Eating) it’s the simplicity.
The rules about what you can and cannot eat are crystal clear and easy to understand.
Your first question is “Is this a food or is it a processed product?”. If it’s a food then chances are, it is good to eat… If you’re not sure then ask yourself “Does it need the nutrition fact label?”. If the answer is no because it’s fresh produce, cooked possibly in combination with other healthy ingredients – you can be assured you have food in front of you.
Most diets are hard work because they are so restrictive and so hard to get right. With Clean Eating, food selection is as easy as it gets. While Eating Clean and keeping it this simple (is it a food or is a product) you will get close to achieving your weight loss goals.
But if you want maximum results then you need a little more details.
For example:
How often should you eat?
How much should you eat?
When should you eat?
And what should a meal look like?
We’re all accustomed to eating three square meals per day — breakfast, dinner and lunch. While this is perfectly acceptable it’s not necessarily the best way to fuel your body.
Let’s explain.
If you need to eat 2000 calories to maintain your weight, then you divide this by three meals which mean each meal you eat will be roughly 667 calories. These 667 calories should be made up of proteins, fats and carbohydrate.
The problem of people who eat three times per day is they get hungry in-between meals. If you’re awake for 16 hours per day you have over 5 hours between meals. This is the time when you might get bored as well as hungry. And when most people get bored or hungry they snack. Now, this is OK if you Eat Clean and snack on wholesome food but most people don’t.
A good way to tackle hunger and boredom is to split your calories across 4, 5 or 6 meals. More is better but you have to be practical. Your boss might not like you eating 6 times per day at your desk.
As well as fending off hunger and boredom, eating frequently has several other benefits too. If you do get hungry you probably only have 30 minutes or so to wait before eating which means you’re less likely to snack on the products in the vending machines or grab a handful of cookies to get you by, as you know its meal time coming up.
Second, eating more frequently means you eat smaller meals. This has the advantage of reducing the load each meal has on your digestive system. Without going into the details you will lower the changes in insulin levels that a bigger, heavier meal can trigger. This is good for keeping your weight in check and your blood sugar levels more stable.
If the thought of 6 meals per day puts you off remember that the meals don’t all have to be the same size. You could still have three larger meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner with planned smaller meals in between. Sticking with the 2000 calories example, you could have 500 calories for breakfast, lunch and dinner (a total of 1500 calories). This allows for a mid-morning snack and afternoon snack of 250 calories (the remaining 500 calories).
If you’re curious how many calories you need to eat per day there are plenty of calculators available online. Just remember these calorie calculators are estimates based on your height, weight, age and activity levels. We are all unique individuals with unique energy demands so these are ballpark figures to get the ball rolling. Later you can make adjustments to these calories, either eating more or less depending on how your body responds.
Just remember calorie counting is not an exact science. And while it’s a good thing to do occasionally to help you understand how much you might be eating when you listen to your body and feel when it is telling you to stop eating you don’t need to count calories because when you Eat Clean is hard to overeat. When you are full, your body will let you know!
So what can you do to get started?
The quickest, easiest and best way to start Clean Eating is to track your eating habits in a food diary. Then after a week take a step back and see what’s happening.
When you look at your food diary, answer the following questions:
Are you eating foods (not eating products)?
Is your food cooked from scratch (with individual ingredients)?
Are you eating protein with every meal?
Are you eating 5 to 10 portions of fruit and vegetables (mainly vegetables) per day?
Are you eating healthy fats at every meal?
Are you drinking 2 – 3 litres of water per day?
Are you eating 4 to 6 meals per day (these can include smaller meals)?
Do you stop eating when you are satisfied (80% full)?
If you answered yes to the questions above then you’re doing pretty good and it looks like you’re Eating Clean.
If you do find that you have to snack between meals, if you don’t feel satisfied and are left feeling hungry then you may need to up your calories, start eating more and make a few minor adjustments to your daily meal plans (but rest assured you are on the right lines).
The real joy of Clean Eating is having a really good meal (even a curry) and knowing it was cooked from scratch with real food. It’s good for your body, it’s a great education to pass onto our children, support farmers over industrial food companies and helps us look better, live longer and be happier too. Food definitely affects our hormones and our hormones control everything.
There really is no downside to Clean Eating and it’s essential for your wellbeing.
If you want to Eat Clean but would like a little help, save some time and not worry about the prepping, cooking and cleaning then we have have the perfect answer.
Hopefully, the real food revolution is here!
Check out our latest menu of healthy clean food and start making smart decisions about your food!!
