http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/10-rules-of-clean-eating-live-by-them-and-live-long-and-lean.html
1 /
Approach Your Meals As A Lifestyle
Want to get serious? Then forget the D-word entirely. Clean eating is
not a fat-loss diet. This is a lifestyle that you're going to sustain
from this day forward. You don't need to get obsessive or throw out everything you love. You're
allowed to enjoy your food—you'll need to, if you want to be able to
stick with this. So consider yourself warned: You might have to take
this as your push to (finally!) learn how to cook for yourself. What's the other choice—leaving it up to the world to feed you? Forget
it. Take control of your life, because once you fall off your
clean-eating plan, you'll revert back to feeling low in energy, hungry,
and irritable multiple times every day.
2 /
Load Up On Fresh Produce
No matter if you're a carb-cutter, carb-loader, paleo warrior, or
intermittent faster, your golden rule of clean eating should be to
include as much fresh produce in your daily diet as possible.
Vegetables make every dietary system better and healthier. They provide
the vitamins and nutrients to keep you feeling as good as you look, and
the soluble fiber to make sure you suck every last bit of nutrition out
of everything else you eat. Think you can get all that from a simple greens supplement? You can try,
but more than likely, you'll find yourself using this expensive supp as
an excuse to cheat when you get hungry later on. So get familiar with
the best-tasting in-season fruits and vegetables (and the frozen ones in
a pinch), and become a master of seasons and spices. Read recipes like
they're great literature and you're on your way.
3 /
Shop The Perimeter Of The Grocery Store
Every store is different, but as a general rule, the periphery is the
natural habitat of the fresh vegetable, meat market, whole-grain baked
goods, and the nuts and dried fruits in the bulk bin. Get comfortable
here; it is now your territory. You'll probably have to venture into the interior for some staples like
olive oil, but keep your blinders on. You're entering a museum of
extravagant packaging and manipulative slogans. Few of the items you see
in the store's interior promote good health; it's a stretch to call
most of it "food." The perimeter is also usually the home of the dairy case and the beer
and wine display, so stay strong. Of course, if these are your biggest
offenses, you could do a lot worse.
4 /
Eliminate Added Sugars
Generally speaking, eating right isn't about avoiding anything in
particular. It's about choosing simple, unrefined things and enjoying
them. But if you feel more comfortable having an enemy, then fine:
Declare war on sugar. Foods in their most natural state do not contain added sugar—that's why
it's called "added sugar." Fruit can still be your friend, but in the
case of sweeteners that have been mixed into your food during the
manufacturing process, it's best to just say no. This can be a tough rule to master for some people—probably the
toughest—but the day will come when the cravings don't come any more.
After that day, a candy bar will taste like what it is: A painfully
sweet and unsatisfying pile of mystery ingredients. Try one, and you'll
find your energy level crashing and hunger level soaring, just like in
the old days.
5 /
Drink More Water
You probably got your fill of being commanded to "drink 8-10 glasses of
water each day" years ago. Still, the benefits are real—especially if
you're in training. Hydrated muscles grow and perform at a higher level,
and they are better protected against catabolism (breakdown) than
muscles that are a quart low."But all that water!" you say. If you really can't take it, then it's
time to start experimenting—just try to keep it clear. Drinking herbal
teas or green tea can help you naturally cleanse, aside from many other
benefits. Flavoring water with lemon or other flavors, or mixing in
sugar-free electrolytes or aminos, could also make for healthy sipping
during a long work day.
Notice I didn't mention that swimming pool of flavored coffee you drink
every day. Black coffee has its place, but there's a point where it
crashes into "clean eating," like a speeding cement truck full of sugar
and cream.
6 /
Sit Down
Part of making healthy eating your lifestyle is setting aside the time
to do it right. This means sitting down to a meal whenever possible,
preferably at a table, with the people you care about. If you've been living alone in an apartment for the last five years,
this may sound like a giant pain in the neck. But just try it: Invite
your friends over for dinner, sit around, and have a conversation.
You'll find that it helps you to actually get excited about what you're
cooking or serving. Like an athletic competition, it helps you raise
your personal training to the next level. The same can't be said for
scarfing down pre-fab junk food on the couch or in the car. Even if you're not sharing your table with anyone in particular, try to
clear out a dedicated space in your schedule—and in your stuff—for
eating, particularly breakfast and dinner. These are important rituals
that you'll be doing for the rest of your life, so the better you are at
them, the more you'll enjoy them.
7 /
Balance Your Diet
Two of the central ideas behind clean eating are balance and moderation.
Don't avoid carbs or dietary fats entirely on your clean diet approach,
or you'll find yourself dreading your meals. Get them in, adjusting the
portion sizes to fit your particular nutrient and body goals.
Depending on your dietary system or lack thereof, your macronutrient
ratio could break down any number of ways. Favor complex, unprocessed
carbs and unsaturated fats, and you're on the right track. Your
grandmother was right: There's nothing like sitting down to a plate with
a protein, a vegetable, and a carb source all arrayed on the plate. When it comes down to it, the key is to be mindful of your food and what
it's made of. If you don't know, that's a problem. You're putting this
stuff in your body, after all!
8 /
Use Smart Flour Substitutes
Yes, you can enjoy baked goods and eat clean at the same time. The
secret is to open yourself to the world beyond refined white flour. This
might require that you try out some new recipes and make a few
mistakes, but that's all part of the fun, right? Stick with me here. Almond flour, coconut flour, brown rice flour, and oat flour are all
excellent ways to reduce the simple carbs of any recipe and still create
delicious treats. Try baking with new flavors like pumpkin, dried
fruits, or even savory breads and muffins flavored with meat, garlic, or
chives. Different flours have different nutritional profiles, so make sure to
read up on them to find the ones that are best suited to your dietary
approach. There's a nearly unlimited variety to choose from.
9 /
Don't Eat Foods With Ingredients You Can't Pronounce
Once you've been eating clean for a little while, you'll inevitably
begin to see the food industry as the giant machine that it is. It's so
much bigger than you, and it has its hands in so many different pockets,
that it's impossible for it to have your best interests at heart. Need evidence? Look at the label of a box of cookies, a children's lunch
pack, or even a bottle of "natural" juice. You'd need a chemistry
degree to read it, and even then, you couldn't say what those substances
are doing to you in the long run. A good general rule: If you can't state the name of a particular
ingredient in the food you're about to dine on, then consider passing.
If you're afraid that this rules out your favorite Ethiopian restaurant,
consider making an exception for good, simple ethnic foods. Many times,
these will pass the "the fewer ingredients the better" test while still
giving you the culinary adventure you desire.
10 /
Focus On Nutrients, Not Just Calories
Last but not least, as you launch your clean-eating plan, don't get too
caught up in the numbers game. In our bodyweight-conscious world, it's
easy to measure everything in terms of calories-in, calories-out. While
this approach can help make you thin, it's not enough to make you
healthy.
The calorie-counting diet guru of the 70s and 80s is a relic of the
past. Today, we know that getting the proper nutrients is far more
important to an overall health than simple caloric balance.
Think of it this way: One approach leaves you feeling grumpy, ravenous,
and guilty about simple pleasures. The other leads you to more energy,
stable blood sugar, and a world of new foods you never considered in the
past. The choice is easy.
Some helpful tips!
Melissa
