1. Before you eat something, ask yourself: "Did God make this?" If the answer is "no" do not eat it.
2. When grocery shopping, stock up on items on the outside perimeter. That's where you will find the dairy, eggs, yogurt, meats, deli meats, fruits and veggies. I know the bakery is on the outside too, but avoid the cakes and cookies. Venture to the nuts aisle to get some roasted or preferably raw almonds. Nuts make a great snack, but be sure to not eat them by the hand full. They may be packed with healthy fats, but it's still excess calories if they're not burned off. Your meats should be baked or grilled only. However, low fat jerky is acceptable too.
3. I can never state this enough... PORTION CONTROL!! This is why I like fresh fruits and veggies. Most of them are already in correct potion sizes. You can have your fill of non-starch veggies like lettuce, celery, carrots, etc. all day long. Average portions are as follows: Meat - the size of the PALM of your hand, not the whole thing, Veggies - the size of a fist, Cheese - the size of a die, Starchy Carbs (potatoes, rice, etc) - portions are the size of what you can fit in your hand.
4. Eat small meals and EAT FREQUENTLY!! Did you know that skipping meals actually lowers your metabolism?? Well, it does. Here's how: when you skip a meal, it tells your body that food is scarce. This triggers your body into conservation mode. It conserves the fat for later fuel source and insulation and begins consuming healthy, lean muscle for fuel.
I don't know why everyone has to make it so hard. Here's a sample day:
Breakfast:
Milk
Eggs (Eat 1 yolk per 3 whites)
Toast
Grapefruit
Snack 1:
Lean Jerky
Fruit
Meal 2:
Grilled Chicken Salad
Low/Fat Free Dressing
Fruit
Snack 2:
Turkey wrap with lettuce, tomato
Meal 3:
Fish or Steak
Baked Potato
Salad
If you need another snack, try some low butter popcorn. The whole idea of eating clean is to eliminate the processed foods (or at least limit them) from your diet and begin eating nutrient rich ones. Simple steps are all it takes. I understand you not want to swap to this type of diet overnight. Ease into it. Replace one of your current meals per week with something more clean and healthy. Before you know it, you'll be eating better than everyone around you and feeling much better too.
Drop the sugared sodas. They're empty calories by the dozens. The average 8 ounce soda has 90 calories. If you have 4 of them a day, that's 360 calories that you could have had... That's another snack or meal you could add and get something with nutrients.
The big picture is to eat foods that are nutrient rich. Processed foods are full of refined sugar, carbohydrates, and fats.
You are what you eat.
How to Eat Healthy in 4 Simple Steps
