Starting from Scratch

It's been a while!!

A lot has happened since my last post. I am now a married woman! Also, the hubby and I moved into our new house. I also completed the People Magazine Wedding Weight Loss Challenge. I'll let you guys know when to expect the final article.

In the spirit of new beginnings, I am going to challenge myself to commit to Eating Clean. No more chemicals, high fructose corn syrup, and ingredients I cannot pronounce. It's all about Whole Grains, Real Meat (NO processed stuff), and tons of fruits and veggies. This is the best way to start a healthy lifestyle and to lose weight! If you want more info check out this site
: Eat Clean. I also recommend picking up the Clean Eating Magazine it has a ton of great recipes.

Now this is going to be challenging because I can't quite get my kitchen in complete order (We are doing renovations), so I will have to be creative at times. I am creating a list of Clean Eating staples that I will purchase this week. Look for the post soon, but for now check out my meal plan for tomorrow.


Below is my meal plan for tomorrow. It's a little bland but that's because I can't cook yet (we haven't unpacked and our kitchen is being renovated). All of my meals are quick and easy.


Clean Eating Meal Plan:

Breakfast:
1/2 cup Oatmeal w/ .5 tbsp Peanut Butter
Applesauce (unsweetened)
1 hardboiled egg

Snack:
100 calorie bag of Almonds & Small Apple

Lunch:
Chicken Breast (I haven't unpacked yet, so I bought a roasted chicken from the grocery store)
Salad (via salad bar at school)
2 Wasa Crisp Crackers (Whole grain, high fiber, and delicious!)

Snack:
Kashi Granola Bar (this and Larabars are my always convenient snacks)

Dinner:
1/2 cup Brown Rice
1 Turkey Burger w/Salsa (no bread)
Asparagus Spears

Dessert
Grapes and Plain Yogurt



Also, I'm looking to start a Woman's Jogging/Running group in NE D.C. Email me at hypothesis1913@gmail.com. If you are interested.

How do you Eat Clean on the Go???

An Addiction: Take Control of Your Eating

Hey ladies, my journey to eating clean (avoiding procesessed foods and eating food in a natural state) has been enlightening. I want to share some of the things that I have learned. Also pick up a copy of People Magazine! I am in the July 19th issue!!!!!!


Most of you know the feeling: you open a bag of your favorite chips (or your food of choice) for a little snack and next thing you know you ate 2-3x the amount you wanted too. At some point you loss control and you are no longer eating because you want to or because you are hungry. Take some time to observe if this happens to you and what type of food this happens with. If you are like me this only happens with processed foods, typically junk foods. I don't think people lose control when eating a bowl of broccoli or even a bowl grapes. Have you ever thought about why that is? In my opinion there is something in these processed sweet and salty foods that makes you lose control. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but all those artificial ingredients may be associated with your loss of control feeling. Think about it you lose control when eating a bag of Doritos so you buy more, that leads to a nice profit for the company.

If you are tired of feeling like you are not in control then try to avoid processed foods (no refined sugar, no white flour, etc.) . I know that sounds really difficult but it gets easier with time. Please do NOT think just because you can't have white flour or sugar you can't eat good food. There are so many healthy great tasting things you can eat! Consider Dr. Ian Smith's Fat Smash diet there are so many recipes and support online. Everyday I become more and more creative and I come up with new recipes and healthy ideas that makes eating healthy easier for me. To give you an idea here are a couple of changes I made over the past month.

1. I switched from quick oats to the rolled kind, I make a big batch (2 cups) that lasts for the week. I sweeten it with 1 banana and berries (feel free to add your fav. fruit and cinnamon). I also add flaxseed meal to it. It tastes great and no sugar is necessary!


2. I love popcorn but microwave popcorn has all that fake stuff! Did you know you can make your own microwave popcorn. It's much healthier that way, it's all cheaper than store bought and just as quick, click here to see how

3. I switched my artificially flavored yogurt to plain greek yogurt. I add my own fruit, just throw some blueberries in it and it's delicious!

4. I don't really have sweet tooth any more, but when I go to the movies or a place everyone will be having junk food or dessert I usually bring a LaraBar or Jocalat bar (just in case). These bars are delicious and they have no added sugar and most varieties have 4 or less ingredients. They are really are delicious. Whole foods carries them for about $1.25. You have to try one....they are so good I may do review post just for them!

What healthy swaps have you made to avoid processed foods?

Clean Eating

I read Oxygen magazine from time to time to get workout tips. The magazine has some good nutrition tips as well. They often make reference to a way of eating called "Clean Eating". I did some quick research on it a while back and I decided it would be too challenging for me. It requires the removal of all processed foods (refined sugars, saturated/trans fats, overly processed foods) from your diet. It sounded like a good idea but I did not think it was realistic for me. So I would just ignore the clean eating tips in the mag.

I came across Clean Eating Magazine while getting my hair done this past weekend and after reading it carefully I realized that Clean Eating may not be so diffcult after all. You swap out refined flour and sugar for whole grains and natural sweetners (honey, agave nectar). It appears there are ways to get around eating processed foods and still enjoying your food. Clean Eating mag offers great tips and several meal plans for eating clean.

Clean Eating has tons of health benefits because you remove the bad fats, sugars, and additives from your diets. I am still doing my research and figuring out how I can move to a Clean Eating lifestyle. I will keep you all posted as I move to clean eating.

Eating Clean Resources:

Eat Clean Mag

Eat Clean Blogs

Eat Clean Book

Comment!!

Have you heard of Clean Eating??

Are you a Clean Eater?