CLEAN UP YOUR DIET

Have you ever heard of term “Clean Eating or Clean Diet”? If you have then you’ve come to realize that in essence it’s not actually a diet at all, just a way of eating… cleaner and better.

Let me explain what it means to eat clean. It means to eat foods, as best as possible, in its natural state. Instead of thinking about this or that diet, it comes down to developing a smart approach, a lifestyle change on how we look at food and what we end up eating; which in turns lead to a healthier, fitter, leaner, sexier YOU.

There a many diets out there that perhaps to an extent will help you lose weight for a short period of time. In essence because any time you modify you calorie intake or deprive yourself of eating like most of these encourage you to do, you will lose weight. The issue with this is that your body will quickly catch up to it and will adjust itself to the low calorie intake. Not to mention that when you do lose weight its actually essential lean muscle tissue your body is getting rid off while storing on fat. And add to it the lack of nutrients that will make your body unhealthy, weak and soggy…

So instead of depriving yourself or starving, when you eat clean you are being mindful and responsible with your body. It’s not something you “will try and see”. You commit and eat healthy. I am not saying you’ll become a vegetarian, I’m not… but the foods you eat should be low in fat (you can’t eliminate fat entirely from your nutrition as they are essential for your body, you need fat to absorb fat soluble vitamins and nutrients, they also provide energy, protects your organs and bones, etc.), also you’ll eat foods low in salt, sugar and additives.
Sodas, candies, sweets, processed, refined foods, refined flour, sugar, trans fats, fried foods and even alcohol, becomes your enemy. HEY! Before you jump out of your chair and scream at me for putting alcohol on this list, just remember that sugar-alcohol is a toxic substance that your body has difficulty processing. If you can eliminate it completely, the better, if not then use moderation and as best as possible eliminate the bad and unhealthy foods that aren’t part of your clean diet.

I understand that on occasions, if you’re like me, you will eat pizza and cheesecake and maybe have a drink here and there. But eating clean most of the time will make you feel better, look better, food even taste better.

Eating foods such as fresh fruits and veggies, oatmeal, whole grains, poultry, fish, beef, milk, peanut butter (organic or as natural and low in sugar as possible), beans, olive oil, flaxseed oil, eggs, low fat yogurt, nuts and natural spices and herbs are all great choices for your meals.

So this is my challenge for you: try going the next four weeks eating nothing else but these foods, while doing exercise and cardio. Take some measurements of your weight and if possible your body fat percentage. And to keep you in check, you will track everything from your daily meals to your workouts. Nothing fancy, just a notebook or on your PC, if you go online there’s a web site called www.FITDAY.com that is free and easy to use to track your meals.

After four weeks or during this period get back to me and let me know your progress report, also if you have questions regarding this or what your workout program should look like in order to achieve maximum results during this time frame drop me a line and I’ll get back to you or post it online to help everyone else.

Author: Eduardo Lorenzo, NASM-CPT specializes in sports performance, injury prevention, corrective exercises, physique enhancement, Boot Camp and weight loss programs.