Eating Clean and STUCK!

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byHisgrace
byHisgrace Posts: 175
in Food and Nutrition
Help! I started South Beach Diet, because I was a total carb addict, January 9. I never intended to make it my long term plan, more like carb rehab. I lost 12 lb pretty quickly and easily. Then in February, hubby found out he was headed to Afghanistan and we both threw healthy eating to the side and enjoyed his last few weeks before leaving. I started the Eat Clean diet about two weeks ago. I lost the few pounds I'd gained back, However, I seem to be stuck. I have not started working out again, mainly because I am just beat, and still getting the kids adjusted to our new routine, ect. Still, according to Tosca Reno, and other experts, 80% of weight loss is nutrition. I don't want to go back to eliminating carbs, they are too important for total body health and function. Any advice from other clean eaters? (Sorry about my super paragraph, my enter key isn't working!)

Replies

  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    I don't know what the Eat Clean diet is...
    So the only advice I have for you is this:
    You should NOT cut out carbs completely. Diet's like Atkins are just stupid. Not healthy. You might lose pounds but your health will suffer.
    Go by what the food diary tells you and try to stick to that. I've eaten exactly what it said for 6 days and have lost 4 pounds. I also bought a pedometer and make sure I do the 10000 steps a day. even if I have to duck outside and walk around the block after dinner in order to make it happen.

    Good luck!
    and a "Thank You" to your husband for what he does for us!:flowerforyou:
  • healthymommy42011
    healthymommy42011 Posts: 18
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    Hello there, I just read that book a couple of months ago.. I really believe that exercise helps, but it really is mainly about what you put in your mouth! You dont have to completely eliminate carbs.. just the bad ones ( white bread, white pasta, sugar, ect..) Eat whole grain bread, oatmeal, fruits, veggies and lean meat. I am a carb addict too!! Nothing is better than warm rolls, pasta, and cookies! But just remember that nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Eating clean is really hard at first, but after a short while, you will feel like a new woman! Your kids will have to keep up with you! :) Also, MFP really helps.. eat the amount of carbs they suggest, It will work.. just stick with it.
  • byHisgrace
    byHisgrace Posts: 175
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    Eating Clean is what it sounds like, eating healthy, unprocessed foods. It includes all food groups and isn't something I consider really a diet, although it technically is, as is every way of eating. I agree about the carbs, which is why I went the South Beach route, it really is different from Atkins, though still not for me. And thank you for your thank you, my hubby is a vet but not currently deployed, he went over as a contract employee.
  • leasah
    leasah Posts: 107 Member
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    Not familar with the Eat Clean either, but I will tell you that the accountability that this site offers through keeping a food diary has been invaluable to me. Im a carb fanatic, so it has not been easy, but I started with ww recipes and found they really put me in the right frame of mind for keeping my carbs in balance. Im not a member of ww, never attended the meetings but I will say it was the jump start I needed. I chose a calorie count I can live with that makes sense for me and Ive lost 11 lbs since Fall. It has not been quick, nor effortless. I hurt my back and have been unable to exercise so my loss has been purely a result of better food choices and portion control.
    Carbs are not your enemy, its just a matter of eating the ones that are more nutritional and eating them as part of a well balanced meal.
  • gracefullyjenn
    gracefullyjenn Posts: 148
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    my advice is make sure you always have a lean protein with your carbs. For example hummus with vegetables, celery with almond butter, chicken in a veggie wrap, cottage cheese with fruit in it etc. There are a lot of awesome mixs.
  • fozzy33
    fozzy33 Posts: 72
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    I play with my daily calorie intake....One day I'll eat 1700 then the next day 1300 then 1800 then 1200 and so on and so on......I read that it keeps your body guessing. Your body doesnt know what to do so it burns what you eat instead of storing it as fat. Since I have started doing this I have lost 6lbs in 8 days......

    But then again I exercise 5 days a week..... but I dont eat my exercise calories back.
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    my advice is make sure you always have a lean protein with your carbs. For example hummus with vegetables, celery with almond butter, chicken in a veggie wrap, cottage cheese with fruit in it etc. There are a lot of awesome mixs.

    I agree with this part. I think it is crucial to have protein with each meal. I am doing a combo of both ideas together. No processed foods, whole grains, real unadulterated foods as close to nature as possible but I am also trying to eat LOTS of protein. My goal is 114 grams of protein within my 1300 calorie starting point. I am in the last 10# and I have been having a really hard time losing these last 10 (plateaued for over 6 months). With increasing my protein, starting a weight training program and increasing the intensity of my workout to 85% max heart rate, I am starting to see the scales move again. I believe it took all four aspects...clean eating, protein, aerobic, and weights.

    (For the record I eat all of my excercise calories but I do subtract the base of what I would have burned anyway. ie if after 30 minutes on the eliptical I burn 260 calories according to my HRM, I subtract 60 calories because I would have burned 60 sitting at my computer.)

    DD

    PS> Even though your hubby is going as a civ. he is still in my prayers!
  • irismoon
    irismoon Posts: 83
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    I read the Eat Clean Diet book too. From what I've gathered the pounds don't come off all that quickly. It's not going to make you loose 3lbs a week or anything like that. So my suggestion is to watch your calories and find a way to exercise. The eat clean diet talks a good bit about strength training because the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn. Try to find time to exercise whenever possible. Diets are a big part of loosing weight, but so is the exercise. If I don't exercise I won't loose more than 6 lbs on a diet. But adding exercise makes me loose way more than that.

    Good Luck!

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