Fellow clean eaters - I need support!

hotpickles
hotpickles Posts: 639 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
I need to change. That's all I can really say.

I feel incredible when I carefully watch what I eat, and I feel gross when I do not. The holidays sure did solidify that message.

Anyways, since I'm kind of just starting out, I would love some support from anyone here who does this.

I know there's probably different definitions of what clean eating means to someone. For me, it's no processed foods, nothing with a massive list of ingredients. It means lots of natural, fresh foods.

Thanks so much for your help!

L.

Replies

  • wilkyway
    wilkyway Posts: 151
    I'm all for clean eating- and am planning to clean up my family's diet when I go back home to europe (currently in the USA).

    I love Tosca Reno and am going to get her newest Cookbook and Recharged diet book...already excited =)

    Also great- oxygen magazin and of course the clean eating mag- have wonderful clean meal plans and recipes!!!
  • ylosil
    ylosil Posts: 3
    I recommend you read Tosca Reno's book The Clean Eat Diet. It's a lot of stuff that we already know but forget and then of course lots of stuff that we don't know or don't realize.
    I cannot say I 100% eat clean but I try. I limit the processed foods my family eats. I use a lot of recipes from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook. Very easy stuff to make with a quick trip to the grocery store.
    I totally believe that being truly healthy is 80% diet and 20% exercise. It's definitely not all about the numbers on the scale.
    Good luck!
  • bbygrl5
    bbygrl5 Posts: 964 Member
    Feel free to add me as a friend. I try to eat whole foods as much as possible, except for splurges, and last week I started eating a modified primal diet.
  • amysambora
    amysambora Posts: 219
    I like clean eating too, but I'm not religiously strict about it. I don't think it's healthy to deprive yourself, or beat yourself up over eating something processed or 'unnatural'. I just try to keep everything balanced, that way if I do have something processed, it's nothing to get too worried about.

    Another thing that really helps me is PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING! Write a list of foods you'd like to start including in your diet. Make a meal plan for the week using those foods. Write a grocery list using your meal plan and stick to it. Don't feel as though you have to go all out to begin with - this is something I struggled with. I would buy all these fruits and vegetables that I didn't know what to do with and think I had to eat them all to be healthy. Just start out slow, by introducing a few new fruits and vegies each week.

    A sample meal plan for me looks like this:
    Breakfast: Wholemeal toast with raspberry jam & cottage cheese
    Snack: Banana
    Lunch: Tuna salad or wholemeal sandwich (lettuce, tomato, grated carrot, red onion & cottage cheese in salad)
    Snack: Rice crackers & an apple
    Dinner: Honey soy beef stir fry with green vegetables

    You could consider the jam and rice crackers as processed foods, even the soy sauce. But I think I've got a pretty good balance there :) You can do the same!
  • wilkyway
    wilkyway Posts: 151
    Yes, absolutely agree...
    I think the trick is to do it step by step- you know, first cut out this, then that..... I'm on day six for no sweets.
    I don't eat any white pasta or any kind of bread anyway....so it's mainly cutting out high GI foods at the moment for me, eating as clean as possible. Definitely not easy though :/ I'm so used to my daily portion of chocolate :laugh:

    good luck to you too :)
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
    Feel free to add me. I eat as cleanly as I can. I'm also a vegetarian though.
  • hotpickles
    hotpickles Posts: 639 Member
    Thank you all so much for your replies! I just went down to my fridge to get a glass of water, and all I could think of was how disgusting everything looks in there. So much junk. I've been eating it straight for the last four days and I do not feel great at all. Tired, lethargic, gross. However, there's some nice colorful sweet peppers, lettuce, carrots, and a plethora of other yummy healthy things staring right back at me :)

    I'm getting rid of the junk tomorrow. The worst part is I knew it would make me feel bad, I knew I didn't want it, but I ate it anyways. Ugh. Sugar/fat/junk overload. No more.

    L.
  • kookla33
    kookla33 Posts: 234
    I am trying to eat clean too and am sick of the way all the holiday food makes me feel. The Eat Clean books are so inspiring. The challenge is staying in that mindset when people around you are offering you donuts or cupcakes or ice cream. When you stay away from them for awhile though, you start to see that they really aren't as good as they seem!
  • erin6026
    erin6026 Posts: 117 Member
    One of the things that I love about the clean eating philosophy is that it's about nourishing your body with the best foods on Earth. I kind of take this mentality and run -- I think being healthy is not just about making good decisions about food, but about spoiling your body rotten in every way possible.

    Diet and exercise are just tools. Being healthy comes from within, and from a peaceful place in your mind. I think you should start by focusing on who you want to be and changing what you think of yourself.

    My "aha" moment was letting go of the "one day I'll..." thought and learning to believe "I AM already a healthy person and I'm capable of being in incredible shape" (not could or "might"). I realized that over the past few years I had become an incredibly anxious person. It happened gradually so it snuck up on me. When I realized how on edge I was, I sought out therapy. I'm not "cured" but realizing that I need to control my mental state of being, and that was the first step in getting "healthy".

    I know this sounds vague and corny, but getting myself in a mental state of mind that was positive, peaceful and strong prepared me to use the tools (clean eating and exercise) the most effectively.
  • wtbyerdocmd
    wtbyerdocmd Posts: 58
    This picture I have posted is after 6 months of clean eating - did not cheat one time. Maybe that will be enough support. I am hoping it is enough for me to get back on track - I have gained 5 lbs since and it makes a huge difference. It is amazing what just 5 lbs can do (plus and minus). And yes it was Tosca Reno's book I followed religiously.

    Good Luck
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I try to eat as clean as I can, but its tough and I dont force myself to get really strict. But if I can get to 80-90% I'd be happy. I know I feel sooo much better they cleaner I eat.
    feel free to add me.
  • MelK8RN
    MelK8RN Posts: 34 Member
    i have tosca reno's book and have read it and love it. I also need to make some healthy changes in my life and i think this is s great start! Thanks for all your posts and inspiration!
    im gonna read through my book again today!
  • liberty741
    liberty741 Posts: 122 Member
    I am also trying to clean out sweets from my diet and I have a really hard time giving up chocolate. Especially since I have had some everyday throughout the holidays. Any helpful tips?

    I am a huge advocate of clean eating. I have over 50 lbs to lose, and I know alot of people who have lost weight by eating pizza and junk and limiting their intake. But I really don't wan tto do it that way. My goal isn't only to lose weight, but to feel healthy and good about myself.

    Would love some support from my fellow clean eaters! :-)
  • hotpickles
    hotpickles Posts: 639 Member
    I've only been following it for a day and a half (plus drinking lots of water and herbal teas) and I already feel a major difference. I think the thing I'm enjoying the most is experimenting with new recipes, and the ton of flavors that come with a lot of them.

    I used to do the whole "eat anything you want but in moderation" and honestly it didn't work for me. I just ended up going overboard way too many times.

    I saw a recipe for a clean eating pizza and it looked delicious. I would have never thought to use all the ingredients they use in combination with one another, but I am imagining the flavor would be incredible!

    L.
  • Pinoy_Pal
    Pinoy_Pal Posts: 280 Member
    I try to eat as clean as possible myself...I rarely shop the inner isles of the grocery store ;)

    :o]
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