~ Clean Eaters Thread ~

This is kind of off topic. But last night I was at the gym running my long run (I like to run it on the treadmill and watch TV ) and watching the Miss Universe pageant. Of course all of those women have such skinny, toned body, IMO some of them are way too skinny, but some of them look healthy skinny. None of them looked super defined which is more my taste/goal - like Jillian Michaels or Gwen Stefani. I was just running and wondering what these girls eat and what kind of work outs they do. I wonder if they eat clean. I wonder if they take in enough calories.

I always used to read this book called the Secrets of Skinny Chicks -- it featured supposedly "everyday" women who managed to stay skinny and in tip top shape, and said how they did it, including what they ate and how they worked out on a typical day. The problem was that most of these women were professional, former, or aspiring models, actresses, beauty pageant contestants, athletes, etc... definitely not my definition of an "everyday" woman, because most of them got paid to look good, or wanted to, or used to, etc. That book used to be a big inspiration for me but now when I look at it, I realize it isn't in my goals, because most of the women eat low-fat, low-carb foods that have articificial sweeteners etc., and many of the women only eat about 1200 - 1400 calories a day, plus work out a lot, and I aim to keep my *net* calories at about 1200-1300 a day.

I guess what I'm wondering is, what are realistic goals for a truly "everyday" woman? I am an attorney with a busy job and I don't have kids but I like to spend a lot of time with my boyfriend and our pets... I am not the type to get so caught up in training or working out that I never see them or my friends, etc. I mainly eat clean, stick to 1200-1300 net calories, and I run or work out for about 45 minutes a day, with one rest day a week, and some of my runs are much longer, like an hour and a half for pace runs or long runs. (I am training for a half marathon). Is it realistic for me to want to acheive a super toned, cut, slim body? Do women have to starve themselves and spend all their time working out to reach those levels? I guess this is why I'm looking forward to doing P90X, I think that will probably get me in the best shape ever if I stick with it, and I also plan to keep up my running schedule, more or less.

I think it is very realistic to achieve a toned, lean, healthy body by eating clean and exercising without "killing" yourself. I am 45yrs old, 5'5", 125lbs, pretty lean and toned and that was achieved by eating healthy at least 80-90% of the time and exercising 5-7 days a week for about an hr. Yeah, sometimes I dont take a "rest" day because I just love the way exercise makes me feel and I dont feel drained, I have the energy to workout most days a week. I also vary my workouts. Now that I am doing P90X my workouts are longer because the program is like that, unfortunately. I have a husband, a son with autism, I work about 6-7 hrs 4 days a week and I have three dogs. I am also training for a half marathon. I eat out at least once a week, usually twice a week, and "cheat" at least once a week. So I am not telling you this to brag but to tell you that it is possible. I hope this helps. :flowerforyou:

Hi singleton and welcome. I was just at CVS and saw a copy of Clean Eating... it had such delicious looking recipes that I bought it even though it was $6 and I *never* spend that much on a magazine!! I am trying to find interesting and yummy clean eating recipes that my boyfriend will enjoy eating with me.

tryin to read JM MM when i get a chance and on ch4 now. are my 100% whole grain oats ok or is steel cut better? my Triscuit box says whole wheat, soybean and/or palm oil, salt. then below all that it says BHT added to preserve freshness. i think i read where if it has more than 2 ingredients, don't eat it? thought all the healthIER foods i was eatin was ok, now i am thinking i am gonna have some challenges. told my dh that i wanted to start this, and he is ok with it....pretty sure he will not give up his nightly bowl of icecream

do any of you use the whey protein more than once a day?

thanks for all your comments and support...i am excited to de-junk my body! :bigsmile: