What is Clean Eating

Clean Eating Lifestyle

Eating clean is whatever you perceive as “clean”. It could either be eliminating processed foods or just adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. My idea of a clean eating lifestyle is having a nutrition dense, organic, non-GMO, refined sugar-free (white sugar), refined flour-free (white flour), refined oil-free (vegetable oils) diet while persistently exercising.

Basic guidelines of Clean Eating:

Eat an abundance of raw and cooked vegetables
Eat well portioned meals of protein, vegetables and complex carbohydrates
Eat small snacks between meals
The less processed the food is, the better!
Exercise—weight training and cardio

Clean eating can be seen as a diet because eliminating processed, unnutritional foods while exercising can lead to weight loss. To count every calorie, or eat absolutely zero carbs a day is just unrealistic. Clean eating is NOT a diet because diets are used for a temporary fix. With clean eating, the main goal is to be fit and healthy. You aren’t looking to lose weight like most mainstream diets out there. You are looking to consume nutritional foods. The ultimate goal of clean eating is striving to be healthier—inside and out! Eating clean and wholesome foods WILL make you look and feel better. You will have more energy and will be in a better mood! Instead of downing 3 cups of coffee in the morning to wake you up, you’ll be enjoying 1 cup with your breakfast. I’ve noticed with clean eating that my muscle endurance increased, I’ve been able to run farther for longer, and build muscle while toning with no problem! Also, Eating clean leads to a glowing and radiant complexion—which is definitely one of my favorite parts of clean eating. Clean eating is full of pros with little cons—unless your favorite food is loaded fries—you’ll have little complications with this lifestyle!

There is no right or wrong way to eat clean—the way that makes you feel good and achieve the goals you want is the way you should stick to.