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Monday, March 08, 2010

Eat Clean to Get Healthy & Lean

My clients are always looking for the right diet to help them get healthy and fit. Many of them are willing to try fad diets, low calorie diets or whatever else they read about. Often times I just recommend eating clean. Many people haven’t heard the term clean eating, but once I explain it, it makes perfect sense.

Clean eating isn’t just for people who are already fit or exercise regularly. Everyone can benefit from it. It can help you lose and maintain weight and look and feel great. Of course, changing your diet is one of the biggest obstacles in improving your health but clean eating is easy and can quickly become a habit. It can be hard to give up some of your favorite foods, but you might find you feel and look better without them.

So, what is Clean Eating? Simply put, it is the practice of eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and complex carbohydrates. The plan eliminates the most popular foods in the U.S. diet including: processed snacks, high sugar snacks, foods with hydrogenated fats, foods with preservatives, and any other foods with man made ingredients. Many people unknowingly have an addiction to sugar, flour or fast food. When they stop eating it, they may experience cravings. Therefore, starting to eat clean can be difficult. It does take some dedication since it may be difficult at first. Here are the basic steps to Clean Eating:

Eliminate refined sugar. Many snacks, processed foods and fast food items have refined sugar.
Include a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Cook your own meals.
Eat 5-6 times per day.
Drink water throughout the day.
Include a complex carbohydrate at meals.
Maintain healthy portions.
Limit saturated fats and trans fats.
Eliminate processed foods.
Eat fresh lean protein.
Limit or avoid alcohol.

If the steps sound familiar to you, that’s great. You might already be thinking about eating clean. Basically you should be trying to eat healthy foods in their most natural state. Of course everyone wants to eat cake on their birthday or have a cocktail at a party, so I recommend eating clean 80% of the time. If you can start eating clean or cleaner, you will most likely see some changes. You may lose weight, feel more energetic and look younger and brighter. If you exercise, eating clean can really help you get the most out of your workouts and increase your fitness. You can get more information on clean eating by checking out Clean Eating Magazine or reading some of the previously written Sensei healthy eating or diet blogs. Give clean eating a try and see how it improves your health and wellness.

- Lauren

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Labels: healthy eating, healthy tips, Lauren