Dear Fitness Coach,
I am turning 40 this year and I want to lose weight and get into better shape. I am going to try to cut out the beer and start working out. A buddy of mine, who is a body builder, tells me I should be eating clean. I am a large guy with a large appetite so I am not going to be eating lettuce and cottage cheese all day long. Can a big dude eat clean?And what is eating clean anyway?
Nutritional Overachiever
Dear Overachiever,
Eating clean is the consistent practice of avoiding processed and refined foods and basing your diet on whole foods. You can have a wide variety of foods(in addition to lettuce and cottage cheese!)and never go hungry. The benefits of this type of eating plan is that it will help you avoid developing metabolic diseases, lose weight, remove toxins, and just feel a whole lot better.
The following are the basic principals of eating clean. This is a total lifestyle change and it will be very challenging at first. You will start to feel better within the first week and you will realize that what you eat really does have a dramatic effect on how you feel, both physically and mentally.
- Eat whole foods: Whole foods are foods that haven’t been tampered with, in the lab or the manufacturing plant. Whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, grass-fed and free-range meats, low fat dairy products, unsalted nuts, and seeds.
- Avoid processed foods: Processed foods are any food that has a label. A label means that more than one ingredient was used to make that food. You don’t have to eliminate all processed foods (like whole grain pasta or natural cheeses), but if you can’t pronounce an ingredient on a label, don’t put that food in your shopping basket.
- Eliminate refined sugar. Refined sugar provides nothing but calories. If you need to sweeten your food or drink try Stevia which is a natural plant based sugar substitute.
- Eat five or six small meals a day. By eating smaller meals throughout the day you can help rev up your metabolism and reduce the chance that you’ll overeat. You never get so hungry on this plan that you’ll feel deprived or feel the need to cheat.
- Cook your own meals. Instead of buying frozen or meals in a package, cook meals from scratch. Clean, whole foods need little prep beyond chopping and sautéing to make satisfying, delicious meals.
- Combine protein with carbs. When you do snack or eat a meal, make sure that meal is balanced. You need protein to build muscle and keep you fuller longer and complex carbs to give you energy. So you will be less tempted to eat junk food, combine protein with carbs or carbs and healthy fat. This macro nutrient combo will fuel your body and virtually eliminate hunger pangs.
