You've probably heard the term "eating clean" and are wondering what doing so entails. After all, it sounds like a good way to eat a healthier diet and possibly lose weight, right?
Eating clean is a meal plan that focuses on eating whole foods that are good for you and cutting out processed junk food. Want to learn more about clean eating meal plans? Here’s a beginner’s guide to the clean eating lifestyle.
What Exactly Is Eating Clean?
The entire concept of eating clean is exactly as it sounds. Instead of eating processed foods, you eat those that were freshly prepared or made of fresh ingredients, like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and meats. By eating only healthy foods, you avoid the excess sugar, carbohydrates, salt, and other things that are in processed foods.
Of course, eating clean can be time-consuming because you have to prepare most (if not all) of yourmeals yourself, but the trade-off is a better diet. You also might notice some weight loss, increased energy, and mental clarity because you'll eat fewer processed foods and lean into healthy eating instead.
How To Eat Clean
Before you can begin a diet that focuses solely onclean eating, you first need to understand what you should be eating and what you should be avoiding. Here are some basics:
Incorporate Whole Grains
While you don't have to take the time-consuming step of making your own bread and rolls (although you certainly can if you want to), you can incorporate carbs into your diet.
Instead of loading up on plain white bread and other refined carbohydrates, choose those made of whole grains instead. Look at options like quinoa and farrow to mix things up a bit.
Other forms of carbs, like pasta and rice, should also be eaten in their whole-grain forms. Rather than make a pot of white rice, choose brown rice or basmati. Not only do they taste better, but they are considered clean, whole foods, which is the entire point of this diet.
Eat Plenty of Fruits and Veggies
Fruit and vegetables are some of the freshest foods you can find, making them a staple of every clean eating diet. Find new ways to include them in many of your meals. Try adding them to oatmeal (as long as it isn't the instant kind), making your own juices and smoothies to avoid those with added refined sugar, and having salads alongside your meals. Fruits and veggies should make up a good chunk of your grocery shopping list when you’re following this diet plan.
If you decide to add a few canned fruits or veggies to your meals, make sure that they are minimally processed because we want to focus on real foods. Check the labels carefully for artificial sweeteners and drain the juice in the cans before eating the fruit.
Cook Your Own Meals
It can be tempting to take shortcuts with your meals, such as reaching for a bag of frozen pre-made meatballs rather than making your own from scratch. However, those frozen foods contain plenty of added salt (as a preservative), among other things, making them less than clean.
Ideally, you need to cook your own meals from scratch with unprocessed foods, starting with meat and plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. It’s about time to start looking for healthy recipes and adding those ingredients to your grocery list.
You can use a few shortcuts, such as pre-made pasta sauce or whole grain bread. However, make sure to read the ingredient labels before purchasing.
In addition, since you'll be cooking your own foods, use a meal planning and prepping system to ensure you won't head for those frozen meals or fast food joints at lunchtime. Doing this will keep you on track and ensure that you stay on track with your clean eating. You'll be much less tempted to waver from your lifestyle change when there arehealthy foods right in front of you.
Drink Plenty of Water
Speaking ofclean eating staples, water should be your beverage of choice. You can choose any brand of water that you like, including sparkling or mineral water, as long as it doesn't contain any extra added sugars.
If you want to add some flavor to your water, do so with a bit of fruit. Toss a few strawberries, a bit of cucumber, or some watermelon into your cup and go about your day.
Looking for other ideas? There's nothing wrong with some all-natural mint and lemon juice. Do whatever you need to in order to ensure that you stay well hydrated.
Ditch Your Usual Beverages
Eating clean means limiting your beverage choices. While you can still have standard black coffee, keep an eye on any added sweeteners. This means that you'll have to take your usual lattes, cappuccinos, and other sugary coffee drinks off your list of options.
Also, while drinking alcohol can work on a clean eating diet, you should limit your drinks to one (or less) per day and aim for traditional liquors, not super sweet, sugary wine coolers. This is just a standard measure that will help you stay healthy.
Other beverages, like soda, pre-made fruit juices, sugary fruit-flavored drinks, and more, are also on the no drink list. All contain plenty of added preservatives and sugars.
Balance Your Macros
Your macros, which you're probably familiar with if you follow a keto or low-carb diet, consist of lean proteins, healthy fats, and carbohydrates. They're the building blocks of a healthy, well-rounded diet.
When you're eating clean, you need to incorporate all three into every meal. This ensures that your body is receiving all of the nutrients it needs to function. It can be tricky to include all of these macros, so you need to plan ahead.
Eat Several Small Meals Each Day
Experts are split on how many meals you should be eating every day. Some claim that eating every three hours is best, while others think you should have a number of traditional, square meals, like breakfast,lunch, and dinner.
Ideally, since you need to ensure you're getting all of your macros in, and some of the foods that are included in a clean eating diet are rather filling (like vegetables), stick to several small meals and healthy snacks to curb your cravings. This will keep your blood sugar stable and make you less likely to reach for a sugary snack.
Avoid Vegetable Oils and Overly-Processed Spreads
Of course, you'll need something to cook those clean foods with. Whether that's olive oil, whole butter, or other options, you should watch the ingredient labels. You want cooking oils and spreads that are as close to whole foods as possible.
This means that options like vegetable oil and corn oil are on the list of foods that you shouldn't have on hand. Why? These oils are highly processed and have additives in them, making them less than healthy. Instead, opt for coconut oil or a little high-quality olive oil.
Margarine is also on the food list that you shouldn't include in your diet because it is made with additives and may have trans fats, with little nutritional value to make up for it. Instead of reaching for margarine, use standard butter and butter-based spreads. Both may have a few more calories, but they fit better into a healthy lifestyle.
When it comes to choosing your meal additions, you need to take the time to read the labels to ensure that what you're purchasing and using is as clean as possible.
Why Choose To Eat Clean?
There are many health benefits to clean eating. You'll feel better, be healthier, and potentially even lose weight since you won't be eating those refined sugars and carbohydrates anymore. By focusing on whole foods and making your meals from scratch (or from close to scratch), you have sole control of what's in your breakfasts, lunches, anddinners.
To eat clean, you need to ensure that everything you eat is devoid of preservatives and nothing has an ingredient label containing words that you can't pronounce. While you'll have to do some meal prep and planning so that you have no excuses to get off of the diet, all of that work is well worth it. You'll be proud of your eating habits when you see the results.
Sources:
Nine Ways to Eat Clean | WebMD
Seven Principles of Clean Eating | Cooking Light
11 Simple Ways to Focus on Whole Foods Instead of Clean Eating | Healthline