Top 3 Ways to Clean Up Your Diet
It’s so simple, but hard to always remember. Food Feeds Us.
Is it possible to eat food that not only tastes as delicious as the foods you’re used to, but also provides your body with everything it needs to function perfectly, have more energy, heal itself from the inside out, get fit automatically, feel amazing, and burn fat all day long?
The answer is YES!
Companies will try to sell you exercise and workout gimmicks all day long, but ask any trainer or professional athlete and they will tell you that 95% of your success in your health and fitness is determined by WHAT YOU EAT!
With all of that said, I am going to share with you my favorite and top 3 ways to clean up your diet. If, after you read my top 3 ways to clean up your diet and you want to dive deeper into taking the next step towards a healthier lifestyle, grab your copy of The Clean Eating Handbook: 31 Essential Rules for Health, Wellness, and a Fabulously Fit Life, available on www.eatcleaner.com. Now remember, practice makes perfect, so continue reading and put these tips into practice each day for a month, until you feel like you have established a good routine and formed a habit.
So….are you ready? Here are the top 3 ways to clean up your diet and change your lifestyle.
1. REHAB YOUR REFRIGERATOR & PURGE YOUR PANTRY
Might sound simple or daunting, depending on who you are talking to, but I firmly believe that to eat cleaner and get leaner, you must start with cleaning out your fridge and pantry to make way for the good stuff, and by “good stuff”, I mean good-for-you stuff.
HOW TO DO IT:
Step 1: Start by taking a look at all of the labels of everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in your fridge and pantry
Step 2: If it’s processed, bleached, contains high fructose corn syrup, anything ‘hydrogenated’, the word ‘artificial’, ‘trans fats’, 8 syllable words that you cannot pronounce, or anything on our Steer Clear List, it’s outta’ there!
NOTE: Sodium and sugar are also things to look for. Aim to keep your sugar intake to less than 50 grams per day and sodium intake to less than 2300 mg. (1.5 teaspoons) per day.
WHAT NEXT?
It’s time to get fresh.
Your refrigerator should look more like a salad bar with more fresh and colorful ingredients, and less shelf stable, processed foods in a box.
Some of my favorite fridge and pantry items include:
-
- Fresh produce (go seasonal as much as possible)
- Apples,
- Pears,
- Bananas
- Lemon / Limes
- Fresh Greens
- Avocados
- Whole grain or sprouted grain tortillas and bread
- Wild caught seafood
- Free range/organic chicken breasts
- Cage free/organic eggs
- Plain non-fat Greek Yogurt
- Unsweetened coconut, almond, or sunflower milk
- Unsalted raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews)
- Unsalted seeds
- Dried cranberries
- and much more!
For the full list of The Fit Foodie’s favorite fridge and pantry recommendations:
The most concise, easy to follow book on eating clean, everyday, by Mareya Ibrahim, The Fit Foodie
2. KICK THE SUGAR!!!
I know I touched on sugar above, but sugar is literally EVERYWHERE!!! Sweeteners are rampant in “diet”, “lite”, or “sugar-free” products. Aside from the obvious cakes, cookies, cereals, and beverages, sugar is used in many other dry mixes for instant coffee and tea, gelatin desserts, puddings, non-dairy creamers, chewing gum, breath mints, diet soda, yogurt, and even children’s medicine and vitamins. Even ‘low fat’ foods contain excessive sugar and are counterproductive because those unburned calories can be stored as fat.
HOW TO DO IT:
Stick with more natural sugars and keep your total intake for the day to 50 grams or less. Choose cleaner choices like stevia, derived from the stevia plant, which is much sweeter than regular sugar so a little goes a long way – and calorie-free, which is a big bonus!!
WHAT NEXT?
Some other natural options include:
-
- Agave
- Black Strap Molasses
- Maple Syrup
- Brown Rice Syrup
- Raw Honey
- Natural Unsweetened Fruit
- and more!
3. SKIM THE SATURATED FAT
If there’s one word that strikes fear into the heart of most people, it’s FAT. But fat is actually an important part of our daily intake, and just like calories, not all fats are create equal. “Good” fat, the kind that actually lowers your cholesterol, helps with brain function and balanced hormones, is an essential part of weight control.
The important word to remember to skim is “saturated” fat — meaning, the fat that clogs your arteries and stresses your heart. It can wreck havoc on your heart health and, quite frankly, your booty too.
HOW TO DO IT:
When I developed the Cleaner Plate Club, I work with what I call the Fit Foodie Triangle approach. The Triangle is an easy way to remember how to get the balance you need at every mini meal and it’s based on sound, documented nutritional needs:
40/30/30 breakdown of macronutrients – 
40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 30% fat.
That’s right, 30% fat! Now of that 30%, try to stick to only 5% or less to be saturated. You can easily find this breakout on any nutrition label and the good news is, you don’t have to sacrifice flavor for it.
WHAT NEXT?
Some good sources of fat (in moderation) include:
-
- Nuts, coconut, and seeds (raw, oil, milk, butters)
- Avocados
- Olives
- Omega 3-rich seafood, like salmon and mackerel
- Alternatives to full fat butter like Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread & Baking Sticks
- Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and other nut/seed oils (hemp, flax, chia, sesame, sunflower, etc.)
- Opt for non or low fat & organic milk, yogurt, and cheese. Also try dairy-free options
- Cook with low sodium stocks, broths, and wine for lots of added flavor
- Use pureed beets and apple sauce to replace fat in baked goods
- Enjoy dark chocolate with 70% or more pure unsweetened cocoa
These are my top 3 ways to clean up your diet.
Remember this: sound nutrition is the key. You can look and feel better than you have in your entire life in 31 days by following my 31 Fit Foodie Filosophies.
How do I know this? Because they have transformed thousands of lives, including mine…
