Changing My Diet

Hello beautiful people. Today I wanted to do something a little different for you. I want to chat about my latest diet change. 

A lot of people have been talking about "clean eating" on social media, television, in magazines, etc, but what does that actually mean? For a while I thought clean eating referred to cleaning your fresh produce more thoroughly. I know, how foolish of me. 

After doing some research, I learned that clean eating means eating foods that do not contain harmful chemicals, pesticides, animal products, etc. This means you must incorporate more whole foods into your diet such as fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. By incorporating more of these foods into my diet and less of the processed foods, I plan to increase my energy levels and overall body health.

Before actually starting this new diet, I began to take note of my eating habits, my energy levels, my weight and any headaches, bloating and discomfort I experienced day to day. Taking note of these things and researching about them helped me feel like I was making the right decision for my well-being. 

To begin my journey I first decided to prep myself, both mentally and physically. You may think it is not a big deal to prep yourself but you have to remember that your body has been consuming all of these bad products for years. I think it is safe to say that our bodies are addicted to the bad elements in the foods we have been eating (ie, processed sugars). 

The prepping process consisted of the reteaching/retraining of my mind and body. I started out with eliminating certain foods out of my diet and adding in healthier options. For example, I first eliminated pork and beef-- they were the easiest to eliminate because I rarely ate those heavy meats to begin with. I added in super greens such as kale, broccoli and brussel sprouts into my diet regularly to ensure my body would still receive a good amount of protein, iron and fiber. This was key for me when I started my transition to clean eating. I wanted to be sure I was still giving my body all of the nutrients it needed/needs. 

This elimination and prepping process is the hardest part for me. I am so use to eating meats 2 times a day and eating unhealthy snacks 3 times a day. So to eliminate all of these things out of my everyday life is taking a toll on me. But don't get me wrong, my body is still getting the nutrients it needs day to day. It is my mind that is trying to persuade me that my body needs those bad products it has become use to. This is when strong willpower comes into play. And I don't have much of that. Especially when it comes to snacking. 

Snacking is what I've always loved to do. I'm the kid whose hand kept getting stuck in the cookie jar. Snacks are my life so when I realized I could no longer eat processed sugars and foods, I was devastated. But I knew eliminating them out of my diet was necessary and would probably help the most with my body health. Luckily for me, I found great alternatives for my snacking habits. I can now proudly snack on fruits and nuts because they satisfy my sweet tooth almost the same as a brownie or ice-cream would. Again, this was something I mentally had to prepare for. Those late night cravings were and still are haunting me. 

Just know that there are always healthier options out there. You just have to do the research to find them. That's the thing about healthy eating, it requires work. You can't be lazy when transitioning. I know it is easy to go to a fast food restaurant and grab a super greasy burger and fries. I also know that it requires a little more work to saute some broccoli and brussel sprouts but the outcome will be 10 times greater I promise. 

So know that you know a little bit about my changing diet, I want to tell you that I am not at all 100% a clean eater but I am getting closer and closer to my goals. This is not something that will happen overnight. This is not something that will be easy but I am determined to make the change for myself and my body. There are so many recipe books, blogs, newsletters, etc to help you along the way but you are the only one that can make the right decisions for your body. 

For me, many of the "manuals" didn't help. Yes, they are informative but they were not persuasive enough for me. So I found that by setting my intentions each day and reminding myself why I am making this change, I am sticking to my goals. I am keeping myself focused and staying accountable for any bad food decisions I make. I am not judging myself if I decide to eat chicken for one meal one day or snack on donuts one day. I am noting those days as "cheat days" and reflecting on how I feel afterwards. By not judging myself I am making this change more enjoyable.

As this change continues I will keep you all updated on my progress. I know this post was not informative at all but that was not my intention for it. I wanted you all to just get a glimpse into my current life change with hopes that it would inspire one of you to take on the journey with me. 

Happy Clean-eating!