Eating clean

I’ve made some pretty big changes to my diet this year. Changes which in combination with a totally new way of working out have helped me shed over 2 stone of fat from my body in 6 months.

I’d done really well with Thinking Slimmer and dealt with my tendency to overeat by listening to the Slimpod. But I’d reached a plateau in my weight loss and knew that something else needed to change. I suspected that it was probably WHAT I was eating rather than how much. So following the nutritional advice that formed part of Julia Buckley’s Fat Loss Fitness Programme I set about changing my diet.

While it’s taken dedication and focus it’s actually been quite straight forward. No complicated diets with banned foods or points to count. Just a focus on eating natural unprocessed foods and cutting out sugar and processed carbs in favour of lean protein, and lots of vegetables. It’s commonly known as ‘eating clean’.

When I first started out with this I found it a bit odd. Meals didn’t feel ‘complete’ without pasta or rice or another form of carbohydrate sitting on the side of the plate. And I missed my sugary lattes in the morning. But I soon felt the benefits of removing the processed carbs from my diet and upping my protein intake. My appetite subsided, I stopped having big energy dips in the afternoon and my energy levels overall increased.

In the early days I struggled a bit with meal ideas. I had been a toast and marmite or bowl of muesli for breakfast kind of person. Most of my lunches were based around either pasta or rice. What would I eat instead? As the weeks have gone by I’ve picked up lots of recipe ideas from the internet and from other clean eaters and now enjoy a really varied and satisfying diet.

These days my daily food intake usually looks something like this

Breakfast – eggs of some sort with a combinations of vegetables, lean meat and seeds added to it. Sometimes a protein pancake made with whey protein and fruit

Lunch – usually a hearty salad with plenty of chicken or other lean protein

Dinner – Fish or chicken or other lean protein with vegetables and/or pulses

These meals are substantial – they leave me feeling full and satisfied. I don’t often snack but if I do it’s on Greek yoghurt, fruit or a handful of nuts.

And don’t get me wrong, I don’t eat like this 100% of the time. I still love the occasional pizza or burger and chips. But that’s what they are these days. Occasional rather than regular. Julia has a mantra of ‘mostly healthy most of the time’ and that’s served me very well so far. I’ve not been a saint around food but I have substantially cleaned up my diet from where it was last year and that has without a doubt been part of my fat loss success.

I really do love my new clean diet and my body clearly loves it too!

Do you eat clean? What’s your favourite recipe?