Are you interested in transitioning to a clean eating lifestyle?
Not sure where to start or perhaps it just looks too overwhelming. Well today we’re going to be discussing 4 small changes you can easily make to help begin your transition to a Clean Eating Lifestyle
How many times have you gone to bed after demolishing yet another bag of chips, telling yourself…
OK Self! Tomorrow is the day you’re going to finally start your new Clean Eating Lifestyle
Only to change your mind just a few hours later when you wake up. By the time you’ve lifted your head off your pillow, you’ve already convinced yourself that you just don’t feel like making breakfast or that it’s just so much easier to grab that doughnut or muffin when you grab you morning coffee. Or perhaps you’ve negotiated with yourself, choosing to skip making breakfast altogether for that extra 20 minutes sleep!
While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should give up on the clean eating lifestyle just yet.
When it comes to transitioning to a healthy clean eating lifestyle some people can dive right in and are comfortable with massive changes, while others need baby steps. I decided to write todays post for those of you out there who are interested in transitioning to a healthier clean eating lifestyle but may need to take things a bit more slowly.
Before we even get to those baby steps, I’d like to share a few pointers that may help make your transition to living and following a clean eating lifestyle even that much easier, whether you’re looking at diving into this lifestyle head first or taking baby steps keep the following in mind:
Staying active and following a healthy clean eating lifestyle is critical for long-term health and wellness — remember the saying
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize the clean eating lifestyle meal plan that’s right for you.
When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you’re informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel.
This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.
In other words, following a clean eating lifestyle equals a fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.
Now let’s get to those 4 baby steps to help you transition to a clean eating lifestyle
1. Just Remove One Sugary Drink a Day
As I mentioned above, some people have that “jump out of the airplane” “ALL In” No turning back attitude, while others prefer to start with small changes first. By simply picking one area that you want to improve on and figure out how to do it, transitioning to a clean eating lifestyle just won’t seem so overwhelming and daunting.
For example, you could replace one juice, soda or energy drink with water for a certain amount of time. Then once you’ve got the hang of that, simply continue to eliminate those sugary drinks one at a time until you’ve eliminated them completely from your diet.
There’s no timeframe for this as you’ve really got the rest of your life. If it takes you a week to eliminate a drink, so be it!
I’d also suggest not getting rid of all your groceries and replacing everything all at once. That would be expensive and overwhelming to do. Instead pick an area and improve on it daily until you’ve mastered it.
My wife has tried just about every fad diet plan out there in an attempt to lose weight, so I can definitely say I’ve stood over a garbage can in front of my fridge “purging” at least once.
When I first transitioned to a Paleo Lifestyle in 2013, I found it quite overwhelming. However, I simply began eliminating one thing at a time and before I knew it I wasn’t missing bread or dairy or any of the other food items you’re not supposed to eat following a Paleo Lifestyle.
2. Switch from Canned Food to Either Frozen or Fresh
Fresh is always a preferred choice here at Home Cooked Chef, simply because of the meals I’ve come to repeatedly prepare and eat. Like breakfast for example. I’ll eat a few eggs and a couple slices of bacon for breakfast every morning with a side serving of fresh fruit, usually consisting of a few pineapple chunks, a small handful of blueberries and a diced up strawberry and 1/2 an avocado.
Throwing frozen berries onto my breakfast plate and either crunching down on ice berries or waiting and slurping the mush that used to be berries off my plate.
Meh…not my thang…!
Now I know what you’re thinking…what about smoothies?
Well…living on the Atlantic coast of Canada here in the Maritimes, it can get pretty cold in the winter months. Ain’t nobody got time for a frozen smoothie when it’s -35 and snowing sideways!
For me the decision to use either fresh or frozen fruits or vegetables all totally depends on how I am going to be using either the fruit or vegetable. If I’ve decided to have steamed broccoli for supper, Id sooner have frozen vegetables as I know they have retained more of their nutrients.
This post is supposed to be all about baby steps and here I am rambling on about which is better fresh or frozen. Listen, make sure you bookmark this page for later cause you’re going to want to check out this video that Thomas DeLauer did about which is better fresh or frozen. The answer might surprise you.
All that to say, whichever one you choose, be it fresh or frozen…they’re both pretty identical. What I do suggest however, is you stop buying your fruits and vegetables from the canned food aisle. By making that switch You’ll quickly find the the taste is better and you won’t lose the nutrients.
3. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
You’ll want to buy a variety of fruits and vegetables. There are many that are easy to carry such as bananas, apples, oranges, carrots and celery.
But others will need a little bit of prep work ahead of time. What I usually do is cut or prepare my fruits and vegetables ahead of time. I usually do this during my meal prep session which is normally Sunday.
You’re going to need to get some snack bags and put a serving in each one. I then put the baggies into the bottom part of my fridge. These fruit and veggie “go bags” are super easy to make and really convenient for quickly adding to your breakfast or throwing them into your lunch bag for a mid morning fruit snack or mid afternoon veggie sticks snack. The best part of making these is that they’re so much better for you then that afternoon coffee and doughnut.
4. Make Salad in a Jar
Know I know what you’re probably thinking…
But they’ll get all gross and soggy before the end of the week.
Surprisingly enough this is just not the case. I know I was pretty stoked when I tried it myself. Salads stay fresher, longer when they are put inside of a wide mouthed Mason jar. The trick is to layer them correctly.
The wet ingredients get put on the bottom and then the lettuce or spinach is on the top. I usually put my spiralized carrots and whole cherry tomatoes at the bottom. This way it’ll help you’re salad stay as fresh and “firm” as possible.
I felt the saying “every new journey starts with a single step” fit perfectly here. By starting with these small baby steps, transitioning to a clean eating lifestyle should be slow and steady. By simply implementing the baby steps mentioned above and not jumping straight in and changing everything overnight, it’ll give you time to comfortably transition into your new healthier clean eating lifestyle .