There are so many different fad diets out there now-a-days, how do you know which one is the best? We can’t tell you which fad diet is the best, but we can tell you eating clean is always in style. You can improve your life one meal at a time by eating clean and we can help you do it. Keep reading for more information.
Eating clean isn’t about cleansing, or fasting, or anything like that. It is about adopting a healthy weight loss lifestyle that you can maintain. It’s about balance; eating more of the best and heathiest options in each of the food groups, and less of the unhealthy.
So, you might be asking yourself, where do I even start? On the whole, you should be eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats. You should not be eating refined grains, added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats. Here are a few more tips to help you embrace the clean eating lifestyle.
- Get rid of the processed foods. These are full of sodium that your body doesn’t need. That doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all packaged foods. Items like whole-wheat pasta, baby spinach, and chickpeas are good, “clean” packaged foods. How do you know if the packaged food you have in your cart is a “bad” packaged food? Read the ingredients. If you can’t pronounce, or don’t know where an ingredient came from, chances are it’s not a “clean” packaged food.
- As we said earlier, and as we are sure your parents told you, eat your veggies. Vegetables have many vitamins and fiber that your body needs to function properly.
- Know the difference between good fats and bad fats, and limit the bad fats in your diet. Good fats are in nuts, fish, avocados, and olive oil. Bad fats are in butter, cheese, and meat. These bad fats increase your risk of heart disease.
- Eating clean, also includes drinking clean. If you are eating super healthy all week long but binge drinking alcohol on the weekends, you are undoing all the good work you’ve done during the week. Yes, you can still have alcohol, but it should be limited to one drink per day for women and two for men.
- Limit your sugar intake. Women should only be having 6 teaspoons a day and men should have 9 teaspoons per day.
- Limit your salt intake. Eating a large amount of salts can increase your blood pressure. If you want flavorful food without the salt, marinate your food in herbs, spices, citrus and vinegar.
Healthy eating is just one component of living a healthy lifestyle. If you need help with the exercise portion come visit us at Zip Fitness. We are in the Chicago, IL area and have a plethora of workout equipment at our gym near Chicago, IL you need to help you on your fitness journey. There are also personal trainers available to help you and even tanning deals to keep your summer glow going. We look forward to seeing you soon!