Easy Guide to Clean Eating for Beginners

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Clean eating can seem hard, boring, and expensive. Many people think they can only eat plain chicken and rice. But, it doesn’t have to be that way! You can enjoy your food and eat clean at the same time.

When starting to eat clean, it might feel like your choices are limited. Some people start to have a bad relationship with food. Eating becomes a chore. This guide will show you how to eat clean without feeling like you’re missing out. You’ll discover that eating clean is not just about food choices. It’s also about making small changes that make it easier to eat healthy long-term.

What is Clean Eating?

Clean eating isn’t about starving yourself. It’s about giving your body what it needs and less of what it doesn’t.

Your body has five main needs:

• Carbs: These give you energy to keep going all day.
• Protein: This helps your muscles, skin, hair, and organs grow and repair themselves.
• Fats: Your body uses healthy fats for energy, nutrient absorption, and hormones. They also help your skin and hair stay healthy.
• Micronutrients: These are vitamins and minerals that help with eyesight, metabolism, muscle repair, and strong bones.
• Water: Your body is mostly water. Staying hydrated is a big part of clean eating.

If you eat balanced meals, you’ll get the right amount of everything your body needs. Your plate should have:

• Carbs from bread, rice, quinoa, or potatoes
• Protein from chicken, seafood, lentils, or oats
• Fats from oils, nuts, or avocado
• Fiber from vegetables, fruits, and whole grains

How Much Should You Eat?

Eating clean also means giving your body the right amount of calories. Eating too much or too little is not eating clean. There are many calorie calculators online to help you estimate how much you need. However, you don’t always need to count calories or follow a strict diet.

A medium-sized bowl of food is about 500 to 800 calories. Three meals like that would be around 1,500 to 2,400 calories. If you eat in moderation and balance your meals with carbs, proteins, and fats, you’ll be in a healthy range.

Tips for Eating Clean Every Day

It can be hard to eat clean if you don’t like vegetables or grains. If you force yourself to eat foods you don’t like, you might crave junk food even more. This is why many diets don’t work. It’s important to start slowly and switch to healthy foods that you still enjoy.

Try to eat three healthy meals each day and maybe two snacks in between. Use the PAT system to decide if a food is healthy or not:

• P stands for processed
• A stands for artificial
• T stands for too much

Processed Foods: Processed foods aren’t always bad. But, processed carbs and trans fats can be unhealthy. Processed carbs often have added sugars and can raise your blood sugar quickly. Trans fats from fried foods can raise your bad cholesterol and cause you to gain weight.

Artificial Foods: These foods have chemicals and food dyes. They might look good, but they don’t do much for your body. Avoid foods with bright, unnatural colors or a chemical taste.

Too Much: This is about portion control. You can still have a cookie sometimes, but don’t eat too many. This also applies to healthy foods. Even if you’re eating salads, eating too much is not clean eating. Also, try to avoid foods with too much salt, sugar, or alcohol.

When choosing what to eat, always go for the least processed, most natural option with the right portion. The PAT rule can help you decide what’s healthy and what’s not.

Easy Food Swaps

Finding healthy swaps for processed foods is key. This way, you can still enjoy many of the foods you like. You don’t have to cut out everything completely.

Here are some easy swaps:

• Instead of deep-fried French fries, try air-fried fries.
• Instead of packaged potato chips, try homemade sweet potato chips.
• Instead of ice cream, try frozen yogurt or frozen fruit bowls.
• Instead of pizza with processed meats, go for a thin crust with lots of veggies.
• Instead of soda, swap it out for juice.

Clean eating is about getting more healthy foods and less unhealthy foods.

Staying Consistent

The real challenge is staying consistent and maintaining this lifestyle long-term. Here are some ways to make it easier:

• Plan for one day at a time. Planning for a whole week can be tricky. Just plan for one day and keep it flexible. For example, you could just plan for Italian food without picking a specific dish.
• Prep the basics. Instead of prepping entire meals, just get the basics ready. Chop your veggies and marinate your protein. You can pre-boil your grains like rice, quinoa, or lentils and store them in the fridge.

Make the Change

Eating clean is a commitment, but your body will thank you for it. Make small changes and find healthy swaps for your favorite foods. Plan your meals and prep the basics to make it easier to stay consistent. You can enjoy your food and eat clean at the same time!

Ready to start your clean eating journey? Take the first step today and begin making healthier choices!

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Centre for Health Protection – Principles of Healthy Eating

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