Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Eat Clean Diet

I've had quite a few people ask me questions about the eating plan that I follow so I thought I would write a post about it.  The eating plan I'm doing is The Eat Clean Diet and it was developed by Tosca Reno.  You can find her site here http://eatcleandiet.com/ and her blog can be found here http://eatcleandiet.blogspot.com/.  I decided to follow this plan because I had fallen off the wagon bad with my eating and I needed something to get me back on track.  This program is very structured which I really like and so far everything I've eaten has been delicious. 

The goal of this program is to eat as clean as possible by eating foods that are as close to the way nature made them.  That means you try to avoid processed foods that contain chemicals, pesticides and preservatives.  Another goal of this program is to eat 5 to 6 times a day, every 2 to 3 hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable.  You also combine a lean protein with a carbohydrate at every meal which keeps you satisfied and fuller longer.  An added benefit is the increase in energy once you start taking care of your body by eating healthy foods.

There are 5 categories that your foods are divided up into: lean proteins, starchy carbs, fibrous carbs, simple carbs and fats.  Below I list examples of what can be found in each category, there are alot more foods in each of these categories but this will give you an idea of what you can eat.

Lean Protein
Cottage cheese
Eggs/egg whites
White fish such as tilapia and Mahi-Mahi
Chicken and turkey breast
Lean red meats such as filet mignon and beef tenderloin
Tofu
Salmon

Starchy Carbs
Oatmeal
Brown Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Beans such as black, kidney, garbanzo and lima
Lentils
Whole wheat bread and wraps
Quinoa

Fibrous Carbs
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
Peppers
Asparagus
Zucchini
Brussel sprouts
Carrots
Cabbage

Simple Carbs
Apple
Orange
Canteloupe
Banana
Peaches
Grapes
Strawberries
Honey

Fat
Nuts
Olive Oil
Flaxseed
Seeds
Nut butters
Avocado
Full fat cheeses

You may have wondered why I gave each group above a different color but thats because there is an easy color coding system that goes along with this plan.  Each group is given a color and this makes it easier to see if you have gotten your servings in for the day.  Here are the servings you are allowed:  Lean protein is given the color blue and you are allowed to have 5 servings a day, starchy carbs are the color red and you can have 2 servings, fibrous carbs are green and you get 5 a day, simple carbs are purple and you are allowed 2 a day and fats are the color orange and you get 2 servings a day.  You don't have to use the color coding system but it does make it alot easier for me to see if I'm getting in everything I need everyday.

The only other recommendations that this plan makes is to drink at least 8 cups of water a day and to get in some exercise.  On the Eat Clean diet website you will find a forum which is wonderful for anyone starting out because you can ask plenty of questions and everyone has been super helpful to me.  I hope this helps some of you who maybe looking for a new plan to try or just need something to get you back in the swing of things.  Good luck and if you have any questions just ask.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for this post. I try to eat clean, but it's just what I "know" to be clean, which is basically not packaged and not fast food. I am very interested in this plan and will take a look.

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  2. Thank you for sharing some links to Eating Clean! This is a very useful post!! :) I am glad that you are liking it!!

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  3. Thanks for sharing this info. It looks great to me. I'm thinking of trying it when I feel like I need to change things up.

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  4. This is really interesting! Thanks for breaking it down! I've got some 'clean' recipes on my blog if that helps :)

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  5. So when you do it this way, you don't have to count calories? That sounds great! Very balanced and healthy. So what are you looking at my Mocha Toffee Brownies for? LOL! ;)

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  6. wow that is close to the plan my trainer has me on. But we can not eat startchy carbs every 3 day. do you have eat so many grams of protein each day or no?

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  7. Thanks everyone, glad you are liking the plan.

    Veronica you can have a cheat meal once a week and brownies would be the perfect cheat....lol.

    Cub's Den I had one lady on the forum tell me that aiming for 1 gram of protein per pound you weigh is about the right amount, but you really don't have to count anything on this plan. I have figured up my nutritional info a couple times just to make sure I'm still on track and it turned out to be a very balanced plan.

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  8. Most of this book's recommendations are familiar to me now that I've been reading and experimenting with healthy cookbooks for a while. It's a bit more stringent on the no-fat requirement than I'm used to, but it's all about good carbs, good fats, and combining carbs with lean protein to keep us feeling full. Where Agatston's South Beach Diet recommends three meals with careful snacking between, Ms. Reno replaces that with five or six small meals spaced throughout the day.

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