I'm so dirty, but I want to be clean! Well, a clean eater!

This weekend was a great time for me to get out there and start helping to explain (and hopefully soon put into action) what has helped me lose 56 lbs since May 2012, break my diet coke addiction, and learning how to eat.  I had a great vendor spot here and got to explain Advocare!

  Buzzword alert, buzzword alert!  Since I started talking about "clean eating" or "eating clean" I've gotten a lot of, awesome! Sooooo, what is that?  Well, I wanted to give y'all a little, simple, breakdown.

Clean Eating: Eating as close to natural as possible (ex.  You love your broccoli, that's awesome..and clean.  Then you add your cheese, butter, salt...Not so clean).

What Clean Eating Is:

* Lots of water or no calorie/no sugar drinks (I love crystal light)

* Unrefined, whole grains

* Lots of yummy veggies and fruits

* Healthy fats: tree nuts, avocados, coconut oils, virgin olive oil, etc

* Avoiding refined sugars

* Eating every 2.5-3 hours

* Avoiding processed foods (try whole foods: whole fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats low fat dairy, unsalted nuts/seeds)

* Balanced meals (balance between carbs and proteins= less junk food cravings)

Why Should I?

* Keeps you stronger and active

* You are not losing nutrients that are processed out

* Lots of essential nutrients

* Helps maintain a healthy weight and can help to reduce your risk of several diseases

* Keeps blood sugar levels regulated and can possibly help reduce cholesterol

* Not as hungry, as fast

* Less junk food cravings

* Helps sleep better and keeps your digestive system regular (yay poop!)

Some of my Favorite Foods:

* Hummus

* Quinoa

* chicken

* Turkey

* Ground chicken/turkey

* almonds (100 calorie packs are great)

* Black Bean Chips (in moderation)

* All Natural Salsa

* Spices (garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, Onion Powder, Chili Powder)

* Avocado

* Grapes

* Watermelon

* PB2

* Apples

* 100% Blue Corn Chips (in moderation)

* Organic brown rice cakes

* Berries

Hope this helps to shed some light onto clean eating.  It is a great way to live.  Like I've said before, 80/20.  What you put in your body is IMPORTANT.  If you have a great workout and then you go have tons of breads, sugars, salts you're not going to be hitting those goals as fast, if ever.  80 % food/ 20% exercise!