Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Steps 3 & 4
by Heather Dietel
If you haven’t checked out steps 1 & 2 you can find those at the links below.
Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating
Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Step 2
You get an EXTRA tip today!!!
Step 3: Get the “BAD” Stuff Out of the House.
Don’t give me the “it’s for the kids” BS. If you use junk food as a treat then make it a real treat. Only allow 1 item to be in the house at a time. We allow our son to pick out 1 item at the grocery store. It is not the norm to have cookies, cake, candy, ice cream, chips and that kind of thing in our pantry.
Don’t eat it all. Seriously start to give it away. Food banks, neighbors, or family.
Stop buying it. I don’t care if they are handing it out for free. Leave it at the store.
How often are you “treating” yourself? How many times do you say it is for the kids or the guests and really you are the one doing it? If that item is calling your name and you can’t control yourself then get rid of it or ask your family to hide it.
Another tip is not to buy in bulk. Don’t go to Costco and buy a 3 pound bag of chocolate because you save $4. Get individual serving sizes and only eat 1 serving. Then you must consciously grab a second serving and not just a handful.
Cleaner eating and conscious eating is the plan. Grazing on food and snacking on the quick and easy it mindless. If it is not there you will not eat it. If you have a bowl full of fruit on the counter and food prepped ready to go it will be just as easy to grab.
Snack ideas for you and the kids:
Frozen grapes
Apples with peanut butter
Mixed nuts with small chocolate chips and raisins
Hummus and chopped veggies
Air popped popcorn
Shakeology balls (I’ll share that recipe another time. Great grab and go healthy snack)
Moving on…
Step 4: Swap things.
Replace things you determined are bad with good things. Replace bad habits with good ones. Weight loss is mental more than physical most of the time. If you feel deprived you will not stick with it. If you feel it is temporary or too hard you will not stick with it.
How can you swap things?
I love pizza. Instead of ordering pizza every week now we will make one at home. I’ll buy some vegan or gluten free crusts in the freezer section so each family member can create their own. Load them up with veggies and very little cheese. Sometimes we will even buy the vegan cheese. It doesn’t melt very well but it is decent.
Take a look at your daily menu. What can you reduce or swap? Do you order a large diet coke? Start getting a small. Do you eat a basket of bread before the meal arrives and barely eat your meal? Start splitting a meal with someone or challenge yourself to not eat the bread. I like to take the pieces I’m going to eat, place them on the plate in front of me and when it is gone that is it.
Diet drinks should really be eliminated from your diet. I keep pointing to Google for research but it is true. They do not add nutritional value and most of the time have cancer causing agents in them and they end up making you unhealthy. Start swapping those sodas out for water. Don’t use the flavored water. That is just as bad as a diet drink. Artificial colors and flavors and sweeteners shouldn’t be a part of your daily life. On occasion you might not be able to avoid them but as a daily thing you should do your best to keep them away. If you are drinking more than one start swapping one out for water each week until you are down to 0.
A couple of other suggestions…
Try brown rice pasta or spaghetti squash instead of regular white flour pasta.
Try sprouted grain products (usually in the freezer section) over regular bread and tortillas to reduce sugars, flour and gluten.
Look at your food choices. What could you remove or swap out for something healthier? I will begin to feature a swap suggestions posts on my facebook page weekly to help keep you educated in that area. I have tons of suggestions and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.
I’ll be back next week with the fifth step in Baby Stepping Your Way to Clean Eating. If you feel stuck or need extra support, I’m happy to help you get started on a targeted nutrition plan or get you in an accountability group to help you stay on track. It is my mission to help people get healthy and fit. I’ve been the unhealthy person and I know how it felt. I want everyone to feel as good as I do now and know it is a lifestyle.
Create your free account and reach out to me today.
Heather spent most of her adult life miserable, lazy, unmotivated and overweight. Beachbody helped her reach a new level in her life physically, financially, and mentally. Now she wants to share her success with family and friends and help as many people as possible achieve great results. You can connect with her through her website Heather Dietel Fitness and her facebook page.
