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Tag: clean eating

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Step 5

Quick note from Sarah! This post is 3 weeks late because I dropped the ball. My apologies to Heather and to those of you who were keeping up with Heather’s weekly tips on how to Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating. You can find the links to Steps 1-4 at the end of this post.

Heather Dietel Fitness

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Step 5
by Heather Dietel

Step 5:
Start to meal plan as many meals as possible for the week. Make it easy on yourself and keep it simple.

Sample meal plan for a day:

Breakfast: Shakeology. It is a meal replacement super food shake. It has about 150 calories and full of vitamins. Zero artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners and has a low glycemic index to keep your blood sugar balanced. Never ever have sugar for breakfast. Donuts, sweet cereals, giant bagels etc. Those things start your “oven” off craving more sugar for the rest of the day.

Lunch: Large salad made at home. Filled with fresh spinach, salad mix, tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, raw nuts, boiled egg with homemade dressing or just oil and vinegar. An easy way to eliminate or reduce calories from your diet is to use oil and vinegar vs store bought dressings. Fewer preservatives and usually less sodium. Another thing I leave off of my salads is cheese. It really doesn’t add that much flavor unless you like blue cheese. I’m not a fan of eating things that taste like stinky feet so I leave that type of things off of my food. Sometimes I’ll add extra boiled eggs on top or have a baked sweet potato on the side with a little olive oil.

Snack: green apple with peanut butter or banana and almonds. Or I’ll chop up a cup of veggies and eat some hummus

Dinner: Baked salmon with 2 sides. Sides include spinach, asparagus, broccoli, brown rice, quinoa.

All of this stuff is easy to make. The only time consuming thing may be chopping veggies. I’m telling you to start making small changes and you will decide that eating at home not only tastes better and you save money but you feel better. There are some times we go out to eat and my stomach starts to hurt while we are at the restaurant. My body is not used to eating poorly now. Yours will get that way too. Just watch.

Heather Dietel's Grocery List

Things we rarely buy:
Cheese and other dairy products. Dairy products cause inflammation and other issues. In our son they cause eczema to flare up. As much I love pizza it doesn’t love me. Listen to your body. I used to spend a lot of time in the bathroom and now just the normal amount. Removing sodas and dairy from my diet has worked wonders. Adding more veggies and fruits and taking out the processed foods has also made a huge difference.

What is a processed food? I think you know. If it comes in a box and has a bunch of chemical ingredients for flavor or preservatives then it is processed. Velveeta, chips, lunch meat, bacon, hot dogs, cereals, salad dressings, frozen dinners and more. You get the idea.

One of the easiest ways to kick start any clean eating is to just jump right in. Focus for 3 weeks and really do it. We completed the Beachbody 21 day Ultimate Reset. It gave us everything we needed. Recipes, instructions, grocery lists, and supplements. But if that is not where you want to start that is okay. Take baby steps.

Still lost? Don’t be.

Start with tracking. Figure out where you are and where you want to go. Don’t think about how much weight you need or want to lose. Focus on getting healthy. Focus on only bringing fruits and veggies into your house. Focus on not eating from a menu as much as possible.

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.

Baby Step 1
Baby Step 2
Baby Steps 3 & 4

Heather Dietel Fitness
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.

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Steps 3 & 4

Clean Eating

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 Dietel | Beachbody Coach

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.

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Step 2

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating Step 2

by Heather Dietel

Heather Dietel

Last week I shared Step 1 of how to baby step your way to clean eating.
You can read the full post here.

Step 1: Track what you are doing now.
You must acknowledge what you are eating and drinking now before you can change it. It can be as simple as writing it on a piece of paper or you can get fancy and download an app for your phone. Track it all for 1 full week. Salad dressing, salt, sodas, drive thrus, take out, trips to the vending machine, everything that passes through your lips. Make a note of how you feel throughout the day. Tired, energized, bloated, excited, happy, or whatever. Note this before and after each meal or snack.

Start with tracking. Figure out where you are and where you want to go. Don’t think about how much weight you need or want to lose. Focus on getting healthy. Focus on only bringing fruits and veggies into your house. Focus on not eating from a menu as much as possible.

On to Step 2

Step 2: Pick 2 or 3

Pick 2 or 3 things you are willing to change/give up/reduce for the next week to test your vices. Alcohol, cheese, vending machines, fast food, soda etc. If you go out to eat or get take out 4 times a week then go for 1 time instead of 4. Or if you always get a large fry, get a small. Write down all of the ways you can improve your current plan. If you drink 6 diet cokes a day cut 1 or 2 out ore place them with something else.

I’m happy to help you get started on a targeted nutrition plan or a 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.

Stay tuned for Step 3 of 5 on how to Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating next week.

Heather Dietel

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

Hey POWERFUL women! It’s Sarah. I continue to be inspired by Heather’s success story. She was recently able to quit her full time job back in June, because of her success with Beachbody. She now works her own business full time. Woohoo! I found this post she shared on her website, about taking a leap of faith, so inspiring. I am looking forward to reading even more about how Heather transitioned into healthier eating/fitness habits and being inspired to make some healthier choices myself. Heather will be back again next Friday with Step 3 of Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating. Now to figure out what 2 or 3 things I am going to give up this next week. Since the majority of stuff I put in my mouth is bad for me, this shouldn’t be too hard. What’s it going to be for you? Share in the comments or over on fb. We can encourage each other!

Sarah Boucher blog picture

Sarah Boucher happily encourages women to find their power daily at I Am A Powerful Woman. Come join the conversation there.

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating

Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating

by Heather Dietel

It is my honor to share with you. A little bit about me so you know my background and knowledge on the subject of clean eating. I spent most of my adult life following other people’s dreams for my life. Go to college, get a degree, get a job with benefits and it will all be great. Well it wasn’t great.

I found myself laid off, overweight and in debt.

Long story short I was introduced to Insanity in the summer of 2010 and the decision to order that program changed everything. It introduced me into becoming a coach with Team Beachbody and into a healthier way of living. Not just physically but mentally as well.

I work on my personal development all the time with books, audio, a success partner, and a life coach. Many people struggle because they think they have to fix it themselves or that they are weak if they ask for help. You can’t do your own brain surgery. Why coach yourself? I love being connected with Sarah and her work to support women. The world needs happy, positive, strong, powerful, and confident women. Sarah and I became connected through Sandi Krakowski. We had great conversations and brainstormed ways I could help her community and how she could help mine.

Heather Dietel

One of the things many women struggle with is their physical being. I know I’ve struggled with that very thing for years. It was a vicious cycle. I was tired so I pumped my body full of stimulants and sugars just to stay awake. Then I was too tired to work out from working all day and of course didn’t want to cook dinner so I ate out or ordered take out a lot. The pounds kept packing on. I’d try to do something for a few weeks and then it would get too hard and I wouldn’t see quick enough results, get depressed and quit.

I just didn’t have the right tools to succeed. I was trying to do too much at once and felt overwhelmed and discouraged. I had to be perfect and giving me permission to fail was ridiculous. So instead of trying and failing I just didn’t even try. This basically is failing. I’d see all of these people who loved to work out and run and eat healthy and I wondered why I didn’t feel that way. Who were these alien people who woke up at 5 a.m. to work out?

My 20 year reunion was coming up and I was feeling that heaviness. I didn’t want to walk in feeling depressed. I wanted to finally do something about it. I started to track my food and get control of it. Then I started to workout. The more weight that came off the more I wanted to challenge myself. I started to enter events at the gym to motivate me to succeed. I loved earning the free t-shirts and being on a team to succeed. The accountability was right up my alley.

I was at that point when I knew I needed to step up more or I might fall back into my old habits. That is when I ordered Insanity from a Beachbody coach. I started my 60 days of Insanity and posted about it on facebook. My friends supported me and encouraged me to succeed. After I finished Insanity I signed up for my first 5K, then I jumped right into my first ½ marathon. We slowly transitioned our family from being slugs on Thanksgiving to getting up and running in the Turkey Trot.

What does all of this have to do with clean eating? When is this chick going to get to the point? I promise it is coming soon. You have to know this move to cleaner eating was gradual. You can do it as slowly or quickly as you want. By the end of the year you could be 90% clean eating.

Heather Dietel Before and After

Most health issues are related to inflammation or not a proper balance of pH. Having a highly acidic diet can cause major issues in your body. That is another blog topic.

How do you begin to baby step your way to clean eating when all you know is convenience foods and you are tired?

Step 1: Track what you are doing now.
You must acknowledge what you are eating and drinking now before you can change it. It can be as simple as writing it on a piece of paper or you can get fancy and download an app for your phone. Track it all for 1 full week. Salad dressing, salt, sodas, drive thrus, take out, trips to the vending machine, everything that passes through your lips. Make a note of how you feel throughout the day. Tired, energized, bloated, excited, happy, or whatever. Note this before and after each meal or snack.

Start with tracking. Figure out where you are and where you want to go. Don’t think about how much weight you need or want to lose. Focus on getting healthy. Focus on only bringing fruits and veggies into your house. Focus on not eating from a menu as much as possible.

I’m happy to help you get started on a targeted nutrition plan or a 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.

Stay tuned for Step 2 of 5 on eating cleaner.

Heather Dietel

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.

Hey POWERFUL women! It’s Sarah. I am so inspired by Heather’s success story. She was recently able to quit her full time job, because of her success with Beachbody and now works her own business full time. Woohoo! I am looking forward to reading more about how Heather transitioned into healthier eating/fitness habits and being inspired to make some healthier choices myself. Heather will be back next Friday with step 2 of Baby Step Your Way to Clean Eating.
Sarah Boucher blog picture
Sarah Boucher happily encourages women to find their power daily at I Am A Powerful Woman. Come join the conversation there.