If you begin to practice eating clean, you'll see what seems like miraculous changes in your body fat %.
When I refer to eating clean, I mean you consistently eat high quality foods that are basically free of all unnatural additives. Clean foods are those without man-made sugars, hydrogenated fats, trans-fats and other unnecessary ingredients. Although at first glance eating clean might sound boring, if you're creative and pretty good with spices, you'll be surprised at all the clean food you can eat & create that taste really good.
The reason eating clean is so crucial to having a lean body and good health can be explained if you think of your body on a cellular level. Although we don't recognize it with our five senses, every properly functioning cell works together to collectively perform all the large scale functions of a healthy body. You don’t feel outward physical effects from eating one unhealthy meal. But that doesn’t mean the unhealthy meal is not affecting some of your cells. And the effects add up if you continue to fuel your cells with poor quality nutrients over long periods of time (like your entire life).
As more and more cells function without the fuel they need you’ll notice various clues showing up in how you feel overall, you might experience symptoms or warning signs such as a headache, a cold, or the flu. More serious conditions that are becoming prevalent in America are things like atherosclerosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart attacks. These conditions are obviously very serious and even life threatening, the sad thing is they are common in the health of many Americans....You know what else is common, the good old "American Diet"
In stark contrast to “clean eating" is the “American Diet". Fast food, doughnuts, ho-ho’s, greasy hot dogs, white bread with no substance, all of these things have little to no actually nutritional value. There is a substantial body of research indicating that the fast food, deep fried, sugary snack staples we Americans know and love are the cause of the downward trends in our nations health. Is it natural for more than half of an entire country to routinely develop these conditions? I feel the reason these conditions occur is because of prolonged depravation of appropriate nutrients to the cells in our body. The symptoms, both minor and major are signs that your cells aren’t able to do their job. Undoubtedly, genetic dispositions and abnormalities can cause disease, but the most common diseases in America today are directly related to obesity that develops from poor lifestyle choices, including poor nutrition (the “American Diet")
Of course, numerous medical studies site diet, exercise, and a healthy body weight as preventative measures for a myriad of degenerative diseases. Scientific studies prove that clean eating will build healthy cells and therefore a healthy body. Plus when you eat right, you will feel better! Pretend your body is an ultra performance sports car, and the food you eat is the gasoline, oil, and all that other important stuff that fuels the car. What type of fuel do you put into a Lamborghini or Bentley….I’m guessing it’s not going to be unleaded 86 octane. The car won’t perform well unless you fill it with the highest-grade gasoline. Well, your body works the same way and it won’t function effectively or look good if you feed it inferior quality foods.
The basics of eating clean are using a few simple rules for most of your meals each day, all day, every day. If you simple follow the rule of consuming a portion of lean protein (cold water fish, white meat poultry, etc.) in combination with complex carbohydrates (yams, whole wheat bread, etc.) at each meal you'll notice a significant change in how you feel and how you look. In addition, adding fresh fruits and vegetables to each meal will leave you feeling full & healthy! Clean snacks include the apples, fruit & nuts, or chopped veggies with hummus (one of my favorites) the fiber in these snacks satiates hunger pangs; plus fruits and veggies are loaded with beneficial vitamins and nutrients.
Meals or snacks should be eaten at regular two or three hour intervals throughout the day if you are interested in really getting lean. If you are really interested in staying trim, eat more high quality foods regularly throughout the day, this will result in increased overall metabolism, fat loss, and retaining your lean muscle.
Eating clean to stay lean does not mean eating less. In fact, you'll probably eat more than you were before. But now, you will be eating lots of healthy, superior foods that rev up your metabolism and fill you with lots of energy. Tips for eating clean include: preparing healthy foods in advance, having extra chicken breasts, tuna salad and chopped vegetables packed into a Tupperware containers for quick access.
If you have the discipline to eat clean even 80% (90% is best) of the time, you will notice your body becoming lean and tone. You can literally transform your body composition by eating clean. Eating regular, high quality meals supports your metabolic rate and your cells, by providing just the right combination of nutrients to empower your body to perform at the highest level. If you want to look your best & feel your best, you must eat clean!
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