Clean Eating

I had a colleague once say (and I couldn't agree more) that working out is the easy part of a healthy lifestyle. Anyone can incorporate exercise into their daily routine. Adding 30-60 minutes of exercise a day really isn't SOOO much to ask. Right?? :/ But the tough part of creating a healthy lifestyle is altering your diet and conditioning your brain to feed your body with things that are better for you. Once you get into a routine of eating certain bad foods, a certain amount, or at certain times, it can be really difficult to change those habits -- I struggle with this too!

After eating huge meals in college and eating all. the. time, I got accustomed to large portion sizes and the idea that my metabolism would burn off all of those calories. Oh, Ashley, how naive you are. The sad truth is that I'm not training as often or as rigorously as I was in college -- my body may have needed all that fuel at the time but it doesn't anymore. I used to be on the field for anywhere from 5-6 hours a day with an additional hour and a half for weights and/or conditioning. Six days a week! This combined with classes, meetings, etc... I was always active and on the move! Things definitely slowed down once I got into the "real world" and found myself at a desk for hours upon hours a day. Yuck. (I honestly hate desk jobs but what can you do?) So I learned to adjust my portion sizes to not be 3 plates/meal. I also have about 5-6 meals/day as opposed to the 3 meals/day I had in college. Believe it or not, I'm still just as hungry just as often as when I was in college. Ha! I guess the body liked operating that way! ...what can I say? This girl loves to eat.

So what did I do to break out of my old routine? I first had to realize that I couldn't eat whatever and whenever I wanted anymore. I was no longer on a strict and rigorous training schedule that required me to significantly increase my calorie consumption. Food is fuel for your body and I no longer needed as much as before. I started by taking baby steps and making small changes at a time.

If you're trying to break some bad habits, it's important to take baby steps so you don't get overwhelmed, give up, and fall right back into your old unhealthy ways. Alter a few things about your diet to begin with and then gradually add more and more until it becomes your new routine and you can't ever imagine going back to those unhealthy habits.

I like to find healthy substitutions for a lot of my favorite foods. Pizzas, cakes, cookies... those are all things I still love having and I didn't want to completely deprive myself of them. I'll allow myself some cheat meals every now and then but there are also PLENTY of healthy alternatives to these unhealthy staples. Healthy versions and recipes can be found by simply Googling them. I usually stay away from butter and try to use recipes without white flour. :)

Here is a list of adjustments you can make in addition to a grocery list of healthy options to replace anything unhealthy in your cupboards or refrigerator. :)

*Drink LOTS of water! -- Shoot for at least 10 large, full glasses a day
*Start your day with one glass of water before eating anything
*Stay away from sugary beverages
*Try to incorporate green tea into your diet -- it's a great metabolism booster!
*Strive to eat 5-6 small-medium sized meals a day instead of 3 big ones
*Cut out simple carbohydrates
*If you eat a lot of red meat, try to limit that consumption to only on the weekend, or a few times a week
*Stock your home with only healthy foods/snacks
*Substitute your current snacks with fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt, etc...
*Start your lunch and dinner with greens
*EAT A RAINBOW -- incorporate colorful fruits and veggies into your meals

Grocery List

Proteins:
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
Lean Ground Turkey
Salmon
Tilapia
Tofu
Garbanzo, Kidney, Black Beans
Greek Yogurt
Cottage Cheese

Vegetables:
Broccoli
Asparagus
Spinach
Kale
Cucumber
Brussels Sprouts
Peppers
Tomatoes

Complex Carbohydrates:
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Bread
Sweet Potatoes
Yams
Oats
Quinoa (also very high in protein)

Healthy Fats:
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Nuts
Raw Almond Butter
Avocado

Drinks:
Water
Coconut Water
Almond Milk
Green Tea

Snacks:
Nuts
Fruits
Vegetables
Roasted Seaweed
Wheat Rice Cakes
Butter-free, salt-free, sugar-free popcorn

These are obviously just some of the basics. There are plenty more options for you to consider in each of these categories. And you can mix things up to create some more fun and flavorful healthy meal and snack options but this should give you a good idea of what your should fill that shopping cart with. :) If you can start with a small change like switching from simple to complex carbohydrates (i.e. White to Brown Rice) then that's getting you one step closer to adjusting that lifestyle!

Remember, you're body is the machine that needs to be fed. And it's worth the best type of fuel. <3