Clean Eating

It may be surprising with this particular title,  but this blog entry isn't about the kids.

I have been trying a new way of eating for the past few days.  It is called Clean Eating.  For those of you who haven't heard of it, Clean Eating at its most basic level is eating foods as close to the source as possible.  Think, lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, meats and natural dairy products.  If the food has been messed with, like has had tons of additives, colors, sugars, and even preservatives, it is not considered Clean.  According to the Eat Clean diet plan, I eat six times per day, and the meals and snacks always include a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate.  This eating style definitely views food as fuel, not a way to entertain, pacify, or treat yourself.  Also, refined sugar is basically the devil.  No refined sugars or flours are allowed.  Ever!!

So how on earth did I stumble upon this diet plan?  I was shuffling through Target the other day, noticing how awful I felt and looked.  I haven't felt energized, joyful, or fully rested for about two years now.  Hmmmmm.....the twins are two years old, I wonder if there's a correlation?  No, it couldn't be.

Anyway, I always take a good solid look at the book department.  Since Target and Costco are pretty much the only places here to buy books, other than ordering on Amazon, Target gets a lot of my business.  I was looking at cookbooks, which I happen to collect (you'd think I'd make the connection: why, oh why can't I lose this weight?  Oooooh!  A cookbook all about cheesy, gooey comfort food?  I'll take it!), and before I could grab the 365 Ways to Make Macaroni and Cheese, there it was.

Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Re-Charged!  The author, Tosca, has a pretty incredible story.  Long story short, she had been pretty thin her whole life, gained weight over three pregnancies, then as a 40 year old mom, decided to shuck her old lifestyle and mom jeans to become a professional bodybuilder!  I kid you not.  At 42 she entered a body building/fitness contest!  She is now 50 and looks 30.  OK, better than 30, since I'm 30, but after all the stretching my poor skin has done in the last five years, I am certainly not even close to a model for a thirty year old figure.

She became my new role model before I'd even bought the book.  Just staring at her face in the bottom of my cart made me walk a little straighter.

So I've been following her whole Eat Clean ideology for six days now.  I have lost 4 1/2 pounds and I feel so good!  I still wake up a little groggy, since it's not possible to get enough sleep around here, but once I am out of bed, I am charged up and full of energy!  I sit straighter, voluntarily do lunges around the house, and complete a full sit-up routine once per day.  My eyes see sharper, my skin feels softer and looks clearer, and my stomach is flatter!

I know this is only six days, but it's amazing what effect this has had on my life so far.  I haven't had refined sugar or flour or soda for six days.  I have been able to stay away from processed foods almost completely.  I went to the grocery store today and had a totally different experience.  I loaded up the cart with tons of veggies and fruits, non-fat plain yogurt, lean ground turkey and bison (which she recommends, I am kind of scared, but I'm going to try it!), eggs, brown rice, and more of my new healthy staples.

I came home and made a homemade beef stew chock full of squash, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, celery and potato.  The kids loved it!!!  G actually asked for seconds!  E ate every bite!  Cubby gobbled up every veggie without a single complaint!  J.D. was the only hold-out.  He preferred the warm buttermilk biscuits to the homemade stew, but hey,  I got three out of four!!

I actually felt kind of guilty knowing that the kids would so easily eat the veggie laden soup.  I have been making quesadillas and chicken nuggets for years now thinking that's all they'd eat!  Ugh.  OK, the guilt is gone, I'm moving onwards and upwards!!