Clean eating is a topic that regularly crops up in personal trainer discussion, and, more often than not, it gets a pretty bad rap.
Not that PTs are against healthy eating, but the "clean eating" label tends to conjure up a dogmatic approach to eating that can lead to an unhealthy mindset...
If some foods are clean, then others must be dirty.
If some food is good, then some must be bad.
If I eat bad food, then I must be bad.
Personally, I'm a big fan of clean eating, but I'm not a fan of labels. So, as with most diets, I prefer to look beyond the label to see what's really going on.
In simple terms, clean eating is essentially knowing what foods are made of and picking the healthiest food you can. Usually, it involves whole food or finding food closest to its natural form.
The goal of eating clean is to take most processed foods out of your current diet. To do this, you’ll have to learn how to read labels (actual labels on packets) and recognise the ingredients, including preservatives and additives.
All packaged food is not bad. So when you look at the ingredients, make sure you recognise what they are. If not, move on.
You’ll eat less sugar and salt. By cutting out most of your processed food, you’ll naturally get rid of a lot of the sugar and salt you are bringing into your body. Companies use sugar in packaged goods to make them taste good and salt to make them last longer on the shelves.
Instead of refined food such as cereals, white bread and white sugar, start eating more unrefined goods. Less processed options include whole grains, oats and legumes.
Switch from unhealthy fat to healthy fat whenever you can. Remember that not all fat is bad for you. In fact, some fat is essential to your body operating at its optimal performance.
Healthy fat can be found in oils such as coconut and olive. But that isn’t the only place to find healthy fats; you can also find them in avocados, whole nuts and seeds and even animal fats in moderation.
Clean eating is also, usually, about consuming five to six small meals a day. When doing this, you’ll need to figure out what portion sizes are so that you’re not overeating.
If you start eating this many meals daily and don’t respect your portion size, you’ll most likely start to gain weight.
Don’t drink your calories. Eliminate sugary drinks from your diet. This means juice, energy drinks, sodas and sports drinks. Even protein drinks can have a ton of sweeteners and additives, so should be taken in moderation.
This goes hand in hand with the previous statement. Drink more water. You should be drinking at least 64 ounces (2 litres) of water daily.
Get your body moving more every day. This is especially important for anyone who sits at work a lot. You need to make sure you're taking breaks and going for a walk or getting up to stretch.
Research now says that getting any exercise every day is more beneficial than a hard gym session three times a week. Your body will thank you for it, and you’ll feel much better for doing it.
As you can see, clean eating is more about healthy lifestyle choices.
Eating less processed food so that you’re not putting artificial ingredients into your body that you don’t know what they are or what they do.
Eating more whole food that hasn't been stripped of essential nutrients.
Cutting out foods that are toxic for your body if you consume too much, like salt, sugar and unhealthy fats.
Don't get caught up in the clean eating arguments. Don't live with an all or nothing mindset that usually ends in nothing when trying too hard fails.
And whatever you do, don't fall into the guilt trap. If you do eat food that doesn't fall under the "clean eating" label, that's ok. Own your decision, accept that it's only a small part of the bigger picture and resolve to do better next time. Or not.
I highly recommend a "cleaner" eating approach, but only when it's from a place of understanding and kept in context.
Changing will take effort on your part, as well as dedication to yourself and your health.
Know that you are worth it and decide to make some changes. You are worth it, and so is your health.
