5 Reasons Why We Do Not Eat Clean
1. Marketing of popular products means we believe that healthy foods cost more.2. Cultural habit, we always buy the same things every week
3. Fast Food is too easy to get hold of
4. We are addicted to sugar and our evolutionary nutrition habits makes us salivate when we smell fat; think chip smell
5. We are not encouraged enough to eat the right foods
6 Ways to Eat Clean easily
1. Shop at your local farmers market. The key is to buy what's in season (not what's out of season) Or invest in a veg box scheme, use your local farm shop and no that isn't the gourmet farm shops that are currently springing up in all the local villages. We are talking potato sacks and mud!
a. Buy fresh fruits.
b. Buy fresh produce.
2. Shop in bulk, cook in bulk and freeze healthy meals. This requires a little bit of planning a cooking marathon but the dividends on your waistline will pay off in the long term.
3. Stop eating out! You save lots of money when you cook your own food. Meet for a coffee or a drink instead, non-alcoholic of course!
4. Eat less meat. With meat prices on the rise, you can free up your budget for more fruit and veggies. Many beans offer great sources of protein. Or the money you save means you can buy higher quality, leaner and organic meat.
5. Use vouchers - groupon and supermarket loyalty cards e.g. nectar, my waitrose which incidently goves you a free hot drink everyday!
6. Follow the mantra if it didn't swim, grow or fly or come from something that did - don't eat it! Think natural - filtered water is the best drink you can have! Base your diet around these principles and you will glow from the inside out!
It can help you:
a. lose weight. b. feel great.
c. fight illness and decrease your chances of disease
d. reduce cravings.
How Does It Benefit You to Eat Clean?
1. You have better weight management.2. You sleep better.
3. Better mood.
4. Increase your energy.
5. You look and feel better.
6. You improve your digestion.
7. Better mental focus
And then add a regular lotuslite and you'll be on top of the world!
Culinary tips for staying slim
1. RETHINK YOUR COLOUR SCHEME
Fast-food restaurants use red shades, which are thought to have stimulating effects on your body, say colour experts, so the theory goes that you may find you make impulsive food choices when faced with these colours in your kitchen. Stick to muted tones instead, and try using blue or black plates - apparently diners eat less and are more satisfied when they eat off dark-coloured plates. This may be because blue is an unnatural colour for food - we may even unconsciously associate it with mould - and so it may affect your perception of how food tastes on the plate.
2. INVEST IN A SLOW COOKER
Fitness guru Joanna Hall, author of The Weight-Loss Bible(Kyle Cathie, £19.99), swears by them, and says that having a healthy dinner waiting for you will steer you away from fast food or fatty snacks on the journey home. 'Toss chicken breasts, a bag of frozen carrots, chopped onions and a jar of low-salt sauce into a slow cooker before you leave for work - your meal will be ready when you get home.'
3. BINGE-PROOF YOUR ENVIRONMENT
● Don't watch TV as you eat: A study in the British Journal Of Nutrition found that eating when distracted makes you gobble more. Instead, listen to relaxing music, which is more likely to slow down the pace at which you eat, giving you more time for your food to hit your stomach, and making you eat less.
● Hang a mirror opposite the table: In studies, people who were able to watch themselves while eating reduced their intake by almost a third. Or alternatively eat your dinner in your bikini! That will soon reduce your portion size
4. MAKE FRIENDS WITH HOMEMADE READY MEALS - AND YOUR FREEZER
Keeping a couple of healthy ready meals in your freezer by cooking and freezing portions of healthy meals is a great way of keeping calories under control, according to the journal Obesity Research. Also, a constant supply of frozen veg means you have filling, nutritious greens on tap.
6. RESTOCK YOUR SPICE RACK
Herbs, spices and other seasoning adds flavour, often with very few calories - and some, such as chilli, can even help boost your metabolism by as much as 50%. 'Powerful smells and tastes help enhance sensory-specific satiety, and tell your brain "I'm full",' says Dr Alan Hirsch at the Smell & Taste Treatment And Research Foundation in Chicago, US. In studies, people who sprinkled calorie-free special seasonings on their food lost about 15% of their bodyweight in six months as the seasonings made them feel full faster. Choose mustard, balsamic vinegar, wasabi and horseradish, which add flavour without a calorie blast.
7. CHOOSE FAT-REDUCING GADGETS
Switching to low-fat, low-calorie cooking techniques is easier if you have the right equipment, according to dietitian Jane Kirby of the American Dietetic Association and author of Dieting For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, £14.99). She recommends the following tools...
● Non-stick pans: To reduce oil use.
● Refillable pump oil bottles: Spritzing uses less oil than pouring it on. You can load it with salad dressing, too, for calorie conserving blasts.
● A gravy strainer: This is a measuring cup with a spout at the bottom. Use it to skim the fat off sauces, casseroles and soups.
8. KEEP YOUR EGG TRAY FULL
'Eggs are a fast, nourishing meal or snack,' says nutrition expert Janine Whiteson, co-author of Get A Real Food Life (Rodale, £14.98). She recommends keeping a few hard-boiled ones in the fridge for a quick and easy protein-rich nibble. Also, research from Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, US, found that volunteers who ate an egg breakfast every day while cutting back on calories elsewhere lost an average of 6lb in eight weeks, compared with 3.5lb for their non-egg eating counterparts, and they also trimmed their waists 83% more.
9. Keep your man away from the cooker!
Research from Newcastle University shows that women tend to eat more fatty and sugary foods when they move in with their partner, resulting in an average weight gain of 4lb in the first year of living together. If such gains continue, women can be more than a stone heavier within four years. When men are cooking, they tend to use more fatty ingredients, prepare more meat-based dishes and use less healthy cooking methods, such as frying rather than grilling. So, volunteer to do the shopping and cooking yourself, or together, and don't be swayed by his preference for high-fat meals and takeaways.
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