Good Eating Habits to Cultivate for Health and Fat Loss
Eating clean can be the most beneficial habit you can cultivate in your life.
The biochemical environment in the body resulting from eating clean immediately forces the body to burn off body fat. It also helps clean out your system, giving you a more healthy outlook, and bountiful energy.
Get in the Habit of Eating Clean
There's no official definition of Eating Clean, but I'm going to lay out my personal definition, and offer up some “principles of eating clean” for you to follow.
My definition of eating clean is “a consistent diet of fat burning foods that are of the highest nutritional value, and have little or no artificial or filler nutrients”.
Eating High Nutritional Value Foods
Highest nutritional value would be foods that contain ample amounts of high quality proteins, healthy fats that help you lost weight and slow burning, low glycemic carbohydrates.
They also contain proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
Good Eating Habits to Cultivate for Health and Fat Loss
1) Avoid all processed foods, and pretty much anything that comes in a box.
These things are often loaded with fat and sugar. Even if they offer “sugar- free” or “fat- free” versions, it's still junk.
The chemicals used to keep the cookies or chips on the shelf are foreign substances to the body, and are potentially harmful.
2) Eat fruits and fibrous vegetables as close to their original form as possible.
No juicing or blending. The fiber provided in fresh fruit and vegetables is part of what make them so powerful in the burning body fat.
The fiber keeps you feeling full, balances your blood sugar levels, and has been shown to decrease risk of colon cancer.
3) Avoid trans fats.
If you're not using margarine, eating fried foods, or anything in a box, you're pretty much in the clear on this one.
Trans fats don't only suck because they're a low quality fat, but the chemical construction of trans fats are a health hazard in themselves.
4) Avoid anything with sugar added where it doesn't need to be.
Foods such as peanut butter (choose the natural kind), and the fruit cups you find at the supermarket.
A client recently brought a cup of grapefruit slices in a cup of what seemed to be it's own juice.
It turns out that “harmless” juice the grapefruit is in also contains 32 grams of sugar!
It might look good and healthy, but it's not. It's a fat loss nightmare. Check the labels before you buy.
5) Choose lean, fresh cuts of meat at the store.
Do NOT choose those pre- made frozen foods, unless you scan the ingredients first.
For instance, a few companies sell frozen, pre- flavored chicken pieces. BBQ, chili- lime flavor, bourbon chicken, etc..
They're meant to be convenient for the user. Stay away from these. These are often low quality cuts of meat that are chock full of preservatives and sugar and other garbage.
6) Eliminate processed cereals, breads, pasta and corn.
These seemingly harmless “healthy” foods reek havoc on your insulin levels, preventing fat loss (and sapping your energy).
When eaten in excess can cause you to store body fat like nobody's business.
7) Eliminate high sugar and sodium sauces and condiments.
Not only are you taking in extra sugar and sodium you don't need, some condiments also contain preservatives that throw your system out of whack, and into food craving mode.
Good eating habits may take some time getting used to. That's fine. The point here is to develop habits.
Take one principle at a time, and own it. Make it yours.
Maybe you feel comfortable eliminating calorie-laden sauces and condiments? Great. Go to your refrigerator and toss them all now.
Whichever principle you chose, you win.
After just 1 week of sticking to your new healthy habit, you'll notice a lot of things start to change.
Your pants may start to feel loose. You may not have that late day energy crash.
These things are the beginning of something huge. It's simply the first step.
After you've mastered one habit and owned it, it becomes second nature. It's part of you now. There's no going back. Which is great, because now you can take on another new habit. Whichever one you want.
Now, let's take this into the future. Let's say a month has gone by, and you've got 3 new habits.
How is your life going to be different? I mean, how would your life change if you lost a bunch of unwanted fat and had abundant mental and physical energy?
Would you go on vacation in your new swimsuit? Would you be able to get your work done faster and with ease, and therefore get a raise at work?
Would you be more charismatic? More attractive to people?
My answer is yes!
Excited? Great. Take action now. Take a look at the list above and decide which principle you're going to adhere to first, and make it a habit.
Write it down on several pieces of paper. Put one in the kitchen, on the fridge if you prefer, anywhere you can see it.
One on your night table to see when you wake up in the morning, and take one with you in your wallet, so every time you pull it out, you have a reminder to reinforce the habit.
Keep in mind, every day you follow through on your habit, it gets easier. Every day you own it, it becomes second nature to you. That's the goal here.