The Best Tips To CLEAN Up Your Eating Habits- I work with clients every day who have literally changed the way their bodies will function for the rest of their lives by adopting a few specific changes to their lifestyle.  One of them, as we discussed in my previous blog entry, was to EAT MORE!  By eating the right types of macronutrients every three hours, the food will fuel your metabolism and communicate to your body that you are trustworthy and consistent and that it doesn’t have to worry… food is coming!

As a result, your body starts to realize it can keep just what it needs and burn what it doesn't.

Knowing about the combination of foods you should be eating at each meal (proteins, fats, and carbs) is what comes next.  We call this “PFC Every 3”.  Eating a protein, fat, and carb every 3 hours will literally re-structure your metabolism and not only help you reach your short-term goals but because you are balancing your blood sugar every day, you reduce your risk of heart disease, dementia, and diabetes.

But, believe it or not, this isn't enough.

And I know this because when I first started working with a nutrition coach years ago, I was trained in PFC Every 3. I saw great results and initially had more energy, but I hit a plateau.  I didn't gain back the weight I lost and my muscle tone was great…I was getting stronger in the gym and I looked better than I ever had.

But something was missing.

My skin was breaking out, I was tired and stressed, I couldn't shake the inflammation and extra weight in my stomach and I even talked to my doctor about depression. I thought it was just because I was a full-time working mom who, like everyone else, was just running herself too thin.

The Best Tips To CLEAN It Up Your Eating Habits

I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I was eating a protein fat and carb at every meal but I wasn't concerned as much with the quality of food or the types of foods.

Wheat toast with egg and cheese was PFC balanced so I figured I was fine.  My “go-to PFC” was often a salad with grilled chicken, feta cheese, and a side of pita bread.  The thing was, I was eating correctly, but I really wasn't eating “healthy”.  That was when I adopted a clean eating approach to my life.

Due to the overabundance of pre-packaged and fast food, many people today are malnourished and don’t even know it. This is why eating PFC Every 3 isn't enough. Too many foods carry toxic fats and sugars while our bodies are starving for real nutrition.

The good news is that this condition can be reversed by eating whole foods and supplementing with nutrients.

Clean eating is when you consume whole, unprocessed, organic foods such as fruits and veggies, nuts, beans, and free-range/grass-fed meats and eggs. When eating COMPLETELY clean, you will also want to avoid or completely cut out specific types of other foods like those with added sugar, preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners, inflammatory and allergenic foods like alcohol, gluten, and dairy, and acidic foods like coffee and most vinegar. In addition, truly eating clean also involves removing genetically modified food such as soy and corn. Eating clean allows us to get the proper balance of nutrients into our bodies so we can maintain a good metabolism, and begin healing our gut so we can absorb those nutrients.

 One month of clean eating is all it takes to start to reverse the impact of all the toxins that have wreaked havoc on our bodies

The best part is that by committing to eating COMPLETELY clean for just one month, you can detox the toxins that are holding your body back from efficiently and effectively digesting and absorbing the nutrients you need. Detoxing our bodies from toxins that have built up over time from our consumption of processed foods. While it is true that our body is efficient at naturally detoxing, it can only do so much while we continue to consume foods that do not serve our bodies well.

After a month of “detoxing” through a strict clean eating regime, you can modify the level of “cleanliness” you adopt with what works for you. I am about 80/20 “clean” on a regular basis but know that dairy makes me break out and gluten really impacts my gut health, so I really limit those things…but I love my wine and French fries so I go for them here and there, yet always balancing my PFC combinations! Wine is a carb and French Fries are fat and carb...see what I mean?

So CLEANING up your eating not only rests your body for long-term impact but dang, I can’t TELL you how great it makes you feel!

Carrie