Do you find yourself cheating your diet everyday? Are you not seeing any progress on the scale because of your small cheats? Lets talk about how NOT to cheat when eating clean.None of us think to ourselves "I'm going to cheat today"... But we all still do. I know it's hard to stay on track. Getting the hang of a new lifestyle is never easy but I can promise you that it's totally worth it.
The amount of energy I have from eating clean and how great I feel about myself is totally worth it.
I know it's not easy!! Junk food and pre-made and packaged foods "make life easier", especially when you are tired after a long day at work, but the truth of the matter is that small things do make a difference and the sugars and salts in pre-made and packaged goods can really make a difference to your health and weight loss goals.
I know food can be addicting and sometimes those guilty pleasures can fill in a void. However, I'm here to tell you that piece of cake, that piece of pizza, those greasy fries will only give you stastifaction for a fraction of a minute and before you know it you are feeling guilty.
So here are some tips to keep you staying on track and how you can prevent yourself from cheating.
1. Have a day where you Prep your food for the week.
I reseve Sunday's for my menu planning for the week, grocery shopping, and food prep. I bake up some chicken breast to throw in wraps, chop any veggies, portion out my snacks. Example 14 almonds and an apple, 1 cheese stick and 20 grapes. I have it all in baggies just ready to go. If you are stressed for time in the week and don't have time to cook a good dinner make a few dinners on sunday and portion them out. My favorites to portion out for lunches is Turbofire Chili and Clean Eating Chicken Salad. I portion out about a cup - 1 1/2 for each meal of the turbo chili and have wraps ready for my chicken salad. Prepping your meals and having everything ready will really help you stay on track and stick to your meal plan. If you don't have things ready excuses will creep in and you are more likely to reach for a prepackaged box meal or go through the drive thru. Pack a cooler!
2. Get Rid of all the Junk Food In the House!
If you don't keep the junk in the house you won't have the temptations of eating it when those cravings kick in. If you had a party the night before and have a bunch of junk in your house - Get rid of it. Toss it in the trash!! Just do it! It will make thing so much easier. If I had a cheat meal the night before and I had leftovers I don't save them. That meal is done and I leave it behind.
3. Keep Healthy Foods that You Love in the House.
This one is pretty simple. The more crap food that you keep in your house, the more likely you are going to eat it when cravings kick in. Your clean eating plan success starts by what you put in your shopping cart. Stay on the outer aisles of the grocery store and stick to your grocery list will keep you on track. Don't go to the grocery store hungry either. Always keep a pack of all natural almonds in your purse.
4. Make Small Changes in your Favorite Meals to make them Clean.
You and your family love eating pizza, burgers, fries, and pasta, and so do you .. Right!!?? Well, I do too! Learning to adapt the clean eating lifestyle doesn't mean you have to eat salads the rest of your life and never enjoy your favorite meals. Eating Clean means fixing your own meals and controlling what ingredients are in the food you eat. Think all natural. There are so many chemicals and sodium in our foods today that it's insane. Why would you want to put that in your body? If you are craving a burger - have a turkey burger on a wholewheat bun instead. Make a pizza on a whole wheat Pita. Use feta or goat cheese instead of processed cheese. Instead of french fries have homemade sweet potato fries and instead of regular pasta switch it out for wholewheat pasta loaded with fresh veggies and lean protein or try Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff. (when trying to loose weight - Pasta and cheese should be limited to once a week)
5. Don't EVER feel Guilty About Eating!
Many people have it in their mind that they need to starve them selves in order to loose weight. That food is the enemy and if they just don't eat they will loose weight. Eating the right foods will help you reduce your hunger pains and even give you MORE energy and help you loose weight. Adding more veggies and lean proteins in your meal plan will help boost your metabolism and feed your body the fuel it needs to burn more calories. Keep a food diary of what you are eating and write down how you feel after each meal. This will really help you understand how your body works and how certain foods can effect you.
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