What is clean eating?

This is a new buzz word around town, I’m sure many of you have heard of ‘CLEAN EATING’. But what exactly is it? What does it mean?

It’s not a diet (I hate that word), it’s NOT a fad, it’s a lifestyle that is simple, very good for you, easy to maintain, nutrient rich, and you can make it as delicious as you want to!

Basically, you only eat food that has come from nature – you don’t eat any processed or anything pre-packaged which are both high in sugar, salt, flavours, colours, preservatives and additives. I’m sure I will lose a lot of you there, but stick with me! One of my BIG rules in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to live by the 80/20 rule. Be ‘good’ 80% of the time, have treats 20% of the time (but only if you really need to).

Why Clean Eating is becoming more popular and why it is SO good for you:

You eat foods that nature intended
You eat foods our bodies function best on
You eat foods that will make you feel, and look FANTASTIC
You will be full of energy, you will feel great.
You will sleep better, have better digestion, glowing skin!
You eat lean proteins, good carbs and good/healthy fats.
You will be fueling your body with the best possible sources of vitamins, nutrients, energy, protein and fats which your body will easily break down, be digested and used by your body for all round health and nutrition.

If you Eat Clean your blood sugar levels remain stable and keep you fuller for longer, so you will be less likely to snack on sugar filled snacks!

The best bit…if you follow a Clean Eating plan (like the Mummy Bootcamp @ Home program), you will lose weight (if you need to), by just watching what you put in your mouth!

When Eating Clean, you don’t have to:

Starve yourself
Count anything – points, calories, grams etc
Buy anything in a packet or pre-portioned food.
Miss out on going out for dinner – just make the right choices

Eating Clean, will keep you lean!

One thing to note is that if you haven’t been eating very clean, once you start, your body will start to detox itself, which means for the first week, while your body is getting rid of all the crap in your body, you may not feel fantastic. But stick with it, drink LOTS of water and remember, it’s your body just getting rid of all the bad stuff!

159 Comments

- - kyles said
  - 06 May 2013
    11:48 am
Thanks for the info. This is something that I am trying to move my family too and the idea of an 80/20 rule is a great idea that im going to get my older kids really thinking about what they eat

- - rupa said
  - 05 May 2013
    9:07 pm
This is something we try to do already and we certainly don’t miss out on anything.

- - beagle said
  - 03 May 2013
    3:18 am
I really really really want to do this, but reality is that sometimes packaged and processed foods just have to be used for convenience. I have to say though I am gradually getting better and better at using all good fresh ingredients. I’d love it if a proper farmers market opened near me, I love using our own eggs, herbs and some vegies, but for variety I’d love to use a market not a supermarket.

- - beckyjco said
  - 01 May 2013
    10:29 am
It just makes sense really. I’m on board 🙂

- - Highfive said
  - 30 Apr 2013
    10:54 am
clean eating… im a big fan.. definately a support to help weight loss.

- - kwolfert said
  - 30 Apr 2013
    8:42 am
great read, will definitely look at the diet

- - mouse said
  - 28 Apr 2013
    12:33 pm
thanks for the tips , will put some into action

- - rustyblue said
  - 26 Apr 2013
    2:52 pm
Eat clean – now I know what it means – have been doing this for years, and didnt know it ! by the way, my clean eating comes from my garden, so I know its even healthier.

- - sraluca said
  - 26 Apr 2013
    10:56 am
What a great article, i never knew what that actually meant.

- - hopefullyheidi said
  - 25 Apr 2013
    2:15 pm
Some great tips once again and not a diet just basic which is great

- - traceyi said
  - 25 Apr 2013
    12:43 pm
back to basics, the way things used to be.

- - tc_burcu_genc_ilhan said
  - 23 Apr 2013
    10:10 pm
my mum eat s every things without ready foods

- - tc_burcu_genc_ilhan said
  - 23 Apr 2013
    10:09 pm
great information and tips for our healty

- - snoopy said
  - 22 Apr 2013
    2:05 pm
We are heading in the right direction here, as we have planted a new vege garden for the winter so we can provide our own fresh vegetables. I am just getting impatient as I have planted a lot of them from seed which feels like they take forever to grow.

- - curlytops said
  - 20 Apr 2013
    3:37 pm
It is the same advice for all diets – only use natural foods then you will avoid sugar and carb loading.

- - mich000 said
  - 16 Apr 2013
    3:36 pm
I eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies the taste is so good compared to packaged

- - joburkey said
  - 16 Apr 2013
    1:21 pm
I’m already loving clean eating, although we do have at least once a week ‘healthy option’ take out or prepackaged food, mainly as a treat for my husband but it’s really all in the organising of ourselves. my husband helps out with the preparation of the food so it’s not all up to me, especially now that i’ve returned to work part time.

- - musicmum said
  - 16 Apr 2013
    1:04 pm
This is a great way to live,buy organically for maximum benefit and eat lots of raw too as when food is cooked it loses most of the enzymes needed for proper digestion,so have a small salad before each meal if you are having cooked. I call processed food ‘dead’ food as there is nothing in them to sustain life hence why they can be on the shelf for months or even years.

- - billyjean said
  - 16 Apr 2013
    1:01 pm
I could almost live just on fresh fruit and veg! The less food processing the better.

- - anoushka said
  - 16 Apr 2013
    11:12 am
Clean eating is wonderful. The best thing I find with it is that you can eat more! You do have to be a bit inventive however when those sweet cravings hit. And certainly have to have plenty of good food options on hand so that you’re not tempted to fall off the wagon when hunger strikes.