Eating clean with whole grain foods will help you feel great and get you through this crazy time. Most people don’t realize the mental and physical benefits that come with eating well. While there is so much written about nutrition and diet every day one may feel overwhelmed with what yo do and which “diet” works best for them.
The main focus should be on making small changes every day so healthy, clean eating becomes a lifestyle and not a “diet” where you feel you’re depriving yourself.
A plan with realistic goals is a great start and one that will start you in the right direction.
The first part of your plan should include waking up in the morning and drinking a glass of water with a pre and probiotic with digestive enzymes for gut health. You should go at least 12 hours before eating your breakfast from your last meal (or snack) the night before. I personally aim for at least 14 hours between my dinner the night before and my breakfast the next day. If I have a small snack after dinner (which I try not to have) then the time runs after that snack. If I’m hungry at night I have some hot water and lemon or detox tea. This “fasting” gives your body that rest that it truly needs. Very often we think we are hungry but that “feeling” may just be that we are thirsty or that eating at night has become part of a habit or routine and we automatically grab something to eat because that is what we have always done. It is common to confuse hunger with thirst. The same part of the brain is responsible for interpreting hunger and thirst signals. So when you “think” you may be hungry always start with a big glass of water and throw in some lemon and check in with yourself. In other words, be “mindful” when you eat or “think before you eat” especially if weight loss is a goal.
Not staying hydrated during the day may also translate into feeling this way in the evening so make sure you are increasing your water intake during the day. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces of water during the day. For example if you weigh 120 pounds you should aim for 60 ounces of water during the day which is really not that difficult and will include your herbal or detox tea. I add a delicious sugar-free natural energy stick to my water full of B vitamins, antioxidants, chromium, CoQ10 and caffeine naturally derived from green tea and guarana which helps me get through my day. Adding more water to your day may not seem like much but you would be surprised. Try it the next time you go to grab an evening snack or the next time you go to reach for those chips or cookies. You will see what I am talking about.
The other trick is to start writing down everything you eat. This will also make you more conscious of what you are truly putting in your mouth. We can all do this easily by inputting the information on our phones, in a small notebook or using many of the amazing apps out there.
Another essential on your clean eating and health journey to consider during this time is to look at how many hours of sleep you’re actually getting. Not sleeping, at least for me is a slow form of torture. That’s how strongly I feel about getting enough hours of sleep. Obviously what each person requires does vary person to person. Some people can function on less sleep than others. However, getting a good nights sleep cannot be stressed enough! Sleep or lack thereof will definitely affect how you eat, your appetite, your energy and what your body craves. Always aim to get a minimum of eight hours of sleep a night. I am an early riser as I like to work out early in the morning so getting to bed at a certain time in the evening is imperative for me. Again it might be helpful for you to track your sleep and see how you’re feeling each day in terms of your appetite, your energy and what you get accomplished in a given day. You will slowly see the correlation between your sleep, your appetite and your energy.
I look forward to checking in with all of you again as I know we have so much more to chat about in our journey to staying healthy, positive, strong and fit which is important now more than ever!
Until next time, you can check me out @eliseteitler
