Eating clean works

So many options and ways of eating and gasp…”dieting” surround us every day. I’ve tried many. I know people who have tried more. But I’m finally ready to get off that train. I’ve found my place with clean eating.

It’s been a couple of weeks since I got rid of the sugar in my life. With the help of real fruit (not fruit juice) and raw stevia powder, I am cruising along with a life of little to no table sugar. In the past few weeks, my crazy snacking has diminished to raw veggies, fruit, yogurt, granola, turkey, cheese, and nuts. My workouts have really ramped up as well and running is sitting stable at 20-30 miles/week. I feel better, I’ve lost some puffy water weight, and I feel stronger than ever.

Aside from the fact that I’m exhausted from fighting off a lingering sinus infection, I feel better than I have in months.

So what am I doing differently?

eating breakfast no matter what.
eating every 3-4 hours. This keeps my sugar levels stable and prevents the dreaded 3pm crash
eating real food
eating real food in it’s whole state as much as possible. I eat oranges instead of drinking juice.
making sure each meal/snack is a protein/carb/fat mix. I lean towards more protein than carb
carrying my food to work. If I don’t, I’m certain to either not eat, which stalls metabolism and breaks down muscle, or eat crappy food from vending machines.
cut table sugar and slash salt
water water water
exercise
sleep

The only thing missing is a multi-vitamin and a vit B complex. Because I’m training hard with weights and doing a lot of high-interval training AND fighting off school colds/flu/infections, I need some extra nutrients and vitamins. This is what works best for ME, so I’m not advocating that everyone go out to Walgreens and stock up. I also have been lacking in my favorite Amazing Grass which has tons of nutrients.

Dinner tonight was simple but so good. I’ve made this many times and I never get tired of shrimp and vegetables. It’s so easy, really.

Roasted Vegetables:

preheat oven to 450
cut up vegetables about the same size. I used mushrooms, squash, zucchini
season-salt, pepper, olive oil, rosemary
cook for 20 min. drizzle with balsamic vinegar if you like that stuff.

Shrimp:

heat saute’ pan on med-high
throw in raw shrimp and cook 3-5 min.
add chopped garlic, 1 T of butter and turn off heat if shrimp have all turned pink. Cook additional 2 minutes if they are still white.
add some parm, lemon, pepper, and parsley.

Project 365:

Day 4

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could” –Emerson

Question: What is your go-to drink or food when you’re getting sick with cold/flu?