Clean Eating Plan

Why Bread and Milk Are Not the Enemy

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If you’re looking to lose weight and improve your health, then one of the first things you need to do is to choose from the huge amount of different diet plans out there. Essentially, you need to decide who you’re going to listen to and what theory of weight loss you want to subscribe to!

And things get tricky right away. What you’ll find is that everyone has a different opinion and that these opinions vary hugely. Some people to tell you to stay away from fats while others tell you to dunk them in your coffee! Who do you listen to?

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Clean Eating Plan

How to Improve Your Energy Levels With the Right Diet

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Wouldn’t life just be a lot better if you had more energy? Serious – low energy is probably responsible for a huge proportion of our problems! It’s low energy that makes it hard to wake up in the morning, it’s low energy that makes us not really want to exercise and it’s low energy that prevents us from performing our best or really enjoying life.

The problem is that it takes energy to start changing your lifestyle and to do things like exercise more or sleep better to improve your energy… so where do you begin? The answer is simple: you begin with your diet!

energy

There are tons of ways that you can improve your energy levels through your diet, here are just a few!

Glucose Hit

One way you can add more energy using your diet is just to consume more glucose. This won’t give you long-term energy but will instead help you to improve your energy in the short term and give you a small kick when you’re struggling.

And interestingly, one of the best ways to get that hit of glucose is to ‘cheat’ and have glucose from man-made, processed sources. A glucose tablet is one option, another is to eat Wine Gums!

MCT Oil

Using glucose on a regular basis is not a recommended way to keep your energy levels up though. Instead, it’s better to use MCT oil, which comes from coconuts and other natural sources. This type of oil doesn’t get absorbed by the body in the same way as other fats and it encourages the body to produce ketons – a type of energy that has a lot of particular uses for the brain.

Chia Seeds

If you want an example of someone with high energy levels, then look no further than the Tarahumara tribe! This group of indigenous people are able to run hundreds of miles in a single go and they accomplish this at least in part thanks to chia seeds – seeds that are capable of absorbing several times their weight in water!

Iron

Iron is used to create the red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body. More iron = more oxygen where you need it – meaning in turn that you’ll have more energy.

Vinpocentine

Another way to get more oxygen around your body when you need it is to cause vasodilation and widen the blood cells. This can be done with any food containing nitrates – including garlic. But vinpocetine is a natural ingredient that goes one step further by ensuing the vasodilation occurs mainly in the most important regions of the brain.

CoQ10

Meanwhile, anything that can increase mitochondrial energy metabolism will greatly enhance energy levels – CoQ10, PQQ and creatine all being very good examples (and all being found in organ meats).

Clean Eating Plan

The Easiest Ways to Cut Calories and Junk From Your Diet

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If you’re trying to improve your diet, you’ll often find it’s easier to concentrate on the things you need to erase from your ongoing eating routines rather than trying to add things. And the most recommended way to make that successful is to concentrate on just the smallest things that will cause the smallest change to your feeling of fullness and energy during the day.

Here are some extremely easy alternatives to cut calories and reduce the number of junk in your diet!

diet

Get Rid of Soda Drinks

One of the very absolute things that someone can do for their diet is to erase soda drinks from their diet. That signifies no more Coca-Cola and no more 7-Up. Why? for the reason that these drinks are completely packed with basic sugars while selling nothing healthy in return. They’ll make you feel hungry and they’ll add plenty of calories while cooperating to lipogenesis (fat storage).

Choose the Proper Coffee

What’s just as bad or arguably even worse is when you stop by Starbucks on the way into work and grab yourself a large Americano. There’s nothing wrong with the coffee – rather it’s the large numbers of cream, full-fat milk and chocolate sprinkles that get added. easily switch that morning beverage for an Americano or a black coffee/sea and you’ll automatically save yourself the hurt – cutting your diet by 100-200 calories instantly.

Stop Adding Sugar

Another hint is to stop adding sugar to your tea. Once again, this adds useless calories and then constructs hunger pangs going after your release of insulin that will suck up all of your sugar and leave you shaky.

Moreover although, adding sugar to everything generates gets you familiar with things tasting candy. In other words? You create a candy tooth. And now nothing you consume is going to be as satisfying except there’s sugar on top!

Remove the Butter

Butter isn’t unhealthy for you as such, but if you’re trying to lower your calories especially then lathering this onto everything you eat undoubtedly isn’t going to help! Get used to eating your sandwiches with just the spread and you’ll find it easier to lose weight!

Share Dessert

Even when we’re dieting, it can be complicated to turn down a cool dessert when everyone else is indulging – mainly because we may feel as although we’re being monotonous or preventing others from enjoying their food.

The basic answer? Offer to share with someone! You’ll save cash and calories!

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

Why You Should Choose a Clean Eating Lifestyle

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Clean eating is a lifestyle trend that has been growing in popularity over the past few years. Clean eating focuses on whole, unrefined foods rather than pre-cooked or processed alternatives.

The alternatives tend to have much of their nutritional value removed as a result of making them last longer or cost less. Does your diet consist mostly of fast food or instant meals? Here are a few of the thing you can gain by adopting a clean eating lifestyle.

clean eating

A Healthier Heart

Many whole foods can have a positive impact on your heart health. Nuts are high in heart-healthy nutrients such as vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Almonds are particularly high in monounsaturated fats, which help lower the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood.

Whole grains such as brown rice, oats, or whole wheat bread are also great sources of fiber, which helps your body to process cholesterol. However you do it, lowering your blood cholesterol levels lowers your risk of heart disease.

Less Risk of Diabetes

Sugar tastes great. Which is unfortunate, because it’s not a healthy part of your diet. Sugar provides what are called “empty calories,” meaning that it offers no nutritional value other than calories.

Regularly eating too much sugar can also cause your body to build up an insulin resistance. This means that your cells are more resistant to insulin’s normal effect of transferring glucose into them from the bloodstream. Insulin resistance can contribute to the development of disorders including metabolic disorder and type II diabetes.

More Energy

Processed foods have a high glycemic index, which means that they are broken down quickly by your body. They give you a sudden, short-term burst of energy due to the spike in your blood glucose levels. However, these sudden bursts also mean sudden declines, which has the potential to leave you feeling sluggish and fatigued.

Clean foods, on the other hand, tend to have a lower glycemic index. This means that they take longer for your body to break down and are a more stable source of energy over a longer period of time.

Expand Your Horizons

When you plan a menu around packaged or pre-prepared meals, you take some of the freedom out of your menu choices. It may not seem like this is the case, since there are so many different flavors and varieties of these packaged meals to choose from. But, there are countless recipes available from sources like cookbooks, cooking magazines and food-related websites. Look for recipes that stick to whole foods as much as possible.

Clean eating is all about getting the nutrients that your body needs without taking in extras which may be harmful. Eating clean can help reduce the risk of kidney damage, heart disease, type II diabetes and a stroke. Whole ingredients may be a bit more expensive, but the resulting health benefits are well worth the extra cost.

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

What Does It Mean To Eat Clean?

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Clean eating diets are a very popular trend these days. They focus on replacing unhealthy processed foods with fresh, whole alternatives. Processed foods have often lost much of their nutritional value in order to make them last longer or taste better. Not only that, they may also contain additives or preservatives that have a negative impact on your health with regular consumption.

Here’s some more info on the clean eating lifestyle, as well as some tips for “cleaning up” your diet if needed.

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Who Started Clean Eating?

While the idea of eating whole foods to stay healthy was certainly not new at the time, it gained in popularity in 2007 when the Eat-Clean Diet Book was published by bestselling author and fitness model Tosca Reno. The book detailed the “eat-clean” diet that she stuck to in order to get in shape for a bodybuilding competition. The popularity of the book lead to ten more titles in the Eat-Clean series being published.

Stay Away from Sugar

The first step to take in order to eat a more clean diet is to cut out sugar as much as possible. Regularly eating sugar or foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup can lead to weight gain and diabetes, among other things.

Cutting sugar out of your diet completely won’t be easy. Just about every sweet, processed snack food on the market includes some sugar. But, when you’re in the mood for something sweet, reach for some fruit rather than candy or sweets.

Drink Plenty of Water

When you feel thirsty, water is the healthiest drink to reach for. Try to drink at least two liters of water every day. You may want to buy a reusable water bottle to help encourage you to drink more.

Soda and sports drinks both come with a lot of added sugar (not to mention the acid found in soda, which softens tooth enamel). An occasional glass of fruit or vegetable juice is a healthy drink alternative. Just make sure that you look for juice made from real fruits and vegetables.

Check the Labels

When in doubt about a certain food, check the nutrition facts and ingredient list carefully. Make sure that the bulk of the ingredients listed are whole foods and not artificial or processed. Some foods may say that they are “whole” on the label, but actually only be made in part with clean ingredients.

Also, make sure you pay attention to the serving size. A food’s nutrition facts may not look so bad, but “one serving” usually doesn’t include the whole product.

While there are many different ideas of what exactly encompasses clean eating, the basic principle of skipping processed foods in favor of whole, fresh ones is of great benefit to your body.

Even if processed foods have had nutrients added in to replace what they’ve lost during processing, they are not as healthy as the real, unprocessed versions. Next time you go to the store, try to buy as many of your ingredients as possible from the produce aisle rather than the canned goods aisle. Not only will all of your meals taste better, they’ll also be better for your health.

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

Ways to Alter Your Favorite Recipes So They Are Clean

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If you’re preparing on switching to a clean eating form of living, you may be preoccupied that you is not going to be able to have your favorite meals anymore. But, this isn’t the case.

Here are a couple of tips on how you can alter your favorite recipes to fit in with a clean eating form of living.

clean

Breakfast

If you’re working towards a clean eating form of living, then it’s time to throw out the breakfast foods such as cereals, pastries and microwavable sandwiches. There are clean eating substitutes for most, if not all of your go-to breakfast meals – which are all better for your health than processed foods.

If you enjoy cold breakfast, try swapping your yogurt or cereal for a heart-healthy blend of nuts, fruit and almond milk. Another clean possibility is a aiding of hearty, nutrient-rich oats. Oats are a good source of beta-glucans, and also manganese, magnesium and vitamin B1.

If you choose a cooked breakfast in the morning, look no in addition than the notably versatile egg. Eggs are surely a dietary powerhouse, containing high quality proteins, all 9 essential amino acids and varying numbers of essential supplements and minerals.

One egg contains 70 calories and at around 20 cents per egg, it’s complicated to find foods comparable to how inexpensive and nutrient-dense eggs are. maybe the what is best, eggs can be elaborated and eaten with just about any vegetable or meat. There are countless breakfast egg recipes, making them ideal for people who like to change their every day routines.

Lunch

Popular lunch go-to’s such as sandwiches and salads can be simply modified for a clean eating form of living. Salads are an ideal lunch possibility, but you may require to make changes to your favorites to fit in with clean eating.

One important circumstance is the kind of dressing you use. If your dressing contains processed ingredients, then it’s time to start building your own from scratch. Balsamic vinegar is the foundation for multiple healthy salad dressings. They are quite easy to make and extremely delicious.

For sandwiches, the kind of bread you use can make or break your clean eating diet. It’s vital to use a nutritious bread such as whole wheat and hold on away from white bread. what is better, you can cut bread out exhaustively and enjoy lettuce or cabbage wraps for lunch. It may take a couple of time getting used to having sandwiches without bread, but they are just as delicious.

Dinner

You may think that altering your favorite dinner recipes might be complicated, principally if they’re staples in your household. though, most modifications are actually very basic and a couple of even indistinguishable.

For example, pasta lovers can take comfort in knowing that pasta is yet on the menu for clean eating as long as organic wheat pasta is used. There are multiple clean eating variations of the classic hamburger, using lean meats such as turkey or chicken in place of area beef, or a mash of different forms of beans or candy potato.

When it comes to placing together a clean eating menu, a key concern is the ingredients that you use. You can make clean versions of multiple dishes simply by utilizing organic, fresh ingredients in preference to canned or processed ones. This basic switch is the first step to a healthier diet. Why not get on it today?

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

Tips for Making Smarter Choices When Eating Meat

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For a many people, meat is a key part of their every day dinner menu that they just won’t surrender. Interestingly sufficient, the USDA lately found that beef and pork consumption in the U.S. has decreased over the recent decade. though, the U.S. is yet among the countries with the highest rate of meat consumption in the world.

With meat being such a principal part of our diet, it’s crucial to keep your health and well-being in mind while preparing your meals. Here are a few decisions you can make to work toward a smarter, healthier diet.

meat

Don’t Ignore Veggies

When you’re eating delicious burgers or fried chicken, it’s easy for fruits and veggies to slip your mind. Try to include these in your meals as often as probable. One of the easiest ways you can do this is to come to a salad to go with dinner. Salad is a extremely versatile side and you can assimilate fruits, veggies, dressing, and just about whatever else that you need into them.

Go for Grass-Fed Beef

Many beef cows are fed grain daily. But, grass is the natural bovine food source. Studies have shown that meat from cows that have eaten grass brings more nutrients than from cows who are fed grain, including vitamin A, vitamin B, and omega-3 fatty acids. if truth be told, grass-fed beef has been known to contain up to 5 times the omega-3’s of grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef additionally contains more conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid which actually assists to reduce body fat.

Add a Few Eggs

Eggs are one of the healthiest foods you can consume. They provide you with nutrients such as vitamin D and B12, which assists to lower your risk of heart disease. But, don’t limit yourself to breakfast when we talk about incorporating more of them into your diet. Poached or hard-boiled eggs go marvelous in a salad at lunch or dinner. Just be sure not to overdo it, principally if you have high cholesterol or diabetes.

Keep Sodium Levels Low

Most foods contain a few amount of sodium, although for numerous it’s not sufficient to have a significant end result on the body. Meats, specifically ham and shellfish, have the highest natural sodium contents. in spite of this, the principal contributor of sodium in your diet is probable salt.

Many people add salt to the majority of their meals, meaning a diet that is much higher in sodium. recapture, eating too much sodium through a prolonged period can conduct to heart or liver complications. Meat could be a perfectly healthy addition to any diet habit. It’s one of the absolute sources of protein accessible and also brings essential nutrients such as iron, selenium and zinc. But, like with any food, it’s crucial to take nutritional value into suggestion while preparing a menu.

Always try to prepare reasonably sized servings and to include a diverse mix of different food groups in every dish. This will ensure that you consume balanced meals that provide all the things that your body requires for a long, healthy life.

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

The Impact Sugar and Salt Have on Your Body and Life

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The one thing that sugar and salt have most in common is that they taste good with a huge variety of different foods. Unfortunately, both of them are also difficult to consume in moderation.

Even if you avoid sugary sweets and salty snack foods, salt and sugar can both find their way into your diet as a part of the recipes that you prepare. What sort of harm can sugar and salt cause to your body? Here are just a few of the reasons that you should really try to cut down.

sugar

Too Much Salt Raises Blood Pressure

Salt is the average American’s main source of sodium, a dietary mineral that the body needs. Sodium helps with muscle function, as well as maintaining the fluid balance in your body. However, if your kidneys aren’t able to keep up with the amount of sodium you consume, your body retains water in order to help dilute it.

Why is this bad? Much of this fluid is then pulled into your blood vessels, which increases your blood volume and creates more pressure within the vessels. Increased blood pressure also increases your risk of heart attack or stroke.

Excessive Sodium Causes Kidney Damage

High blood pressure isn’t the only problem caused by the strain that excessive sodium puts on your kidneys. Processing all of this sodium can also take its toll on them, resulting in a loss of function. A high-sodium diet could also make you more likely to experience kidney stones.

Too Much Sugar Could Lead to Liver Disease

When you eat sugar, your body breaks it down into fructose and glucose. Glucose is naturally found in your body, as well as in every other living thing. Fructose, on the other hand, is not produced by your body. All of the fructose that you take in has to be processed, by your liver. And, if your liver is overloaded, it turns excess fructose into fat. This can lead to a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which could in turn lead to cancer of the liver.

Sugar and Insulin Resistance

Insulin is a hormone produced by your body, and it’s essential in processing glucose. It is what allows the glucose in your bloodstream to enter your cells so that they can utilize them for energy. But, in a diet that is high in sugar, insulin isn’t as effective as it should be. Your cells build a sort of resistance to it and your body therefore needs more in order to function. This growing insulin resistance is a primary cause of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Trying to cut down on salt or sugar is tough! But, doing so can prevent serious damage to your body. Make sure you check the nutrition facts on everything you eat and keep salt and sugar consumption down to a minimum. The impact on your health will be well worth the effort.

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

The Effect Processed Foods Have On Your Body And Life

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For many families, whole foods have become a rare part of their normal diet. Food that has been chemically processed or that has added preservatives is generally affordable and simple to find.

However, eating these processed foods habitually can have a serious affect on your health. Here are a few factors why you could like to consider how you consume and try to consume better.

foods

Sugar or High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Many processed foods and snacks contain plenty of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup to give them a candy, irresistible taste. But, this includes too much sugar in your diet is sure to have a negative affect on your health.

For starters, sugars provide what are referred as “empty calories,” which signifies that they don’t give your body much of what it requires apart from energy. anyhow, the effects of immoderate sugar could be far more severe. Too multiple sweets can cause insulin resistance, high cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides. These things are consorted with diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Refined Carbohydrates

Different diet plans each take a different stance on carbohydrate intake. For a few people, carbs are a primary source of energy. Others keep away from eating carbs as much as they can. anyhow, whether you seek out carbs or prevail away from them, the important factor is to go for carbs that come from whole foods in place of processed foods.

The carbs that are typically found in processed foods are refined, “simple” carbs which are rapidly broken down by our bodies. This leads to a spike in both blood sugar and insulin levels.

Trans Fats

Processed foods often contain high levels of unhealthy trans fats. Trans fats and processed vegetable oils are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. These vegetable oils could be tough to keep away from as a part of your diet, since it has so multiple uses in the kitchen. as a replacement, try to use more wholesome oils such as olive oil.

Low Levels of Fiber

Processed foods are normally low in fiber, which is in addition lost or removed in the course of processing. But, fiber has a couple of positive effects on our bodies. it benefits to get our digestive system going, which turns it effective at fighting constipation. Fiber in addition helps to expand the useful bacteria in the intestines, which contributes to promote healthy digestion.

One of the most positive effects of fiber is that is slows down the rate that our bodies process carbs, which can help us to feel fuller for longer. Processed food can be difficult to avoid. Not only is it commonplace at the supermarket, but in addition most quick food restaurants use processed ingredients in planning their meals.

Cutting down on processed foods will mean investing more cash and sacrificing the luxury of being prepared to pick up a meal on the road at your convenience. But, your body will give thanks you for it in the long run.

Wonderfully Fit | Nutritional Consulting

Simple Ways to Cut Down on Saturated Fat

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Saturated fats are fats that don’t have double bonds between their carbon molecules. They are found naturally in foods such as pork, beef and dairy products. Regularly eating foods that are high in saturated fat will cause your blood cholesterol levels to increase, which means an increase in the chance that you might suffer from heart disease or a stroke.

But, while many of us eat a diet that includes a high level of saturated fats, cutting down on those levels is simple. Here are some tips you can follow in order to keep your saturated fat levels to a minimum and your cholesterol levels low.

Saturated

Eat Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Fruit is often overlooked as a snack or dessert food. But, it provides a sweet taste without any saturated fat. Vegetables are also an excellent snack food, but may be a better fit as a side dish at dinner time. In addition, fruits and vegetables are antioxidants, and many of them contain vitamins and minerals that our bodies need.

Use Low-fat Dairy Products

You may already buy the skim or low-fat alternative milk at the store. But, there are low-fat alternatives to many dairy products. Start using low-fat cheese whenever possible. And if a recipe calls for sour cream, use plain non-fat Greek yogurt instead.

Cut Way Down on Butter

Butter is a particularly versatile dairy product that is often overused. Whether it’s spread across toast, or used in baking or frying, many of us tend to overdo it when it comes to adding butter. Whatever you’re using butter in the kitchen, use less than what the recipe calls for, or than you feel that you need. You might even cut butter out of your cooking entirely by substituting it with things such as Greek yogurt, peanut or almond butter, or mashed avocado.

Avoid Frying Your Meat

Frying meat means giving it a chance to absorb the fat from the oils that you cook it in. While some oils may be touted as ‘healthy’, others are not. When possible, it’s best to just avoid them altogether. Fortunately, there are several ways to prepare meat that doesn’t involve frying at all. The simplest alternative is to bake the meat. The roasted flavor is more than delicious. If you have access to a grill, use that instead of frying so that you can stay away from fats and give your food a satisfying grilled taste.

Consuming too much saturated fat can be a serious issue, especially if you are already experiencing problems related to high cholesterol. If you’re looking for more ways to keep cholesterol levels in check, it may be best to speak with a healthcare professional. They will be able to tell you more about what effects cholesterol have had on your body, and the steps you can take to work toward a healthy diet.