What You Give Up To Eat Clean

I was recently talking to a friend about clean eating. She seemed interested, and I was excited that she might actually be considering joining me in my clean eating efforts. But then she asked me a question…

“What do I have to give up?”

Well that certainly got my wheels turning. I’ve been doing this long enough now, that I no longer think in those terms. I no longer think about things I have to “give up”, simply because I don’t feel like I’ve really given anything up! So her question really made me pause.

I thought back to when I was just getting started, and I did remember having thoughts of all the things I would no longer be able to have as a clean eater. All that lovely, tasty junk food that had become such a normal part of my every day existence.

So here’s an honest look at what you’ll be giving up if you start eating clean, and why you should give it up forever.

• Soda
  “According to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA), consumption of soft drinks is now over 600 12-ounce servings (12 oz.) per person per year. Since the late 1970`s, soft drink consumption in the United States has doubled for females and tripled for males. The highest consumption is by males between the ages of 12 – 29; they average 1/2 gallon a day or 160 gallons a year.” (Source) 

  While there aren’t any studies that directly link soda to cancer and diabetes (convenient, isn’t it?), some studies have come very close to proving just that. It’s nothing but chemicals folks. There isn’t a single, real ingredient in there. Any wonder we get sick from drinking it?

• 3 meals per day
  Except instead of eating less frequently like most dieters do, you get to eat more often!! 5-6 times per day! And you thought snacking was bad….
• Processed foods
  As hard as it may seem now at the beginning, I promise you that one day you will look back at your old diet and realize just how gross all that chemically laden, laboratory created, definitely-not-natural food is. Sadly, our western diet is infiltrating the entire world. Countries that have never been fat are suddenly fighting the same obesity epidemic we are. Doesn’t that tell you something?
• Excess amounts of sugar
  While sugar itself has not yet been scientifically linked directly to diabetes, it doesn’t take much intelligence to connect them. We get vast amounts of sugars in the vast amounts of processed foods we eat. This equals vast amounts of empty calories in our daily diets. Calories that enter our body, but do not give it any nutrients whatsoever. These get stored as fat. Fat HAS been directly linked to diabetes. So how they have not yet connected sugar and diabetes is beyond me. But I think many people these days know better anyway, even if they don’t act on that knowledge. Am I wrong?
• Fast food
  I’ve got news for you folks, those burgers are lab-engineered to addict you! Companies specifically use chemical ingredients that will make you crave more and more of these foods. Hard though it may be to walk away, I swear you WILL actually love being free of your cravings for fast food. Being free of that addiction is a beautiful thing. It takes time, but your body will excrete those addicting substances, and you’ll feel better than ever.
• Deli meats
  I hate to tell you this, but processed meats have been directly and scientifically linked to colon cancer. Go for the real thing! Just imagine a fabulous sandwich with slices of REAL turkey, healthy condiments that actually taste good, and bread that will actually keep you full beyond your next 10 minute break!
• Artificial sweeteners
  Folks, there’s just no way around it. These are bad, bad, bad. In fact, it’s almost better to eat the real thing! Your best bet? Take the No Sugar Challenge and get the sweet stuff out of your diet all together. It’s a life changing experience! 

  That said, I know there is a lot of science that says that these sweeteners are completely safe. But they said Saccharine was safe, and look what came of that! Really, just stay away from the stuff. It’s just not natural!!

• TV dinners
  I don’t care how “healthy” the box says they are, these “meals” are anything but. READ THE INGREDIENT LIST!!! Do you recognize even half of the ingredients? Would you buy any of them individually to cook with in your own kitchen? I’m guessing the answer is “no” for the majority of that list. Please give your body a break and spare it from these unpronounceable lab experiments!
• <Insert your favorite junk food here>
  There are a ton of other foods out there that I could list here. Everything from Oreo’s to Cheez It’s are going to be off your eating plan from here on forward. But if you really take a look at the above list, what are you really giving up? It’s certainly not real food. It’s certainly not nutritious food. It’s certainly not anything that will ever contribute to your health. So are you really giving anything up?

I’ll tell you what though, you’re gaining sooooo much! The foods you’ll be eating are not only delicious, but will make you feel better then you’ve felt in a very long time.

Our bodies run, 100% off the nutrients we feed them. So it makes logical sense that if you actually give your body some real nutrients, your body will function at it’s best. That means your weight will normalize, your skin will look great, you’ll wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to face the day, and above all, you won’t even think about all that junk food much less crave it.

Yep, clean eating is Big Industry’s worst nightmare. But it think it’s about time we give them some of their own medicine. Don’t you?