Clean Eating

Yes, I'm still trying to lose the baby weight. Although now that Owen is nearly 10 months old, I think the weight would now qualify as "mine." Just in case you didn't know (or notice), I gained a whopping 60 lbs when I was pregnant with Owen! Whew! That's like carrying around a 3rd grader all the time! No wonder I was so tired. Anyway. On my quest to regain the body I once knew, I've decided to follow clean eating. What is clean eating? Something you probably all know but I'll give the rules in bullet form just in case. - Only eat single ingredient foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, and diary (though I know dairy has more than one ingredient, you get the picture) - Only use olive oil and butter. NO vegetable oil or margarine. - when eating pasta, rice, or bread, it must all be whole wheat - If you have to buy something boxed or canned, it should contain 3 ingredients or less - If don't recognize an ingredient, your body won't recognize it either - Drink a gallon of water a day - Yes, I said a gallon! - Follow the 80/20 rule (eat clean 80% of the time, have what you want 20%) - Fat contained in food does not = fat in the body. So fat free doesn't mean healthy and fat doesn't mean unhealthy. Know your fats! Olive oil, avocados, butter all contain healthy fats! This is basically how we should all eat all the time. No processed foods, no fast foods, no junk in our body. I know it sounds hard but it really isn't. I've found that I can eat so much more than I used to. Clean foods usually contain less calories than the junk plus you get all the vitamins and healthy stuff your body needs. I still allow myself a few cheats. I have a soda once a week or so. No more than 2 per week. I also mix some plain chocolate m & m's with almonds and peanuts so I can have a little treat when snacking. I allow myself ranch dressing with my veggies. Why not? I feel so much better when I eat clean and I look better too (bonus)! When I'm trying to lose weight I do all of the above plus I calorie count and watch my carb intake. I try to stick to eating 1200 calories a day (a little more actually since I'm nursing), and no more than 165 carbs per day. I try to up my protein and fiber intake as well. I shoot for 45g of protein daily and 14g of fiber. Though I give myself a free day a week where I don't count calories. So far I've lose 47 lbs of that "baby weight" which means I've still got 13 more to lose. My goal is to lose it all by Owen's 1st birthday. That gives me 2 months to meet my goal. Cheer me on!