Clean Eating

In the last couple months I have made drastic changes in my diet and as a result I’ve lost a lot of weight. Surely, this is because I have also been working out, but diet plays a big role in weight loss.

I’m going to try to break down a few of the biggest changes that I’ve made in my diet, but first I’d like to emphasize a couple things. For one, every body is different so the results I’ve experienced may not be the same for you. By the same token, you may see even better results. I play around with different plans and find what works the best for my body. I urge you to do the same.

My old “diet/eating habits” included a lot of processed food like soda, crackers, ice cream, pasta, and white bread. I ate very little fruit and vegetables, didn’t drink a lot of water, and never had enough protein.

I like to consider my new diet as a clean eating diet, I am still working on the whole “clean” part of it since I still have some processed foods here and there. But I am doing my best and it is getting more "clean" as the months go by.

1. Processed Foods: I’ve cut processed foods from my diet. There are a few exceptions like dairy and sugar (for my coffee), but besides that processed food is out. One way that I’ve learned to manage this is to go grocery shopping after working out. I always make better decisions after I’ve exercised. I’ve also completely abandoned the “pantry” aisles. I go to the fresh fruit and vegetable area, the dairy aisle, and then I pay and leave. No glancing around, because there’s no point. For the record here, I do this even when I shop at organic markets. Zero processed boxed foods.

2. Soda: I am happy to say that I have also completely eliminated soda from my diet. I think that this in itself has helped me lose about 5 pounds. Soda happens to be my biggest weakness and we always have it at home. I’ve tried convincing my family to get rid of it, but I’ve been rejected multiple times. I do allow myself to have it if I go out to dinner with friends, but even then I’ve done a really good job of holding back.

3. Vegetables/Fruit: I never had enough servings of vegetables per day prior to this new endeavor. Now, I make a point to have vegetables or fruit at every meal. For breakfast I often have a banana with whatever I’m having that morning. At lunch I have cucumber, carrots, or lettuce (in my salad). At dinner I usually have broccoli, lettuce, corn, or a clementine (for my sweet tooth).

4. Water: Who knew hydrating was so important? I learned to drink more water when I began reading online about sore muscles. After those 3 hour days at the rink I would come home and my muscles would feel like death. When I started a water drinking routine, I found that my muscles were recovering quickly, I was getting less headaches, and overall I felt much better! I make sure to drink water first thing in the morning, before meals, before workouts, before bed, but most importantly after workouts/ice time. On 3 hour ice days I make sure I drink 2-3 bottles of water within a couple hours. This really jolts the “healing” process.

5. Carbs/Protein: So many fad diets get rid of carbs and up the levels of protein. While I’ve tried these methods I find that it just doesn’t work when I’m  working out 1-3 hours per day. Carbs are for energy and you need energy when working out. So on big workout/ice days I make sure to include carbs in my breakfast if I am skating in the morning, or I include them in my lunch if I am working out at night. I have also added more protein to my diet, for lunch or dinner each day the majority of my meal is made up of protein usually in the form of grilled chicken breasts, grilled salmon, or beef (once a week).

6. Sweet Tooth: If you know me personally, you also must know that I have a sweet tooth. As a kid I would always dive for the first piece of candy while I was out since my mom didn’t allow it at home. I thought this would be a bigger struggle than it is. Now when I am craving something sweet I usually reach for a clementine or a small piece of chocolate.

What do my meals look like?

Breakfast:

1. Coffee (w/ organic milk and two sugars) & yogurt or banana
2. Starbucks Cafe Latte (nonfat milk & 2 sugar in the raw) & whole wheat bread toasted with old fashioned butter or a banana
3. Yogurt and a banana
4. Whole wheat bread toasted with old fashioned butter and banana
5. One cheese omelette with whole wheat toast and a banana or clementine

Lunch:

1. Caesar Salad, banana, and clementine
2. Leftovers from previous dinner (usually this is Egyptian food)
3. Yogurt, cucumbers (2 mini seedless), 2 string cheese, and banana/clementine

Dinner:

1. Grilled chicken (4 oz), broccoli/corn, and brown rice (¼-½ cup)
2. Caesar salad with protein (chicken or roast beef 4oz)
3. Grilled salmon (4 oz) , broccoli/corn, and brown rice (¼-½ cup)
4. Grilled vegetables (eggplant, summer squash, onion, broccoli) and 2-4 oz of protein

Dessert:

1. Clementines
2. Sweet Valley Organic Frozen Yogurt Bar (Costco) [max once a week]
3. Dark Chocolate

As you can see there isn’t a ton of variety in my meals and I am okay with that. I am actually a really picky eater, especially when it comes to vegetables, so I try to eat the ones that I do like a lot. And no, I don’t get sick of them!

Thanks for taking the time to read through this, I know it’s a lot. If you are on your own diet I know how challenging it can be and I truly wish you the best of luck. If you’re like me and have been struggling with your weight for most of your life, keep up the hard work. It will be worth it as long as your motivations are genuine. I am motivated my figure skating, I want to be strong so that I can skate really well. Before my intentions were not genuine and I believe this was a great hinderance for me, find your genuine motivation and strive for the best you!