how do you begin to get the mind set...

[gettingfitmom]

to start to eat clean? My diet is pretty good IMHO but I feel I can clean it up and maybe loose the last stubborn 5-7 pounds I need to loose. I do well at breakfast and dinner. The problem, if my DH is around at lunch time, we'll go out, and i don't always make the best choices. Where is the best place to start to eat "cleaner"? Thanks in advance.

 

[dania]

Let me start by saying I feel like a hypocrite giving any kind of advice right now, since I'm not doing what I know I should at the moment. However, I'll tell you what's worked for me. For me it starts with my workouts. If I am working my butt off running and lifting heavy and sweating out that last rep with everything I've got - then I definitely don't want to ruin it by not eating clean. So start with good, solid workouts that really challenge you (which you're probably already doing).

Next I would go in baby steps. Just take one meal at a time and try to make them as clean as possible until you work your way up to a full day of clean eating. I also love reading fitness magazines (esp. Oxygen) because it gives so many good examples of how regular, everyday people have cleaned up their diet and gotten great results. That always inspires me. Wish I had a magic answer that would make a person eat clean. I think it's just when you're ready, you will get it done.

Here's a quote from I don't know who that is true in my case: "You will only change when the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing." And remember - you CAN do this!!!

dani

 

[sparrow13]

My thought is that you first have to define what clean eating means to you. Although there's a general agreement as to what clean eating is (Twinkies=spawn of hell)even on this board we differ in the specifics. For myself and others, butter is clean, as long as it is from organically raised pasture fed cows. Others wouldn't touch butter with a ten-foot pole, no matter how it was raised. So my somewhat lame advice is to do some reading about different types of eating maybe, and see what resonates with you. Once you attach the clean eating to something larger than "Oh I am bad for eating this," such as your health, ethics, even a spiritual philosophy - it becomes easier to make those choices.

Good luck!

 

[gettingfitmom]

Let me start by saying I feel like a hypocrite giving any kind of advice right now, since I'm not doing what I know I should at the moment. However, I'll tell you what's worked for me. For me it starts with my workouts. If I am working my butt off running and lifting heavy and sweating out that last rep with everything I've got - then I definitely don't want to ruin it by not eating clean. So start with good, solid workouts that really challenge you (which you're probably already doing).

Next I would go in baby steps. Just take one meal at a time and try to make them as clean as possible until you work your way up to a full day of clean eating. I also love reading fitness magazines (esp. Oxygen) because it gives so many good examples of how regular, everyday people have cleaned up their diet and gotten great results. That always inspires me. Wish I had a magic answer that would make a person eat clean. I think it's just when you're ready, you will get it done.

Here's a quote from I don't know who that is true in my case: "You will only change when the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing." And remember - you CAN do this!!!

dani

Thanks Dani, baby steps makes sense. I'll give that a try. I feel I work out hard, and always have a good breakfast.I guess as the day goes on, I weaken. I'll try to toughen it out though. Thanks again Kay

 

[fargomom]

Something simple that I have found to work for myself, when I'm craving something not-so-clean, is repeating: "You can have a treat. Just not today."

It sounds simple, but this has worked for me. If it helps you (or anyone else), great!

 

[nancy324]

I'm like you, when I go out, it's not good. I find that just limiting the number of times I go out for meals is the key. These days, everyone in business is saying "let's discuss it over lunch". Or my DH wants to go out to dinner. Sometimes I'll just fake my way through the lunch by, say, ordering a salad with no dressing and an iced tea with no sugar. I eat it and then go back to my office and eat the lunch I brought. Some restaurants are much easier to deal with than others, but most of them present some sort of challenge. Anyway, don't be too hard on yourself. It doesn't sound to me like mindset is your problem. It's the darn restaurants!

 

[caseysmomgo]

Here's something I just read in Tom Venuto's "The Body Fat Solution":

"Do I really want to eat this processed, unnatural food if it's going to become a part of every cell in my body - my muscles, my brain, my lungs, or even my eyeballs?"

I decided I'm going to try to think of this every time I want to grab the chips or sugary crap....