clean eating - BFFM

[VickyWI]

I have been eating clean since Dec using Tosca Reno's books. I have had a lot of success but I was out of town for a long weekend and then in Miami for work and I got off track. I decided to recommit yesterday and I pulled out my copy of BFFM. It had a lot of great points but it also had me asking some questions.

Does anyone eat clean but drink diet pop?
What about fat free sour cream and low cal butters and light salad dressings? Do you put splenda in your tea? What about light mayo?

I guess my goal is health and to loose another 20lbs or so. Do these things effect weight loss at all or can I have limited amounts of them? I quit the diet coke and noticed my cravings quit so I don't think I will go back there but it would be nice to be able to have some of the other things.

 

[olexa17]

I personally believe that the more of the 'fake crap' you can get out of your diet the better. I'm working hard on tackling my last frontiers, hopefully weaning myself off of Splenda....then there is part of me that's like, geez if the one bad thing I do is put sugar free coffeemate creamer in my coffee, is that so awful?

I recently did a 7-Day Detox Cleanse and before/during/after that I'm doing a lot of reading/learning about detoxification - so it really opened my eyes to the crap in a lot of these fake foods; I cut out protein bars and diet pepsi as a result.

Its also about your body being able to function at peak capacity, process and eliminate food/toxing appropriately....
I will say after getting rid of the protein bars/diet pepsi, I feel way better AND I'm putting my efforts into focusing on drinking more water and getting creative with healthy foods and its changed my entire way of thinking - without trying, I'm eating less and yet enjoying it and being full. Who woulda thought??

You might want to check out my blog, as I posted some good stuff there this week, things that I'm learning - www.kellyolexa.blogspot.com.

Do you have a Trader Joes near you? They are filled with great organic healthy food. I love them sooo much.


>I have been eating clean since Dec using Tosca Reno's books.
>I have had a lot of success but I was out of town for a long
>weekend and then in Miami for work and I got off track. I
>decided to recommit yesterday and I pulled out my copy of
>BFFM. It had a lot of great points but it also had me asking
>some questions.
>
>Does anyone eat clean but drink diet pop?
>What about fat free sour cream and low cal butters and light
>salad dressings? Do you put splenda in your tea? What about
>light mayo?
>
>I guess my goal is health and to loose another 20lbs or so.
>Do these things effect weight loss at all or can I have
>limited amounts of them? I quit the diet coke and noticed my
>cravings quit so I don't think I will go back there but it
>would be nice to be able to have some of the other things.


Kelly Olexa
www.olexa.myarbonne.com

 

[kathryn]

>I personally believe that the more of the 'fake crap' you can
>get out of your diet the better.

I agree completely.

Soda* (whether diet or regular) isn't food: it has no nutritional value**, and I consider it almost an 'anti-nutrient'. (**Note, pepsi or coke has now come out with some 'vitamin-added' soda, but I wouldn't consider it much better, since there are healthier ways to get vitamins, and some vitamins in synthetic form--which I'm sure these are, because that's cheaper---can actually be harmful.

"Low fat" versions of foods that are normally high in fat are often not very natural. The fat is often replaced with starches or sugars or some other filler. I think it's best, healthwise, to either find a natural substitute (ie : mashed avocado on bread instead of mayo--yum!) or use a smaller amount of the real stuff. In any case, mayo, sour cream and butter shouldn't be a big part of ones diet: think of them almost as 'cheat' foods, to be used on occasion and/or in small amounts (if you keep a diet that's 80% or more (depending on the person) 'clean'(thought I hate the term), then you can afford to have a certain amount of 'cheat' foods.

Looking at it another way: think of getting a grade on your diet, based on nutrient density (how many nutrients--especially vitamins, minerals and antioxidants--it has in a certain number of calories. Avocado is high in fat, but it has many more nutrients than mayo does, so its more nutrient dense). What grade do you want at the end of the day? I'd think most of us would like an "A", or maybe a "B+". If most of your food is "A" quality (whole, nutrient dense, low-to-moderate fat, etc.), then you can have some B or C foods and still get a 'good grade." But some 'foods' don't even merit a C, IMO, like soda (F), artificial sweeteners (D or F), high-fructose corn sweetener(F) or hydrogenated oils (F). A far smaller amount of them in your daily diet will bring your grade down fast. (That's my "gee, I must miss teaching during the summer" diet/grade musing for the day, LOL!)

For salad dressing, I prefer mixing a flavored vinegar (Dr. Fuhrman's Balsamic Pomegranate or Blueberry or Blood Orange are delicious!) with a smidge of raw, extra-virgin olive oil (unless I include another source of fat, like avocado, then I omit the oil). The vinegar goes on top---drizzle, drizzle---followed by the oil--drip, drip, drip--or I mix them before putting on the salad. Keeping dressing 'on the side' and dipping your fork into it before each mouthful of salad is one way of minimizing the amount of dressing needed.

I avoid artificial sweeteners, including Splenda (sugar + chlorine doesn't seem too 'natural' to me, in spite of what the manufacturer wants us to think.) As for what I put in my coffee: I don't drink coffee, as I've never liked the taste of it (though some of it--those almond-flavored ones, for example--smells really good!) I actually think it's pretty odd that most people start the day with a cup of coffee.

(*I'm from Minnesota, where I used to say 'pop,' but I've lived in a 'soda' area for so long, I've picked that up, LOL!).