By Anna Bielkheden
IS EATING CLEAN ENOUGH TO LOSE WEIGHT?
The notion of “eating clean” is a very vague one what does it exactly mean? Does it refer to washing your food with soap? Or just cutting out the nonorganic, preservative. These days you hear those words frequently, on Instagram, Facebook, what have you. “Eat clean, get lean!” Let’s say that eating clean does not mean putting your food in the dishwasher but simply eating healthy stuff like nuts or organic eggs, rather than candy and hamburgers. Ok. There are tons of delicious “clean” recipes online which create various eye catching.
Will it get you lean and mean though? This is where macros, short for macronutrients, come in. Macros equal the amount of carbs, fats and proteins that you put into your body on a daily basis. The problem with simply eating clean, is that no matter how healthy your food is, unless you count the macros you won’t have the slightest idea if you are getting the right amounts for your body and your goals. So before you gobble down that raw cheesecake or Spirulina loaded mango smoothie, consider for a moment that you may actually be eating more than you did before. It’s easy to get carried away with “clean eating” and think that you can now eat all these healthy whole foods in any amount because your body will recognize good fats, good sugars and so on. Sorry to break the news but the body, unfortunately, doesn’t work that way. Sure, there is a slight difference in artificial sugars versus natural sugars, but nonetheless, sugar is sugar.
And definitely, the fat from an avocado will be vastly different from that of a corn dog. Yet, no matter what carb, protein or fat you put into your body, the same amount of calories remains. 1 gram of carbs contains 4 calories, 1 gram of protein contains 4 calories, and 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. So whether it’s from a healthy source or an unhealthy source, you will gain weight if you put more calories into your body than you expend. End
So what do you do? I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll say it again calculate your macros and prep your food in advance. When you’ve done this, then you can play with all the wonderful recipes you find online and in magazines, fit this formula into your program and savor the amazing flavors.
Not up for the task? If you’re like me, lazy when it comes to cooking your own food, consider the option of having someone else do the measuring and prepping for you. Personally I use an amazing company called Formula Foods (www.formulafoods.com) and it’s been extremely effective thus far. In only one month, I’ve lost nearly 4% body fat and 2 inches off my waist.
Their food has no preservatives, low sodium and is planned and prepared just for me or you. The food is delivered every Sunday or Thursday and you can choose how many days a week you would want to receive the meals. Me, I chose to have one cheat day where I eat what I want and have my Formula meals the remaining 6 days. But try it and you’ll find the Formula that’s right for you.
Follow their facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/formulafoods
Check out some before and afters and decide for yourself.
