Clean eating is part of living a healthy lifestyle
Committing yourself to a healthy lifestyle is a great accomplishment. One half of achieving this is due to your daily fitness component. Working out regularly on your home gym equipment is crucial to keeping your body in good shape. Whether you’re running on your home treadmill, like a True M30 Home Treadmill, lifting weights or cycling on a True ES9.0 Home Upright Bike, staying active keeps muscles strong and immune systems functioning properly.
The other component of living a truly healthy lifestyle is a balanced diet. A great way to achieve this is through clean eating. The good news is that clean eating is not a diet, but a lifestyle change, and something you can continue permanently. But what does clean eating actually entail?
Clean eating means that you choose whole, “clean” foods. To do this, you should avoid processed foods as much as possible, including anything with a label (especially long ones), and instead eat foods in their natural form like whole vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and grass-fed and free-range meat. Keep in mind, the shorter the ingredient list is, the better the food choice. Nothing is “off limits,” so you don’t have to give up carbs or sugar, but you should opt for the best of these food choices.
Deciding to eat clean provides a plethora of benefits. Avoiding processed and junk food helps you maintain a healthy weight. Eating whole foods gives you more energy, and making them with a variety of options ensures you receive all of the vitamins and nutrients you need.
How to eat clean
Shop the grocery store’s perimeter: Though each store is designed differently, the outer edges of grocery stores are typically where you’ll find the more nutritious, cleaner foods. Around the perimeter are fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and whole grain baked goods. Though you may have to venture to the center of the store for groceries like olive oil or flour alternatives (coconut, rice and oats), sticking to the edges of the store could help you purchase whole foods more easily.
Stock up on fresh produce: A great and simple way to stick to clean eating is to consume a multitude of different fruits and vegetables each day. Vegetables offer necessary vitamins and nutrients as well as soluble fiber. Fresh produce makes a great snack and can be a terrific side dish for main meals. Options change with the seasons, so there’s plenty of opportunity to try a variety.
Stay hydrated with water: Drinking plenty of water every day is crucial for healthy living, especially when you’re working out. Staying hydrated while exercising on a home elliptical machine saves you from muscle cramps and injury. Additionally, drinking water can help curb appetite and keep you healthy and energized.
Enjoy your meals: Many people live busy lifestyles, so they don’t always take the time to truly enjoy their meal. Carve out time each day to sit down and take pleasure in the flavors, textures and scents of each dish. Whether you’re dining with loved ones or solo, relish in a delicious, nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner. This can help excite you about cooking and eating homemade meals.
Be sure you can pronounce all of the ingredients: Foods with a long list of ingredients are most likely processed and full of artificial add-ins. If you can’t pronounce what the product is made of, chances are it’s not going to be very nourishing for your body. Whole foods only have one of a few ingredients, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary about them.