How to Start Eating Clean
What is eating clean? I say it ALL THE TIME. But I guess I should once and for all blog about it!!! Simplified, eating clean means stripping your diet of nutritionally meaningless foods. This means no fatty, fried, processed, sugary stuff. In comes the WHOLE FOODS.
Did you know that eating clean actually means you can EAT MORE??? That’s right. You can eat more on LESS calories. How amazing is that. Who doesn’t love eating??? Umm I do. I love eating and if I can eat more, gosh darnit, I will! Eating things like lean protein (chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, tofu, egg whites etc.), veggies (broccoli, kale, romaine lettuce, green beans etc.), whole grains (quinoa, oatmeal, bulgur, brown rice, etc.), and good fats (almonds, avocado) will keep you fuller, longer.
Why? If you eat processed foods, they are pretty much already “broken down” for you, so the time it takes to digest a french fry will be waaaaayyyyy quicker than the time it takes to digest a baked sweet potato with skin. Make sense? And processed foods usually have a TON of sugar, sodium, and preservatives that can make them quite addicting. If you try to ween away from chips, candy, and all that other “bad stuff”, your taste palette will rewire itself so that you won’t want it anymore. It takes about 2 weeks. Today I ate my steel cut oats with NO brown sugar and no milk even (not saying it’s bad, I just didn’t add it). Just oatmeal made with water and the sweetness of a banana. Tasting WHOLE, real food is so much more satisfying in comparison to eating food hiding behing a blanket of nutritionally invaluable junk.
HOW TO START EATING CLEAN:
- Stop eating anything fried, sugary, and processed
- Start eating a ton more veggies and lean protein
- Eat things in their whole form! Fresh fruits, veggies, real meat (not patties and chicken nuggets)
- Replace refined carbs (like white rice) with whole grains (brown rice, quinoa)
- Drink tons and tons of water to stay hydrated
- Eat 5 times a day. If this is not possible, it is ok to do 3 a day, but just make sure each meal is balanced
- Make and take with you as many meals as you can to not be swayed by temptation
Below is the book I recommended in the video. “Eat-Clean Diet” by Tosca Reno. It is also a staple in my health & fitness library. Great read with a meal plan and recipes inside too!!! Hope you learned a little with this video and article. or if you already knew that, then I hope this motivates you to jump start the eat clean lifestyle. Really, just start eating this way and watch the fat fall off.
85 thoughts on “How to Start Eating Clean”
There are Array85 comments posted by our users.
could u show us some healthy and easy recipes to eat on a workout day 😋
ooooh love this idea!
For some reason I don’t like dinner at all, even though it is important, but I don’t like it, is there a problem with that?
I do really well when I’m told “what” to eat. Is there any place to find a meal plan for clean eating?
Careot tracks your calories/food intake as well as weight and exercise.
Hi Cassy I was over eating evey night but I gonna tell god I will not sneaking and over eating
evey night but I try some sleep every night with out eating and doing my tablet.
Sincerely i’m hot and sexy Barry Manilow’s wife shanna williams.
I actually have a problem under eating! Strange right? Like I have days where I eat way too much and I sometimes can go a week with eating literally one thing a day. I do know how to cook really good I just sometimes get tired and end up starving myself unintentionally of course.. I wish she would do a video on over eating and under eating
Hey Cassey,
I really don’t know how to start eating clean because I really LOVE sugar and sweet things (brownies, cookies, etc.). I eat healthy in the afternoon and at breakfast but when it comes to snacks and dinner I usually eat very sweet things and sometimes in excess. I really need some advice and inspiration because I’m really lazy almost every time it cones to workout… What can I do?
Hi,
That happened to me a while ago…and what worked for me was stop buying those things. I went to the supermarket with a shopping list and right before I had eaten something, so I wouldnt buy junk food.
I am a high school student and find it really diffiucult to find a meal that doesn’t require reheating or anything more than 20 minutes of prep. I am usually in a mad rush in the morning and end up taking a few pieces of fruit for lunch(carrot, apple etc) but find my self starving by the time i get home. Does anyone have any suggestions of healthy school lunches? Thankyou soooo much!!!!
p.s i know this is an older blog but i thought the post was relivent to the topic kinda…not really sure as to where i should post this so people see it…..
Zoe
I wonder if you could pack some items the day or maybe several days in advance. Maybe some almonds or boil eggs in advance for a quick high protein breakfast and have the fruit for lunch? A low sugar but butter might be helpful mid day to sustain you bc of the protein vs sugar not found in some fruits.
Schol can be hard because of the time contrains for food prep. I would suggest making healthy sandwiches for lunch times and having fruit/cut up veges for recess. Wholegrain bread is best as it not only contains heaps of b vitamins, but it also contains iron in it too. What I like to do is combine that with some grated carrot for vitamin c (which helps your body absorb the iron in the bread) with eaither some hummus and avocado ( hummus for extra veges and iron, avocado for healthy fats to keep you full), or I will spread some peanut butter on with the carrot to help build up my protien base for the day while giving myself some healthy fats in my diet too. I hope this has been helpful 🙂
is mascavo sugar better? I usually dont consume much sugar but sometimes i want to put some in my coffee, would it have a bad influence for my weightloss/diet?
You should try stevia. That’s what Cassey uses.
Hi, I have been clean eating for a few days, and I feel really weak and tired. Is this normal at first?
Not at all! If you’re feeling weak, try eating more lean protein. The tired feeling could be from a lack of caffeine or added sugars that you have recently cut out. If that is the case, try weening off of them slowly. You could also just be feeling tired because your body is in shock of calorie deficit. For the first week I found it best to just make a conscious effort to make healthier decisions; once my body was used to this it craved healthier foods and in no time I was eating clean! Good luck!
I have a friend who’s a nurse and I was feeling the same way you are and she said its normal because your body isn’t used to the change. I think you should ease your way into a “eat clean” diet plan instead of just jumping right in so you don’t shock your body. I hope this helps. Good luck Amy!! ^-^ <3
Idk if I can get through the 2 weeks! It’s gonna be really hard for me. :/ Guess it’s worth a try!
The best you can do is try and every time you try, try a little harder than the last time . Don’t start off thinking you’ll fail, start with knowing you’ll succeed ! My old coach used to say “it’s 80% mind and 20% effort” you just need the right mind set. I know this reply is a little late but good luck!
Can I eat cheese with a clean diet? I mean real cheese, not low fat soy stuff. I know it contains a lot of fat and calories, but also plenty of protein, calcium and vitamin D…
Someone help!
Cheese is not that good for you on the whole, but it depends on what cheese and how much. You shouldn’t eat a lot if it and you’d be surprised how little a lot is. Feta is a really good cheese choice it’s pretty healthy as far as cheese goes.
I love cottage cheese! It’s nutritionally very similar to greek yogurt, but tastes better IMO. I like babybels since they’re mini and I don’t have to worry about portion control too(:
I would love to eat clean my biggest concern is that I am a college student and I am required to be on my schools meal plan and I don’t have a ton of extra money to buy everything to eat especially since I already have to pay for a meal plan. Do you have any suggestions on how to eat clean at college?
Awesome! Coming up on my 1 year anniversary of marriage, I have been re-evaluating some things that I wanted my husband and I to do. One thing is eating clean, healthy, whole foods. Growing up I did not really have that Now that I have control I have started and am continuing clean healthy eating habits in my own household. For the right now, and for the future.
Question; I had been told that brown rice is actually not as good as white rice for you. Is that true? Something about it being more difficult to digest?
brown rice is better for you. it has more fiber, and the good type of carbs.
So true Cassey! I’ve been trying to do this for a very long time, I manage very well throughout the day but the cravings come at night after dinner (worst time!) for a chocolate hit, muffin, biscuit, whatever. I’ve always had a snack after dinner, all through my childhood so of course it seems normal for me. So bad. I did do the 21 day junk food free challenge though, but my taste palette did not seem to rewire. I’m thinking this is because on some days I ate quite a lot of muesli which tasted quite sweet…probably wasn’t the best idea! I’m thinking of doing this challenge again and improving from what I did last time. 🙂
Great video, however I couldn’t watch it on your blog and actually had to go to YouTube to watch it, but it might just be my computer. You are definitely right though, processed foods and fried foods are just a no no if you’re trying to stay healthy, but some people just have a really hard time doing that. You say it just takes a few weeks before your palates fix themselves, but for some people, that could feel like forever. Any tips to help you stay away from these unhealthy foods that you’re just craving?
Finally, I’ve found something simple that helps explain this! I’m going to try clean eating for a few months over the summer and see how it goes. I need to make a shopping list so hopefully this is gonna work out for me. Thanks Casey! 🙂
Though I really want to eat clean, it;s too difficult for me, since it’s really expensive in my country:( brown sugar, quinoa, sweet potatoes, tofu, low fat things, bio things, chicken/turkey breasts and usually everything healty needs a lot of money here, but I try as much as I can to eat clean since 2 years ago with what I have, veggies, no fried food, less junkfood (I try once a month and after I work out XD) no white bread, no soda, not too much sugar, a lot of grains and a lot of water. We don’t have PAM, protein powders and thinks like that, but I try to not use to much oil, I usually don’t use any oil though my mom does but I try to not eat too much of my mom’s food on a meal and since she knows that I want to eat clean she tries to help me too sometimes, but this is all I can do:( even so my body did change a lot after 5 weeks of blogilates♥♥
How about brown rice? Whole grain bread/pasta? Eggs? Lean beef? Beans? Lentils? Try using a teflon frying pan, so you don’t need as much oil. And bake stuff! It tastes similar to frying, and it’s much better for you.
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“your taste palette will rewire itself so that you won’t want it anymore. It takes about 2 weeks.” <– this is sooo true! Thank you for the great tips!!
I have been eating clean for two weeks and feel fantastic!!!!! I do have a question about some of the things I love that I think might be ok but not real sure. I love my crack black pepper triscuit crackers with hummus. I know clean eating sings suppose to come from a box or jar but they are so good and the ingredients all sound great but I just want to make sure. Thanks for any help!!!!
Steph
I love the video. I’ve been preaching’ to all of my family, friends, & coworkers about eating clean. #POPpresents.
I’ve been trying to eat clean . I find that eating 3 meals with 2 snacks a day is good for me. The number of meals doesn’t really matter much, besides curbing hunger and keeping metabolism going. Focus on the quality of the food, not the amount.
My weakness is Pizza and Mexican food. Those two are so hard to turn down 🙁
I think its the flavor and fullness of it. You should totally do a food bites video on healthy mexican food! I would love it :))
I luv this vid but Cassey I have a major problem!!!!!!!!!!!! I am obsessed with cookies, brownies and cupcakes especially cookies I am trying not to buy it as much but I can’t help it I don’t know wat to do or how to control it. I don’t even kno if I can control it!!!!! I am having major problems with my diet control!!! BUUT I am glad because I am also eating a lot of carrots even though I absolutely hate it!!! But i started getting use to the taste so it is not bad I would like to do more meal ideas so please do more meal recipes dat doesn’t require too much ingredients and I just have one question could you buy miracle rice in a local store??? In Canada??? Probably not but if so plz tell me!!!! I am also really trying hard to control my desires to want to eat cookies but it is just so good!!!!!! OMG!!!!! I NEED HELP!!!!／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
BTW SRRY I’m probably killing u with all these questions ／人x ___ x人＼
I feel you, GK. I”m a hard cord sugar addict, too. Right now, I’m trying to phase out sugar completely by eating more of fruit instead of anything with white sugar. Then, after Wednesday, I’m cutting back on the fruit and eating more vegetables with lots of flavor, like spinach with apple cider vinegar on it (I also love cider vinegar, which is odd), and edamame. I’ve done this before, and it took two weeks to get the horrid cravings out, but it did work. I did learn this though–sadly, I can’t even have ONE cookie b/c it triggers the cravings. I have to go all or none.
If you search the internet, you can find recipes for cookies and other desserts that are still clean eating friendly!! It uses things to substitute for the bad ingredients. 🙂 Try it sometime and maybe that will help with your weaknesses!
I just had to say, right on! 🙂 I came across this and thought, how cool is that? I have been on the Eat Clean train for about two years now and have lost 96 pounds. Due to an total knee replacement that has complications, I am not able to work out really, so the majority of my weight loss has been with food! 🙂 My husband was like others, ‘ what, you are going to lose weight by not working out’? Well, here I am, went from 245 to 15o and I am 5 from my goal! So, I wanted to say, yes, it can be done! So, ROCK ON!!! 🙂
xoxoxoxo,
Traci
thewalkerlady 🙂
I’ve been trying to eat clean for over two weeks now, but its sooo hard! Especially in a big family where everything thats anything is unhealthy 🙁 Been trying to resist, but when everyone is eating so bad around you, it’s tough! Going to start eating clean again tomorrow. Trying to get in serious shape for Summer! Like Cassey says, ‘Nothing tastes as good as a bikini feels’!
I feel you Fallon. I am in the same predicament. Please tell me how you overcome the temptation. I just had a bar of chocolate after weeks of refraining and I feel incredibly guilty and to be honest, sick. Its just so hard 🙁
Thanks,
Farheen
Farheen and Fallon–The worst is the first 2-4 weeks b/c your body is really goign through a detox. Once you are past that point though, the cravings will be gone. If you have not stuck with it, start again with the expectation that it will be HARD to do but that you are DETERMINED to stick through the first month. Tell yourslef rather than “I can’t have that”…..that “You no longer eat that”. Find great substitutions…. I use to be a nightly icecream eater. Now, I’m an unsweetened applesauce with fresh berries eater. Similar texture–just as satisfying and I feel good about it. Fruit is now my desert/sweet go-to alternative. Good luck!
It was hard for me in the beginning. The trick is to take it meal by meal that way you don’t feel overwhelmed.
I’m pretty much eating clean. I am a highschooler and people make fun of how healthy i am! It is hard though when my friends go out to eat for pizza and ice cream and stuff as I do wanna stay away from it but its hard!
I completely feel for you! I’m in high school as well, and I get a lot from my friends and family about how I try to eat clean. I agree with what you said about going out/eating with friends…I’ve developed a taste for clean foods, but it can sometimes be so difficult to eat well when you’re surrounded by “junk”!
Absolutely love your page!
I’m glad to see so many other people who believe in clean eating!
Hi Cassey,
I love dairy products such as milk, do you concider it being bad/ unhealthy? I ask this because I read that you stopped pouring milk in your oatmeal.
well i never started pouring milk in my oatmeal – it’s not bad! just unnecessary for me.
Hi Cassey,
So I have already bought the book that you’re talking about on Amazon haha, I know how much you love your miracle noodles, and i’ve been so tempted to buy them online but I was in the grocery store the other day and found something that i think is very similar, they’re noodles packaged in water just like the miracle noodle and they’re called, “no oodle,” guilt free noodles. One of my favorite things about this blog is your recipes that you post, i was wondering if there was any way you could do or post a few more miracle noodle recipes? Thanks Cassey, and happy new year.
Interesting! I consider myself to be a pretty clean eater and I have to say I don’t find it less calories than with processed foods. For example, I just picked up some Wasa crackers made with Spelt to have instead of “light” crackers (which I find taste like air anyway) Wasa crackers but the calorie difference is amazing 100 cals for 1 cracker vs. 21 cals. I chose the Spelt Wasa crackers because I thought there would be more value to them, but at this rate I could just eat a good complex carb couple of slices of bread! Oatmeal with nuts and seeds, a half a banana and 1TBSP “light” peanut butter I find have a lot of calories for the morning, but I am trying to eat enough so I’m not starving after only 1 hour… it’s a real balancing act in my opinion!
I find myself struggling at the moment to eat clean and not worry about the calories, yet still want to lose weight (at some point). I hardly eat junk and we don’t have the abundance of processed “diet” food here in NL so that makes it easier to just eat good, fresh, whole foods, but I don’t see how it’s less calories and more food!
skip the ‘light’ foods and go to the clean foods. natural peanut butter–ingredients: peanuts and salt (a small amount). etc. if you eat clean you really don’t have to worry about calories. it sound slike what you are doing is eating light…..not clean.
the truth is for the past few days i have been binge eating! 🙁 its all been fatty sodium, sugar filled foods!! 🙁 i checked my weight and I gained 5 pounds in 3 days! but i have decided that i will eat clean and start to exercise again! 🙂 of course it will be hard but in the end it’ll feel good and ill look good too! wish me luck!!!!! <3
Hey- I’ve got a question. I’m not overweight, and I’m actually quite fit, and I exercise a lot and run cross country and track. I want to eat clean to improve my times. Do you think that would help? Also, how can I make sure to get enough calories to fuel my running? Thanks!
Great post. It’s also interesting that I see you’ve been including recipes with meat again… Vegetarianism can be great when done properly but I don’t think it’s very “clean” to eat a bunch of processed meat analogs made out of wheat and stuff like you were posting. So, I’m glad to see you walking the walk again 😉
Thanks for the great video! I’m going to pass it along to my clients!!! We talk all the time about the benefits of whole foods instead of processed junk. Thanks again!
I LOVE your videos, Cassey! You are so cute and funny and just radiate positive energy 🙂 Please keep these little motivational/informative videos coming!
I am (for the most part) a clean eater, but I have a few vices that I haven’t been able to totally eliminate from my diet- cheese, chocolate, and pizza. I have made progress in cutting back on these foods and opting for healthier, less processed versions of them, but it can be really difficult since I’m a busy college student on a budget. So, on days when I’m lacking time to prepare small, clean meals for my busy day at school or the willpower to turn down a chocolate bar, I tell myself to workout an extra 30 min.-1 hr. at the gym or at home, but not just any old simple workout I’ve done a million times before. I’ll choose a completely new form of exercise I haven’t tried before/practiced recently (like Zumba, HIIT, yoga, kickboxing, salsa dancing, etc- I love gaiamtv.com for ideas) and push myself to keep going and going until I’ve mastered the moves. It’s a really fun way to change up your workout routine! Doing some of the more intense PopPilates videos also sweats away my guilt 😉
Also, drinking tons of water throughout the day curbs my hunger and boosts my metabolism- this has been KEY to my fitness plan and it really works!
Thanks for all you do, Cassey! *Hugs*
Hi Cassey!
I recently found your pop pilates program through youtube and have to say that i LOVE it so much! i wrote about the program on my blog today too because i am so happy to be doing something good for myself.
i am not one to be motivated to exercise at all, but have been able to do the workouts everyday this week and can’t wait for the next day when i can try another video! they are fun and you are hilarious! thank you sooo much and please don’t stop making these videos. i sooo sore today, but it was totally worth.
-dzung
Love this, love you, and love whole foods! Its really the only way to go! A whole food clean diet makes me happy and energized, I would never ever go back to anything else 🙂
Aaand, I love pop pilates. After moving back to my parents for a while, I have no gym near by. Ive been working at a gym for 3,5 years now, so Im used to run and work out all the time. Thanks to Blogilates, I now just do 2 or 3 videos every day after my outdor run og walk. Lovelove it!!
Hi Cassie ! thank you so much for this video ! Did you put some camera in my head ? 🙂 because yesterday I spent like the whole afternoon looking for tips and ideas for having a better way of eating…And I couldn’t find anything that would really help me (I am leaving in Paris and to be honest, here it is much more about diet and being skinny : that is to say everything I am not !). I really was not looking for a diet because I tried 2 of them the last 2 years (dukan and…..not eating at all which was a really bad idea :)…and of course no surprise all the weight I was so happy loose came back ! Now I understand that there is no easy way to look good and great and healthy as I used to be…It is going to be a looong way ! But may be with a lot of effort, some advice like this from your blog and tons of pop pilates I can eventually manage to feel better and at peace with my body ! I have discovered you and your vids on youtube and am now following and reading every article and tweet! It is the first time that I am commenting…probably not the last ! Thanks again !
Do you have any examples of what I could drink to meals. I want something that tastes good, but without a lot of sugar, but I can’t seem to find anything. Any suggestions?
Try making a peanut butter banana smoothie. I use Almond milk, 1/2 banana, 1 T pwdr PB and sometimes I’ll throw in a few dark chocolate chips. Delish!
My husband on his own finally has decided to clean up his diet a little more. While he eats my clean meals for supper most of the time, some he just wouldn’t as they were too clean or healthy for him or it needed sauce. At first i would nag him a little and kind of make him feel guilty for eating what i call “dirty food” aka processed crap, i decided that he’ll get it eventually on his own and i for the most part won’t buy any bad foods and i am the one who grocery shops. Then finally the other day he went out on his own and bought The Eat Clean Diet for Men, and he said that he thinks he’ll just have to force himself to eat really clean and then he’ll eventually really like it…ha ha i was like that’s all i did (back when i found Tosca about 5 years ago). You have to re program your taste buds. And once you do whole clean foods taste sooooo much better and processed food tastes fake and gross. And if i am craving something sweat i make a healthier cookie or something sweet from scratch using all whole ingredients. So i now have healthy treats:) I know i still have to eat those in moderation though as they are still that, a treat!
The funny thing that spurred him on is that he now plays squash, he stopped working out for a few years, so he wasn’t eating as much and now that he plays squash 3-4 times a week he’s eating more and wants easy, fast clean meals and feels guilty that he hasn’t totally been eating clean…if he didn’t know what to make then he would just make a frozen pizza or fries and chicken strips. So now with this book i hope he comes up with some ideas on his own of fast easy meals! I have made suggestions before i what i like…but he’s not a fan of it all, lol. If any of you have ideas on meals/snacks that are clean and more men friendly let me know:)
Thanks, Amy. I have recommended this book to my husband!
Just wanted to add that a few more days of a meal plan would help me transition from the 90-day challenge into a permanent lifestyle change with 6 small meals/day.
Thanks again SO much!
Cassey, I just wanted to mention that I love how you did the meal plans for the 90-day challenge. It’s so simple, easy to follow, and has been just what I was looking for to go from 3 meals to 6 meals/day as the personal trainer at my gym recommended for me. I love how you have everything broken down into the proper ratios. That was key for me in making the change. Thanks for doing all the work 🙂 ! If you ever get the time, I would love to see maybe two more alternating days added with some of recipes from your website to mix things up. I really appreciate all the effort and time you put in to doing the meal plan–tremendously helpful!!! Hugs!
I also wondered this! (comment above) I always thought semi skimmed or skimmed milk was pretty good for you, as it is low fat and has a good amount of protein. What makes milk bad?
Do you know if that book is translated to Norwegian?
no idea!
Hello! I was just wondering about having oatmeal without milk. Do you consider that better than having it with milk? I have never had it with water instead of milk, I don’t know if I could make the change, but does it make a difference nutritionally or calorie wise? (I guess that is what I’m trying to say)
I like it better with water, because milk has extra calories and it personally tastes gross with milk. So I have water with it, pieces of cut up banana, and a little nit of brown sugar(the serving size).
Try using water to cook. then add unsweetened applesauce and cinnamon and put it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and add frozen blueberries. I used to always use milk, but now I am totally used to water.
well milk has calories so yea it would make a diff calorie wise! water has no calories, but milk also has good vitamins and minerals like calcium and vitamin D and as long as it’s at least low fat or nonfat you’re good. You can also try it with soymilk if you want to skip out on the milk 🙂
Also, it may taste a little bland with just water, but you can try it! and add a little soy milk and cinnamon. To me it tastes so good!
Thank you! 🙂
I will probably stick with milk, but then again I would like to try it with just water. I always add bananas and cinnamon anyway 😀
If you Like it with milk than stick with that! If you try to force yourself to eat oatmeal with water just to save a few calories and its not as satisfying, than you most likely wont stick with it.