How I Cleaned Up My Diet

Eating healthier is one of those things that a lot of us commit to around this year so I wanted to share how I cleaned up my diet to help you guys reach your health and fitness goals.

Before

After

I love food, but we all know that too much of the wrong thing leads to health issues and weight gain. At the same time, it’s hard to completely give up junk food (I applaud any of you that have that much willpower). I spend a lot of time with family so I’m always tempted with sugary or fried foods. After reading Eat. Nourish. Glow by Amelia Freer I discovered that the key to a healthier diet is finding a balance between eating good and bad. It’s easier to maintain eating healthy when you allow yourself to cheat here and there. In fact, those junk foods aren’t as satisfying once you get used to eating clean so there’s less of an incentive to cheat after a while.

Eat. Nourish. Glow suggests cutting back on sugar, milk, coffee, gluten, and alcohol. Everything besides alcohol was hard to do, but it got a lot easier once I could see and feel the effects it had on my body. Besides losing a couple pounds, I had more energy and finally stopped having frequent headaches. Limiting sugar and the rest of those things probably sounds terrible, but once you learn what it does to your body, it’s way easier to make smarter choices. For example, I learned that the body doesn’t distinguish what type of sugar we eat; it’s all processed the same. If I’m craving something sweet, I try to eat real sugar instead of a diet version.

The best part of eating cleaner is that you can enjoy food without the hassle of counting calories which makes it easier to maintain a healthier diet. I did Weight Watchers back in college, but tracking was one of the reasons I quit the program. Now that I’m making smarter choices, I can enjoy food without the guilt of going overboard.

Thanks for checking out this post. Have any of you read Eat. Nourish. Glow.? I’d love hear how you guys are working towards a healthier year.