Adventures in Clean Eating

On Monday, I turned 25.  I think it’s a good age.  It feels older and somewhat accomplished.  A quarter of a century.  I’m officially in my “mid-twenties”, but I also have a long life ahead of me.  It’s old enough to have experienced some pretty substantial things and learned a lot, but it’s also young enough to still have a wealth of opportunities in front of me.

Turning 25 has caused me to reflect a lot on some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years.  There are a lot of them, although I have a feeling that one day I’ll look back on this point of my life and marvel at how naïve I was, just as I do when I reminisce now.  That being said, I believe  there are lessons to be learned in everything we do, in all the mistakes we make, and I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned with you.  Since this is primarily a health blog, and that is what my readers are here for (hi mom!), that is what I’ll focus on in this series.

I am not a health professional (duh..), but I have spent over half my life trying to lose weight and improve my fitness.  I’m an eager researcher and learner, and have at some point in my life tried every popular diet out there, have read countless books on weight loss and nutrition, and have at some point or another had a subscription to every popular fitness magazine there is.  There are no citations here; this is all just conjured from my memory.  If you want more information on anything, feel free to reach out in the comments.  Based on everything I’ve learned, and everything I’ve tried, these are the 25 health lessons that have served me well.

1.  There is no one size fits all answer to weight loss. Wouldn’t it be easy if we all knew exactly what to do to lose weight?  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.  We’re all individuals.  What works for one person may not work for another.  Plus, nothing will work if you can’t stick to it.  You have to chose something that your body responds to that you can maintain for a long time.  Even if it works, if you feel deprived and end up splurging too often, you won’t lose weight.  Choose something that fits your lifestyle and specific needs.  Generally, a low-calorie diet consisting of foods that only came from the ground or a mother, combined with regular exercise, will work for most people.  However, where the majority of your calories come from will differ from person to person and our bodies will respond differently to various forms of exercise.  My husband and I are very good examples of this theory.  Pete stays in shape by eating a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, and looks great.  I, however, respond better when I eat a minimal amount of animal products, and eat mainly vegetables/vegetable proteins and healthy fats.

2.  Eat your vegetables. There are many, many different diets and nutritional theories out there.  Out of the ones that are respected by the educated nutritional community, they all have at least one thing in common: they include lots of vegetables.  When I’m eating enough vegetables I not only feel and look better, but it’s much easier to stick to my diet.  Vegetables are great because they have tons of nutrients, have a lot of filling fiber, and are practically calorie-free.  As long as you make sure you eat a full serving of vegetables with every meal, you will naturally eat less of everything else.  This one small change will make a huge difference.  I always keep a few steam-in-the-bag frozen vegetable packs in the freezer to beef up leftovers and take-out.  I also try to include them into my cheat meals (on pizza, in mac-and-cheese, etc).  If nothing else, it keeps the meal from just being empty calories.  There are a multitude of ways to sneak vegetables into your diet if you don’t like them raw or steamed.  Try roasting them (my vegetable-hating husband loves roasted broccoli).  Add them to soups, chili, and pasta-sauce.  Try them with different dips.  Mix spinach into your morning smoothie (I promise you can’t taste it!).  Vegetables can be way more exciting than just in salad form.

3.  Take a multi-vitamin. Even if you are eating lots of fruits and vegetables, you still may be missing some important nutrients in your diet, especially if you are cutting calories or exercising heavily.  Vitamins will not replace nutrients from food, but they will serve as a safe-guard to make sure you’re getting everything you need.  Take one with food to improve absorption of the nutrients.  Depending on your dietary regimen, you may need to take other vitamins in addition to your multi. Since I eat a mainly vegan diet, I also take vitamin D, calcium, and probiotic supplements.  When I’m training for a race, I take a glucosamine supplement to keep my joints healthy.  Whatever you decide to take, do not take all your vitamins at the same time as your multi.  You body can only handle so many additional nutrients at one time, so most of that will just be wasted if you take it all together.  Try taking them throughout the day.  I take my calcium supplement in the morning, my multi after lunch, and my vitamin D at night.  I leave my probiotics and glucosamine at work to take after snacks.  Yes, this means I don’t take them when I’m not in the office, but based on my own experience, I forget vitamins on weekends a lot anyway so I’m bound to take them more regularly this way.  On a more vain note, multi vitamins make your hair and nails look awesome.  Sure you want to pass it up now?

4.  You might not be eating enough calories. If you feel like you’re doing everything right, but the number on the scale won’t budge, your body could be in starvation mode.  That’s bad, not just because it’s keeping you from losing weight, but because your body also may be using muscle instead of fat for fuel!  Calculate how many calories you would need to eat per day to maintain your weight.  Now, take an assessment of how many calories you’re eating for one day.  You should be eating about 500 calories below your calculated number, including calories burned during exercise.  If the number is too much lower, you aren’t eating enough to both lose weight and maintain your muscle.  Unless you are extremely short/small boned, you definitely should not be eating below 1200 calories a day.

5.  Red wine is not good for you. Every now and then some new study will be released about the health benefits of some seemingly unhealthy food, like red wine, beer, dark chocolate, coffee, butter, etc.  Blanket statements like “coffee is good for runners” are misleading.  While I’m not trying to dispute the benefits of antioxidants, I am saying that you shouldn’t use that as an excuse to drink as much red wine as you want.  The benefits of a food don’t counteract the negative effects.  So, use discretion when eating these things.  A good way to apply this information?  How about, when you do cheat, eat these foods.  Sub out milk chocolate for dark.  Trade in your sugary cocktail for a glass of red wine.  I eat all of these foods (hell… I’m not sure what I’d do without my morning coffee…), but I don’t fool myself into thinking I’m eating something healthy.  Be honest with yourself, and treat these foods like you would any other indulgence so you don’t go overboard.