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Wellness Wednesday: Change

After last week’s Why I Became A Vegetarian post I received several messages and comments requesting tips for getting started on eating healthier. So I decided I would start a bi-weekly series called Wellness Wednesday so we can discuss anything related to overall wellness and health. I am two years into my journey and I am still learning new things every day, hopefully I can provide you guys with a few nuggets of knowledge I have picked up along the way.

 

Where Do I Start?

So you have decided you want to make a lifestyle change, vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian…whatever you choose, but you have no idea where to start. When I decided to stop eating meat and make an effort to give up processed foods I started out with a detox. I figured if I was going to make a clean start I should literally make a clean start inside and out. I forwent using a store bought detox because I wanted to know exactly what I was putting in my body. My bestie and I followed the one week detox in The Remedy, which pretty much consisted of drinking a green juice concoction for a week and slowly introducing food back into our systems.

Let me say this, I did not detox for the purpose of losing weight, I used it as a tool for resetting my eating and drinking habits. Please use your own discretion and judgment to figure out what is best for you and seek medical advice as necessary (my disclaimer).

During my one week detox I made a clean sweep of my cabinets and fridge and removed just about everything expect spices. I was ready to start all over and dedicate myself to a new lifestyle.

What Do I Eat?

 
For me it’s pretty simple, no processed foods, no fast food, no junk food, no soda, no sugary drinks, nothing that contains a large amount of sugar, not diary (except cheese on occasions) and of course no meats. I try to stay away from anything that has ingredients’ I can’t pronounce or don’t understand. Now that’s my definition of clean eating yours may be completely different which is cool, do what’s best for you.

It’s going to be hard to stop eating things you love so much for example I LOVE double stuff Oreos and Pepsi…nothing gives me more pleasure then having those two things. But once I started to clean up my act, pun intended, I set aside those sugary devils for roasted almonds and organic juice, lol. No but seriously don’t beat yourself up if you slip up every once in a while, everything is a process. Every day it will get easier and you will start to feel better and better.

So you’re ready to plan your meals but you have no idea what to eat or where to begin looking for tasty healthy recipes.

My first few weeks of clean eating I ate the same thing over and over, I was afraid I would slip up and backslide. Once I relaxed and actually started to look for clean eating blogs and recipes I discovered so many great websites. One of them being Foodgawker.com this place is the Pinterest of food photos from bloggers all over the world, anything you can imagine is there. Between Pinterest and Foodgawker I really never make the same thing twice.  Here are this weeks tips for clean eating success:

Clean Eating Tip #1 – Plan your meals for the week, write down exactly what you intend to eat and drink, snacks included. This not only saves you money but you won’t have to worry about what your eating everyday.

Clean Eating Tip #2 – Make substitutions in your recipes, substitute ground chicken for ground beef in your favorite taco recipe. Substitute regular cheese for organic cheese.

Clean Eating Tip #3 – Do not go on a frenzy and buy unnecessary stuff because “so and so” said they liked it. Eating clean can be expensive so take your time and figure out what you like.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions or comments leave them below. Next week I will be discussing food prep.

I leave you with these weeks Wellness Wednesday recipe: Vegan Banana Bread

I have made this several times and no one can ever tell it’s vegan, most folks equate vegan to tasting nasty which of course isn’t true.

 

 

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7 Comments

  1. Sasha Reply

    I LOVE this post. I posted a comment last week saying i'm doing a detox and no longer eating meat. It has been 4 days of no cheating with the diet. HALLELUJAH!! I've been on pinterest looking for recipes and blogs on vegetarian/vegan recipes.

  2. The Pro Diva Reply

    This is a great post, and I look forward to getting weekly tips. I really want to start eating clean, but it is difficult when you don't know where or how to start. Thanks for sharing your experience!

  3. Lisa Davis Reply

    Can you run down what you eat during a typical day? Do you eat frozen veggies? I'm researching clean eating and plan to make the change ASAP. Thanks

  4. howtodevelopselfconfidence.net Reply

    Great post. Giving up meat can be a very hard thing but you explained the benefits quite well here.

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