How to Eat Clean for Beginners
You might be wondering how to start clean eating, especially if you’ve been a fast-food junkie for a while or if you have no clue. We’ve all been there, so don’t feel discouraged.
When I started my weight loss journey, my diet consisted of frozen pizzas, banquet chicken, some form of pasta, and my kid’s leftover scraps.
Honestly, I started with zero clue, so anyone can do it if I can start (and stick with) a clean eating lifestyle.
Here are my beginner clean eating tips.
“Clean up” the recipes you already eat.
Believe it or not, you’re probably not too far off from a clean eating lifestyle. I know when looking to make changes to your diet, it’s easy to think you need to switch up the foods you’re eating altogether. However, that’s not always the case, and sometimes you only need to make a few tweaks.
Tacos are a good example. Instead of using conventional beef and store-bought seasoning, use organic grass-fed before using homemade taco seasoning. And purchase organic corn tortillas instead of white tortilla shells.
One change at a time
I believe in making slow changes – and clean eating is no exception. I know some people just wanted to jump in and make drastic changes, which might work for some, but in my experience, extreme is usually not sustainable.
When I started clean eating, I made 1 -2 changes at a time. For example, I started with organic meats and then swapped in more whole grains. Then once I had that down, I focused on reducing my sugar.
I also slowly removed junk from the pantry. I got rid of chips, cookies, and other trigger foods and replaced them with nd stocked it with healthier options. You can see my healthy pantry staples for tips, ideas, and a clean eating food list. Also check out this list of clean eatings snacks.
It’s more sustainable to make changes in steps.
Menu plan and meal prep
I’m sure you already knew I would throw this in here. However, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a plan. In my experience, the only way to create sustainable changes is to plan for them.
Without a plan, chances are you will find yourself falling back into old habits – especially when life starts to get busy.
Planning means a couple of things.
- First, it means putting together a weekly menu plan to know what groceries to purchase and what to eat every day.
- It also means meal prep (prepping your food ahead of time). This is especially important when you eat clean – check out this clean eating meal prep post for information and recipes.
Planning will make it easier to eat healthier clean foods during the week.
Read labels
Reading labels isn’t new information, and it is probably some of the oldest weight loss advice in the books. However, label reading is different with clean eating.
Instead of looking at the nutritional information, you’ll scroll down the package to read the ingredients. It’s essential to ensure that even if a company labels a product as healthy, it’s not filled with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, or other artificial ingredients.
Of course, the goal is to purchase more foods that don’t have a label like fruits and vegetables, but most likely, you will still buy some convenience items, so read the labels.
Don’t think it is all or nothing.
The thought of eliminating all processed foods is a bit overwhelming for people – I know it was for me – so that alone can prevent someone from eating clean meals.
The good news is that clean eating isn’t an all-or-nothing lifestyle. Some people might disagree, and that’s fine because we have the freedom to eat anyway we want.
However, in my experience, it is unrealistic to think that you can (or should) remove all processed foods from your diet forever.
Do your best to eat clean most of the time but don’t think pizza is forever off the table. Remember the 80/20 rule—everything in moderation.
