You Are What You Eat

 

Now, Don't get me wrong, this photo makes me want to eat a hamburger so bad...it also actually makes me wish that I had met a burger-headed man back when I was 19 instead of my almost-husband (that sounds terrible..but food is ranked #1 on my list, then booze, THEN my dude!)  I love greasy food, burgers, donairs, hot dogs, anything french soaked in butter and wine, etc, etc. Anyway, my point here is, I have never met anyone who eats clean all the time; I know people who compete in the fitness circuit; runners, bodybuilders, fitness competitors and such, and they all enjoy a great cheat meal every-so-often, so the myth that if you want to look great and be fit you have to eat tofu with a side of chicken breast and raw broccoli is just that, a myth.
Another myth out there is, 'if I work out like a madman/madwoman everyday I can eat anything I want' C'mon!! Are you serious? If you're putting in so much work at the gym, and then you come home and nosh on a turtle burger, it doesn't make any sense now, does it?  Sure, it sounds like a good time, but if you're trying to get into that dream dress of yours and you want some extra room in it so that you can actually sit down, then you're kidding yourself.

Ok then Harp, if you're so smart with this eating crap, what DO I eat then??

Glad you asked, here is a small list of things that are great to set your new eating plan up with:

Carbohydrates:

• Oatmeal
• Yams
• Sweet Potato
• Brown Rice
• Wild Rice
• Lentils
• Rice Cakes

Fats:

• Almonds
• Udo's Oil
• Adam's All Natural Peanut Butter
• Flax Seed Oil
• Walnuts
• Olive Oil

Proteins:

• Extra Lean Ground Beef
• Beef (Steak)
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Tuna
• Cod
• Halibut
• Eggs (whole)
• Egg whites
• Salmon
• Prawns
• Buffalo
• Cottage cheese
• Tofu
• Edamame beans
• Lentils

Vegetables:

• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Cucumber
• Celery
• Eggplant
• Peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)
• Spinach
• Peas
• Zucchini

Fruits:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Watermelon
• Mango
• Blue berries
• Strawberries
• Cantaloupe
• Grapes
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Pear

If you can make up a meal plan with a bit of something from each category you'll be on the road to clean-eating heaven.  Try to eat 3 meals and 3 small snacks every day; if this is all slapping you across the face and leaving you scratching your head and reaching for the Scotch...STOP!  there are countless sites on the internet that will help you make sense of everything, they will help you figure out how much of each to eat based on your height and weight this site is a great tool.  Another way to get yourself going is to look into hiring a personal trainer/nutritionist in your area, most, if not all gyms will have someone that you can speak to to get a grip on all things fitness.  Another issue that comes up with eating clean is that sometimes people think it's hard to flavour healthy food...fear not, Facebook has a ton of pages dedicated to making your food taste amazing, check out this page for some great tasting recipes that will keep you looking fantastic; another great site to check out that is run by an amazingly friendly and fit woman that I competed with a couple of years ago is http://www.fitfabfoodies.com/ all the recipes on this site have been tried and tested by the fit and fab foodies, and I assure you that you won't miss any of the high fat flavourings found in most foods.

With a little internet scouring and note-taking you will be well on your way to fit into your dream gown and to feel healthy and confident on your wedding day.

"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are."

 -Adelle Davis-