Clean and Healthy Eating Guide

 Clean and healthy eating!

 Here are rules of thumb you will follow:

 1. No processed foods! E.g. Switch to olive oil, extra virgin or regular, or desi mustard oil, or coconut oil preferably extra virgin or butter or ghee. The quantity used should be the minimum. Forget all processed oils, such as canola, sunflower, corn etc The reason they are heated and processed, when we eat them, our body stores them as fat because the body does not recognise the chemical formulation of processed foods, gets confused and saves it for later aka fat. Similarly no refined sugars, flour etc. Use brown, bran cereals, you may add extra bran yourself to your whole cereals. (Cereal crops such as wheat, rice, maize, bajra, oats and barley.) Keep the portion of your cereal very small for each meal. Use honey or brown sugar as sweeteners, but in small quantity. No packaged juices, drinks, milk etc. They are full of preservatives, flavours, food colours etc. Anything packaged with shelf life means chemicals added. Once again your body does not recognise the chemical substances and stores it as fat! Similarly products packaged and advertised as low fat, made for diet conscious people actually are worse than natural full cream products, because to enhance the taste sugars and chemicals are added to them. They cause more weight gain than regular full cream milk or cheese or yogurt. Do not be fooled. No bakery products or sweets. Even if it is the sugar free ones. Because of refined flour used, quantity of fat and refined sugar, or if chemical based sweetener is used once again all chemical/unnatural products will effect your health and body negatively. You may check artificial sweeteners for adverse health effects on Google.
 2. No GMOs If you can find organic produce or grow your own organic vegetables and chicken, that is the ideal situation. But it is usually not feasible. So you do the next thing, at least not buy GMOs (genetically modified organism). Basically go desi! Desi chicken instead of broiler. Desi garlic instead of the Chinese, which is BTW GMO! It will effect your budget and there is more effort required but your and your family's health is of primary importance. Desi means locally produced, and generally natural not GMO.

 3. Prepare your meals at home using the freshest and natural ingredients. Plan in advance, do smart grocery shopping. Avoid packaged items even the prepackaged spices. I can't stress enough go natural! Make smart choices, improvise your routine dishes to make them healthier. Like use least possible oil/butter. Use whole­wheat flour to thicken gravy instead of cornflour. Your plate should have a large serving of leafy green vegetables, least or preferably no starchy ones such as potatoes or arvi (yams) or sweet potato. A small serving of carbs from whole cereals if you prefer. Proteins from both plant and animal sources should be in a medium sized serving. Basically that means Pulses and beans and lean meats. You may eat out with your family occasionally, making healthy food choices.

 4. Portion control Somebody posted a pic of buffalo eating grass, and it said if salads made you lean, then buffaloes won't be so obese. I commented it is not what they eat but how much, so remember the quantity of healthy foods matter too. Watch your portions for all foods. Specially fruits, we consider them healthy but the fructose sugar from fruits inhibits fatloss. So for the time you are trying to lose weight limit your fruit intake to one or two servings a day. Not eliminate but limit it.

 5. Keep yourself hydrated. Drink lots of water all through the day, all the time you are up. Keep sipping water during your workout. Water suppresses hunger too. But no water during or after your meals.
 P.S. You may divide your meals into three big meals or five or six small ones. Whatever suits your lifestyle better. Frequently eating is usually not possible when you are working. Three bigger meals also help lose fat because your body uses stored fat during the long interval between meals. On the other hand small frequent meals keep your metabolism fast. So you can choose what suits you better.