Some simple advice on clean eating.

I have been asked a lot recently what I eat and what I do for workouts. I decided this would be a great place to get some information out there for those of you wondering where to start. Keep in mind, everyone is different and everyone's bodies respond differently. It has taken me quite awhile to get to a "happy place" with training and eating, and I am ALWAYS learning and ALWAYS looking for improvement! You are BEAUTIFUL the way you are, and becoming healthy and beautiful on the inside will just make you feel that much better. Do it for your health.

I will start this little series with food. Eating clean, healthy, whole foods should be the number one priority in your life. The old phrase "you are what you eat" cannot be more true..It affects your skin, mood, weight and energy levels. I like the app MyFitnessPal.. I don't record workouts or all of my meals. I get on there about once a week, log everything I eat for an entire day, and check my calories and macros. This is a huge help for me, because over time I have learned how many macros of carbs/fat/protein in a day makes me feel the best. This is different for everyone, so listen to your own body!

A typical day of eating for me looks like this:

Morning:
First thing upon waking. Chug a sh*t ton of water. SO IMPORTANT.

Breakfast:
A green smoothie and half a grapefruit. My green smoothie consists of a cup of almond milk, spinach leaves, 1/4 cup frozen berries, 1 TB ground flax seeds, 1 TB almond butter, and a scoop of protein, topped with hemp hearts.

Post workout: 1 scoop of protein

Lunch: A meal I prepped for the week. Usually baked fish or chicken with broccoli and cauliflower rice.

Snack: A larabar, apple with almond butter, healthy trail mix, popcorn, PLAIN greek yogurt with honey, any of these depending on what I want that day...

Dinner:We usually have chicken, fish, or steak with a roasted veggie (carrots, brussels sprouts, green beans, kale, kale, kale!) and we LOVE our sweet potatoes!

I work out every day, so I don't mind eating late. Bedtime snacks are fine for me, but everyone is different. If you're hungry, EAT! I just try to avoid fruit at night due to sugar and carbs. A protein shake with almond milk or a couple of hard boiled egg whites and almond butter is always a great snack!

Now..onto things I avoid. As many of you know, I cannot have gluten or dairy. If I could eat gluten, I would still avoid white bread, rolls, pancakes, cakes, cookies, etc. There are plenty of healthy alternatives to these sweet treats that I make and I will share later. (Lots of inspiration and recipes on instagram as well!) I also avoid fruit juice (so high in sugar and carbs) coke, soda, pop, whatever, and fried foods. I also try to eat as little processed food as I can--the less ingredients, the better. If there are ingredients you can't pronounce, don't eat it.

Lastly, I want to touch on the importance of indulging..cheat day..call it what you want, we all need a little treat in our lives or you'll end up binging or giving up. I like to have a cheat meal or treat once a week on a weekend...No more than once a week. I also like to have a bite of dark chocolate once a day or every other day if I need it. (Not the whole bar, people!)

If you mess up, eat something horrible, fall off the wagon, just get back on. Drink a bunch of water and chalk it up as a learning experience. How did that make you feel? Do you feel guilty? Think about that next time you reach for the oreos ;)

As always I am here to help! Good luck and congratulations on your lifestyle change. You can do this!

Stay tuned...Next posts will be on fitness, supplements, and blogs I love.