The Clean Eating Challenge

If you've ever taken a peak at my Instagram account you'll have seen some of my clean eating food posts. I've been trying to sort out my diet to support my body. To clue myself up, I bought myself James Duigan's Clean and Lean book.

Duigan explains how eating lots of CRAP food (caffeine, refined sugars, alcohol and processed food) builds the body up with toxins, putting added stress on the body. This made sense to me, since since the negative effect of all these products are already well recognized. While I'm not following this guide strictly as I am not dieting, I found the meal ideas and food swaps useful. The book is also filled with pictures of tanned women by the beach, which provoked as much jealousy as it did inspiration but hey...

I'm feeling extra motivated to eat clean at the moment, because I've pulled my calf muscle slightly, which means I need to let it heal by taking a break from running -boo! I think I injured it a couple of weeks ago from pre-run static stretches before I was warm enough to do so. Until then, I'm trying to make sure that I'm eating lots of lean proteins and "good" fats. In terms of exercise, I am doing a couple of extra yoga sessions at home per week, and I'm aiming to up my arms and ab toning and weight exercises to replace cardio.

 So how do you eat clean?

The idea behind this involves picking complex, nutrient-rich foods. Like many healthy eating trends, there is a focus on using proteins and clean fats to fill you up rather than simple, processed carbohydrates, such as sugary cereals. Nuts, seeds, avocados, leafy green vegetables, oily fish and lean meats are all recommended. Clean eating is not a traditional diet; it's about choice. So for me, I wouldn't cut out bread as much as suggested as it keeps me going throughout the day. On the other hand, I'm trying to eat less meat than suggested in the book, making up my protein content with nut milk, quinoa, and natural yoghurts.

Example meal day
Breakfast: Porridge or nut milk-based bircher museli with almonds and berries.

Snack: Carrot sticks, fruit, or a vegan energy bar.

Lunch Quinoa-based salad or avocado-topped oatcakes with fruit. If I'm at home I'll have scrambled egg on granary toast or soup.

Dinner is still something that on a weekday basis is a family based meal and is homemade. I always carry a water bottle on me, and drink green tea to keep my fluid content up.When I feel like I haven't had enough vegetables or need to cleanse my system I blitz up kale or spinach, lemon, celery and cucumber with some ginger to make a juice.

I'll be continuing to share posts on Instagram, so if you're also on a health kick, leave me a comment and don't forget to follow me to share inspiration and motivation.