Clean Eating - Day 3

Those of you who have been following my blog over the past few days as I documented my "clean eating foods" may be wondering - what made me decide to do this diet?

Quite honestly, it came from me being unemployed, sitting around, and watching too much HuluPlus. HuluPlus, unlike Netflix, has commercials during their shows. I kept seeing this commercial for a website called DailyBurn.com, which was offering a 30 day free trial, so I decided to check it out. This website basically lets you design a workout plan that you can do at home, and gives you a different workout each day so you don't get bored. When you first sign up, you get to choose what kind of workout plan you want, though you can always go back and change it. They have dance, yoga, weights - pretty much everything you could want. Most everything requires minimal to no equipment, so even beginners with no workout equipment in their home can find something to get them moving. Pretty cool, right? I certainly thought so. I signed up for the 30-day free trial pretty quickly. Even after the 30 days, it's only $10 per month which is DEFINITELY less than you would pay at a gym, especially if you are smart and split these workouts with your significant other/roommate/friend. Now, my laziness took over, and I haven't actually used any of their workouts. BUT I would imagine, with so much variety, there's gotta be something that works. Right? I'll get back to you when I know more . . . or post comments if you've tried it and let me know what you think!

That leads us to the diet plan. On DailyBurn.com, there is a nutrition plan that coincides with their workouts. You can add it to your membership for an extra $5 per month. That's where I saw the idea of a 21-day challenge. They call gluten, dairy, soy, added sugar, artificial sugar and alcohol the "Evil 6." At least for the 21-day period. They even say that after that period, you can start adding those things into your diet occasionally. Key word being occasionally. That is where I've been getting my protein shake recipes as well. (They also suggest that you buy their protein powder, which is quite pricey. I'm guessing this is where they make the bulk of their $$. But if you check my Day 2 post you can find a much cheaper version of protein powder that offers the same benefits. Only tradeoff - their powder is flavored chocolate or vanilla, and the other one I found is not. Your choice!)

Why do they choose these 6 things to eliminate? Basically, American diets are extremely heavy with all 6 of these things, and it's caused our bodies to overreact to them. The "evil 6" might once have been healthy things (ex. wheat & milk) but have since been so over-processed or genetically modified because of the high demand level, they now carry very few nutrients. A large amount of these 6 things in any diet often leads to problems such as inflammation, digestive trouble, and extra stress hormones (which nobody wants!). You know that "celiac disease" or "gluten-intolerance" that everyone has been talking about lately? It's developed recently (or at least, started to be recognized by the medical community recently) because so many people are having negative reactions to genetically altered wheat products. Lactose intolerance has been known for a long time. Our bodies are smarter than you think - they figured out "this is bad for us" and tried to fight digesting these foods, making a person sick. Now, things like added sugars & alcohol, we've always known that these weren't "healthy," and limiting your intake of them has always made good sense. It's just not something I've ever had the desire or willpower to do before!

I will willingly admit that I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or even super well researched on this subject, but I CAN say that this makes a lot of sense to me. If you have thoughts or rebuttals to any of these things I've said above, please make a comment below so we can discuss it! Or better yet, try eliminating these foods from your diet for like, 2 days, and tell me you don't feel better. You will have more energy. You won't get tired at 2pm like I used to do EVERY DAY. (It happened so often, I called it my 'sleepytime.') You won't carb crash, because the carbs you're taking in are healthy and you're eating far fewer of them. Your digestive system will be far more regular. You will sleep more soundly and feel well rested in the morning. If you don't - you might be doing it wrong. After just 3 full days of this, I already feel slimmer, more energetic, healthier and generally the way a 27 year old girl should feel. The The crazy thing is? I was SO USED to feeling crappy, bloated and tired that I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS THE WRONG WAY TO FEEL. I thought I was just getting older, or overweight. I still am overweight, but I can tell you I do not feel the same as I did 3 days ago. I didn't know how extensively food can affect your entire well being, because I had been eating this food my whole life. And that's convincing enough for me.

I'm going to hop off the soap box now, but I really mean it when I say - comment if you have thoughts. I wanna hear 'em.

Here's food for day 3:

7:15am - Wake up

8:00am - Apple Cinnamon Protein Shake (see below for recipe). Black coffee.

11:30am - Pot Roast Pork Loin (see Day 2 for recipe), grilled yellow squash with olive oil & seasonings, brown rice (Yes, brown rice is ok to eat sparingly. That means not every day, or even every other day.) Iced tea, unsweetened.

4:30pm - Mixed berries, about 20 almonds. Water.

9:30pm - Egg scramble with turkey sausage, pico de gallo, salsa, bell peppers and avocado. Sparkling water with lime.

11:45 - Bedtime!

For anyone wondering why I ate dinner so late, I had a rehearsal that went until 9, so I wasn't able to eat until about 9:30. I planned on eating a snack before I left my day job at 6, but I wasn't hungry at the time, so I decided not to. This was probably a mistake, but I used to overeat all the time trying to fend off hunger, and I didn't want to make that mistake again. I did survive until 9:30 but I was a bit grumpy. In the future I won't be making this mistake!

Apple Cinnamon Protein Shake Recipe (I like this one better than the chocolate one I had the previous day!) - 2 scoops (or 1 serving) of protein powder, 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup water.

I think that's it for today! THANK YOU for reading and supporting me in this journey!