I’m sure you’ve heard a fitness model or training guru spout off this “eating clean” line of speech before. Tosca Reno has a whole line of books preaching the mantra no less. But what the H does it even mean?
It’s a commonly held belief in the fitness world that if you aren’t eating from a short list of approved clean foods, you aren’t hardcore enough to be a part of the fraternity. I think that prejudice is BS. You don’t need to eat plain chicken breasts and broccoli day in and out to reach your goals.
Train hard, focus on quality food and fibre intake, and let the chips fall where they may. A dinner out is not diet sabotage if common sense is followed. Let me explain. If you have a set amount of protein you want to get daily, and have a general idea of the number of grams of fibre you want to take in for regularity, then naturally you’ll be choosing enough clean foods throughout the day anyway. I.E: Trying to get 250 grams of protein into your diet from pop-tarts alone is going to result in excessive pop-tart intake. Duh.
But exercise some common sense with your dietary choices and you’ll get to the finish line eventually – probably in a more healthy manner than that fitness model who starves herself for a contest, only to go on a month-long binge when her metabolism is in the dumps after she steps off stage. Hint: She ends up looking worse than you in the end, and then has to diet even harder the next time around to achieve the same look.
Work hard and cheat in moderation and you’ll be happy with where you end up.
Moderation is key, as this article explains: http://fitterhappierblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/the-clean-foods-paradox/