Keep it Clean; What goes into a healthy diet?

You always hear about the importance of eating "clean" in maintaining a healthy diet and helping you to achieve your fitness goals, but what does that really mean?

Essentially, eating "clean" is a delicate balance of consuming the correct amounts of proper carbohydrates, proteins and fats. This means cutting out refined carbohydrates, for example white bread, white rice, pasta, sugary cereals, and of course sweets. Instead of these refined carbohydrates, what you want to be eating is complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, ezekiel bread, brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes.

The proper consumption of complex carbohydrates must also be paired with correct sources of protein and fat. When looking for protein sources, make sure to pick lean sources of meat, such as chicken breast, turkey breast, lean beef, fish, and eggs. As for fat, keep to the basics; foods like natural oils, avocados, nuts and nut butters are all great sources. However, keep in mind that fat is 9 calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and protein are only 4 calories per gram. Consuming fats is an essential part of a healthy diet, but you want to make sure not to put too much fat into your diet.

In a future post I will explain the importance of carbs, fats, and proteins and how much of each you should have, but for now you can check out our Sample Diet for Lean Muscle Gain, which you can use to compare to your current diet.

Do your best to really focus on eating "clean" as it will skyrocket your progress toward achieving your goals, no matter what they are! When you eat clean, you are providing your body with the nutrients it needs to perform. Fueling your body properly will allow you to actually utilize what you consume and will give you what you need to take it to the next level in your training. It's tough to continuously eat clean, so don't be afraid to fit in a "cheat meal" every now and then to keep you focused on the task at hand.

So, next time you go food shopping try to include the foods I mentioned above, and be creative with your meals!

Tell me about what foods you include in your diet? How do you stay on track with your fitness goals?

-Fazoo Fitness