The thought of losing weight can be a daunting task. With so many plans and choices available, you may not know where to start. Chances are good that you’ve heard about the advantages of clean eating because it can help you take off those last pesky pounds. To find out more about clean eating for weight loss with 10 easy tips that work, keep reading!
What Is Clean Eating?
Think of clean eating as a dietary plan where you eat only real, unprocessed food. That means no junk foods, no prepackaged or processed foods.
The goal of clean eating is to get you to eat as much natural, whole foods as possible – made up of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.
Cooking foods or enjoying them raw is your choice. Foods do not need to be consumed raw to follow clean eating.
This diet requires limiting any sweets and highly-processed snack or junk foods. When you eat clean, you will feel lighter, fuller and healthier as it is a very nutritious way to eat.
It’s also a great way to lose weight naturally, improve your health and shed those last few pesky pounds. Eating clean also means you will need to prepare most of your food at home, which could save you money in the end.
Clean Eating Basics
Learning how to eat clean is actually pretty simple. In fact, it really revolves around staple ‘real’ foods that are minimally changed from their original state.
To get started with your clean eating lifestyle, let’s look at 10 tips you can put into place to help you get started!
1. Eat Your Protein
It is essential that you eat enough protein when you are trying to lose weight. High-protein diets have been shown to prevent muscle loss (which often happens with dieting), reduce cravings, improve metabolism and help the body burn fat.
Simple clean proteins include things like eggs, meat, fish, dairy, nuts 
and tofu. There are many readily-accessible, high protein foods to choose from and they are easy to add into every meal you eat.
A typical day of clean eating might look like: a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner spaced 4-5 hours between with a small snack in between those meals.
Keep in mind, when you cook your proteins, try baking, broiling or steaming for the healthiest options. Avoid frying when possible.
When you combine a high-protein ‘clean’ food along with a complex carbohydrate that contains fiber, you will make a meal or snack that is very satisfying and filling.
An example of such a snack might be raw vegetables dipped in a few tablespoons of hummus. Another suggestion might be whole grain crackers topped with egg salad.
2. Ditch The Sugar
Refined sugar is found in just about everything these days. It is highly addictive. Plus, too 
much of it in the diet leads to weight gain and other potentially dangerous health conditions.
Eating clean requires you to be aware of added sugars. Try to cut back or eliminate as much added sugar as possible from drinks and foods.
Of course, reducing and ultimately removing added sugar from your diet is not an overnight procedure. Give yourself adequate time for your body to readjust to the changes over time.
3. Be Aware At The Grocery Store
Did you know that marketing psychology is used to get you to buy at the grocery store, in terms of where products are placed? But you can be a smart shopper.
Nutritionists will tell you that the healthiest foods are placed around the perimeter of the store. This ring around the store is generally where all the fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, eggs and meats are kept.
Since these are the best foods to eat on a clean diet, you will want to be aware of this. The interior grocery store aisles are where most of the processed, packaged, unhealthy foods are kept.
However, this area also contains canned beans, legumes and nuts. Therefore, plan your list of foods to buy before you grocery shop so you can avoid temptation and stay on your game.
4. Avoid “Diet” Foods
Many years ago, it was very popular to see a push towards “diet” foods. We saw endless commercials and ads for diet sodas, reduced fat products and low-sugar everything.
The problem with those items is that they are generally loaded with many unhealthy, artificial ingredients to take the place of fats and sugars that have been removed.
For example, some foods that are marketed as healthy because they say they are low fat, actually contain more sugar than the original product in its unaltered state. This is often the case with low fat yogurt.
Yoplait original strawberry fat-free yogurt has 26 grams of sugar per 6-ounce serving despite being labeled 99% fat-free. It is much better to opt for non-fat versions with a lower sugar counts.
Check your labels for sugar grams before you buy.
5. Eat Less Refined Carbs
Carbs often get a bad rap. But not all carbohydrates are created equally. In fact, whole-grain carbs contain vitamins, minerals and fiber which are healthy and good for the body.
Foods like oats, barley, rye, brown rice and farro are excellent substitutions for refined carbs. Try to limit your intake of white bread, pasta and rice as too many refined carbs in the diet have been linked to obesity, inflammation and other health-related illnesses.
6. Drink Your Water
Most of us tend to not drink enough water during the day. It is the drink of life. Water 
is also a key element when trying to eat clean for weight loss.
Water is required for losing and maintaining weight, so drink up!
Drinking just one or two sugary beverages per day can lead to weight gain. In addition, daily consumption can increase your risk for type-2 diabetes.
Even drinks like bottled smoothies which look like healthy choices, can be high in sugar. If you like to drink smoothies, it is best to make your own where the ingredients can be controlled.
An easy rule of thumb to know if you are getting adequate water in your diet is to check the color of your urine. The lighter it is, the better hydrated you are.
Water can be drunk plain, carbonated or with your own fruit or veggie infusions. Clear, unsweetened teas also offer some variety. There are also other healthy drinks that can actually help you burn belly fat.
7. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Although it is important to cut out high-calorie, nutritionally-poor 
foods to lose weight, do not overlook the value in a foods’ quality.
Sometimes we tend to get obsessed with the number of calories certain foods contain. However, it is important to look at the nutritional density of a food over its calorie level.
For example, foods like nuts and avocados are high in calories, but they are nutritionally dense.
They are full of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and fiber that can keep you full and satiated, which helps with weight loss.
Choosing to eat clean foods is not only helpful when trying to lose weight, but it can also promote healthy eating patterns.
8. Choose Foods From the Rainbow
Eating fruits, vegetables and spices of all colors means you’re 
including lots of healthy options in your clean eating plan. The more bright colors you can include on your plate, the better.
Foods like berries, peppers, sweet potatoes, spinach and turmeric are loaded with healthy anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and nutrients. All rainbow foods help provide the essential nutrition required for weight loss and optimal health.
An easy, simple way to get more of the rainbow is to enjoy a large salad each day loaded with different vegetables and lettuces.
Top it off with a homemade vinaigrette made with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and your favorite herbs.
9. Make A Plan
To make life a little easier when you are transitioning to eating clean for weight loss, keep your fresh ingredients on hand. This will help you to plan your meals and snacks in advance.
Carve out time each week to go grocery shopping with your list, so that you can always have the foods you need on hand. When your kitchen or pantry is stocked, it will make sticking to your goals much easier.
Frozen fruits and vegetables, canned beans, legumes, grains and quinoa can be staple items on hand that make clean meal prepping simple.
10. Be Realistic
Whenever you change your normal habits, it is common that you will be tempted to deviate from time to time. That’s why it’s important to not deprive yourself.
Slashing calories, ramping up exercise and cutting out certain foods can help lose weight quickly. But it won’t be a long-term, sustainable option. Adding in gentler exercise such as yoga can be helpful to build lean, strong muscles.
One of the best reasons to eat clean is that it is a lifestyle that can maintained for your lifetime. You never have to do anything drastic in order for weight loss to work with this choice.
Best of all, eating clean will help to improve your overall health because you are enjoying such good nutrition. Abs really are made in the kitchen.
Should You Try Clean Eating For Weight Loss?
The short answer is yes! Eating clean is a simple, effective way to shed excess weight and gain better health because it is a nutritious approach to eating.
Eating clean is all about eating real, unprocessed food in its natural state. Best of all, it doesn’t require you to avoid a specific food group. Plus, everything can be tailored to your own taste preferences.
There is no one clear-cut path to what is right or wrong on a clean eating plan. Simply eat real foods from the rainbow and you will be on your way to better health while shedding those extra pounds naturally.
What are your favorite clean foods to eat? Tell us in the comments section below.
Thank you for this article. Your tips about clean eating are very helpful.
From my experience, I’ve found that cutting out refined sugar from your diet is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. I’ve always had a sweet tooth since I was a kid, so cutting out sugar was quite a challenging task. The first few weeks are the most difficult. But after that, your body starts to adjust to the lower sugar levels and you’ll eventually reap the benefits.
Keep up your good work!
It is a challenge to cut back the refined sugar, as our bodies tend to be addicted to it. But you’re absolutely right…after a few weeks it gets easier and the weight starts to fall off. Glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for dropping by!