Things I Love Sundays: Clean Eating

Somewhere between the late nights of TV, chips and whiskey and a morning run to the gym, I decided I want to eat cleaner. And basically be healthier. Maybe it was because of experiments I've done to test the way I feel about drinking juices and making smoothies in the middle of the night when I realized I could do it. I really can.

At this point of writing, I've actually been on 4 weeks already of eating clean and regular exercise, I've also cleansed myself of indigestion / undigested food and I've never felt so healthy! Before I completely forget about blogging {been out of circulation for almost a month!}, here are what I've been learning from this clean eating journey:

You only need little to start. The first time I tried to live clean was when I had this inkling to make some melon smoothies in our kitchen. As I enjoyed the pure taste of melons and ice, I realized I liked the light feeling I was getting so decided to do it again and again.
The next few days made me obsessed. All I watched on YouTube were meal prep YouTube videos, natural, non processed food recipes, Trader Joe's hauls {my team saw this and it was so funny}, smoothie recipes, juicing and all that. I was a woman possessed! In the process, I also learned about the golden triumvirate of healthy and fit living: A Good Diet, Moderate to Optimal Exercise and a Well Oiled and Highly Functioning Metabolism.
This, of course, translated to a different supermarket experience. I have to admit that shopping for vegetables, fruits and natural food tend to be more frequent and in the Philippines at least, more expensive. Kale, a well known superfood is about PHP 250 a pack at Rustans, 2 pieces of big carrots is PHP 56 and cucumbers about PHP 45. Of course that's just about 1 1/2 cups of juice. Not to mention, a juicer is not cheap but to me, my health and overall means a lot so I'm happy to spend reasonably on things.
You will need support. If you live with another human being whom you share meals with like I do, you will need the support of that other human being. The only way to go through a change and improvement in diet is to have your close friends or partner and families on board. I'm really glad that Mike just eats whatever I give him {like spinach and beets with ginger juice} and actually supports my "simple fish with capers and lemon" craving. He still cooks steak a lot but the choice of meat and the way it's cooked has little to no processing needed and we balance our meals with French beans, spinach and more greens. He also has a penchant for making fresh chicken, beef and vegetable stock so that's good for me. Outside of Mike, I'm glad to have had a Clean Eating MNL Support Group here {click to join!}, a Newfound Fitness Friend in the form of Tina Medrano, whom I talk to a lot about fitness and clean and healthy eating!
You will need exercise. So healthy eating will definitely remove some unwanted pounds that come from processed food that the tummy cannot process and digest. As I've learned, exercise helps {and we should know!} burn the calories and helps us tone up. On top of that, exercise makes our organs work and keep running. Imagine a car that's always parked -- and that car will break down soon enough.