Eat-Clean Diet Stripped - My weekly meal plan

 Eat clean.........or get fatter!    That is my new motto.  I either shut up and DO IT or stop complaining about my weight.  I've tried every fad diet, juice cleanse, quick fix out there and none of them have been sustainable or provided lasting results.  So it's time for a lifestyle change my friends.  Are you with me? 

 

 

So I revert back to good old fashioned eating clean and burning more calories.  In addition to eating clean, I am also still stracking my calories for reference more than anything. 

 

A few years ago I stumbled across Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean diets and I was able to lose some weight on the Cooler 1 plan.  It was shortlived though so as soon as I went back to eating everyday crap, the weight came back.  I've been waiting for a reason to buy her book "The Eat-Clean Diet Stripped.  The premise is that this diet in particular will help peel off those dreaded "last 10 pounds".   My reason arrived in the form of the flu and an eye-opener that all of these cleanses I was doing are not healthy for me at all.  It took this bout with the flu to make me realize I am not healthy.  My body does not know whether we are dieting or not, starving or not, working out or not.  It's very confused, understandably so! 

 

Starting Weight: (drum roll please) 135.0

 

On to Eat-Clean Stripped.  The core is to spend 28 days trying to shed the last 10lbs.  The program has two weekly menu's.  The first week is posted above.  Next week I will supply the second as well.  The principles are the same as her other books so I am familiar with the core of the program:

• Eat more!  Six small meals a day - ideally 2 1/2 to 3 hours apart
• Eat breakfast every day!  Preferably within an hour of waking up
• Last meal should be three hours before bedtime
• Each meal should be a combination of a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate
• Eat healthy fats (think nuts, avocados, healthy oils)
• Drink 2-3 litres of water per day
• Pack your cooler with "clean" foods so you are never caught off guard
• Depend on fresh fruits and veggies for fiber and other nutrients
• Adhere to portion sizes! 
• Avoid anything that has been processed. 
•  

I like to say "if it doesn't come from the ground or have a mother, don't eat it".   I'm not sure where I heard that but I think it's about as accurate as you could be! 

 

I started my journey by preparing.  My Stripped book didn't arrive until Monday  so I did some internet research and borrowed some photos from other blogs to get started.  I made a plan and a grocery list before ever hitting the store.  On Sunday I spent 3 hours prepping for my week.  (Note: it probably only took 1 hour of actual food prep but I'm a nerd so I had to over prep!)

 

Here is what my day looked like yesterday:

5:15am Wake - drink warm lemon water (#1) before hitting the gym (read: basement treadmill)

6:20am Breakfast - steel cut oats with cinnamon and almond milk.  Four egg whites scrambled.  Water #2

10am Snack #1 - plain almonds, Water #3

12pm  Gym - burned 400 calories running/walking

1pm  Lunch spinach salad with fresh beefsteak tomatoes, hard boiled egg whites, 1/2 chicken breast and lemon juice.  Water #4

4pm Snack #2 - celery sticks and 2 hard boiled egg whites,

6pm Dinner - baked tilapia with steamed asparagus, Water #5

Snack - frozen blueberries, Water #6

 

**Each water was 0.5 liter so I ended up somewhere near 3 liters of water yesterday! 

 

My plan for the week is all spelled out for me in my new little "diet" journal.  One of the steps in the book is to make a written decree of your intentions.  So in addition to tracking my calories on LoseIt just for reference, I have this journal with each meal spelled out so I can easily reference "My Plan". 

 

As for exercise, it is extremly difficult for me to get up in the morning to workout.  Yesterday was an anomoly and today was a failure.  I am going to try again tomorrow.  So if you're wondering why I am sleeping in workout clothes, now you know.   I will get to the gym at lunch every day this week and I will workout at home both Saturday and Sunday.  Any morning workouts I can squeeze in will be added bonuses. 

 

If anyone has any tricks or tips - if you've done this diet before or want to start and go along with me - please just leave a comment!!