First and foremost, if you do not own a copt of "Eat Clean Recharged" by Tosca Reno go out and get your copy now. It not only tells you exactly how to get started eating clean but it really gives you the history behind why eating clean is the most beneficial for your body. There are so many areas that Tosca touches upon in the book that were like "ah ha" moments for me!
Portion sizes- Tosca's strategy does not count calories or points. Instead you are guided by simply following correct portion sizes and pairing the correct foods together. So it is very easy to stick to the correct plan because you don't need any fancy sliders to figure out your calories or scales to measure your food. A serving of protein is the palm of your hand. A serving of complex carbohydrates such as apples, oranges, veggies is 2 cupped handfuls and a serving of starchy carbs is the size of 1 cupped handful.
If you follow the correct portion sizes you will stay on track and are less likely to over indulge.
Drink a large glass of warm lemon water when you first wake up before you eat breakfast. Lemon water is a natural detox and it also jump starts your metabolism in the am. I usually squeeze an entire lemon into my cup and fill to the top with warm tap water. Then, I do not allow myself to eat breakfast until the entire glass of water is gone.
Tip: Lemons tend to go bad quickly so to get the most out of your lemons, squeeze all of the juice into ice cube trays and then just pop them out and go each morning!
Get a lunch tote- 31 sells these great lunch totes that are perfect for packing healthy snacks and meals. On Sundays I sit down and plan out my meals for the week. I make my grocery list and then I cut up fruits and veggies and portion into serving sizes for the week. I measure out hummus, all natural PB and nuts as my proteins to pair with my fruits and veggies. By doing this it makes it so easy to grab what I need in the morning as I make a mad rush out the door to work. This works great for the kids as well, makes it easy for them to grab healthy snacks for their lunches ! When I am out running errands I always throw in my shaker cup and shakeology because you can always find water somewhere! You never know when you are going to be out longer than expected. Then, I am never stranded and starving! This has worked really well for me.
Carry a refillable bottle with water everywhere you go. You can add lime, lemon, cucumber and strawberries to your water to give it flavor. NO SODA OR JUICE! I'm telling you that it's full of empty calories and you are not going to lose the weight if you drink soda or juice! Just WATER!
Drink green tea when you are hungry, I noticed that it helps with my cravings especially in the late afternoon or evening! I drink a lot of green tea during the day at work.
Cook Extra, Another thing that I do all the time is cook extra chicken for your lunches on Sunday or whatever day you are going to use as your prep day. That way you can slice it up and put it in a tupperware and pull out for salads or wraps for the rest of the week.
Also, cook extra for dinner and place in containers for lunches throughout the week.
You can replace any foods so long as you replace a complex carb with another complex carb ect. So if you don't like banana's replace them with an apple. If you don't like almonds replace with all natural pb!
BODY BEAUTIFUL/BODY HEALTH FORMULA
80% nutrition + 10% exercise + 10% genetics = body beautiful/body health
EAT CLEAN PRINCIPLES
1. Eat six small meals a day. Eat every two-and-a-half to three hours. Set the timer on your phone if you need to, to remind you when to eat! Now that I have been doing it for so long my body just tells me that its time to eat!
2. Eat breakfast everyday, within an hour of rising. So give or take when you exercise. I exercise first thing in the morning and I don't eat before hand. I workout, grab a shower and then make breakfast. I try to have a warm glass of lemon water each morning as my wake up and detox before I do m y workout! I squeeze 1/2 or a whole lemon into a glass of warm water.
3. Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal. A lean protein would be your plain unsalted nuts, almond butter, all natural peanut butter, white meat such as chicken and fish. A complex carb is your fruits and veggies such as bananas, apples, oranges, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes just to name a few.
4.Eat sufficient (two or three servings) of healthy fats every day (evoo, avocado)
5.Drink two to three liters of water each day. Make this a MUST! If you want to lose weight then you must drink a lot of water each and everyday. If you do not drink enough water you body actually holds onto water weight. Drinking water speeds up your metabolism and helps you lose weight.
6. Carry a cooler packed with clean foods. I seriously cannot leave the house without my 31 cooler bag. Even if I am pretty certain that I am going to be home before my next snack or meal I still throw in an apple and a handful of unsalted almonds and a bottle of water. It is super easy to throw in a packet of shakeology and your shaker cup. Then you are never left scrounging for a meal or a drive through to go to. you always have a healthy snack or meal to hold you over!
7. Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, nutrients and enzymes. Limit your starchy complex carbs to two to four servings each day. I suggest not relying to heavily on juices. I would aim to get your servings of fruits and veggies each day from actually eating them. This way you get the added fiber from the skins of the fruits! Juices more often than not have added sugars and additives that our bodies do not need.
8. Adhere to proper portion sizes.
PORTION SIZES
Protein: palm of one hand
Starchy complex carbohydrates: What can fit into one cupped hand
Complex Carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables: What can fit into two cupped hands together
Healthy Fats: One scant handful of nuts, 1 to 2 tbsp of oil.
TOP 10 THINGS TO AVOID
1.Sugar, white flour and over processed foods. Bread at the bread table when you are out to eat. This on is really hard for me but I know that I need to avoid bread at all costs when trying to get off those last pounds.
2.Artificial sugars- NO STEVIA OR EQUAL OR SWEET N LOW ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU! I recommend Agave nectar and honey if you need to sweeten something. Even then I still think you should use it sparingly. Again, sugar is addictive and the more you have the more your body will crave it!
3. Sugar-loaded beverages such as soda and juice- NONE, ZILCH ZERO!!
4. Super sizing your meals or portions- If you are at a restaurant always ask for a box and take half of it home! Restaurants are known for their oversized portions. Even if it's a healthy meal that does not give you permission to throw your rules out the window! You can eat the right kinds of foods and have to much and still not see results.
5. Alcohol, try your best to limit. My rule of thumb is for every alcoholic drink that you consume you must have 1 full glass of water!
Alcohol is full of sugar and empty calories so you need to ask yourself, is this short term sacrifice of drinking worth the long term results of me feeling amazing in my body and having the confidence to put myself out there!
6. Chemically charged foods- So this mean smart ones, lean cuisines or any other processed meals. Take a look at the labels on your food. If there are more than 3 ingredients and you don't understand what they are then you probably shouldn't buy it!
7.Foods containing preservatives
8. Artificial foods such as processed cheese slices- I very rarely eat a piece of cheese. I tend to choose feta cheese if I go that route! Once again your body holds onto bad fats!
9.Saturated and trans fats
10. Anti foods, calorie dense foods with no nutritional value.
TOP 5 WAYS TO MAKE EATING CLEAN EASIER FOR YOU
1. Pack a cooler everyday
2. Carry a water bottle everywhere
3. Make a shopping list and stick to it- sit down with notebook, grocery list and recipes and plan out my meals so that my entire family can follow the same eating schedule. It really works to keep me on track.
4. Prepare planned leftovers
5. Keep your pantry stocked with staples. Staples in my pantry are plain whole wheat wraps, all natural peanut butter, almonds, cashews, flaxseed, and olive oil! If I run out of fresh fruits and veggies I turn to my wraps with natural peanut butter!
TOP FIVE EXERCISE TIPS
1. Set realistic goals for yourself-weekly, monthly and yearly.
2. Train all of your major muscle groups, arms shoulders, chest, back, legs and abs.
3. Challenge yourself-vary your routine every few weeks.
4. Keep cardio fun-try new activities
5. Stay focused-put your mind into your muscle.
EATING OUT TIPS
1.McDonalds
2.Garden fresh salad with warm crispy chicken and balsamic vinaigrette and water.
3.McDonalds chicken fajita, apple slices without Carmel dipping sauce and water
Burger King flame broiled hamburger and BK side salad with no croutons or dressing and water.
4.Wendy’s home style chicken go wrap, plain baked potato and water
5.Subway 6 inch turkey breast or ham sub, apple slices and water. No dressing or cheese on sandwich!
If you would like more information on how you can transform your lifestyle with eating clean please message me at mshewell1218@gmail.com or go towww.teambeachbody.com/micheleshewell and create a free account and together we can reach your health and fitness goals one day at a time!
So what do are you going to do to keep your self in check, to stay focused and not go off the deep end.. Well...it can be different this year. How can you Conquer the CANDY FEST!! It all starts TODAY, your mindset will dictate your results and outcome of Halloween. Focus and change your mindset! Here are some tips to help get you through
1. Shakeology - Great Halloween influenced recipes ! 
