If you can teach your mind and body that there is balance in all foods then you can hit your goals, and retain them, in an efficient, healthy, and sustainable way. And in the end, you will win the diet game!

Look, we love to over-complicate things when it comes to nutrition. Between taking out major food groups, complicating meals, and punishing ourselves with rules, we are all bound to fail!

In a low or no-carb diet, you will start super disciplined, and in a few weeks, you will see results. Gain confidence. But then you will fall off — because it always happens— and eat all the carbs you’ve deprived yourself of. And eat them in excess until you gain the weight back (and maybe more). Then you are left frustrated, with low confidence, and even more behind on your goals.

In a balanced diet, made up of 70-80% clean food meals, you will eat proportionate amounts of lean meats or vegetarian protein sources, whole foods (vegetables and fruits), and clean complex carbs. You will have energy and a satiated digestive system that is working perfectly. And if you are anything like me, you will still feel the need for sweets so have some. Allow yourself to indulge once a week. You worked hard, ate sensibly, and deserve to indulge once and a while.

Soon enough, you will see RESULTS! You will lose weight the smart way, not with a crash diet.

But how can you still lose weight while eating carbs and sweets? Because you learned balance! Balance in portions, balance in sugar, balance in carbs! You learned to give your body all the tools to work optimally, without feeling completely deprived.

To implement these tactics in real life, try these 4 SIMPLE STEPS:

Stock up on lean proteins, veggies, fruits and clean complex carbs (eg. sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta).
Try to keep only clean whole foods stocked up in your fridge and pantry.
Save the purchase of small treats for the allotted day you choose and only eat that treat outside of your home. Keeping treats out of your house = less temptation and fewer triggers.
Keep the treats just that: Treats! Treat yourself to a reasonable amount of cheat food (two cookies or one slice of pizza, or one small serving of fries).
So what does ‘Clean Eating’ look like in real life? Every meal I set up in my weekly meal plans follow these three easy, straightforward, guidelines to get your nutrition on track:

Choose 4 oz of Lean Protein. Options include: Lean ground turkey, chicken breast, and whitefish. Vegan Protein options include: firm tofu, edamame, lentils, seitan, tempeh, or plant-based ground.
Choose 1 ½ cups of fiber and nutrient-dense vegetables. Vegetables provide major vitamins and minerals in their purest form as well as fiber, which provides extra satiation and helps digestion. Options include: broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, green beans, spinach, carrots.
Choose ½ cup of clean complex carbohydrates. Carbs are not the enemy. Just be smart about the amount you’re taking in each meal and the quality. You need to include whole, clean complex carbohydrates (like Sweet potatoes, quinoa, farro, brown rice, whole grain pasta, plant-based or brown rice pasta), not simple, refined, and processed ones (like breads, baked goods and cereals).

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