Clean Eating 101: How to Start Eating Clean

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Lesson 1: How to Start Eating Clean
Add instead of subtract to create lasting change. Thrive Forward approaches nutrition from a plant-based perspective, but its progress—not perfection—that matters. There is no right or wrong way to start eating clean, and the tools provided in this program are beneficial for anyone seeking to improve overall wellness. (You don't have to be vegetarian or vegan to find value in Thrive Forward). Clean eating is predominately plant based, utilizes whole, unprocessed foods, is free of artificial ingredients, and opts for organic whenever possible.

What It Means to Eat Clean
Whole, unprocessed plant-based foods are full of vitamins, minerals, quality macronutrients, and antioxidants the body needs for cellular regeneration. Plant-based foods are also beneficial to the planet, using fewer natural resources to support whole body (and whole planet) health. Eating clean means avoiding foods that were made in lab, or simply put: not eating foods with ingredients you can't pronounce. Artificial foods, foods that have been genetically modified, or are laden with pesticides and herbicides have the opposite effect of nourishment, causing stress on your body.

Thrive Forward is all about progress, it's not about perfection.

Do as much or as little as you like.

As an athlete, I always want to improve.

That's what keeps me going, is getting better.

I'm never going to be perfect, and I don't really think

anyone is. But getting better feels good,

and that's what Thrive Forward can help you do,

is get better. It's not about cutting things

out of your diet that maybe aren't so good.

It's about adding new things in.

Before you know it, they're going to

crowd out the bad stuff anyway.

We're not going to say, "Right and wrong," or

even so much "Good and Bad."

It's just about progress.

The whole thing is about improvement

whether you're at a very low level

or a high level, I think Thrive Forward

will help make you better.

In the context of Thrive Forward,

four significant factors will help you identify

and understand the concept of clean.

1. Plant based. 2. Whole vs Processed.

3. Free of artificial ingredients.

4. Organic and non-GMO where possible.

Why plant based nutrition?

Well, there's a few reasons. One,

plant based foods are the most nutrient dense.

That means they have the most amount of nutrition

and the least amount of calories.

#2, they're packed with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals

and anti-oxidants. That's essential for good health.

#3, most of them are alkaline forming,

and that's huge. That helps reduce inflamation,

it's good for bone health, it's good

for your immune system, and it's good

for your overall health. When you get

those three together, that is good nutrition.

So why whole foods over process foods?

The basic rule of thumb - the more that you

do to food,

the less that's actually in it,

nutritionally speaking. So the white rice here

basically just has starch. There's really no fiber,

no protein, no fat. The brown rice here, on the other hand, does

have some of those other nutrients in it, and

that's good. It also has vitamins and minerals in it

that the white rice doesn't. So we've all heard

of artificial ingredients in food. So what does

artificial actually mean? Well, it's really anything

that was concocted in a lab at a molecular level

designed to add color, flavor, texture, improve

shelf life, anything like that.

As a general guide, if it sounds like a

chemical and not a food, it probably is a chemical and it's probably not a good idea to eat.

FDA approves a lot of things that aren't necessarily

healthy. It just means that they're not going to kill you immediately, but that's different from health.

If it's not completely chemical, it's likely that it's a

derivative of corn or soy. That can be a problem,

because those are both common allergens.

Organic food is important.

But it doesn't have to be certified organic.

As long as it's grown without herbicides and

pesticides, that's the key. Certification isn't

necessary. I've been to farmers markets where

I've seen someone go up to the farmer and say,

"Is this certified organic?" and the farmer will say,

"No, it's not, but it's grown without herbicides and pesticides 30 miles from here."

"I picked it this morning."

In my opinion, that is the farmer you buy from.

For all we know, that person who is there could go

then to a big box store and buy something

that was certified organic from China that was picked

three months ago.

So it's not necessarily "Organic good, non-organic bad."

I think what's really important is to buy from these

small farms, and then what happens is that they get bigger.

Then as they get bigger, then they can actually

afford certification. Which means, then they create

more demand, and then we have more options as well for good, certified organic food.

To expand on what you've just learned about

how to start eating clean, check out the

supplemental materials, including recipes on this page.