When I first started eating clean, I found it very helpful to see what others were doing and follow their example. I’m an Oxygen Magazine reader and would scour the pages for sample menus provided by the fitness models. Now, I rely a lot on Tosca Reno’s Eat-Clean Diet books and Clean Eating Magazine. I stick to many of the same meals/foods just to make my life simple, but it is nice to have those resources to give me ideas when I’m in the mood for variety or just to give me a boost to re-focus on my goals.
Just like Jennifer M, I am not much for solid food first thing in the morning. I almost always start my day with a protein shake and serving a fruit. The rest of the day I eat every 2-3 hours and focus on quality protein, fruits, veggies & whole grains. I drink lots of water all day. Here is what my day might look like:
7:30 AM: Protein shake, handful of grapes, black coffee, water
10:00 AM: Whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter
12:00 PM: Tuna on whole wheat pita with mustard, all-natural relish (read labels!), small salad with olive oil & lemon or vinegar
3:00 PM: Protein bar or all natural sliced turkey, green tea
6:00 PM: 4 scrambled egg whites with salsa or chicken breast cut up on a green salad
9:00 PM (I’m ususally up until 10:30 or 11:00 PM): 1/2 cup low-fat, all-natural cottage cheese. Again, read lables. Friendship brand cottage cheese is the only kind I’ve found without artificial ingredients.
I hope this helps give you a general guideline. I’m not perfect every day, but I find if I plan out my menu the night before, I’m much less likely to make a bad choice somewhere. It also helps to have several things prepared ahead, so I can just grab them and go.
I have been starting to eat cleaner day by day but I still have a long way to go. I’m still on a Breakfast, Lunch, snack, dinner, snack schedule which works for me for now. Thanks for sharing your typical day.
by my calculations that’s about 1,000 cals in a day though. The body needs a minimum of 1200 to function properly… where’s the rest of your food?? It sounds great, don’t get me wrong, but… a little short?
Protein shake – 200cals
handful of grapes – 35 cals
black coffee – 0
water – 0
Whole wheat toast – 100 cals
natural peanut butter – 100 cals
Tuna – 100 cals (depending on the size.)
whole wheat pita – 100 cals
mustard – 20 cals
all-natural relish – 20 cals
small salad with olive oil & lemon or vinegar – 100 cals
Protein bar – 200 cals
green tea – 0
4 scrambled egg whites with salsa – 85 cals
1/2 cup low-fat, all-natural cottage cheese – 80 cals
Total: 1,040 cals…
Hi Angie! It sounds like you’re doing great! You’re still getting in 3 meals & a snack, so if it’s working for you, all is good! You can always add in a mid-morning snack if/when you feel ready.
Hi Melinda! Thanks for bringing this up. It gives me a chance to touch on a couple things I failed to mention. You are 100% right. We need enough calories each day to function properly and keep our metabolisms burning. Calorie counting/restriction isn’t part of clean eating. I haven’t counted calories in probably 11 years. I focus on serving sizes, frequent meals & food quality. That’s what my main goal was in posting my typical day…to give ideas on meal timing & types of foods you may shoot for. There are 3 things I should’ve mentioned:
1) I am 5’3″ and 129 lbs.
2) I have been fairly inactive this month due to surgery.
3) Being tired when I wrote this, I did leave out 2 small things…I usually have 3 egg whites & 1 whole egg and I usually have fruit with my cottage cheese. Nothing that makes a huge difference, but a tiny bit.
You should adjust your intake according to your own body type & activity. When I’m more active, my body will scream for more food & protein and I listen!
My calculations are a little higher than some of yours, based on the amounts & labels from the foods I’m eating:
Shake 270 & grapes 62 = 332 (if I eat a banana instead of grapes that adds 138 cal)
Peanut butter 200 & toast 50 (100 if I eat 2 slices) = 250
6oz Tuna, Pita, mustard, salad w/ oil & lemon (just counted oil…no clue what the veggies are!) = 420
Protein bar = 120, 130 or 190 depending on the bar
1 whole egg & 3 egg whites & salsa = 151
Cottage cheese w/ unsweetened applesauce = 140
Total = 1413+ (as listed without the 2 corrections = 1213)
Still not a whole lot, but for my current activity level & size, it fees like a good amount. I feel great, am not hungry and I’m maintaining my weight. Again, I don’t foucs on calories at all (other than to make sure I have enough). So, if these #’s were much higher, it wouldn’t bother me a bit as long as the food is clean. I hope this helps clear things up some and thanks so much for bringing up the fact that we DO need to make sure we’re getting enough good food to build muscle and feel our best!
Well I”m just begining? I was just told about your website by my trainer who i have been training with for about 4 session now>yes i know it’s hard to get back into shape but i know i have to do it. so i’m 5″2 199 give or take 200 on someday’s. just don’t understand???? i have been going to a cleaner diet. but stomach hurt from working out an legges are sore. put still going. i just cant see anything happening.i write down my items that i eat an i think i’m doing so well! but now i really have to see something!i think it is because i don’t eat enought! or enough times aday? i don’t know! but what i do know is that i have tried everything diet/pill plus. i hope this will work for me. so now what i”m asking where is the simple 7-day meal plans. so i can follow daily to get what i need. to start a healthier lifestyle. so can u help.i’ve started to ball rolling so can u help???