What's the Deal With the Eat-Clean Diet?
When you first see a picture of Tosca Reno, the author of the Eat-Clean Diet, you are likely to think that she is just another one of the many fitness gurus who has never had to struggle with extra weight in her life. You know the type. They bounce around on TV exercise shows wearing skin-tight spandex imploring you to "feel the burn" and "do four more" while constantly maintaining a sunny smile and perky attitude. I thought that Tosca fit into that mold, too, until I learned a little bit about her life story.
It seems that she gained weight as a college student, as so many of us do, and after she finished school and had three children, her weight had ballooned to more than 200 pounds. She tried many fat loss plans, but failed at all of them until she learned how to "eat clean." Now, in her 40's she regularly wins fitness competitions, appears on health-related TV shows, and writes columns for such magazines as Oxygen, Maximum Fitness, and Reps! Just realizing that Tosca Reno has faced some of the same struggles that plague me, and that she has been able to conquer them, made me interested enough to take a look at her plan. Here is an outline of the Eat Clean Diet and an evaluation of its usefulness to regular people.
The Basic Premise
The Eat Clean Diet cannot be classified as low-carb or low-fat. Instead, it encourages followers to eat natural, whole foods rather than anything that has been processed in a factory. Tosca Reno says that we should, "Eat the food that God gave us, not the 'food' that humans created in laboratories." Therefore, Reno would consider an orange to be a clean food, but not reconstituted orange juice concentrate. If you want to make your own fresh-squeezed O.J., or add your orange to a smoothie made with all clean ingredients, that would be fine under the Eat Clean plan.
Reno's theory is that high quality whole foods are processed differently by the body than the junky foods that are so common in many of our diets. She claims that many people can maintain their weight while eating 2000 calories a day of clean foods, but they will gain if they eat 1600 calories that come from low quality items. Therefore, she does not believe in calorie counting as part of the plan.
People who follow the Eat Clean plan are urged to eat at least six times a day and to be sure they don't skip breakfast. The idea here is to get the metabolism up and running early in the morning and keep it humming by feeding it every two to three hours. Each meal and snack should contain protein as well as complex carbohydrates. Dieters should not have anything to eat during the last four hours before bedtime. Reno says that it is very difficult to eat clean meals at a restaurant. Therefore, people should pack a small cooler when they leave home each day that is filled with enough protein and snack foods to last until they return.
The Upside
The Eat Clean diet outlines a healthy way to live. Nearly all members of our modern society can benefit from reducing the amount of sugar and processed, chemical-laden foods we eat. The plan puts a lot of emphasis on choosing foods from all the basic food groups and consuming high-quality nutrients. If you follow this eating plan, you will most likely not be hungry because of the frequent meals, and you should get plenty of the Essential Fatty Acids that help to improve the look of your skin and hair as well as add to your overall health.
Tosca Reno has some common sense guidelines for keeping portion sizes in balance. She says that your protein foods like a grilled chicken breast should be about the size of your palm, the carbohydrates you eat should fit in one cupped hand and the fruits and vegetables you consume should fit in two hands cupped together. Since the size of your hands are obviously in proportion to the rest of your body, this method gives a good indication of how much you should eat at each meal in order to achieve maximum fat loss.
The Downside
The Eat Clean plan is highly restrictive. It requires a drastic change in eating habits for most people and provides very little opportunity to "cheat." If you decide to try this regimen, you should be prepared to give up all sugar and artificial sweeteners, alcohol, packaged foods, and processed carbohydrates. You should also understand that you would need to devote a lot of time to meal preparation and planning ahead.
The system can interfere with the social and business obligations of many folks because of the difficulty in participating in family or corporate dinners and other functions. Many people are simply not in a situation where it is feasible to carry a cooler filled with meals and snacks everywhere they go.
The Bottom Line
I admire Tosca Reno for the way that she has turned her life around and the obvious zest for living that she possesses. Her book is well written and full of practical information. She has recently published an Eat Clean cookbook that contains many recipes that are tasty and useful for fat loss even if you are not following her plan in its entirety.
In reality, however, I just don't think the Eat Clean system is practical for many folks. As an alternative, I would recommend an easy-to-follow plan called Fat Loss 4 Idiots that has been very useful for me. It too, puts an emphasis on real, whole foods, and encourages users to eat at least four times a day. But it is so much simpler to follow and fit into my everyday life than the Eat Clean guidelines. I started the FL4I plan by downloading an ebook and then logging into the meal plan generator. After choosing 30 of my favorite foods from a list, I had enough menus to last me for 11 days. When that time had passed I was allowed three days where I could eat whatever I wanted before logging into the website again and generating another 11 day plan. Fat Loss 4 Idiots has helped me lose fat and gain energy. It is easy to follow, and the three free days help keep the monotony and drudgery out of dieting. If you want to know more about this great program that has worked so well for me, see a complete review here.
More Dieting Tips:
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Atkins: The Low-Carb Diet That Started it All
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Can the South Beach Diet Really Get You Ready for Swimsuit Season?
Can Psychology Really Help With Fat Loss?
What's the Deal With the Eat-Clean Diet?
Do You Lose Fat if You "Eat To Live?"
Foolish Fads and Preposterous Plans That Can Derail Your Fat Loss
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