Final Eat Clean books review

Weigh-in day....week #91...115.0

 

Something that occurred to me while I was getting dressed...following the Weight Watchers Simply Filling & the Eat Clean nutrition plan will allow me to move closer to my own personal goal weight range. I'll try to explain without using too many words = )

 

20 years ago when I first found myself overweight, but still having the standard of not dieting...only following a HEALTHY nutrition plan...I learned about a plan called Eat Well, Live Well. The author was a guest on Focus on the Family radio show.

 

Her book is FABULOUS!!! Talk about Eating Clean!! I still follow some of her principles daily, such as balancing each meal with a serving of protein, a complex carb and a simple carb. She also advises 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day...similar to Reno's 6 small meals a day.

 

I stuck to the plan STRICTLY, lost 30 pounds, immediately started not sticking strictly to the plan, gained back the 30 pounds plus some = ( What I learned through that journey has become building blocks of today's successes...optimism rules!! hahahaha

 

Anyhow, it was from the Eat Well, Live Well book that I got the formula for my "perfect" weight. That was 20 years ago and it's proven true time and time again...it's the weight I feel the best at, look the best at and am nutritionally sound with the ability to maintain it long term. That's 108 pounds, "clean weight" (nekkid, first thing in the morning).

 

Now when I was heavily in to running, training, racing, weight-lifting, I was able to maintain 97-101 and I thought I looked great but most everyone else thought I was too skinny and I also knew, even then, that that was not maintainable long-term. I enjoyed my phase of "minimum-fat, maximum muscle" and have lots of trophies and medals to show for it = )

 

But 108 is realistic and do-able and I don't look too skinny and I can still enjoy other benefits such as not devoting 2-3 hours a day to training...and eating "treat" foods occasionally.

 

When I started officially doing the Weight Watchers program almost 2 years ago, I had the simple goal of finding a weight that I could successfully maintain year-round. I was tired of the cycle of weighing 125-130 at the end of the winter, spending the summer at 117-120 and then gaining again. So I chose 120 as my "goal" weight...124 at weigh-in to account for clothes and shoes. I was willing to accept a higher-than-truly-desirable weight for the more important goal of ending the gaining-losing cycle

 

But in my heart, my REAL goal weight has always been 108!! And this morning I thought, "with this way of eating, I really have a good shot at weighing 108 and maintaining it!". I'm only 4 pounds away from a clean weight of 108 and my weight continues to creep down the longer I follow Simply Filling/Eat Clean.

 

At this point, I could add a bit more activity and reduce my "treat" eating just a bit and hit 108 easily but I still have the more important goal of MAINTAINING a certain weight instead of just WEIGHING a certain weight. So I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and just see where that takes me.

 

I'll probably come close to 108 through the summer just because of the extra running and walking and outside activity I'm able to do with the lovely warm, hot weather = ) But if I have to work too hard to maintain that over the cold nasty winter months, it's not worth it and I'll just have to give up on that goal or decide at that time if it's worth it to make the changes necessary.

Ok, that was more words than I thought it would take...shoulda known...

So...I finished reviewing The Eat Clean Diet Recharged and this is definitely the book I'd recommend getting if you're interested. It's neat, easy to read, has clear directions on following the plan and lots of generally healthy suggestions. I found one more page to share with you...

 

She includes a pretty good recipe section at the back. If you really like the recipes, then you'll enjoy The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. I like the cookbook but probably more for the pretty pictures = ) Basically, you can "clean up" any recipe from any cookbook...within reason...so I don't recommend getting the cookbook except if you get the Recharged book and REALLY like the recipes.

I think my favorite and most-used cookbook is Whole Foods for the Whole Family put out by the La Leche League (thanks, Amy!!!). No pretty pictures on glossy pages but page after page of great, healthy recipes and cooking ideas. I got mine off of Amazon but they can be a little hard to find...

Also, another word about The Eat Clean series...they come with a solid binding but I took mine to Office Depot and had them spiral bound...except for The Eat Clean Diet Workout, which I figured I wouldn't be reading as often.

Ok, I think that's enough for now! Gonna go walk the dogs and enjoy some SUNSHINE!!!!

 

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