hungry for change

After my little rant last week, I was still feeling pretty frustrated about nutrition. I know I don't eat the best all the time, and I know that eating as much chocolate as I do is probably not ideal, but I KNOW that. What I want to know is how I should be eating most of the time, so that I can sometimes eat desserts and cheesy things (mmm lasagna) and know that I'm still eating as healthy as I could be, at least 80% of the time.

I started reading the book Clean by Alejandro Junger and it had some great suggestions for ways to get started eating healthier, and even some recipes. I also watched Hungry for Change, a documentary (available on Netflix) and it was actually kind of crazy how it addressed a lot of the things I was talking about last week. I would definitely recommend this film for anyone who wants to learn more about nutrition.
 

The film talks about how our diet now is so much different from how it was back when people had to hunt or find everything they ate, at every meal. Our food used to be very nutrient rich, and low calorie, things like lean proteins, veggies, fruits, etc. Now our food is low nutrition, but very high calorie, so even though people are eating so many more calories, they aren't getting the nutrition they need, so they can be overweight, but actually starving to death from lack of proper nutrition.

 
It also explained how, even though our environment and the availability of food has changed drastically, our body is still designed the way it originally was (basically). So we are designed to gain weight whenever there is excess food because we used to need it, there could be a drought or long winter, and it might be a long time before our next meal, so storing up calories was very necessary. But now, our body still stores up calories in order to keep us nourished when food is not available, but now, for most people in America, there isn't a time when we don't have food, so we just keep storing.
 

The one thing that really stuck with me from the film, though, is about all of the additives and preservatives that can be found in a most processed foods.. except Peanut M&M's right? Those are still ok? RIGHT?
 

It's actually gets a little scary when you start to really look at the food labels, and see what some of them contain. With the help of Google, obviously, otherwise I wouldn't know what most of that stuff even was. And I guess that's the problem? If you really don't know what something is, why would you put it in your mouth? Or into your children's mouth's?
 

Since I started reading the book, I've been trying out the "cleanse" that it suggests. Well, sort of. It's like a pre-cleanse cleanse called the Elimination Diet, and basically you just cut out sugar, processed foods, dairy, read meat and wheat products. At first I was like, but what's left? But there is actually a lot you can eat, mostly free range chicken, wild caught fish, and organic fruits and veggies, you just have to get creative, because it can get a little boring (I actually made fish for supper last night... this has NEVER happened before, ever).
 

It's not bad for a "cleanse", because you still get to eat, which is a necessity for me. I've been having a smoothie every morning (recipe here) with fruit as a snack before lunch. For lunch it's been either quinoa, veggies and chicken, or this really great quinoa salad my friend turned me on to (recipe here) and I eat almonds as a snack. For dinner, it's chicken and veggies, and I drink TONS of green tea all day.
 

I don't really know what I'm expecting I guess, I've been doing it for a week, and I can tell I've lost weight, but I have also felt a bit more tired, which can be a side effect. I guess what I am hoping is that after 2 more weeks, I'll feel so amazing that I will want to keep eating like this most of the time, with occasional trips to the Cheesecake Factory, for special occasions.

This Sunday is the Superbowl though, hopefully I can keep it up! I'll keep you posted.
 

If anyone has seen the film or read this book, I'd love to hear your thoughts.