As sure as I am that the sky is blue, is as sure I am about the high failure rate when it comes to people following diets. All my experience is anecdotal, but I did find a statistic on ‘Dr. Google’ that says 95% of all diets fail. Frankly, I think it is higher!
The newer trend in diets seems to be someone advocating for some form of elimination. The elimination can be anything from the following list:
| Meat | Eggs | Produce (fruits/vegetables) |
| Nuts/Seeds | Dairy | Grain/Gluten |
| Sugar | Nightshades | Lectins |
| Oxylates | Histamines | Phytates |
And the list can grow depending on the issues you might be experiencing.
The eliminations are usually recommended to someone when they are experiencing general malaise and/or have high inflammation markers. A doctor/practitioner/nutritionist might then recommend eliminating certain foods from the above list. Then person is advised to eliminate the foods for a certain duration, which can be anywhere from 7 days to 90 days, or more.
In my experience, people print out a list of foods they think they can consume or a list they can’t consume during that time and follow that list to the letter. Inevitably, the person is either too scared to deviate from the list, or is eating foods from the list made so blandly that they start to equate healthy eating with boring tasteless food.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in certain elimination strategies, but for most people they are advised to start eliminating foods before they understand the basics of clean eating. They are usually still eating the standard American diet and don’t understand how WE define clean eating.
How to Define Clean Eating
Our simplest definition of clean eating is clean it up so you can level up! That means, every day you are mindful of the foods you consume. You are aware that your choices impact your overall health and that this process is a journey that requires patience and perseverance. This should be your first step before you embark on any sort of elimination. This way you start to build good habits like reading ingredient labels, learning how to ask questions, and making better overall choices. With that in mind, you can reference the What are you buying Pyramid. Then you will understand how to clean up your current level so you can strategize on how to level up.
If you are doing our version of clean eating then eventually on your journey you will do some form of elimination and follow ‘a list’. However, the difference is when you complete the restrictive phase, your base level of eating will be your new standard of eating. Basically, your NEW ‘go to’. That standard will be high quality food and ingredients, prepared correctly, and that you know will love you back!
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