1) Switch out coffee for green tea
Having a hot coffee every morning can be a life-saving ritual. The stress of getting up, ready, and prepared for a heavy workload leaves many of us craving a caffeine and sugar boost each morning. You don’t have to cut this ritual completely, and one small switch from coffee to green tea to start each day is a great way to minimize your intake of sugar and milk, and add the health benefits of green tea. This boost to your immune system helps kick your metabolism into high gear, helping you feel better and eliminate the other toxins you inevitably encounter throughout your day.
2) Bring on the snacks
Clean eating doesn’t mean living hungry, it just means that you need to be eating the right things. The good news about taking on a healthier, more organic approach to snacks is that when you’re eating well, you can eat as much as you want.
That’s right! When you’re eating clean, healthy, organic foods, you will be able to enjoy more snacks, more meals, and larger portions without worrying about gaining weight. It can be hard to find satisfaction in fruit and vegetables alone, but part of that is the fact that you’re used to high energy fat and carb snacks now. Once you start and stick to a habit of snacking well for 3 weeks, you’ll find you crave unhealthy snacks much less and that any craving you have can be easily satisfied with something fresh!
3) Set a daily water goal
You need to be hydrated – the more the better. But it can be challenging to remember to drink enough water and part of the reason for that is that your body won’t actually feel thirsty until you’ve already become hydrated. The goal is to stay ahead of that thirst, and many of us struggle with hydration because we don’t have a cue.
If this sounds like you, there are a lot of simple solutions to the challenge. Try setting yourself a daily water goal, and challenge yourself to stick to it. This can be through an app, tracker you make yourself, or by tracking your consumption through a designated container or water bottle. You can also make water a bit more exciting by adding a squeeze of lemon or lime each day. Once water becomes a habit, you’ll likely be able to drop your tracking method, as complete hydration becomes second-nature to you. But until then, do whatever it takes to make sure you get enough water every day.
4) Eat more real food
Living clean doesn’t mean eating less, and for many people, it actually means eating more! When you’re eating fewer processed foods, and focusing on what you consume, you may find that you actually get to eat more snacks, larger portions, and more variety throughout the day! If you’re constantly fretting about your weight or calorie intake, remember that a healthy diet rich in the vitamins and minerals you need will actually let you forget about calorie counting, and focus on all the delicious new recipes you can create.
