I’ve been asked by several friends, family members and awesome IG followers about how to learn more or where to start to transition into a healthier lifestyle. While I did not really start focusing on eating clean and lifting weights until just a couple of months ago, I’ll never forget the reason why I started learning more about this lifestyle in April 2012. A friend of mine pinned (Pinterest lingo) a link to the BodyBuilding.com transformation story of an amazingly fit and super inspiring woman named Kelsey Byers. This featured body transformation story on BodyBuilding.com was an interview of Kelsey’s story, why she got started and how, complete with a meal plan, workout schedule and workouts with exercises linked to the website’s detailed exercise instructions. I was so interested in learning more about this “clean eating” stuff because of Kelsey’s amazing and inspiring transformation.
A little later on, again on Pinterest, I stumbled upon insanely fit and super inspiring fitness model, Jamie Eason, and her LiveFit Trainer program.
Through Jamie Eason’s program is where I really started learning more and more about the different types of lifting exercises that I now know today! One of my best friends and I decided to start following this workout program, however, we didn’t exactly follow Jamie’s meal plan and approved food list. I could definitely tell that I was building a little muscle, however, without the proper nutrition, I was not seeing the results that I could have started seeing back then. I’ve learned so much more over the past year that eating right is what is going to reveal your hard work in the gym.
I can’t even count how many amazing, fit men and women I follow now that inspire me every day, but one more that I have to address in this first post is Ashley Scott: The Skinny-Fit Girl.
I have been following this girl since last May, right after she started on her fitness journey in April 2012. She has been the most helpful person I follow…and I follow a lot of fit, amazing and totally inspiring people on Facebook! Go check out her Facebook page to see her amazing transformation from beginning up until now (above picture is from a recent, and her first, photo shoot). She posts regularly to give daily motivation, she has shared all of the things she has learned over the past year, she’s amazing with answering questions you might have, and her page is organized in a way that makes it so easy to learn and find things.
Like I said, these are just a few of the inspiring women who introduced me to and got me eager to learn about this lifestyle, however, there are so many other people I follow who motivate me daily. I will work on the “My Inspirations” page of my blog this week to share!
Clean Eating
Okay, so back to one thing that is always on my mind…food! Here is a list of just some of the clean foods that are in my usual rotation (a much more complete list can be found here on Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer site):
Lean Proteins
- Chicken Breast
- Turkey Breast
- Egg Whites
- Tilapia
Fatty Proteins
- Avocado
- Raw Almonds
- Peanut Butter (all natural, just ground nuts!)
- Almond Butter (all natural)
- Salmon
Complex Carbohydrates
- Oats (not the flavored/sweetened oatmeal – look for steel cut, rolled/old fashioned or quick oats)
- Oat Flour
- Brown Rice
- Brown Rice Cakes (salt free)
- Sweet Potatoes
- Ezekiel Bread Products
Vegetables
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Brussels Sprouts
- Carrots
Fruit
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Bananas
- Grapefruit
Dairy
- Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
- Unsweetened Plain Almond Milk
Supplements
- Whey Protein Powder
- Casein Protein Powder
- Quest Protein Bars
Like I said, this is by no means a complete list of clean foods – these are just ones that I buy on a very regular basis! As I’ve already tried to emphasize, the food that you put into your body is going to have the most significant impact on the results that you see from eating right and working out. This is one of my favorite quotes (because I am bound and determined to get some ab-progress by the end of this summer!):
I will try to make a more in-depth food post in the near future (which will include a more complete list of clean foods) and I definitely plan to share some of my workouts. If you would like to see some examples of my meals since I started focusing on clean eating or examples of workouts that I’ve recently done, please check me out on Instagram!
Lastly, I just wanted to take the opportunity to point out the irrelevant, but still awesome, fact that fit girls, Jamie Eason & Kelsey Byers are both native Houstonians!
What y’all know about them Texas girls?!
Natalie's Lifestyle 