How do you eat clean?

[cymbeline]

Now, I know that some of you mamas are naturally fit and lean and make great choices when it comes to diet and nutrition. And good for you! Srsly! No sarcasm!

But I am not one of those mamas

I was vegetarian in my 20's, vegan for a while, but over the years I have let my eating habits slack. During my third pregnancy, I ate a LOT of crap. I used the pregnancy as an excuse to indulge... except I wasn't indulging here and there, I was pretty much eating a HFCS/trans fat diet all the time! Candy! Sodas! You name it!

This pregnancy, I have been eating much more cleanly. Lots and lots of whole foods. I've been slowly cutting unnatural items out of our diets: processed, packaged foods; artificial colors and flavorings; preservatives, etc. I have stopped drinking soda. I've been purchasing mainly organic ingredients and making most of our meals from scratch and eating from our seasonal garden as much as possible.

The problem is that it is MUCH more difficult than I expected. I am still eating too much (eating when I am not hungry) and I have terrible cravings for bad-for-me foods. What and when and how much I eat has become this ridiculous preoccupation, and I'm not sure how to just relax and eat clean.

I could really use some support. I've been thinking about joining an online support group (I'm not really sure which one, tho, since most require a paid subscription to join and you can't really view first and figure out if it is right for you). Maybe we could start a monthly eating clean thread here, similar to the finances threads? Any suggestions are welcome. TIA!

[Marnica]

I hear you! It is really hard to eat clean, but it sounds like you are doing a great job. I also used to eat alot of crap. I used to drink about 6-8 diet cokes/day in college (UGH!!), over the years and especially since having my son, I have cleaned up my diet considerably.

I do however allow myself to eat crap now and then. I had 4 oreos this past weekend and you know what, they were damn good! I don't think it is realistic to eat perfectly all the time. At least me me where I live and having access to the types of foods I have (ie I don't live on or near a farm). I do try and eat organic most of the time and shop at local farmers markets. I find that if I want something junky really really badly (usually cooincides with PMS ) and I don't let myself indulge a bit, I get obsessed about things and the need to eat "perfectly" . I find that when I do realx and just eat as cleanly as possible but allowing myself to NOT be perfect is what helps me eat MORE cleanly MORE often.....does that make sense??? Anyway I would be inetrested in a clean eating thread as well!

[Juvysen]

I just posted this on another thread... what your food cravings mean It's an interesting chart giving what the craving means and what you should eat instead to curb it.

[Alyantavid]

We eat mostly whole, local foods made from scratch.

But we also keep chips and pop in the house. I truly believe that completely depriving yourself of everything, makes it much harder. We survive just fine without them obviously, but I at least, am much happier with a few potato chips! I really don't think small amounts of junk food is that harmful when you're eating a great diet the rest of the time.