What I Learned from Eating Clean and Lean

Pea fritters from The Healthy Chef

I mentioned a few times in passing that Michael and I were endeavouring to eat “clean and lean” for several weeks in an effort to reset our sugar clocks, so to speak. I thought I’d share a few thoughts on what I learned from eating clean and lean for nearly a month (ish), and how we made out in case you’re considering doing something similar or are totally skeptical or even think you could never survive. (Fair warning, this got wordy, so feel free to come back tomorrow if you get bored talking about green vegetables!)

We started this little project because we both got into bad habits of having treats too frequently over the holidays (happens to most of us every year), and we had both developed a total addiction to the take-away cappuccinos from a little coffee place in Howth (happens when you live in Dublin and the coffee and milk are SO good). But that addiction was getting awfully expensive and adding a lot of unnecessary calories. So when the owner of my gym suggested Googling “14 Day Clean and Lean Plan“, I did and then we spent three and a half weeks sticking to it (with a few moderations).

I should preface what I learned with a few things. We already believe really strongly in whole foods as a general diet. As in, I don’t really believe in a lot of low-fat or substitute ingredients that use additives to replace calories. We try to start with whole things – meat, eggs, veggies, fruit, whole grains, full fat dairy – and we cut out about 95% processed sauces a few years ago, neither of us drink soda, and we rarely have juice anymore. Second, we both have HUGE sweet teeth. Like whole mouths full of sweet teeth. And my diet was starting to consist of bananas, smoothies, roasted vegetables with bulghur wheat, cappuccinos and chocolate after every meal. Mostly whole foods-ish, but not terribly balanced, obviously!

So we decided to stick to this general plan for a few weeks: lots of lean protein (eggs, fish, chicken breasts, steak, ground beef), unlimited green vegetables, as well as peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and other spices. We also ate some nuts, as sparingly as possible. We didn’t eat dairy, grains, starchy vegetables (like potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots or squash), fruit or sugar. Breakfast was usually some kind of eggs with vegetables, dinner was grilled meat with some kind of vegetables, and lunch was usually leftovers from the night before. It sounds really boring when you write it out like that, but I’ll explain how it wasn’t below! Michael drinks coffee black and I added unsweetened almond milk, and I discovered a vanilla tea I can drink which helps with the cosiness factor in the afternoons!

We stuck to this really strictly during the week, and relaxed a little on the weekends (coffee with real milk, please!), and here’s what we learned!

1. I Wasn’t Hungry

I was fairly concerned before we started that I was going to be starving. I wasn’t. I was annoyed that I couldn’t have a snack that actually appealed to me, but I wasn’t hungry. For the first few days, I was practically hallucinating sweet treats, but that has eased now, and I can indulge on the weekends. I prepare meals in advance, and having a few leftovers to munch on in the middle of the day also helps.

2. My Blood Sugar Stopped Crashing

It’s only now that I realize how crashy my blood sugar actually was. I suspect this is because of my reliance on bananas as my primary food source. A few times each day, I’d get shaky and feel the need to consume something immediately so as not to physically fall over right this minute. Very dramatic and most often taken out on Michael. Not any of my finest moments! I’ve had tests done and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me, so based on the last few weeks, when this hasn’t happened one single time, I believe that crashy feeling was down to my roller-coastering blood sugar.

3. We Ate More Creatively

I’m not the biggest fan of vegetables raw. I’ll eat leafy green salad if anyone else makes it but I generally think lettuce is a vehicle for other more fun things. I can easily fall into a rut of making some version of roast vegetables + whole grain + cheese + meat = dinner. For the last several weeks, we’ve eaten more fish, managed a lot more spinach and leafy greens, seasoned things with more fresh herbs, and generally eaten more creatively. My new favorite trick (although Michael doesn’t care for them very much) is pea fritters with mint (loosely adapted from this recipe).

4. We Wasted Less Food

We (I?) went to the grocery store more often, maybe 2-3 times a week instead of once a week, but we wasted less food. I loved this fringe benefit because food waste gives me guilt. I don’t like weekly meal plans because I can never manage to stick to them for more than a few days. So we get meat from the butcher and stock up on all the vegetables that look good or are on sale and go from there. We had stir fry, lots of grilled meat with different vegetables, even meatloaf with lots of vegetables and ground almonds instead of bread crumbs.

5. Almond Butter and Pesto Are Lifesavers

Sometimes you just need a darn snack! Michael snacks on nuts, but I just find nuts a little tedious to eat. I’ve been making almond butter in my new food processor and a spoonful (or seven) is the perfect snack. I’ve also been making pesto (basil leaves, garlic, ground almonds, olive oil and salt), and adding it to scrambled eggs and slathering it on burgers instead of ketchup. I think if you can find a few flavorful things that feel like a treat but aren’t packed with sugar, it’s a big help.

All that long-winded explanation to say that we’re pretty hooked and feel pretty great! We’ve started another week today (after celebrating Valentine’s Day with pink waffles) and will probably continue, slowly adding in a few more grains and starchy vegetables. If you’re starting your Monday feeling like you just need the push to get you to start eating a little healthier, maybe this will be it! If you have any questions or suggestions, do let me know! Happy Monday!