One of the first things I have all of my Inferno Challengers do is CLEAN OUT YOUR PANTRY! Honestly, I am guilty of this too! Cookies, processed foods, cereals, sugar and other things make their way into your house. Before you start your health journey, the best thing to do is rid your house of all the temptations & retrain your body to look for the yummy healthy options!
How to Prepare your Pantry for Clean Eating! <--- 7 Steps!
1. Remove everything PRE-PACKAGED!
Cookies, instant mashed potatoes, granola bars, crackers, etc. These all contain a mess of mystery ingredients from sugar to chemicals to unhealthy fat.
2. Remove everything containing SUGAR!
Flip it over and look at the ingredients...sugar? <---it needs to go! Sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup contain two molecules: glucose and fructose. Glucose is something the body produces itself and can break it down into energy. Fructose CANNOT be broken down by the body, gets sent to the liver as a toxin and the liver turns it into fat to protect the body from it. <-- This fat stays in your body!
3. Remove the fats!
Flip it over and look at ingredients..is there rapeseed (canola oil), soybean, corn, sunflower, safflower, peanut, or any other vegetable oils? <--It needs to go! These oils are processed in very unnatural and unhealthy ways! They are heated to very high temperature, changing their structure...not to mention GMO!!! Use ONLY olive or coconut.
4. Remove White flour, White Rice, White noodles!
The focus of cleaning out your pantry is to fill it with nutrient-dense foods that will help your body THRIVE! White flour, white pasta, white rice have all been striped of their nutrients therefore become empty calories! Remember what I said about sugar in the body, these are going to act the same way in the liver! <---Look for WHOLE WHEAT, multigrain, brown rice, and whole grains such as quinoa.
5. Juice (not 100% pure juice) & Soda!
These need to go, for ALOT of reasons...they are processed, packed full of chemicals & toxins, they are full of sugar and basically send your body into a downward spiral. These will effect your energy levels, your bodies ability to fight off disease, its ability to break down minerals and vitamins and put you and your family at risk of things such as heart disease & diabetes.
6. "DIET" or "LOW FAT" or anything else that sounds modified!
Truth is guys, when they "take something out" they add something else and I can guarantee its not something healthy! I want you to understand something...there are food groups that are important to our bodies, FATS are one of them. Our body needs FAT to burn off fat! <---HEALTHY FAT! Remember before when I said coconut oil and olive oil? Your body needs these! It also needs things like avocado, nuts and seeds! Premade salad dressing, cheese and other things that generally say "low fat" have a lot more things going on with them than taking out a little fat...they use unhealthy, toxic oils, they add sugar, and a bunch of chemicals to make it look creamy and preserve it! <-- your body CANNOT process these! Instead, make your own salad dressings using olive oil and measure out 2 tbsp as a serving (your body loves these fats!) When buying cheese, get the full fat options and really limit your intake! I always say, "low fat" means "toxic shitstorm"...just don't.
7. Check your labels!
Is there something that sounds like a chemical? BYE. Is there something you cannot pronounce? BYE. Is there something with more than 10 ingredients? BYE. Is there artificial colors or sweeteners? BYE....use your instincts and ask yourself.. HAS THIS BEEN MAD MADE IN THE LAST 100 YEARS?? <--- REALLY LIMIT THESE!
Like I said before, this journey isn't about restricting your diet & being unhappy because you can't eat cupcakes (trust me, I love the odd cupcake!). this is about giving your body what it needs to THRIVE! Your body is an incredible machine! If you give it what it needs, it will run optimally. This means great sleep, great digestion, high energy, great skin/hair/nails, and weight maintenance. We are designed to feel incredible and ALOT of this is going to start with the fuel we are adding to our bodies!
Here is HOW TO CHECK A LABEL:
