If you have been wanting to eat better and clean up your diet, clean eating is a healthy way to start by choosing foods that are more nutrient-rich, and minimally processed. While not it is not a diet, eating clean is most certainly a great start, and a nutritious way to nourish your body. By adopting a clean eating lifestyle, you'll get to enjoy the many benefits of a healthier body. Grab yourself a lemon-strawberry infused water, and come learn how its done!
Let's be clear, burning unwanted body fat involves more than just exercise; your daily habits, especially your nutritional intake and diet, play a pivotable role in successful fat loss. This is why eating clean, if done correctly, can be a powerful way to help boost and achieve your desired fat loss results. And without dieting. In this post, I'm spilling the tea on how you can use effectively clean eating for fat loss by following only a few key guidelines. I've also included a beginner's 5-Day Clean Eating Meal Plan to help you get started and eat for healthy fat loss.
Now, if you are totally new to clean eating I recommend you go read my beginner's guide to clean eating or this post on how to get started to help familiar yourself with the principles. Afterwards, come back here to grab this Nutritionist-approved menu for clean eating that helps to burn fat.
Can I Really Lose Fat Just By Eating Clean?
The short answer yes. The long answer, but it depends. To burn fat you need to stimulate the metabolism. You can do this any number of ways by reducing the appetite, or your overall food intake. As an anti-diet Nutritionist, I am not a big supporter of dieting or calorie deficits especially for women; we use other means in my nutrition clinic and with excellent, long lasting results. So, stimulating the metabolism without restrictions is going to be the focus here, and using the following techniques demonstrates how you can use clean eating for fat loss:
Eat Lean Proteins
Protein a major building block of the human body. You need daily servings of protein, which you can only find in food, to build and maintain muscle mass during weight loss, and to support a feeling of fullness. A wholefood-based diet based on regular servings of lean, clean protein sources, is going to help your body naturally burn more fat.
EXAMPLES: aim for 30g+ of protein at each main meal, and focus snacks on a balance of protein and healthy fats for best results. Choose from lean protein sources like organic, free-range chicken and turkey, fresh caught fish such as salmon, whitening or snapper, or plantbased alternatives to meat like organic, non-GMO tofu, tempeh, or legumes.
Consume Complex Carbohydrates
These provide your body with sustained energy and can prevent overeating. Carbs are necessary for the female body and are an essential macro needed for hormone balance. Rather than ditch carbs, be more choosy and go for high-fibre options that fill you up faster, are digested slower and provide the most nutrition.
EXAMPLES: choose complex carbohydrates such as quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole grains over white rice or bread. Include a small, half palm-sized serving with each main meal to ensure you feel satiated.
Healthy Fats
Eating healthy fats helps to support satiety and works to regulate the hormones involved in fat metabolism. A diet that includes healthy fats also slows down the release of glucose into the blood, which works to keep your blood sugar levels from spiking and crashing–bye-bye sugar cravings. Be sure your plate includes a small thumb-sized serving of healthy, omega-3 rich fats at each main meal.
EXAMPLES: not all fats are created equal, so be sure to include only the healthiest sources of fats such as avocados, eggs, fatty fish like salmon, nuts and seeds, and nutritiously-dense oils such as avocado, coconut, flaxseed or olive oil.
High-Fibre Foods
If all you did was increased your fibre and water intake, you'd be surprised at the difference it would make to your weight loss. For this reason, you want include high-fibre foods to hep burn fat. Dietary fibre supports digestive health and contributes to a feeling of fullness. Fibre-rich foods also require extra energy to digest, meaning your body has to work to breakdown the food. This naturally draws on more energy and resources in the body, boosting the metabolism in the process. Some of these foods are known as, "negative-caloric", meaning they require more energy to digest then they end up providing the body. A few examples of these foods are celery, citrus such as lemon, limes, and grapefruit, and cucumbers.
EXAMPLES: Build your plate by including super high fibre food choices such as berries (all types), fruit with the skin on, non-starchy, water content vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, dark leafy greens, or kale. Include a small amount of whole grains such as rolled oats, wholemeal and high-fibre seeds like chia or flax.
Hydration
Proper hydration supports metabolism and can help control hunger, especially those pesky sugar cravings. Aim to drink up to 3 litres of clean water throughout the entire day, spacing it out and sipping often. You'll be surprised if you have not been drinking enough, just how filling water can be, and how effectively it naturally supresses your appetite. You also need to increase your water intake if you are upping your fibre intake to help aid digestion and avoid constipation.
EXAMPLES: Stay hydrated with clean drinking water, unsweetened herbal teas, and homemade infused water.
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5-Day Clean Eating For Fat Loss Menu
Kick off these fat-burning clean eating by simply replacing a few meals each week with one the suggestions. This is an excellent way to ease into a healthy eating plan, especially if you have a history of yoyo-dieting. Instead of drastically removing certain foods, instead simply focus on swapping out processed meals for more of the good stuff. This can prove highly effective in short amount of time, and will naturally crowd out the not-so-good food choices.
To recap, focus your fat-burning meal planning efforts on the following:
fresh fruits and vegetables in their rawest or least processed form, include the peel
whole grains from high-fibre sources, with all their fibre goodness still intact
clean meats and proteins from organic, plantbased and hormone-free sources
include nuts and seeds, clean cooking oils like avocado, coconut and olive oil
healthy fats like avocados, oily fish like salmon, nuts, seeds, clean oils
simple ingredients that don’t have long labels or difficult names
Your priority when building a healthy, clean eating plate for fat-burning is to always include as much nutrient-rich lean protein and high-fibre ingredients as possible. Balance this out with a little healthy fats and remember to keep extra hydrated.
The Menu
When you first start clean eating, remember it's not about restrictions or avoiding food groups. It is refocusing your plate on more nutritious ingredients and recipes. For some this might mean making a few per week that are designated 'clean eating days' and for others, it may mean going all in and clearing out the pantry to start fresh with only clean foods in the house. There is no right or wrong here, just progress--however that looks for you! Ready then? Let's eat!
Day 1:
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with a generous handful of fresh spinach. Serve this on a whole-grain or low carb toast with smashed avocado and sprinkle of bacon bits. Follow the up with a warm cup of metabolism-boosting green tea.
Snack:
Enjoy a small bowl of plain Greek yogurt with a handful of fresh blueberries on top. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon, crushed walnuts and tiny drizzle of my raw chocolate sauce, recipe here. Sip on a nutritious dandelion root tea.
Lunch:
Make a tangerine arugula salad with a large handful of arugula leaves topped with tangerine wedges and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Add a little grated parmesan cheese for a little extra punch of flavour (pictured above). Enjoy with a cup of lemon ginger tea to hydrate.
Snack:
Fat-burning avocado pudding made with an avocado blended with protein powder, vanilla extract, a splash of almond milk and 1 tbsp of raw cacao powder. Chill for 2 hours with a cover over the top and enjoy as a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of licorice tea. (pictured above middle).
Dinner:
Enjoy baked salmon served on a 1/3 cup of cooked quinoa and a generous side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Finish the meal off with a cup of chamomile tea.
Day 2:
Breakfast:
High-protein smoothie made with 250ml unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 semi-ripe banana, 1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder, and 1/2 ripe avocado. Blend until smooth; add ice if you like a creamy, soft-serve consistency.
Snack:
Enjoy several sliced cucumber sticks (negative-caloric) with a 2 tbsp serving of hummus. Add a little chili spices to fire up the metabolism, and finish off with a cup of green tea for an additional metabolism boost.
Lunch:
Create a Mexican themed, high-fibre quinoa bowl with 1/2 cup cooked quinoa topped with 1/4 cup black beans, 3 tbsp cooked corn, 1/4 cup finely diced cherry tomatoes, and homemade avocado guacamole. Complete the meal with lemon ginger tea to stay hydrated.
Dinner:
Make a warm kale salad with 1 cup of shredded kale topped with 1/2 cup roasted sweet potato and 1/2 an avocado. Full recipe found here. Finish with a cup of peppermint tea for digestion.
Day 3:
Breakfast:
Make a pot of overnight oats by adding 3 tbsp raw oats, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp stevia, and 1 tbsp chia seeds to a jar. Cover with unsweetened almond milk, stir well and chill overnight. To serve, add 2-3 finely chopped strawberries and a sprinkle of walnuts to the top and eat straight from the jar. Hydrate with a green tea afterwards.
Snack:
Enjoy 2-3 celery sticks (negative-caloric) with nut butter or hummus. Follow this with a cup of green tea.
Lunch:
Make a high-protein tuna arugula salad topped with hard-boiled egg, recipe found here. Sip a green tea afterwards for that metabolism boost.
Dinner:
Create a wholefood Buddha Bowl like this one, made with cooked brown rice or quinoa topped with greens, tomatoes, cucumber and avocado. Finish the meal with a peppermint or chamomile tea to aid digestion.
Day 4:
Breakfast:
Enjoy this mango smoothie for weight loss, click here. Its made with mango, oranges, pineapple and vanilla flavoured protein powder for an orange creamsicle-like flavour. Follow this with a cup of green tea to boost the metabolism.
Snack:
Make a light snack from almond butter spread on green apple slices and a dusting of cinnamon. Enjoy with a cup of green tea or lemon ginger for an energy boost.
Lunch:
Make a quick and easy lunch throwing together a handful or spinach greens, 1-2 hard-boiled eggs and half an avocado in a bowl, see recipe here. Finish the meal off with a fennel tea for digestion and to keep hydrated.
Dinner:
Tonight make low carb chicken or turkey skewers with capsicums and red onions. Chop the ingredients into small cubes and thread on on bamboo skewers to cook. Enjoy a peppermint or lavender tea afterwards to relax and aid digestion.
Day 5:
Breakfast:
Today enjoy my Green Goddess Super Slimmer smoothie for breakfast and follow up this with a cup of green tea for that metabolism boost.
Snack:
A handful of fresh blueberries paired with 2 tbsp of mixed seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, pine nut or flaxseed. Compliment this with a rooibos or plain black tea.
Lunch:
Make my famous watermelon feta salad made with arugula leaves, chopped watermelon and crumbled feta cheese. Enjoy a lemon ginger tea afterwards to support energy levels and digestion.
Dinner:
Try my low carb spin on healthy prawn tacos, recipe here. Follow this tasty dinner up with peppermint or fennel tea to support digestion.
There you go, healthy clean eating ideas to help burn fat! I recommend for bets results that you also combine this clean eating plan with regular HIIT-style exercise and adequate sleep for a well-rounded approach to natural fat loss. Remember, making noticeable progress takes time, so be patient and celebrate those small victories along the way!!
If you enjoyed these clean eating recipes, come browse my recipe blog for more Nutritionist-approved meal ideas and wholefood recipes for improving your diet and general health.
Want to learn how to make clean eating and healthier eating part of your new normal? Then you are going to love my free Clean Eating Challenge over email. It's where you'll get 5 days of my expert advice that walk you through the process in simple steps. Plan healthy, clean meals, overhaul your pantry, and feast from 10 free clean eating recipes and more!
The Clean Eating Challenge
There's a reason why its so popular, my clean eating challenge series is an excellent way to help you to clean up your diet while helping to naturally rebalance your body weight and feel more energised! Come join in, its totally free, so let's go!
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So, tell me in the comments what goals you are working towards and want to acheive this coming year. I'd love to cheer you on and provide you with many more success tips. Let me know what specifically you are working on, and I'll pop back with some helpful ideas to help ensure your success!
Emma Lisa, Nutritionist & Women's Practitioner
Emma Lisa is a Nutritionist & Women's Health Practitioner with over 12+ years experience in wholefood nutrition, meal planning and health coaching. She is a published cookbook author, passionate food recipe creator and lifestyle blogger, and an advocate for women's health and anti-diet culture. When she's not in clinic, Emma is mum to five kids, in her test kitchen and a wellness digital creator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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