A lot of people eat Chinese food and assume they are being healthy. What they don't know is how much oil and fat can go into certain dishes. Fried rice is one of those dishes that can be extremely fattening. That's why today I bring you the Get In Shape Girl Approved Fried Rice recipe below. This is a healthy friend rice that is much lower in fat than the normal friend rice you eat at a Chinese restaurant.

GISG Approved Fried Rice

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
1 cup mixed frozen oriental stir fry vegetables
1/2 cup minute brown rice

Instructions:

1. Fry eggs in a pan
2. Microwave rice and vegetables
3. Mix all ingredients in a bowl

Nutrition:

Calories — 292
Protein — 34 grams
Carbohydrates — 38 grams
Fat — 2 grams

Now you can enjoy the healthy fried rice without the guilt of the Chinese restaurant fried rice!

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Everyone and their grannies seem to be talking about Clean Eating, Eating Clean, Clean Foods, a Clean Diet, etc.

What is all this about?  I can wash my veggies, is that clean enough?  I shower before I cook dinner, does that count?

When I refer to Clean Eating or Eating Clean or following a Clean diet, I am referring specifically to Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Diet.    Tosca created this “diet” (it’s not really a diet, it’s more like a way of life) as she was once overweight and unhappy, as a way to change her eating habits to get in shape and be the healthiest she can be.

Eating Clean has to many benefits.  I mean, for one, it is NOT a diet, so you aren’t counting calories or restricting your body from anything, but instead you are fueling it with healthy nutrients it needs!

Once you begin Eating Clean you may notice:

• Your clothes fit you better or you lose weight
• Your skin clears up
• Your digestive system begins to work correctly
• You are sick less frequently
• You have a ton more energy

Honestly, there’s so many benefits, these are just a few.  But what I REALLY want to talk about are the FIRST SIX baby steps you can take to begin Eating Clean!

1. Read Labels.   Honestly, most clean foods are found on the outskirts of the grocery stores – your meats and produce.  But for the items you will need to purchase in the aisles like oils, oats, etc, you need to know what you are buying.  So a quick rule of thumb – if you don’t know how to pronounce a word on the label, chances are it is man-made and thus not clean!

2. Prepare.  If you are like me you don’t enjoy eating salads day in and day out.  When you go out for lunch or dinner chances are you are getting who knows what in your foods.  So I prepare and cook all 6 meals I eat each day.  Sure, it is time consuming at first, but that is how I stay lean.  Once you get the hang of it, you will know what foods you will need for the week and you will be able to prepare them in no time.  But you have to plan ahead by getting everything you need at the store each week.

3. Pack a cooler.  Yep – bring your own clean foods!!  Clean food items that I find easy to put into tupperware are: batch-cooked chicken, frozen veggies, oatmeal with peanut butter and flax, pre-made smoothies, batch-cooked sweet potato, fruit, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, turkey burgers, protein pancakes, etc.

4. Batch cook.  It’s a life saver!  Every Sunday I batch cook enough chicken for the week.  I cut off the fat, bake it with seasoning, and measure 3.5 ounces of it and put that much into a container with some mustard and frozen veggies, so I can grab one a day to bring to work.  I also batch cook sweet potato chips too.  Then I take the time to divvy up 1/4 cup of oats, 1 T natural peanut butter, 1 T ground flax, a pinch of protein powder and cinnamon to sweeten, so that way when I’m a zombie in the morning, all I need to do is add water and microwave.

5.  Pair a carbohydrate with a lean protein.  A protein is pretty self-explanatory – a food that’s calories primarily come from protein (fish, meat, dairy.)  A carbohydrate may be a starchy carb (wheat, grains, legumes, beans, potatoes), a fruit or a vegetable.  If you pair a protein with a carb you are less likely to have a spike in your insulin levels and the protein based food will also keep you full longer because your body takes longer to digest it.

6. Eat 5 – 6 times a day.  Eating Clean is meant to keep your metabolism roaring all day long.  If you go longer than 3 hours, most likely you have digested all of your food and your metabolism has slowed down.  Now do you get why you need to have a lean protein at each meal?  Tosca talks in great detail about serving sizes in her books, but generally your meals are much smaller now.  So you should not feel stuffed at the end of a meal, so trust me, you will want to eat again in a few hours!

I hope this helps make this lifestyle change to Clean Eating far less intimidating.  Honestly, Eating Clean changed my life and I hope it changes yours!  If you need help with this or putting together a meal plan, please email me!  kyra@thegetinshapeworkoutplan.com – I’d love to hear from you!

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Here is a list of 12 tips that will help you avoid holiday weight gain. Remember, it is all about having a strategy and these 12 tips will help you with that right away.

Remember that you don’t have to wait until New Years Day to have a “new beginning.” Each morning is a brand new day and you can wake up and determine that on this day you will eat clean!

1. Sneak in workouts when you can. Go pick up your family from the airport and go on a walk with your sister. You know she could use the exercise and fresh air too.
2. Make time for the gym. It will rid you of your stress to pound it out there.
3. Consider whether or not you really need that second helping of food. There’s a pretty good chance if you stay in your seat and you enjoy the company of your family you will find that you aren’t really hungry. Savor every bite you take of the first plate.
4. Avoid alcohol. What are you going to do, get drunk with your family at the dinner table? What’s the point?
5. Stay away from anything on a menu that says “creamy, fried, or crispy.”
6. Chug a bottle of water before you sit down to eat. It will make your stomach feel full.
7. If you are dying to bake goodies, give them away.
8. Get an accountability partner. Tell them you want them to be difficult and hold you accountable for what you eat, drink and how much you workout.
9. When you think you should keep eating, take a look at a photo of someone who’s body you would like to have. When I’m sitting on the couch mindlessly eating I am usually online, and I’ll go to the Victoria’s Secret website and I will then put down whatever it is I’m munching on.
10. Try circuit training with cardio between sets. For ideas here check out my previous blog “Fun with circuits and heart rate.” It’s a way to get an entire workout done quicker and if you keep your heart rate up the entire time you will burn more fat!
11. Grab a quick snack before going out. If you are shopping bring a protein bar so you can have something to keep your metabolism up. you need to eat every 2–3 hours. If you eat a chocolate protein bar it will keep you from being tempted by the chocolate chip cookies. And if you have an apple with peanut butter you will not be tempted by finger food at cocktail parties.

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