10 tips for keeping a clean diet

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by Bodybuilder Derek Charlebois
Well summer is rapidly approaching. Your trying to lose weight, but you just can not stop cheating. You snag a cookie here, can of pop there, and a couple pounds of fat where you don't want it. I'm going to give you a few tips to help improve your diet as well as keep it clean.

1. Do not just think you are going to taste something. Many times I will be like, "I'll just eat a tiny piece of that cookie", then I end up eating two to four cookies. Once you taste something that is bad for you, you just want it more. Try to stay away from tasting foods you know you are not supposed to eat. Just block it out of your head.
2. Cut sugar from your diet. This of course does not mean all sugar, but extra sugar. For example pop and fruit juices. These do not have any fat, but they are loaded with sugar. Guess where all that excess sugar is going to go. To your muscles? Yeah right, it will be stored as fat. Instead of these drinks, drink milk or water. Which brings me to tip #3.
3. DRINK WATER! I know you have heard this a billion times. That is because it is very important. A lot of times people mistake dehydration as hunger and eat. Water is also needed for those intense workout sessions. You should also keep track of how much you drink. For a while I thought I was drinking a lot more water than I actually was. Now I drink a little more than a gallon of water a day and I make sure of this.
4. Do cardio. I find I have more energy if I do cardio I days I do not lift. Keep cardio sessions from 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Limit starchy carbs. I have cut out almost of starchy carbs from my diet. With was a tip a picked up. I stopped eating breads and processed cereals. This has cut flab from my lower stomach and love handles. Also if you can, limit your carbs before bed.
6. Eat protein before bed. I usually have a protein shake before bed. Some other good things to eat before bed are milk and cottage cheese. These are good to eat before bed because of the casein protein in them. This protein takes longer to digest than other proteins. Therefore, Your body uses it longer while you sleep. This is important because you can not eat while you sleep.
7. Cut saturated fats from your diet. Saturated fats are very hard for your body to digest and are usually stored as fat because of this. Things that have a lot of saturated fat are cheese, 2% to whole milk, and hot dogs. You still need essential fatty acids. These can be found in eggs, fish, and nuts.
8. Eat five or six meals a day. This will keep your body's metabolism burning. Enough said.
9. Eat effectively. The most important meal is right after your workout. After my workout, I drink a protein shake and eat a bowl of oatmeal with honey. This provides your body with the needed nutrients at the right time.
10. Take a multi-vitamin.
Bonus: If you can swing it, take L-Glutamine. This will prevent muscle loss while dieting. Apply these tips, and you should be shedding pounds and gaining muscle.
Derek Charlebois