Today I decided to permanently eliminate as much processed/refined/unnatural food and drink from my life as possible. I eat pretty "clean" but I've noticed lately that a larger percentage of my calories are coming from little additives like processed cheeses and low-calorie things than I would like.

So, with the exception of my post-workout shake I am cutting it all out! I'm going as natural as I can possibly stand, to include diet sodas and energy drinks, low calorie cereals and breads, non-fat cheeses, Jello mixes and the like.

I know it's not *necessary* for weight loss, but weight loss is not my goal; maximizing my health and minimizing cravings is.

I will still have chocolate and ice cream from time to time like I do now, but I will seek out natural treats made with only the highest quality ingredients. I think adhering to that guideline will also really make me evalute if something is "worth" it or not.

Starting tomorrow... I'm off!

Has anyone else made this change? Thoughts? Anyone else feel like committing to this?

I haven't done that exactly, but we did make a huge move in or house to completely elimate trans fat and high-fructose corn syrup, as well as limiting "diet" products or anything that uses sucralose, etc.

Just by eliminating trans fat, that got rid of about 80% of the few processed foods we ate. Some things I could find healthier substitutes for, and some I couldn't, so it is healthier to just make them from scratch with whole ingredients.

I don't want to consume "fake food" or a bunch of chemicals mixed together to make me think it is food! It either is, or it isn't.

This transition took about three months, for a family that was already eating well, mostly because it was so darn depressing going ot the store and spending forever reading labels, and mostly being surprised and disgusted! I cleared out the whole house, tossed opened items and donated unopened to our church. It was extra money to do it that way, but I just had to go for it. After that, it was just a slow learns process of fnding new "acceptable" foods each week, searching for recipes and trying them out, and finally finding our "sweet spot" with our food plan.

I don't follow any certain rules, so I can't say I am raw,or whole foods or whatever. Just no trans fat ever, No HFCS and keeping foods as close to whole as possible. When we do buy processed food, we opt for organic packaged items with as few ingredients as possible.

Hope that helps! My husband feels awesome and much less "bogged down" after switching this past year. I love how it is very easy for me to maintain my weight, because every choice in my house is a good one.

Good for you, that's awesome! I'm trying to go as natural as possible too. My only real vice right now is hot dogs - my husband's parents gave us 6 pounds of them, and he has not been eating them. I'm just trying to get rid of them so they don't go to waste. After that, I think the only thing I'll be dealing with is condiments.

Good luck with this!

Around here we've been trying to limit processed foods as much as possible. We tend to mostly eat at home, or at actual restaurants, pretty much anything you actually had to harvest and cook, without it being through a factory first.

The only thing I have had a hard time cutting out is diet soda. Every once in a while, I'm desperate for a diet soda for whatever reason.

We slip here once in a while, but for the most part stick to as clean of eating as possible.

Good for you! And holy cow, you have a rockin' body!!!!!

ive always wanted to go to a way of eating that is similar to what they ate when they were homesteading on the prairie...cant remember what time period that was...but ive always been drawn to that kind of lifestyle in general....but what i mean is a focus on foods that you could grow, or garden, or buy from the little store in town....meat, vegetables, dairy, berries, flour, spices, stuff like that...and to eat more like that...i dont know what label you'd even put on a way of eating similar to that

Good for you Joss!!

I've been making the change slowly. I still have one wrap per day maybe, but I've been moving to a diet of as many unprocessed things as possible. I recently found this site: http://punchfork.com/paleo and those things are all so yummy that I certainly wouldn't mind going Paleo!!

Still can't cut out the diet soda, but admittedly I'm not really trying all that hard.

Yay Joss! I'd say at this point I'm probably 98% Paleo + dairy + protein shakes. I do make the occasional exception, but I'm happy with the bulk of my diet. I looooooove eating this way!

Thanks for the reply! This is exactly what I'm going for. I don't want to follow a "diet" and say I'm doing raw/paleo/etc. or something that's overly restrictive but I do want to eat as natural as possible.

I'm pretty much there, but I think it might help me with my cravings. Any experience with that?

Thank you! I cleaned the house out today and I even tossed the condiments with the exception of soy sauce, grey poupon, and some hot sauces. Anything else (low sugar BBQ sauce, Sugar free coffee creamer, etc.) went down the disposal.

Good luck with those hot dogs!

I think of everything, the occasional diet soda will be the one thing I have a hard time kicking. I'm with you though... I know I'll slip up here and there and sometimes I will be put in situations where it's hard to eat naturally, but I'm giving it my best shot!

You're too kind, thank you! My roommate took me out to Mellow Mushroom as some sort of "send off" and of course I had dessert as well. My rockin body is now bloated and sluggish... haha

All the more reason I'm excited to fuel it with the best stuff I can. I don't like feeling this way!

Hi JossFit. Yes, I've done it to a huge extent. I eat very little processed food and as few chemicals and fake sugar as I can manage. I'm not 100% -- I still eat stuff like cottage cheese, feta cheese, some canned vegetables (though mostly fresh), etc. I also take an all natural nutritional supplement called "Tonic Alchemy" which almost completely eliminates my cravings and gives me tons of energy.

And devnet.. perhaps it is better to let the hot dogs go to waste than go to waist.

AlaskanLaughter, Sontaikle, Blueberries - I think you guys are all on the same page as me... eating "clean" but by your own rules. I don't think I'll miss those little extras, and actually, eliminating them allows me more calories to add back in things that I haven't been having lately like salmon, lentils, and things like that.

I was getting into a mindset where I was trying to eat low calorie things to maximize how much I could eat. I think going for quality over quantity is a better approach.

Yes! I've been eating this way for three years now and I haven't missed any of the processed stuff I used to eat.

The most processed food I eat is a Kind bar that I will eat. But everything else, I eat from scratch, made from organic/whole foods. I even soak beans and cook them! I do have canned beans for "emergencies" (which means I didn't plan my meals and I need something quick and fast).

Honestly, once your body gets used to the real food, you won't crave any of the processed stuff. I'd rather take coffee with real milk than creamer any day of the week!