I read Tosca Reno's book Eat Clean Diet Stripped and am doing the plan along with my Clean Eating Stripped Challenge Group. I find it really inspiring to be doing the plan along with a group of people.

As a vegetarian I have to be mindful not to get a lot of my calories from starchy sources so I always measure rice/pasta on my food scale before cooking it and I tend to stay away from beans which are high in carbs. I also watch my dairy intake that it's not high in sugar which is easy to do with yogurt! Tosca Reno calls white sugar poison and says to stay away from it. To be honest for me that is hard, so I try to get low cal dessert options.

The key to my weight loss is to take in as much protein as possible, although the body can only process 20 grams of protein at a time according to a study by American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In case you're wondering where I get my protein from, check out this chart from Tosca's book:

I eat high protein grains like oatmeal and quinoa and add protein powder to my oatmeal to give it more protein. A word of caution, if you're using protein powder read the ingredients of everything you put in your mouth! A lot of protein powders contain chemicals, artificial sugar, and a host of other ingredients you don't want in your body. That's why I love Shakeology, it's completely natural, you can read every ingredient because it's all whole foods and no artificial sugar or chemicals.

Here are the Eat-Clean Stripped principles which I already follow:

1. Eat more! Eat 5-6 small meals each day, spaced at 2 1/2 to 3 hour intervals.
2. Eat breakfast every day, within an hour of rising.
3. Make your last meal three hours before bed.
4. Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal.
5. Eat sufficient healthy fats every day. Chia seeds, avocado, coconut oil, nuts and nut butter.
6. Drink two to three liters of water every day. 
7. Carry a cooler packed with Clean foods each day. I bring my lunch to work everyday.
8. Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, nutrients and enzymes.
9. Adhere to proper portion sizes. 
10. Eat only foods that have not been overly processed or doused in chemicals, saturated and trans fats and /or toxins.

This week for lunch I made Tosca Reno's recipe "From India with Love Quinoa Pilaf" (pic below). I talked about the benefits of quinoa in this post, which by the way is gluten free. With it being summer I had to get some watermelon which tastes so refreshing mixed into my Shakeology and I've never felt so stuffed afterwards. I have to say shakeology is a life saver for me as a perfect snack option! Here's my meal plan this week on the stripped plan, I left the weekend open since I will be out a lot.
I bring my lunch to work everyday because I think that's really critical for me to maintain my goals. If I buy lunch out I'm not going to be eating clean and will be consuming too many calories. Making my lunch on Sunday for the entire week ensures that I stay on track and save money! Here's my lunch this week - Red quinoa, baby portbellas, red swiss chard, topped with 1 teaspoon of pine nuts.