I'm not one of those people that gets into "fad diets" or anything like that. I simply like to eat clean and feel good. However I started the month of February with a fun love advent calendar for my husband. Every day was something special like cookies, doughnuts or candy. Unfortunately I joined in on eating all of those things with him. So for 14 days I ate the cookies, carbs, and anything else that my body really didn't need. Now Valentine's day is done and over and I need to get back on my eating plan. This means I need to do a couple of things that specifically help me stay on my plan.

1. Plan, plan, plan

I cannot stress enough how important it is to plan things out if you want to stay eating clean, especially if that is a hard thing to do (it is for me). I sit down every Saturday or Sunday before grocery shopping and plan out exactly what I am going to eat, all the way down to my snacks. This one thing has changed my day to day eating patterns immensely. I have definitely missed it the past two weeks.

2. Pinterest is your friend

There is literally no where else I can sit down and find millions of recipes for "skinny" food. Some pins even show you where to get certain foods and brands. I live by pinning a ton of foods to my board, especially if they are good for me!

3. H2O is number 1

Don't get me wrong I still drink coffee every now and then, but I try to avoid it as much as I can. But my other source of hydration is always water. That's all I drink. No sodas, no tea, no milk, no juice. Only water. I can't tell you how important water is to your daily diet plan.

4. No added sugar

I know how hard this is!!! I have the biggest sweet tooth on the planet, but I did it for the whole month of January. Yepp, 30 days of no sweets or sugary foods of any kind. I say 30 because I did give myself a day on the last day of the month to indulge in one sweet thing. I firmly believe in treating yourself but don't go overboard.

5. Find the good carbs

Sweet potatoes, whole fruits (apples, bananas, strawberries), whole grains, lentils, etc. The list can go on and on, but these are the carbs you should NOT be cutting. I do believe in cutting white bread, potato chips, etc.

6. KISS (keep it simple stupid)

But really keep it simple with your meals and snacks. No you don't have to make kale chips or buffalo cauliflower bites to be healthy. Munch on things such as celery, carrots, or drink a glass of water. Sometimes you're not hungry just thirsty... or bored. Dinner doesn't have to be some elaborate weight watchers meal, it can be grilled chicken and veggies.

In the end, it isn't about "dieting" it's about feeling good and staying healthy. Do you and keep going!