Determining My Eating Philosophy

I stumbled across the Eat-Clean Diet (Tosca Reno) and thought, hmmmm... this looks relatively close to the nutrition philosophy I subscribe to.

I finished The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged! a day and a half after finding my amazon box at the post office.  What I love about this eating lifestyle...

• The combination of protein and complex carbs w/ healthy fats to keep you feel and energized
• Frequent small meals (5-6/day) to keep blood sugar level and hunger at bay
• Focus on natural foods, even for those who really can't cook (I cook... and am good at it but not everyone is!)
• Honesty... Tosca shares her story including what our bodies really look like after significant weight loss and how she made decisions regarding cosmetic surgery after weight loss. 
• The fact that Tosca is 51 years old and looks STUNNING... but 10 years ago she was a frumpy, overweight housewife.  She's lost 70+/- lbs!
• The website and forums (FREE!)
• Tosca explains how we sabotage our metabolisms (too few calories = starvation mode) and hit weight loss slumps

Tosca also emphasizes the beautiful body formula 80% Nutrition, 10% Exercise, 10% Genetics.   She goes on to say that working out isn't necessary to weight loss when you eat clean, but if you don't work out/tone then you will just be a smaller (soft, squishy) version of your former, chunkier self.  (My wording, not hers here).

What I'm not on board with:

• The emphasize on low fat dairy (dairy fat is essential to health)
• The focus on egg whites (the yolk of free range eggs is healthy)

So, I'm going to combine Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet with the standard Mediterranean diet (minus white carbs) and a Traditional (WAPF) diet.

Tosca says there is no need to count calories and fat... that by eating clean foods we are fueling our bodies efficiently and that foods are not equal in our bodies... we might be able to lose weight on 2000 cals/day of clean foods but gain on 1600 cals/day of junk foods. This makes sense.  I'll still be recording what I do eat and drink so that if I'm not losing, I can look back and figure out why.  

Here's my menu for today:

Breakfast (7am): GF oatmeal (1/2 cup oats + 1 cup water), 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries, 1 scant handful raw almonds + 1 heaping teaspoon of palm sugar (I can't go sans sweetener yet).
AM Snack 10am: 2 eggs scrambled w/ 1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms and half a sliced apple
Lunch 1pm: chicken breast (palm sized) + 1 cup brown rice + large garden salad
PM Snack 4pm: 1/2 sliced apple + 1 Tbs natural almond butter + drizzle of local raw honey
Dinner 7PM: Tilapia fish + 1/2 baked sweet potato + zucchini and mushrooms sauteed w/ coconut oil
Before Bed snack (if needed) 10pm: kefir smoothie