Clean Eating Without the Complexity
A simple framework for eating well without obsessing over it
I haven’t caught a cold or the flu in over three years.
That’s not a coincidence.
It’s the result of three things working together: consistent exercise, proper sleep, and a diet I completely rebuilt from scratch. This article is about the diet part.
I’m not a nutritionist. I’m someone who used to have heartburn, bloating, bad skin, and felt heavy after almost every meal. I was getting sick regularly.
Today I eat clean, spend less money on food than I ever did, and my body feels like it’s finally working with me instead of against me.
Here’s the system I built.
What I Removed First
Before adding anything new, I cut what was quietly draining me. This is where most people need to start because addition without removal doesn’t work.
Meat. Replaced with fish, legumes, tofu, and plant proteins.
Added sugar. Including the hidden sugar inside most packaged food.
Alcohol. Gone completely. There’s a separate article about that journey.
Soda and sweetened drinks. Replaced with water and unsweetened tea.
Ultra-processed food. If it comes in plastic packaging with a long ingredient list, I don’t buy it.
A practical rule I use when shopping: if it has more than five ingredients or contains added sugar, I leave it on the shelf. Fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts need no label check at all.
This one filter eliminated most of the problem.
One thing worth saying: this is my list. You don’t have to cut meat completely or quit alcohol to improve your diet. But it’s worth paying attention to how your body actually feels after eating certain things. Build your own removal list from that.
What I Eat Instead
My diet is what most people would call boring but I think of it as a system.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with nuts, seeds, and fruit like blueberries. Almost the same every day so I don’t spend mental energy on it.
Lunch and Lunch 2: Steamed colorful vegetables with rice, quinoa, lentils, or sweet potatoes. Protein comes from tofu or fish. I cook once and eat the same meal twice.
Shakes: Protein powder with almond milk, chia seeds, nuts, raw cacao, cinnamon, oats, and fruit. One shake at around 10:30am and another as my last meal, no later than 7pm.
Five meals a day, and I try to finish my last solid meal as early as possible so it doesn’t interfere with sleep. That detail alone made a noticeable difference.
The principle behind all of this is consistency over variety. Your body adapts well to routine. Decision fatigue around food is a real drain and it leads to bad choices. Eating reliable meals removes that friction.
How I Stay Hydrated
Most people are mildly dehydrated most of the time and never connect it to their low energy, poor focus, or bad skin. Hydration is one of the most underrated things you can fix quickly.
My routine is simple. I start every morning with two cups of sencha green tea. During the day I drink around two liters of rooibos tea, no sugar, nothing added.
No juice, no soda, no sweetened anything. Green tea in particular gives you hydration plus antioxidants and a calm, steady energy that coffee doesn’t always give you.
If you want to change one thing this week, replace one coffee or soda with an unsweetened tea and increase your water intake. The effect on focus and energy shows up faster than most people expect.
Quick favor: If this resonates with you, I’d be grateful if you subscribed to Running Home. I share more stories like this about growth, awareness, and the messy journey back to yourself. It’s free, and it helps me keep writing honestly. Thank you. — David
The Supplements I Take Daily
Food first, supplements second. But there are real gaps that diet alone doesn’t always cover, especially if you train hard or live somewhere with limited sunlight.
Here is what I take every day:
Omega-3 because it’s anti-inflammatory and supports brain and heart health.
Vitamin D3 with K2 because it’s essential if you don’t get regular direct sunlight. D3 supports immunity and mood, K2 makes sure calcium goes where it should.
Magnesium because it supports sleep quality and muscle recovery.
Zinc because it supports recovery and immune function.
Creatine because it’s one of the most researched supplements available for muscle strength and cognitive function.
Ashwagandha because it’s an adaptogen that helps manage stress and cortisol levels.
Algae-based supplements as a plant-based source of key micronutrients I don’t always get from food alone.
None of these replace a clean diet. But together with good food they close the gaps.
How I Solved the “What Should I Cook?” Problem
This was my biggest barrier for years. Standing in a supermarket with no plan, buying random things, wasting food, spending more than I needed to.
AI fixed it almost overnight.
I use this prompt in ChatGPT every few days:
“I need three vegetarian recipes for today’s lunch and dinner. I’m trying to save time and electricity, so I only want to cook once a day. The recipes should work for both lunch and dinner, meaning I cook at midday and eat the same meal again in the evening. The recipes should be as healthy as possible and support muscle building, recovery and sleep. First suggest the options, then I’ll choose and you can describe them with a shopping list and the preparation. Consider that I work out every day and do intense and long running sessions.”
I adjust until I get three options I actually want to cook. Then I have an exact shopping list with quantities. No waste, no guessing, lower cost.
I also use a shopping list app (Bring) which helps me avoid impulse buying entirely. You can adapt the prompt to your own diet, vegetarian, keto, whatever. The principle is the same: go to the supermarket with a plan.
Where to Start: A 4 Month Plan
You don’t need to change everything at once. That’s exactly how most diet attempts fail. Too much, too soon, and you quit by week two.
Month 1: Remove the worst offenders. Soda, energy drinks, sweetened drinks, obvious junk food. Replace with water and unsweetened tea. Just get used to this first. Once you cut what your body doesn’t need, your sleep and energy will already shift.
Month 2: Fix your shopping. Use the AI prompt before you go to the supermarket. Try not to buy anything on impulse. It’s better for your health and your wallet.
One practical rule: never shop when you’re hungry. In that state you can’t think clearly and you’ll buy things based on how you feel in that moment, not what you actually need.
Month 3: Build your boring routine. Pick one breakfast you can eat every day without thinking. Oatmeal, eggs, yoghurt with fruit, whatever fits you. Remove the decision entirely. Set fixed times for your meals and shakes. If you want to improve your sleep specifically, try to finish your main meals before 6pm so your body has time to digest before bed.
Month 4: Add one supplement. Start with Vitamin D3 with K2 if you live somewhere with limited sun, or Omega-3 if your diet is low in fish. If you train regularly, consider adding a protein powder, ashwagandha, and zinc on top of that.
After four months you’ll have a foundation that actually holds.
The Bigger Picture
I didn’t change my diet in isolation. It came by getting serious about running, fixing my sleep, and quitting alcohol. Each change made the next one easier.
But here’s what I didn’t expect: when your body works properly, everything else opens up.
You have energy to do the things you actually want to do. You don’t lose days to feeling heavy, foggy, or sick. You show up to your work, your training, your relationships without your body being the obstacle. That’s not a small thing. That’s the difference between living reactively and living deliberately.
Health is not the goal. It’s what makes the goal possible.
The plan above is not a blueprint. It’s a starting point. With time you’ll figure out what works for you specifically. Pay attention to the small signals: how you sleep, how your skin looks, how your mood shifts, how your energy holds through the day.
I started thinking about food differently somewhere along the way. Less as something to enjoy in the moment and more as something that either supports or undermines the life I’m trying to build.
When you’re healthy, you’re free.
That’s the whole point.
Thanks for sticking with me through this one. If you’re going through something similar, or have your own experience with this, drop a comment. I read every one. — David
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