Clean Eating Question
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BabyPhat90713 wrote: »I am far from a clean eater and am interested in why eating "processed" foods, in a balanced diet, is inherently bad?
My two sample days:
Yesterday
Breakfast: Special K Breakfast sandwich, coffee with liquid creamer
Lunch: leftovers which included jambalaya from a box, sautéed veggies, chicken and andouille sausage
Dinner: (total change of plans and last minute dinner at home) frozen fish fillets, noodles from a package, sautéed asparagus
Extras: bakery cookie, wine
Today:
Breakfast: Greek yogurt, Kashi bar, coffee with liquid creamer
Lunch: grilled chicken sandwich with cheese on wheat bun from work cafeteria
Dinner: Whole wheat Rigatoni with homemade tomato sauce and store bought garlic bread.
Extras: macarons from a bakery and wine
Both days under my calorie goal. I'm sure I could eat more veggies. Not a big fruit eater. But what is inherently unhealthy about my meals?
Everyone always assumes if you say you don't eat clean you are sitting around eating nothing but donuts and Doritos. I definitely don't do that. I have a busy life and convenience foods are just that, convenient. I lost my weight and am maintenance and my health markers are great. So why is it that because I dare to enter the middle aisles of the grocery store, is my food "junk"?
I did not say everything in the middle is junk. They are all processed foods. There is a difference. Read it correctly of you are going to try and throw my words back at me lol
Just eat what best fits your goals.
I am far from what some would call a clean eater even though about 75% of my food comes from the outer aisles...produce and lean meat. However there are several processed foods that I depend on because they are the only way that I meet some of the micros that I feel are important to me...iron, potassium and calcium.
I have cut many processed foods out of my diet because of sodium content...they are just too high for my needs. On occasion though I have some of those foods. What I am finding out is that they are never quite as good as how I remember them to be.
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Here on MFP I've seen clean eating defined in a few different ways. These have all been given as off-the-cuff answers when asked what clean eating is.
Nothing but minimally processed foods.
Absolutely no processed foods.
Shop only the outside of the grocery store.
Nothing out of a box, jar, or can.
Only food that's not in a box or hermetically sealed bag, or from e.g. McDonald's.
No take-out or junk food at all.
Nothing at all with a barcode.
Nothing with more than 5 ingredients.
Nothing with more than 4 ingredients.
Nothing with more than 3 ingredients.
Nothing with more than 1 ingredient.
No added preservatives.
No added chemicals.
No chemicals, preservatives, etc. at all.
No ingredients that you can't pronounce.
No ingredients that sound like they came out of a chemistry book.
Nothing that is processed and comes in a package or wrapper, or has any ingredient that sounds scientific.
Don't eat products that have a TV commercial.
Don't eat products that have a longer shelf life than you do.
No added sugar.
No added refined sugar.
Swap white sugar for brown.
No "white" foods.
Nothing but lean meats, fruits, and vegetables.
Just stick with veggies, fruits, beans, and meat!
Eat foods as close to their natural state as POSSIBLE, and little to no processed food.
Only meat from grass-fed animals and free-range chickens.
Only pesticide-free foods.
Nothing that causes your body bloat or inflammation.
No trigger foods, nothing from fast food chains, nothing in the junk food aisles, and no high gmo foods.
No red meat, no sweets, no pasta, no alcohol, no bread, no soda, nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates and lean proteins.
No bad carbs and processed foods.
I like to note that, by some of those definitions, Fritos are a clean food.
As you can see, there are as many definitions of clean eating as there are clean eaters in the world. Clean eating seems to be a lot like pornography: people know it when they see it. Which makes it hard to define, hard to talk about, and hard to recommend as a lifestyle change for everyone. Find what works for you but don't expect it to work the same for everyone else. And when you're standing on the rooftop shouting about your new diet that works for you, don't be surprised when you look over and see someone just as loud on the next rooftop over shouting about a different plan.0 -
Oh my god, ignore the trolls, Ms.BabyPhat. Clean eating is great, go for it! I agree with the people who advocate an "80/20" type of policy. I know I feel so much better when I eliminate the majority of sugars, highly processed foods, and artificial preservatives from my diet, but once in a while you just need a piece of birthday cake.
I also try to eat low carb and use my limited carb macros with nutrient dense carbs like vegetables and fruits. I know what you mean by "junk food" - it's those foods where you don't get as much "bang for your buck," so to speak - you don't get as many nutrients or the macros you desire for the calories/macros they contain. I'd very rarely eat a cup of ice cream over a cup up strawberries and blueberries, because the macros don't match up with what is desirable for my plan. Thus for me it's "junk," while that might fit into someone else's plan just fine.
I do find the first few days after cutting out (or rather, cutting waaaayyyy back on) sugars are rough with cravings, because sugar is addictive. It's a lot like if you go from drinking 4 cans of soda per day to none, you can get that same sort of withdrawals. I know that if I power through those few days of "detoxing" (for lack of a better word) my cravings then go away. I actually had a soda the other day as a bit of a treat, worked the rest of my macros around to fit that burst of sugar, and it didn't even taste good to me anymore! I also find myself craving vegetables more, which is great. Also when you stop including cane sugar in your daily diet, the natural sugars in fruits seem so much sweeter! I remember dipping my strawberries in sugar when I was little, and the thought of that now just makes me shudder. TOO SWEET! Some fruits are even too sweet for my tastes now, haha.
If you decide this is a method you want to use to facilitate your weight loss, that's great. The straight "if it fits your macros" some people aggressively back will work for everyone, if you can stick to it, but some people find it easier to reduce their overall caloric intake if they have a plan in place. I know if I ate a serving of chips and a serving of ice cream, it would use up my available calories/macros in a way that would leave me feeling hungry and deprived later in the day, because I wouldn't have enough carb macros left for some nutritious, filling vegetables!
Good luck on your 80-100 lbs loss - you can do it! 0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I try not to eat anything that is processed and comes in a package or wrapper
Who sells you eggs without a carton or unwrapped meat? In my state (and I think most states), any meat sold commercially--including direct by a farm or through a farm-based CSA--also must be "processed" by a processor. But even if that weren't so I imagine they'd wrap it.
If you raise your own meat I guess that's an exception. I live in a city, so zoning laws (among other things, like our condo regulations and space issues and perhaps past calumnies against cows) preclude that.
I have read many of your posts in the past. I know that you are intelligent to understand what that poster meant. Hopefully you just weren't trying to humiliate her.
It was a guy, I think, and I don't see how the question could be humiliating.
Contrary to what people seem to think, it is NOT remotely clear what people mean when they speak generally about "processed" foods but seem to exempt, for no reason, foods that clearly are processed, or refer to all foods in a package or wrapper as if that made them bad or unhealthy. So my point here was a plea for clarity--clearly the guy in question does not reasonably expect everyone to eliminate packaged or wrapped foods (and probably does not himself), which was my point, so why say otherwise? Why not just say whatever it is he really does mean so we can discuss the merits of that? And if he doesn't want to discuss the merits of it, don't recommend it as the thing to do on a public forum. I have foods I choose not to eat, but I don't claim that's the best thing to do unless I actually want to defend that claim as good advice for everyone.
Indeed, I obviously have certain preferences toward whole foods and the like, but what I object to is the idea that such foods are necessarily healthier, more nutritious, or preclude weight gain. I have gained plenty of weight in my time eating this way and, also, I think I eat healthier now (as well as being more relaxed about it) than when I was at my extreme with the "only whole foods, only homemade everything" kick. And more to the point, I think people who condemn all "processed" foods while eating many of them are being inconsistent and hypocritical and the discussion would be furthered if they'd be more specific about what they mean.I think everyone needs that chance to figure out how to make this work long term without people making them feel like fools. If the poster is serious about "changing" they will eventually figure it out.
Agreed. I'm not trying to make anyone feel stupid, and I don't see how my posts can be interpreted that way.
(And the one you picked out wasn't directed toward the OP, as you seem to have thought.)
I do find it frustrating that the response to the kind of advice I and others gave is to mischaracterize it as telling people to eat all ice cream or all chips or all donuts, which happened here.If I have misunderstood your point then I am sorry but when I read it my thoughts were that it was humiliating question.
How is it humiliating? I really don't understand this assertion at all. I mean, we probably agree that the poster in question doesn't really avoid all wrapped and packaged foods--although I left open the possibility that he's one of the very few who can--why is it "humiliating" to point that out or ask about why it's bad if I do purchase eggs in cartons or greek yogurt or wrapped meat?0 -
I just don't understand why that is so hard for people to understand and why "it's ok to eat chips and ice cream" turns into "you eat nothing but chips and ice cream".
This is really the most puzzling part of this discussion.
No one ever says "eat only chips and ice cream" (or donuts and Twinkies, etc.) and yet we are constantly accused of saying that just for saying it's okay to eat anything in moderation within a balanced, nutrient-rich diet. It's so frustrating and disingenuous.0 -
Oh my god, ignore the trolls, Ms.BabyPhat. Clean eating is great, go for it! I agree with the people who advocate an "80/20" type of policy. I know I feel so much better when I eliminate the majority of sugars, highly processed foods, and artificial preservatives from my diet, but once in a while you just need a piece of birthday cake. I also try to eat low carb and use my limited carb macros with nutrient dense carbs like vegetables and fruits. I know what you mean by "junk food" - it's those foods where you don't get as much "bang for your buck," so to speak - you don't get as many nutrients or the macros you desire for the calories/macros they contain. I'd very rarely eat a cup of ice cream over a cup up strawberries and blueberries, because the macros don't match up with what is desirable for my plan. Thus for me it's "junk," while that might fit into someone else's plan just fine.
I do find the first few days after cutting out (or rather, cutting waaaayyyy back on) sugars are rough with cravings, because sugar is addictive. It's a lot like if you go from drinking 4 cans of soda per day to none, you can get that same sort of withdrawals. I know that if I power through those few days of "detoxing" (for lack of a better word) my cravings then go away. I actually had a soda the other day as a bit of a treat, worked the rest of my macros around to fit that burst of sugar, and it didn't even taste good to me anymore! I also find myself craving vegetables more, which is great. Also when you stop including cane sugar in your daily diet, the natural sugars in fruits seem so much sweeter! I remember dipping my strawberries in sugar when I was little, and the thought of that now just makes me shudder. TOO SWEET! Some fruits are even too sweet for my tastes now, haha.
If you decide this is a method you want to use to facilitate your weight loss, that's great. The straight "if it fits your macros" some people aggressively back will work for everyone, if you can stick to it, but some people find it easier to reduce their overall caloric intake if they have a plan in place. I know if I ate a serving of chips and a serving of ice cream, it would use up my available calories/macros in a way that would leave me feeling hungry and deprived later in the day, because I wouldn't have enough carb macros left for some nutritious, filling vegetables!
Good luck on your 80-100 lbs loss - you can do it!
yeah thanks but there are way more people with way better advice in this thread than this unnecessary and unscientific junk you just posted
maybe read the rest of the thread next time-1 -
Oh my god, ignore the trolls, Ms.BabyPhat. Clean eating is great, go for it! I agree with the people who advocate an "80/20" type of policy. I know I feel so much better when I eliminate the majority of sugars, highly processed foods, and artificial preservatives from my diet, but once in a while you just need a piece of birthday cake. I also try to eat low carb and use my limited carb macros with nutrient dense carbs like vegetables and fruits. I know what you mean by "junk food" - it's those foods where you don't get as much "bang for your buck," so to speak - you don't get as many nutrients or the macros you desire for the calories/macros they contain. I'd very rarely eat a cup of ice cream over a cup up strawberries and blueberries, because the macros don't match up with what is desirable for my plan. Thus for me it's "junk," while that might fit into someone else's plan just fine.
I do find the first few days after cutting out (or rather, cutting waaaayyyy back on) sugars are rough with cravings, because sugar is addictive. It's a lot like if you go from drinking 4 cans of soda per day to none, you can get that same sort of withdrawals. I know that if I power through those few days of "detoxing" (for lack of a better word) my cravings then go away. I actually had a soda the other day as a bit of a treat, worked the rest of my macros around to fit that burst of sugar, and it didn't even taste good to me anymore! I also find myself craving vegetables more, which is great. Also when you stop including cane sugar in your daily diet, the natural sugars in fruits seem so much sweeter! I remember dipping my strawberries in sugar when I was little, and the thought of that now just makes me shudder. TOO SWEET! Some fruits are even too sweet for my tastes now, haha.
If you decide this is a method you want to use to facilitate your weight loss, that's great. The straight "if it fits your macros" some people aggressively back will work for everyone, if you can stick to it, but some people find it easier to reduce their overall caloric intake if they have a plan in place. I know if I ate a serving of chips and a serving of ice cream, it would use up my available calories/macros in a way that would leave me feeling hungry and deprived later in the day, because I wouldn't have enough carb macros left for some nutritious, filling vegetables!
Good luck on your 80-100 lbs loss - you can do it!
Ohhh my god (LOL
)....I had ice cream (1 serving) and also blueberries and strawberries. Per my doctor I am in excellent health for a 46 year old!!!
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I am not sure why we have to have names for the food that we eat...seems a bit silly to me. I have often wondered why we can't just eat what we want to eat and call it a day. However...
What someone wants to call their way of eating IMO is up to them...whether I understand it or not. I just think that...well nevermind what I think.
I think it's rude to claim that your way of eating is "cleaner" than others, and--perhaps more important--I think it can lead to distorted ideas about foods. There are reasons why I rarely eat potato chips (one of which is that the calories aren't worth it to me since I don't like them that much, but there are chips where I think the ingredients are better than other chips). However, none of that has to do with chips (or some chips) being "unclean." I don't think it's a useful way to characterize it and, again, rude.
It seems to me that the aggression on this forum tends to be from people who proclaim themselves "cleaner" than others (even though quite often what they seem to mean by that is that they don't eat stuff I never ate and they do eat the same processed foods I do, but just pretend they aren't processed for some reason). It's confusing and tends to make understanding more difficult. Yet they cling really hard to that term.
For me, the objection isn't to different eating styles--I think I'm on record as having my own eating quirks and as being quite open to the idea that things like low carb or paleo or vegan can work for others--it's to the claim that your own eating quirk is the One True Way or healthier than how others eat without any evidence of that, the claim that one must give up sugar or wheat or "processed foods" (even though no one does) or dairy or whatever to be healthy. It might work for individuals, sure, but it's not necessary or even a good thing for everything.0 -
Oh my god, ignore the trolls, Ms.BabyPhat. Clean eating is great, go for it! I agree with the people who advocate an "80/20" type of policy. I know I feel so much better when I eliminate the majority of sugars, highly processed foods, and artificial preservatives from my diet, but once in a while you just need a piece of birthday cake. I also try to eat low carb and use my limited carb macros with nutrient dense carbs like vegetables and fruits. I know what you mean by "junk food" - it's those foods where you don't get as much "bang for your buck," so to speak - you don't get as many nutrients or the macros you desire for the calories/macros they contain. I'd very rarely eat a cup of ice cream over a cup up strawberries and blueberries, because the macros don't match up with what is desirable for my plan. Thus for me it's "junk," while that might fit into someone else's plan just fine.
I do find the first few days after cutting out (or rather, cutting waaaayyyy back on) sugars are rough with cravings, because sugar is addictive. It's a lot like if you go from drinking 4 cans of soda per day to none, you can get that same sort of withdrawals. I know that if I power through those few days of "detoxing" (for lack of a better word) my cravings then go away. I actually had a soda the other day as a bit of a treat, worked the rest of my macros around to fit that burst of sugar, and it didn't even taste good to me anymore! I also find myself craving vegetables more, which is great. Also when you stop including cane sugar in your daily diet, the natural sugars in fruits seem so much sweeter! I remember dipping my strawberries in sugar when I was little, and the thought of that now just makes me shudder. TOO SWEET! Some fruits are even too sweet for my tastes now, haha.
If you decide this is a method you want to use to facilitate your weight loss, that's great. The straight "if it fits your macros" some people aggressively back will work for everyone, if you can stick to it, but some people find it easier to reduce their overall caloric intake if they have a plan in place. I know if I ate a serving of chips and a serving of ice cream, it would use up my available calories/macros in a way that would leave me feeling hungry and deprived later in the day, because I wouldn't have enough carb macros left for some nutritious, filling vegetables!
Good luck on your 80-100 lbs loss - you can do it!
Ohhh my god (LOL )....I had ice cream (1 serving) and also blueberries and strawberries. Per my doctor I am in excellent health for a 46 year old!!!
seriously lmao
just got my bloodwork back from the doc and my *kitten* is ON POINT
and 106/60 BP
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I've been SO much happier and more satisfied since I learned from the members here that I could eat any of my favorite "junk" and "unclean" foods so long as I do so in moderation.
OP, I eat chips and chocolate on the daily. I'm still losing while maintaining my sanity and not getting hung up on the moral value of some food based or the pinterest-science I've been fed prior to MFP.0 -
People in this thread have been advocating eating mostly nutrient dense food and fitting in treats you like as you can. How is that different from the 80/20 clean eating thing?0
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People in this thread have been advocating eating mostly nutrient dense food and fitting in treats you like as you can. How is that different from the 80/20 clean eating thing?
Probably because it doesn't randomly choose foods to demonize as "dirty" and it doesn't disregard that weight loss is driven by calories in, calories out -- not the specific foods you are choosing to meet your calorie goals.0 -
shrinkingletters wrote: »I've been SO much happier and more satisfied since I learned from the members here that I could eat any of my favorite "junk" and "unclean" foods so long as I do so in moderation.
OP, I eat chips and chocolate on the daily. I'm still losing while maintaining my sanity and not getting hung up on the moral value of some food based or the pinterest-science I've been fed prior to MFP.
+1 IIFYM and CICO completely changed my approach to food and gave me the first real sustainable and enjoyable success I've ever had with "dieting"0 -
Clean eating is great, go for it!
Oddly enough, though, your own post shows that you are a moderate eater, not a "clean eater."
Again, not eating "clean" mostly means that we reject the term as basically incoherent, not that anyone here eats "junk" 24/7 or would recommend such (despite the bizarre claims to the contrary).
I just don't see why being processed (like 99.9% of foods available) makes, say, my Fage greek yogurt bad for me. That's the question I'd like answered one of these days.
Oh, and I've cut out added sugars from time to time and not had any issue with cravings or "withdrawal" or whatever. I also didn't end up seeing any point to doing it longterm, perhaps because I generally eat added sugar in moderate limited amounts anyway (and it's not addictive). If OP really wants to never eat cake again, that's cool with me, but it's not necessary, of course.0 -
Oh my god, ignore the trolls, Ms.BabyPhat. Clean eating is great, go for it! I agree with the people who advocate an "80/20" type of policy. I know I feel so much better when I eliminate the majority of sugars, highly processed foods, and artificial preservatives from my diet, but once in a while you just need a piece of birthday cake. I also try to eat low carb and use my limited carb macros with nutrient dense carbs like vegetables and fruits. I know what you mean by "junk food" - it's those foods where you don't get as much "bang for your buck," so to speak - you don't get as many nutrients or the macros you desire for the calories/macros they contain. I'd very rarely eat a cup of ice cream over a cup up strawberries and blueberries, because the macros don't match up with what is desirable for my plan. Thus for me it's "junk," while that might fit into someone else's plan just fine.
I do find the first few days after cutting out (or rather, cutting waaaayyyy back on) sugars are rough with cravings, because sugar is addictive. It's a lot like if you go from drinking 4 cans of soda per day to none, you can get that same sort of withdrawals. I know that if I power through those few days of "detoxing" (for lack of a better word) my cravings then go away. I actually had a soda the other day as a bit of a treat, worked the rest of my macros around to fit that burst of sugar, and it didn't even taste good to me anymore! I also find myself craving vegetables more, which is great. Also when you stop including cane sugar in your daily diet, the natural sugars in fruits seem so much sweeter! I remember dipping my strawberries in sugar when I was little, and the thought of that now just makes me shudder. TOO SWEET! Some fruits are even too sweet for my tastes now, haha.
If you decide this is a method you want to use to facilitate your weight loss, that's great. The straight "if it fits your macros" some people aggressively back will work for everyone, if you can stick to it, but some people find it easier to reduce their overall caloric intake if they have a plan in place. I know if I ate a serving of chips and a serving of ice cream, it would use up my available calories/macros in a way that would leave me feeling hungry and deprived later in the day, because I wouldn't have enough carb macros left for some nutritious, filling vegetables!
Good luck on your 80-100 lbs loss - you can do it!
Ohhh my god (LOL )....I had ice cream (1 serving) and also blueberries and strawberries. Per my doctor I am in excellent health for a 46 year old!!!
seriously lmao
just got my bloodwork back from the doc and my *kitten* is ON POINT
and 106/60 BP
That's funny that's what mine was when I went in last week, lol.0 -
People in this thread have been advocating eating mostly nutrient dense food and fitting in treats you like as you can. How is that different from the 80/20 clean eating thing?
If you look at it logically, "80/20 clean eating" makes as much sense as being a vegetarian 5 days of the week. But clean eating is so badly defined that there's probably thousands who follow, or at least think you should follow a "100/0" approach. 80/20 is usually, well, iifym. Which hilariously gets vilified as unhealthy or "eats nothing but donuts all day" by self proclaimed clean eaters.0 -
seriously lmao
just got my bloodwork back from the doc and my *kitten* is ON POINT
and 106/60 BP
This, too. I work at a hospital. I get regular lab work and tests done for our wellness program. My blood work is ace, my blood pressure is always commented on as "excellent". This, being a big deal coming from a family history of type II diabetes, hypertension, thyroid and metabolic disorders, etc.
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People in this thread have been advocating eating mostly nutrient dense food and fitting in treats you like as you can. How is that different from the 80/20 clean eating thing?
Precisely!
Once again, the main difference between so-called "clean" eaters and the rest of us is that the rest of us don't get some kind of special thrill from calling ourselves "clean eaters."0 -
This discussion has been closed.
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