Clean eating.

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YellowBird0722
YellowBird0722 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Basically I suck at it. Tips and helpful hints?
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  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Yes - drop the "clean eating" idea and instead eat what you want within a calorie deficit! Done!
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    Right. It's not about "what" you eat, it's about "how much" you eat.
    However, I do practice clean eating about 99% of the time and my body just feels better as a result.
    How exactly do you suck at it and what are you hoping to achieve by doing it?
    I could most likely give you some ideas but would like to know your goals first :smile:
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I eat what people might consider 'clean' about 80% of the time and 20% is stuff that I love that others might consider 'processed' or even 'junk'. 55lbs gone, brilliant blood pressure and bloods tells me I'm doing well.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    The label "clean eating" causes some issues here. If you're trying to eat "better", or "healthier", then incorporate more vegetables as a start. Try to eat a nutrient dense, varied diet of mostly whole foods and incorporate some treats. Read labels. Eat less. Move more.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I eat what people might consider 'clean' about 80% of the time and 20% is stuff that I love that others might consider 'processed' or even 'junk'. 55lbs gone, brilliant blood pressure and bloods tells me I'm doing well.

    55Lbs? Well done!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    YellowBird0722 wrote: »
    Basically I suck at it. Tips and helpful hints?

    eat the foods you like.
    make sure you are getting foods from nutrient dense sources
    eat in a calorie deficit
    hit micros/macros
    yes, you can eat ice cream, cookies, etc.

    clean eating is hogwash….
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    If you don't normally eat those type of foods don't start now. Take what you were eating before and just eat less of it. Sure it is best to start making better food choices that are more nutritious but radically changing up your diet is something that you'll eventually stop doing and then you'll gain the weight back. Just eat what you were eating before with smaller portions in mind so you can stay within your calorie goal. You will still lose the weight.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,193 Member
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    If you are aiming to lose weight, just eat fewer calories than you burn.

    However, while you are doing that, you may discover that things like steamed vegetables are a good choice because they are both low cal and filling. And things like a big bag of potato chips has a lot of calories and just isn't worth it.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    edited July 2015
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    YellowBird0722 wrote: »
    Basically I suck at it. Tips and helpful hints?
    You probably suck at it because there is no clear definition of what "clean" eating means. How can you be good (or bad, for that matter) at something when the criteria for being good/bad is arbitrary? Some people think they are eating "clean" when they are sticking to organic or "all-natural" products (organic canned soup, organic chips, etc), while some others think those products are not "clean" because they're processed.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    If you are aiming to lose weight, just eat fewer calories than you burn.

    However, while you are doing that, you may discover that things like steamed vegetables are a good choice because they are both low cal and filling. And things like a big bag of potato chips has a lot of calories and just isn't worth it.

    Exactly! Also, a small handful of those same potato chips will not kill you or make you regain all of your weight back.

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I eat what people might consider 'clean' about 80% of the time and 20% is stuff that I love that others might consider 'processed' or even 'junk'. 55lbs gone, brilliant blood pressure and bloods tells me I'm doing well.

    55Lbs? Well done!

    Thank you! Still have about 40 to go, but I'm finally doing it for life and not just until I can "get skinny and get back to normal" ;)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I eat what people might consider 'clean' about 80% of the time and 20% is stuff that I love that others might consider 'processed' or even 'junk'. 55lbs gone, brilliant blood pressure and bloods tells me I'm doing well.

    55Lbs? Well done!

    Thank you! Still have about 40 to go, but I'm finally doing it for life and not just until I can "get skinny and get back to normal" ;)

    EXCELLENT!!!

    ps: love the avatar.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    My tip, perhaps not a helpful hint, would be to avoid labeling food as good/bad, clean/unclean and just eat mostly nutritionally dense food and fit in the cake, ice cream, Snickers, and the rest from time to time.

    I lost 112 pounds and didn't skip the peach cobbler and homemade ice cream. I just had less of them.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    My tip, perhaps not a helpful hint, would be to avoid labeling food as good/bad, clean/unclean and just eat mostly nutritionally dense food and fit in the cake, ice cream, Snickers, and the rest from time to time.

    I lost 112 pounds and didn't skip the peach cobbler and homemade ice cream. I just had less of them.

    Exactly what I did to lose the 113 lb. (so far). Had smaller pieces and ate the treats less often. No peach cobbler, though, since I don't like peaches. Chocolate cake on the other hand . . .

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I eat what people might consider 'clean' about 80% of the time and 20% is stuff that I love that others might consider 'processed' or even 'junk'. 55lbs gone, brilliant blood pressure and bloods tells me I'm doing well.

    55Lbs? Well done!

    Thank you! Still have about 40 to go, but I'm finally doing it for life and not just until I can "get skinny and get back to normal" ;)

    EXCELLENT!!!

    ps: love the avatar.

    Taco kitties aren't 'clean' food, but they're cute!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I eat what people might consider 'clean' about 80% of the time and 20% is stuff that I love that others might consider 'processed' or even 'junk'. 55lbs gone, brilliant blood pressure and bloods tells me I'm doing well.

    55Lbs? Well done!

    Thank you! Still have about 40 to go, but I'm finally doing it for life and not just until I can "get skinny and get back to normal" ;)

    EXCELLENT!!!

    ps: love the avatar.

    Taco kitties aren't 'clean' food, but they're cute!

    Totally!!!

  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
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    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    Yes - drop the "clean eating" idea and instead eat what you want within a calorie deficit! Done!

    This.
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
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    Personally i don't like the term clean eating but i guess its useful since we all have a basic idea of what it means. The principle for me is eating mostly whole foods, rather than processed foods. To do this well, you have to be willing to cook most of your meals. You need to be organised. And also note this. This sort of foods tastes better and is easier to eat when you severely limit the amount of processed foods you eat. Processed is more strongly flavoured than most home cooked food. Its got a lot of salt, and sugar and fats in it. It messes up your palate. When you avoid these types of foods most of the time, its easier to reorient your palate to healthier foods.

    But cooking is hard when you have a busy life. That's why you have to be very organised. A lot of food does not take that much time to prepare. Salads don't take much time. But if you don't have much of a clue how to make a salad delicious it can be easy to go for something else. Try looking for a cookbook about salads and or vegetables and work your way through it. This will teach you a lot. The europeans and asians are very good with vegetables.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    my best advice is to shop around the outside of the grocery store. but it is not necessary to eat "clean" to lose weight.
    perhaps if you give us what your clean eating goals are, we might be able to better assist you than "forget clean eating"
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
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    Patttience wrote: »
    Personally i don't like the term clean eating but i guess its useful since we all have a basic idea of what it means. The principle for me is eating mostly whole foods, rather than processed foods.

    I still have no idea what exactly, or even a "good idea" of what "Clean eating" is. Most every food is processed in some way, unless you're eating raw meat from the carcass, and digging up tubers to eat with the berries/nuts you just plucked.

    And what are "whole foods"? Like, eating a whole lamb? Eating a whole potato plant? PS Don't try that with Rhubarb, the leaves will kill ya.

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