Eating clean?
Replies
-
Homemade bread?
0 -
Hi all!
Im new to MFP and was wondering if someone could explain what 'clean eating' involves and do you have an open diary as i would love some support and advice.
Thank you xx
OP as you may have gleaned, clean eating is a vague term with variable definitions and can be a polarizing topoc on these boards. I'm wondering if you could elaborate on why you asked about it to begin with and what your goals are, since you said you were new to MFP. Providing more details about your goals are, what types of.food you eat, etc may help people give you more specific and helpful advice.0 -
Yeah, like fresh, red, ripe, strawberries. Like crisp, green, asparagus spears sautéed in fresh garlic and olive oil. Like a medium rare juicy steak ,grilled and succulent. Like a hot baked potato with butter and salt. Like a bowl of mixed, roasted salted nuts including pecans, filberts, cashews, pistachios, brazil nuts and almonds. Real joyless and crappy tasting endeavor it is, eating clean.queenliz99 wrote: »Like pizza, cheeseburgers, tacos, and macaroni/cheese. I make those all at home and they taste good and bring loads of joy.Just about every one of those things would be considered "unclean" or "bad" by adherents to different eating styles (paleo, vegan, keto, etc.). Which further proves what a vague, ambiguous term "clean" is. Me, I'd eat every one of them.
Well, well then. Maybe these contributions have helped our friendly fitness pal OyChihuahua better understand why clean eating need not be tasteless and joyless. Especially when he's so kindly helping out new MFPers who are looking for help with the broad and ambiguous terms like clean eating.
That some would call each of those things not clean eating is a good reason for someone like OP not to worry about what's clean or not, since there's no answer and it's not meaningful anyway, and to simply focus on how they think is a good way for them to eat.
I mostly focus on cooking from whole foods, with some additions like smoked salmon or dried pasta or oats, that I find helpful and tasty, and I consider dairy and legumes and some whole grains (including locally-grown corn when in season) a tasty part of a healthy diet so I certainly don't follow paleo rules. I think worrying about whether I can really call that "clean" (I couldn't, IMO) is unhelpful and pointless. But I also think that it's an overall healthy diet is something that's helpful and makes sense to think about.
In a way focusing on "eating clean" is a diversion from a focus on what really matters for nutrition. Saying "oh, my, cottage cheese comes in a carton so can't be "clean" and thus I must not eat it" isn't a particularly sensible way to think about food. If you don't like cottage cheese, insert some other food you like.0 -
Like everyone said clean eating idea initial depends on who you ask. I eat certified organic ingredients about 98% of the time. I make majority everything from scratch such as cheesecake, chili, jambalaya, chicken Alfredo etc. We rarely eat out because the food we make at home taste way better and it's cheaper.
We eat whole foods and avoid gmos, msg, high fructose corn syrup, processed foods, and artificial sweeteners. My kids and husband do sometimes eat those things but it's rare and I'm not the food police. Eating this way takes away my cravings and my hunger signals stop me from eating excessively.
Someone somewhere said that you can eat all the cake you want but you have to make it from scratch with all natural ingredients. My organic homemade cheesecake takes about 3 hours to make, so I only make it about once every couple of months.
Sorry for the long post but certified organic whole foods, no msg, no high fructose corn syrup, no gmo, no artificial sweeteners is my personal definition of clean eating.0 -
Sorry for the sentences that don't make sense. My phone is going crazy on the autocorrect and inserting words that don't make sense lol.0
-
This content has been removed.
-
While I consider myself to have "cleaned up" my diet, I do not consider myself a clean eater. Here's how these guys define it: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/food-health/food-and-health-news/what-is-clean-eating/
I'm about 75% clean according to that list. While I do avoid ultra processed foods with dozens of ingredients, I think limiting yourself to foods with only two ingredients on a label is silly.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »While I consider myself to have "cleaned up" my diet, I do not consider myself a clean eater. Here's how these guys define it: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/food-health/food-and-health-news/what-is-clean-eating/
I'm about 75% clean according to that list. While I do avoid ultra processed foods with dozens of ingredients, I think limiting yourself to foods with only two ingredients on a label is silly.
that article recommends eating six meals a day to burn calories, that is a myth that has been debunked.
why is farmed fish not clean????
why is organic food clean but non organic not clean?0 -
OP - you do not need to eat "clean" (whatever that is) to accomplish your goals.
Here is my suggestion.
Eat to the number that MFP gives you to lose weight.
Make sure that you get adequate nutrition from vegetables, fish, rice, fruit, etc.
Realize that you can also eat and enjoy calorie dense foods like ice cream, pizza, cookies, etc, just make sure that you are in your calorie target.
make sure that you are hitting macros = protein, fats, carbs. I would recommend .6 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat; and fill in rest with carbs.
get a food scale and weigh all solids.
find a form of exercise you enjoy; I would recommend strong lifts or all pro beginner routine.0 -
So if you made your own salad dressing, then shaking it would be processing it (a process like griding wheat flour). Wait, the olive oil could not be processed0
-
kshama2001 wrote: »While I consider myself to have "cleaned up" my diet, I do not consider myself a clean eater. Here's how these guys define it: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/food-health/food-and-health-news/what-is-clean-eating/
I'm about 75% clean according to that list. While I do avoid ultra processed foods with dozens of ingredients, I think limiting yourself to foods with only two ingredients on a label is silly.
Somewhere they linked not eating ham or bacon or foods with sodium in it. I mean, seriously, I think the general idea is silly. Look above for silly and salad dressings. OP if you understand your goals and what you want from food you'll be less likely to 'need a list' of approved items. Best of luck.
0 -
This was a huge duscussion on a Weight Watcher forum that hurt some feelings. I eat mostly whole, mostly plant based, and mostly organic or locally produced. And I put it all in my tracker on MFP.0
-
Unfortunately, fitness and nutrition cannot be condensed into objective little checklists that everyone can just neatly follow and miraculously get in great shape. There are too many subjective factors at play, and the best thing you can do is run away from lists like “10 foods you should never eat”, “Eat these 5 things to be healthy”, etc.
If clean eating is the pursuit of food that is high quality, I think that is a good endeavor. Define food quality as you would any other product in your life – you make decisions everyday about the cost vs. benefit of paying more for something, and you generally get what you pay for. With food, that extra quality may mean food that doesn’t contain steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, food coloring, or other additives that do little more than make the food last longer on the shelf or appear prettier. If this is important to you, pay more and eat foods that are organic or some variation of “natural”.
0 -
"Eating clean" is totally subjective. Most of the time it seems to be just sticking with whole foods rather than processed foods, sticking to the "outside" ring of a grocery store where its produce and meat and dairy rather than the "inside" where it is boxed and canned processed foods. If you have a tin-foil hat handy you can add on top of that avoiding "GMOs" or whatever other flavor-of-the-day food conspiracy you wish to subscribe to.0
-
Hi all!
Im new to MFP and was wondering if someone could explain what 'clean eating' involves and do you have an open diary as i would love some support and advice.
Thank you xx
You'll get so many different answers to your questions but the reality is all the same, the universal truth behind clean eating is eating foods that a wholesome and from the earth, in its natural form. If your a veggie that wouldn't include meat, if your a vegan that would be meat and animal products.
But it's still whole food you're eating.0 -
Our general rule of thumb for "eating clean" is would our great grandfathers recognize/pronounce these ingredients.
So:
Homemade mac & cheese - clean; Kraft blue box - not clean
Homemade bread - clean; in a plastic sleeve - not clean
etc etc.
We of course don't always achieve it, but we at least try.0 -
JanetYellen wrote: »Is organic skim milk clean? Curious.
If you're going to go for milk, I would go for whole. I follow this rule In pretty much every area of food--I never go "fat free" or "sugar free." Reason being, when fats are taken out, other toxic ingredients are added in. To me, the shorter the ingredient list, the better.0 -
KaylaMurphy95 wrote: »JanetYellen wrote: »Is organic skim milk clean? Curious.
If you're going to go for milk, I would go for whole. I follow this rule In pretty much every area of food--I never go "fat free" or "sugar free." Reason being, when fats are taken out, other toxic ingredients are added in. To me, the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
None of the ingredients are toxic.0 -
KaylaMurphy95 wrote: »JanetYellen wrote: »Is organic skim milk clean? Curious.
If you're going to go for milk, I would go for whole. I follow this rule In pretty much every area of food--I never go "fat free" or "sugar free." Reason being, when fats are taken out, other toxic ingredients are added in. To me, the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
What toxic ingredients do you think are added to skim or reduced fat milk exactly? Or any food for that matter?
0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »KaylaMurphy95 wrote: »JanetYellen wrote: »Is organic skim milk clean? Curious.
If you're going to go for milk, I would go for whole. I follow this rule In pretty much every area of food--I never go "fat free" or "sugar free." Reason being, when fats are taken out, other toxic ingredients are added in. To me, the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
What toxic ingredients do you think are added to skim or reduced fat milk exactly? Or any food for that matter?
Must be that evil Monsanto. They poison everything, you know.
:rolleyes:0 -
stevencloser wrote: »KaylaMurphy95 wrote: »JanetYellen wrote: »Is organic skim milk clean? Curious.
If you're going to go for milk, I would go for whole. I follow this rule In pretty much every area of food--I never go "fat free" or "sugar free." Reason being, when fats are taken out, other toxic ingredients are added in. To me, the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
None of the ingredients are toxic.
Also, nothing is added to skim milk.0 -
As long as your overall macronutrient totals (protein, carbohydrates and fats) as well as your micronutrient needs (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants etc.) are being met for the day, it doesn’t matter which specific foods you consume in order to meet your totals. That’s it.
Your body does NOT view your nutrient intake within the context of individual food items.
1 chicken breast, 1 cup of rice and 1 bowl of Fruit Loops are not seen as separate entities. The body can’t say “that’s a chicken breast”, “that’s rice”, “those are Fruit Loops”. In addition, it doesn’t say “those first 2 items are healthy and clean” and “that last item is unhealthy”.
What does the body actually recognize? 468 calories, 36 grams of protein (broken down into individual amino acids), 70 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fat (broken down into individual fatty acids) as well as an assortment of fiber and micronutrients all mixed together in a giant blob of chewed up goo.
The truth is that bodybuilding nutrition is really just a numbers game.0 -
KaylaMurphy95 wrote: »JanetYellen wrote: »Is organic skim milk clean? Curious.
If you're going to go for milk, I would go for whole. I follow this rule In pretty much every area of food--I never go "fat free" or "sugar free." Reason being, when fats are taken out, other toxic ingredients are added in. To me, the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
please list said toxins that are in these foods...0 -
As long as your overall macronutrient totals (protein, carbohydrates and fats) as well as your micronutrient needs (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants etc.) are being met for the day, it doesn’t matter which specific foods you consume in order to meet your totals. That’s it.
Your body does NOT view your nutrient intake within the context of individual food items.
1 chicken breast, 1 cup of rice and 1 bowl of Fruit Loops are not seen as separate entities. The body can’t say “that’s a chicken breast”, “that’s rice”, “those are Fruit Loops”. In addition, it doesn’t say “those first 2 items are healthy and clean” and “that last item is unhealthy”.
What does the body actually recognize? 468 calories, 36 grams of protein (broken down into individual amino acids), 70 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fat (broken down into individual fatty acids) as well as an assortment of fiber and micronutrients all mixed together in a giant blob of chewed up goo.
The truth is that bodybuilding nutrition is really just a numbers game.
cosign0 -
I agree with the posts that have mentioned that homemade versions of some foods are quite different than commercial versions when considering the topic of "eating clean".0
-
ForecasterJason wrote: »I agree with the posts that have mentioned that homemade versions of some foods are quite different than commercial versions when considering the topic of "eating clean".
which has nothing to do with clean vs unclean0 -
Others have already stated in this thread that eating clean can be subjective (such as chicken being unclean for vegetarians), so I would say it can depending on who you ask.ForecasterJason wrote: »I agree with the posts that have mentioned that homemade versions of some foods are quite different than commercial versions when considering the topic of "eating clean".
which has nothing to do with clean vs unclean
0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »I agree with the posts that have mentioned that homemade versions of some foods are quite different than commercial versions when considering the topic of "eating clean".
which has nothing to do with clean vs unclean
Or weight loss.
In that I don't like Kraft mac and cheese and love homemade mac and cheese, I will agree they are different. Sadly, the stuff I like has many more calories, so homemade or not, clean or not (who knows what clean means), it still doesn't usually fit in my day. (On Thanksgiving, sure!)0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 430 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions