Eating "clean" and "whole" and having fewer cravings?

stonel94

So just literally this weekend I really started focusing on eating more "clean" whole foods and normally i have really bad cravings for sweets at night and it doesn't cause so many problems because I know that I will want these things and I leave room for them, (making sure i hit my macros and stuff) so I never worried too much about it because i was getting the right amounts of everything and eating very healthy except for the night snacks, but i really wanted to focus on reducing my body fat and so I just read a lot about that and it said that this "clean" and "whole" eating would be really good for that. So I started and I'v enot been having those cravings, I have 2 bars of dark chocolate (I try to get organic and high cacao content and just healthier "junk food") that have remained unopened cause I just haven't felt a need to eat them.
I was wondering since I wasn't just eating junk before, and I was eating a lot of the same stuff i'm eating now just a little bit less, how does this small change make such a difference in this particular thing?
I haven't noticed a BF% change (obviously) but if anything I feel a bit bigger..
any answers? for both things, why it makes the cravings better and why i feel bigger?

DesdemonaRose

Humans have a evolutionary love for sugar (probably to urge us to eat fruit) that has of course gone crazy in our modern world of lots of available sugar. That is why it's put in damn near everything, that and salt. Simple carbs can be addicting too and our body treats it similarly. It's a fast energy source, which would have been good when we were chasing deers and fun stuff like that. You can find plenty of info on sugar/carb cravings, though not everyone agrees that you can actually kill the habit.

Some low carb diet proponents say when you get to your idea carb level the cravings stop, as soon as you go over they start again. However, there is no scientific data on it. Usually lowering carbs lowers body wate weight (and you might have to drink more water on a low carb diet so you dont' get dehydrated).

Unless your clothes are starting to get tight, I wouldn't worry about bigger. If your eating less sugar but eating a lot of potato chips or other simple carbs to replace it then you are not really, "getting ahead," you have just switched your cravings from sugar to other fast burning carbs. Slower burning carbs might help with the cravings too, but I am not sure on that.

NonnyMary

Dr Fuhrman explains this - basically it is that your body has cravings for nutrients. when you feed your body the right nutrients it wont crave things like before. its like your body is craving what is missing.

BeachIron

Go back to doing what you were doing and knock off the clean eating crap. It won't help. Focus on your macros and calorie count.

Now, I'm off to get some ice cream.

magerum

Go back to doing what you were doing and knock off the clean eating crap. It won't help. Focus on your macros and calorie count.

Now, I'm off to get some ice cream.

MTE

Zumaria1

Feeling "bigger' could be because the whole foods have alot of fiber, and that can cause some bloating initially if you are not used to it. Drinking water will help with eating higher fiber foods, and keeping things moving along.

stonel94

Go back to doing what you were doing and knock off the clean eating crap. It won't help. Focus on your macros and calorie count.

Now, I'm off to get some ice cream.

Oh I do still eat things when I want them, but I'm just trying to replace stuff that I just eat because I want a carb with lunch with something healthier for example but because of this i don't get the same cravings for the chocolate and ice cream so I don't eat it. If I wanted it, I would eat it.

AJ_G

Go back to doing what you were doing and knock off the clean eating crap. It won't help. Focus on your macros and calorie count.

Now, I'm off to get some ice cream.

QFT!

Clean eating is a cult. Most people who eat clean do it because somebody told them to, and they have no understanding of nutrition at all...

FitnessBeverlyHills

Oh I do still eat things when I want them, but I'm just trying to replace stuff that I just eat because I want a carb with lunch with something healthier for example but because of this i don't get the same cravings for the chocolate and ice cream so I don't eat it. If I wanted it, I would eat it.

I think you're on to something, if you notice this type of change and feel better then maybe there is something to this notion of eating "clean", I just like to think of it as making better choices since that term seems to be so taboo on these forums. Do what works best for you, "don't eat clean, go eat icecream" may not work for everyone. I also notice the better my food choices are throughout the day, the less I crave sugar and I also never feel deprived.

bumblebums

Go back to doing what you were doing and knock off the clean eating crap. It won't help. Focus on your macros and calorie count.

Now, I'm off to get some ice cream.

Oh I do still eat things when I want them, but I'm just trying to replace stuff that I just eat because I want a carb with lunch with something healthier for example but because of this i don't get the same cravings for the chocolate and ice cream so I don't eat it. If I wanted it, I would eat it.

It is not a good long-term strategy to separate foods into "clean" and "unclean". But you should learn how to enjoy a variety of foods--a varied diet is the best kind of diet, provided you have no health issues that preclude eating certain foods. The way I've found to allay my worries about specific foods ("fish=mercury and PCP!" "red meat= instant death from nitrates!" "raw spinach=ecoli poop storm!" etc.) is to not rely on any one food exclusively. I keep a bunch of things in rotation; there is really nothing I won't eat at least once.

I eat chocolate and ice cream enthusiastically and often, and they are actually quite nutritious (in terms of micronutrients, you could do a lot worse than chocolate, which has numerous well documented health benefits; ice cream is also a nice source of protein compared to many desserts). If, however, you have problems with portion control or these foods trigger binges for you, you might do well to limit or exclude these foods for a while, until you get the hang of things. You might find, as I did, that re-introducing these foods after a break from them lets you enjoy them in smaller quantities. I actually rely on ice cream to meet my intake goal--my training regimen is energy-intensive and I could never eat enough if I restricted myself to the so-called "clean foods" that some quack on the internet composed for me.

pkw58

To me, learning to address the cravings properly is part of the process and journey to a healthy lifestyle. If eating foods you consider "clean" reduces cravings for less than "optimall" nutritionwise foods, awesome. Keep up the good work.