Eating Clean - No Such Thing

Timshel_

dbmata

I think we can all agree, if they haven't had a shower today, don't eat what they got.

Achrya

No bacon? No go.

Carnivor0us

Those things are all minor snacks.

Timshel_

This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post. I have no problem with people who want to eat this way, but to come on the site and tell people that they need to eat this way is just bad.

Maybe would could just change the word clean to healthier, or nutritious, or natural, or ???

iarelarry

Eating dirty is the only way to eat, bro

Timshel_

Timshel_

Would this be eating clean, or just eating dirty?

Got ya thinking, amiright?

magerum

^ THIS is the problem. That is rediculous. Stuff like that is spreading nonsense to the general community, which includes a very large number of forum lurkers. There is no reason to avoid white flour or white sugar.

ETA:

Or anything else on that list, just picking out the two that really bug me on it.

jonnythan

This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post. I have no problem with people who want to eat this way, but to come on the site and tell people that they need to eat this way is just bad.

Maybe would could just change the word clean to healthier, or nutritious, or natural, or ???

The wording doesn't matter. Any message that demonizes certain foods as bad or incompatible with their fitness and health goals is a bad message that sets people up for failure.

antonjanik

There is no such thing as "clean" food? Eating clean just means eating foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. It excludes fast foods, processed foods, etc. That's all. It really is a term.

Exactly. Just like the phrase "eating low on the food chain." It is a helpful euphamism that explains in a short phrase, your approach to diet. I eat low on the food chain.

IMHO, fast food is crap. It is made from crap, and makes you feel like crap. It is pumped full of flavorizers and salt. There is no merit to its calories. It is merely pablum for the masticating masses.

My body deserves much better.

A.

dbmata

Eat it durty

dbmata

My body deserves much better.

QFT.

Some people don't believe they deserve better.

jonnythan

IMHO, fast food is crap. It is made from crap, and makes you feel like crap. It is pumped full of flavorizers and salt. There is no merit to its calories. It is merely pablum for the masticating masses.

My body deserves much better.

A.

If it makes YOU feel like crap you should say "it makes me feel like crap."

Don't tell me how it makes ME feel.

Thanks!

Timshel_

It's really just semantics.

meh.

LAW_714

I don't tell anyone to NEVER eat fast food, but I would advice against not eating it everyday because its not the most nutrients dense food and I think aside from obtaining your macro's, its also important to get nutrients and vitamins through your food. {...}

This is what drives me nuts about the IIFYM crowd, not all but some, have a hard time admitting that some foods are more nutrient dense than others. Just because you can eat glue and call it food by your definition or some Pink Slime Patty, doesn't mean its exactly the best choice. No one expects perfection or for you to eat perfect 100% of the time, but why argue with someone because they prefer to eat fruits, veggies, and foods closer to their natural state? Just because they call it "clean"? Its just a term.

Some foods are more nutrient-dense than others.

I don't have a problem saying that. It's true. I don't think I've ever seen anyone say it wasn't.

We recommend eating nutrient-dense foods. When I give recommendations, I specifically recommend people get several servings of veggies and fruits every day.

No problem there.{...}

Where we differ is that I think it's totally fine to fill the rest of your calories with any food you like that gets you to your daily nutritional goals. Those goals can, and should, include things like fiber, protein, fat, and vitamin and mineral goals.

Also, no one has any problem with people that prefer to eat foods "closer to their natural state."

Halleluja!

The Venn diagram of the perpetual Clean/IIFYM "debate" has an ephemeral glimpse of consensus and overlap. Not that it'll stop the pie fight...

Wetcoaster

From an interview with Alan Agaron


Q - Alan, what is your general philosophy on food sources regardless if the individuals is in a caloric surplus or deficit, the phrase “Clean Eating” is thrown around a lot. Could you shed some light on research or any information regarding utilizing different sources that may be considered bad and the impact it may/may not have on body composition?



A - You know that the cleanest food in the world is? Hydrogenated vegetable oil. It was originally developed for the purpose of making soap. Pretty damn clean, I’d say. On a more serious note, the “clean” label is very misleading when applied to individual foods. There’s no way a food can be judged in isolation from the rest of the diet. To give an example, most people would call celery a “clean” or healthy food, and ice cream a “dirty” or unhealthy food. In the far-fetched/hypothetical scenario of being forced to choose only one of those foods to survive on, guess which one would sustain your health (and ultimately your life) longer? Hopefully you chose ice cream over celery, unless you’re anxious to knock on Heaven’s door. The point is, labeling foods as clean or dirty ignores context, and ignoring context is just plain dumb. I think that’s it’s intuitively obvious that the diet should consist mostly of whole & minimally refined foods. But still, it’s not all that simple, since certain foods are significantly altered from their original state (i.e., whey protein powder), but still have positive impacts on health. I wrote an in-depth article on the “clean eating” topic here. It’s a long article but worth the read for anyone interested. I think it’s been very amusing to see the definition of “clean” vary widely according to highly subjective criteria.

_chiaroscuro

Exactly. Just like the phrase "eating low on the food chain." It is a helpful euphamism that explains in a short phrase, your approach to diet. I eat low on the food chain.

IMHO, fast food is crap. It is made from crap, and makes you feel like crap. It is pumped full of flavorizers and salt. There is no merit to its calories. It is merely pablum for the masticating masses.

My body deserves much better.

A.

jonnythan

It's really just semantics.

meh.

No.

No, it's not semantics.

It's people like you saying that certain foods or ingredients are flat-out bad when they're not. The message you are spreading here is literally responsible for so many failed attempts to lose weight it's ridiculous.

Timshel_

Since the word "Crap" was brought up.