Clean Eating
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Does anyone follow a clean eating plan. If so how did you get started, my daughter graduates in May from college and I really want to look my best. I have thought about clean eating before but don't know where to start.
"Clean eating" is a hot button term on this site. You will get a lot of reactions, basically to say this: Many overweight people think you have to cut out processed food you enjoy in order to lose weight, which isn't true, and then they binge when they reach their goal weight. You lose weight by calories, not the type of food.
I'm eating a simple diet for my health because I have several medical problems, including extremely high cholesterol (or did until recently -- it went down 120 points, thank God). I've cut out most refined or added sugar, and that includes the massive amount of sugary Greek yogurt I was eating. I can't eat it in moderation so I'm just not buying it anymore.
I also don't like to cook, so whatever I eat has to be simple. I enjoy this type of food. I usually eat oatmeal with sliced apple for breakfast, a protein like lentils with vegetables stir fried in olive oil or simmered in broth, soups, a lot of steamed leafy greens, and some variation on lunch for dinner. I also eat avocado and almonds for healthy fat in my salads. If I want something sweet I will eat an apple so I get some sugar but also get nutrition with it.
I've lost 30 pounds since July, my skin has cleared up, I no longer have hypertension, and my cholesterol is out of the life-threatening range. You could experiment with a few meals with simple whole foods and see if you enjoy that kind of food.
And congratulations to your daughter for her upcoming graduation.
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »
No, I'm talking about shopping....if I pick up a product is loaded with ingredients esp ones I don't know I don't buy it. A salad I make ...I know the ingredients and that's different... I read so I know what all the chemical names are. I was trying to help her start shopping and incorporating better ingredients. That's all. Don't tax on my gig so hardcore crustersingingflutelady wrote: »
So I guess a salad with more than 5 ingredients is dirty? Why 5? How vast is your knowledge of chemistry? Do you avoid sodium bicarbonate and dihydrogen monoxide because they have "chemical" namesIt's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!
What does that last sentence even mean?
I think she has been watching Pauly Shore movies
I was trying to gather from my own memory whether it was Biodome or Encino Man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIL2kmKAetQ 3 -
My husband is/was VERY fit , he works out 6x a week doing p90x he didn't lose any weight. No smoking or drinking. It was only the dietary change. This is just our personal experience...please see my previous disclaimer.
Yes because we cut out (carefully saying this) bad chemicals and overly processed foods including dairy (personal choice) has nothing to do with "clean eating"It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!
wait, what?!?
My (very fit ) husband went from using his rescue inhaler (10x a day) and his daily steroids , and having to need abuterol every time the wind blew wrong ,to no meds....he doesn't even carry his inhaler anymore, it's been over 2 years. This was a life long battle he suffered and it's an amazing that food can be medicine.
Also stating that my statement is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition, please see a dr for treatment.i am not a dr or have no nutritional or chemistry degree.
As an asthmatic, I can say that when I lost weight my symptoms decreased and I came off all controller medications, and only need my rescue inhaler sporadically. I don't doubt that losing weight can help but to say food choices and chemicals can contribute to symptoms is nonsense.
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Didn't mean for everyone to get so upset sorry about that. I was just hoping to get some information.
I lost the will to live about half way through this thread.
Hopefully you've been able to pick up some useful information!
For the record, and trying to avoid using the word clean, I cook most things from scratch. This is because I have a chronic bowel condition and some foods (regardless of how "clean " or whatever)make it flare up. If I cook things myself then I know what goes in them. But unless I'm actually growing my own fruit and veg and rearing my own meat etc,it's inevitable that whatever I cook at home will contain "processed "food- eg tinned tomatoes.
Regarding gluten - to be honest,the gluten free stuff in shops is pretty disgusting. I'd recommend consulting a dietician about a gluten free diet as otherwise you risk cutting out important food groups. That's my experience anyway.
Good luck!1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Paging @GottaBurnEmAll for scratch cooking, gluten free meal suggestions and tips.
You rang?4 -
It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!
Do you dihydrogen monoxide? I hear that awful stuff.
I like to eat more than 5 ingredient dirty sandwiches and salads.... SMH.1 -
:laugh:It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!
*cough*
http://www.dairyprocessinghandbook.com/chapter/chemistry-milk
Oh noes! the kemikalz.
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Paging @GottaBurnEmAll for scratch cooking, gluten free meal suggestions and tips.
You rang?
The OP is looking for some ideas for Gluten Free meals for when her daughter comes home from school later this year. Also interested in cooking from scratch and eating at a calorie deficit.
Got any ideas for her? 2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Paging @GottaBurnEmAll for scratch cooking, gluten free meal suggestions and tips.
You rang?
The OP is looking for some ideas for Gluten Free meals for when her daughter comes home from school later this year. Also interested in cooking from scratch and eating at a calorie deficit. Got any ideas for her?
Okay, I had a very quick scan of the thread and decided (I think wisely) to skip most of it.
OP, what kinds of foods does your family like?
Clean eating is a nebulous term, and I can give you ideas, but I use products like packaged broth (usually brands like Imagine or Pacific Foods) and canned tomatoes.
Gluten free eating is really easy if you focus on dishes that are inherently gluten free to begin with. There are a lot of starches out there that don't have gluten and a lot of cuisines based around them. Does your family like Mexican? Thai? Asian? Indian? Meat and potatoes?3 -
Clean eating is a general term - like low fat or high carb. I find that eating food that is whole and minimally processed is helpful in getting maximum nutrition for minimal calories. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. There is nothing wrong with occasionally eating processed foods - but I think everyone agrees that 100 calories of vegetables is more filling and provides more nutrition than 100 calories of jelly beans.2
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Yes because we cut out (carefully saying this) bad chemicals and overly processed foods including dairy (personal choice) has nothing to do with "clean eating"It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!
wait, what?!?
My (very fit ) husband went from using his rescue inhaler (10x a day) and his daily steroids , and having to need abuterol every time the wind blew wrong ,to no meds....he doesn't even carry his inhaler anymore, it's been over 2 years. This was a life long battle he suffered and it's an amazing that food can be medicine.
Also stating that my statement is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition, please see a dr for treatment.i am not a dr or have no nutritional or chemistry degree.
Whether particular chemicals are bad or not may depend on the person. I am allergic to penicillin, so it's a bad chemical to me, but no one else needs to avoid it for that reason. Dairy has bad effects for a number of people, lactose intolerance and dairy allergies are common, as well as other dairy-related health issues, so for those people I would absolutely avoid it. Has nothing to do with "clean eating" (I'd never heard dairy being called "unclean" before, except by paleo types and plant-based dieters in some cases), and doesn't mean that anyone else will benefit from avoiding dairy. Personally, I've gone without it for periods and feel no better, I feel fine when eating it, and my ethnic background/ancestry is such that this is not surprising as lactose-intolerance is quite uncommon in the relevant groups.2 -
Laurakay2012 wrote: »Clean eating is a general term - like low fat or high carb. I find that eating food that is whole and minimally processed is helpful in getting maximum nutrition for minimal calories. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. There is nothing wrong with occasionally eating processed foods - but I think everyone agrees that 100 calories of vegetables is more filling and provides more nutrition than 100 calories of jelly beans.
Processed doesn't mean junk food, though -- that's why people are objecting to the idea that processed foods are unhealthful. Also, what matters is overall diet. If we assume people are not idiots and don't think fish, potatoes, and jelly beans is a reasonable substitute on a regular basis for fish, potatoes, and a vegetable (and really, who eats jelly beans for dinner?), is someone going to be less healthy because she incorporates a snack of 100 calories of jelly beans in her 1600 calorie day that includes lots of vegetables, adequate protein and fiber, healthy fats, etc? I think not.
But in any case, if we are to do a fairer comparison of processed to not, here are three breakfasts I alternate between:
2-egg omelet with a variety of vegetables plus smoked salmon and feta cheese. The last two ingredients are processed, but make the meal more enjoyable to me and add protein and (with the salmon) healthy fat. Do they make the meal unhealthy?
Steel cut oats with protein powder and berries with some kind of vegetable on the side -- I like adding protein powder because it makes the meal even more filling, I don't need meat at every meal (although I might have some leftover chicken instead if I have some around), and it helps me meet my protein goal. Again, does that make this meal unhealthy? (And some, of course, would call the oats processed too.)
Smoothie with variety of ingredients, current favorite (seasonal) mix being roasted winter squash, kale, green pepper, homemade cashew milk, frozen strawberries, and greek yogurt. Sometimes I add protein powder too. Here, the protein powder, strawberries, and greek yogurt are processed. Does that make the breakfast unhealthy?
Same analysis with basically every meal could be had: if you have a sandwich, does the bread (processed) ruin the health of the meal? Pasta with lean meat and lots of vegetables, but pasta and olive oil are processed. So on.
As I said before, a lot of the benefit of processed foods is making things available that normally would not be in a particular place or season. Another is convenience: I went through a phase where I'd only make my own pasta, and while I love fresh pasta, I don't think I need to eliminate dried pasta as a super fast base for a dinner. Same analysis with canned beans. I do make my own pasta sauce and salad dressing, always, but only because I think they taste better and it's usually fast and/or easy. I buy lunch sometimes, but things that seem identical to things I might make at home.
I am not trying to be a pain here, I am really not sure why these things are supposed to be subpar vs. never eating anything processed, and I think that claim is pretty hypocritical when one takes advantage of other unnatural elements of the industrial food market, like being able to buy bananas in Chicago or coffee or zucchini in January.
I think it's good to look at how satisfying and nutritious a diet is, or even individual foods within the diet, but I don't think "processed or not" is a good proxy for whether it's satisfying and nutritious. I find cottage cheese to score pretty well on both counts, and same with canned beans.3 -
OP - if you want to look good for the graduation do the following:
Set MFP to .5 to 1 pound per week loss.
get a food scale and weigh out your portions of solid foods
accurately log all your food
get on a structured lifting program, or some other form of exercise you enjoy
make sure that you are hitting your macros AKA proteins/fats/carbs..
the one thing that is not in that list is clean eating, because it is a BS term that really has noting to do with how one gains or loses weight.1 -
It's just food that's not processed. I usually say if it has more than 5 indgredients in it or if it has chemical words I don't understand (lol) I don't buy it. Gracious pantry (blog) has some really awesome recipes....Pinterest your butt off....and read!!! Milk for instance is only one ingredient but unless it's organic it's not clean....the antibiotics and rbst in it can make you sick....MSG is allowed to be called a "natural flavor" so I stay away from anything that says that too! so you just have to read read read!!! everyone will be a little different but if you just start incorporating Whole food into your diet you'll be better for it.
On a side note...clean eating (and The Lord) cured my husband of severe asthma!!! Our whole family feels better!
so you don't eat apples or bananas then?1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I've been told I'm doing a clean eating cause I don't do processed food, no gluten or corn or milk products, just lot's of clean meat, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds.
I don't know what clean eating is but I recommend that diet I'm on.. It's proving to be very effective for me.
Why is dairy "dirty"...there's nothing wrong with gluten unless you actually have an allergy...it's just a protein...corn is a whole food...
Again...this is why this topic is off the charts stupid....
because any word that starts with the letter D is a dirty food...3 -
Like they said above stick to a calorie deficient diet and excercise to lose the weight. Eat foods like chicken, beef ro chicken tacos, fish, egg whites with a real egg for taste, and limit high carb meals like pasta or mashed potato's to one meal a day. Also try chicken breast sandwiches and nonfat yogurt for snacks.0
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I like how "processed" is bad. Many times processing makes food more digestible (good) or you can pull more nutrients for it, or it's even safe to eat.
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O man, gluten allergies are such a pain in the *kitten*. Gluten free, however, is not the same as clean. My brother is gluten free, and lots of the stuff he eats is processed and has weird chemicals. Ever read the back of gluten free bread or lasagna? Yeesh.
Have you thought about getting a monthly gluten free box? May be a nice Christmas or Birthday or whatever gift. That way you can try stuff and if it's terrible, well at least it's only a small bag to get through.
this one is quite good, and starts at $10
http://www.urthbox.com/?coupon_codes=promo10
and this one also starts at $10
http://www.bestowed.com/products/join-bestowed-1 -
Like they said above stick to a calorie deficient diet and excercise to lose the weight. Eat foods like chicken, beef ro chicken tacos, fish, egg whites with a real egg for taste, and limit high carb meals like pasta or mashed potato's to one meal a day. Also try chicken breast sandwiches and nonfat yogurt for snacks.
Agree with the first sentence. Everything beyond that is either a matter of personal preference or not necessary (like limiting high carb meals to once/day).
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Like they said above stick to a calorie deficient diet and exercise to lose the weight. Eat foods like chicken, beef ro chicken tacos, fish, egg whites with a real egg for taste, and limit high carb meals like pasta or mashed potato's to one meal a day. Also try chicken breast sandwiches and nonfat yogurt for snacks.
food type does not matter. Eat in a calorie deficit + exercise/strength training + macro/micro adherence = meet your fitness goals3 -
Well I try to eat as clean as I can. Buying minimal amounts of processed foods. No frozen, canned or packaged products. Try to buy whole foods and cook them from scratch yourself. This takes a lot more time but eliminates the chemicals and preservatives added in processed foods. I make more than I need and freeze small portions to reheat later. Like homemade soups, spagetti sauces, enchilada sauce, alfredo sauce, things like this.
Depending on the season, things like fruits and vegetables that are flash frozen right after harvest retain more of the nutrients than those shipped from halfway around the world to your Produce section. 6
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