Clean Keto

rmac18

Dumb question but I see this phrase used a lot in different contexts and I’d love to hear some thoughts on the topic. As a backdrop I’m 90 days into Keto and have lost about 40 lbs while also stabilizing my blood sugar which was a primary goal after being diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic about 120 days ago. I learn a lot from posts on MFP that have helped me. I’m super happy with the results so far and I want to continue to refine and improve to maximize the benefits. I’m especially interested in how to do this without extensive food preparation time or substantially increasing the budget. Anyway I’m hopeful this conversation starter will be helpful to me and others.

tcunbeliever

I'm pretty sure extensive food preparations are the norm for any "clean" eating plan since everything convenient, fast, or prepared is off the list.

That said - if you already cook at home and already eat mostly meat and vegetables, then you are probably eating mostly clean already.

NCSophie

"Clean" is usually compared against "dirty" keto. Dirty keto doesn't care where the calories come from just as long as they fit into your desired macro-nutrient profile. Micro-nutrients and quality of fats don't get much attention. Dirty keto is a double bacon cheeseburger (no bun), clean keto would be grilled salmon with avocado. Either style WOE can get you into ketosis and achieve your goals of sugar control and weight loss but clean keto will probably give you better over all health.

Edited: Your standard fast food hamburger with a couple slices of pasteurized processed cheese food product is prolly "dirty". Grassfed beef with some good quality cheese from grassfed dairy is closer to "clean".

rmac18

Thanks for the feedback. I so far haven’t put a lot of thought into where calories come from and focused on net carbs and macronutrients. But I’m only 90ish days into this and to really make it a lifestyle I want to expand my knowledge and make improvements that will improve overall health. Life makes it hard to be as clean as I’d like and also there is a learning process to have a deeper understanding of how to improve. It’s easy to read labels and count carbs but understanding what foods are better, how to shop for and prepare them and things like that are why I appreciate these conversations. Any suggestions for simple clean recipes and ways to substitute for better/cleaner ingredients without breaking the bank or having complex/time-consuming preparation are much appreciated.

baconslave

My scale was never interested in what morally charged adjective I put on my calories. Dirty or clean, I lost almost 100lb on keto.

The only possible concern is that "clean"er foods tend to also have an increased saturation of bioavailable micronutrients. This is the concern for health over time: having all the right building blocks in my food for repair and rebuilding and running my body efficiently and to feel good. 80% of the time, prioritize micronutrient density. Your body will likely be happy enough to forgive the rest.

My 87.5 cents...

rmac18

baconslave wrote: »

My scale was never interested in what morally charged adjective I put on my calories. Dirty or clean, I lost almost 100lb on keto.

The only possible concern is that "clean"er foods tend to also have an increased saturation of bioavailable micronutrients. This is the concern for health over time: having all the right building blocks in my food for repair and rebuilding and running my body efficiently and to feel good. 80% of the time, prioritize micronutrient density. Your body will likely be happy enough to forgive the rest.

My 87.5 cents...

Thanks for the reply. This is great. Would you please explain what you mean by "bioavailable micronutrient density" in layman's terms? I really appreciate everyone sharing their expertise and experiences. It's super helpful to me.

baconslave

Bioavailable vitamins and minerals are naturally in a form readily and more easily and more fully absorbed by the body. Whole foods' vitamins and minerals are largely bioavailable. Synthetic or added vitamins and minerals are not as easily absorbed or not fully absorbed depending on the specific form of each added. This is the form usually found in "dirty" or processed foods.

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, so micronutrient density is "has a great concentration of vitamins and minerals within the food." Lots of micronutrient bang for the buck, so to speak. Dense in vitamins and minerals. Again, many whole foods naturally tend to be micronutrient dense.

HTH.

Emmapatterson1729

I eat pretty clean Keto. I try to eat whole foods, not a lot of processed things. (I only eat processed when in a bind, like out of the house all day, no prepped foods to take with).

Dirty keto includes processed foods... Like deli meats, American cheese, Atkins/slimfast products, etc.

fdhunt1

Clean Keto to me is a ground beef half pounder burger w/cheese. Dirty keto is if I drop it on the floor. depending where it falls and for how long, I may still eat it. Either way, the weight loss is the same.