Why “Clean Eating” is a Myth by Armi Legge

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  • WhiteRabbit1313
    WhiteRabbit1313 Posts: 1,091 Member
    "...Perhaps this being words on a screen, you didn't see the grin on my face when I typed that..."

    LOL! I sure didn't see it! No worries. That's why I asked!

    I "get" what you're saying about people not researching, though. Personally, I was a little obsessed in my quest to figure out why I was overweight, so that has definitely skewed my knowledge base from the average person's. I sometimes think everyone else has read what I have, etc. Anyway, I came to the same conclusions you did. Eat less to weigh less. ha!
  • Nkechiye
    Nkechiye Posts: 25 Member
    I don't believe clean eating is a myth for everyone. I also don't think it is necessary for everyone. Everybody is different. I feel my best when I eat foods from nature and not processed foods. It isn't always about calories - you can lose weight eating processed food too. I feel so much more satisfied when I eat clean. Since switching my eating, I have also gotten rid of anxiety and depression, cleared up all of my eczema, and have way more energy.

    That being said, I know it is not for everyone and even I have a 'cheat' every once in awhile. It is about finding the lifestyle that works for you and you can see. yourself following for the long haul.
    Well said and my thoughts exactly.

    I am practicing a mostly vegan lifestyle.
    When I say mostly vegan I mean that I eat no eggs, milk, chicken, fish, pork or beef, but I do have cheese sometimes.
    It has only been two weeks, but I too feel less anxiety, more energy and my skin is much brighter and clearer and my mind is much sharper, not to mention the dramatic weight and inches lost

    A vegan lifestyle is believed by some to also aid in curing cancer. I watch a lot of holistic documentaries and the information is fascinating. The claims of remission in cancer is fascinating as well.

    There will be a naysayer for every method of diet or lifestyle.
    Just chose what makes you happy and feel good and clean eating makes ME FEEL GREAT.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Read your post.
    Read his blog.

    Each person should do what they believe is best.
    I'll keep eating foods that I believe fuel my body, and are better for me.
    :flowerforyou:
  • jakedner
    jakedner Posts: 186 Member
    in to read the articles later...
  • Hey friends! This is my first post, and I just have to jump in. I couldn't agree more! As a health coach, it makes me crazy to see my colleagues debunk calories and go on every detox plan that shows up. I feel angry when I see so many blow off our training and flock to every supplement sold as both the best way to lose weight AND Make Money.
  • ice1200s
    ice1200s Posts: 237 Member
    This is yet another article, in the growing list that I've read, saying it's not what you eat, but HOW MUCH you eat.
  • QueenWino
    QueenWino Posts: 106
    Some of these threads are great in that people can really argue or feel their way to a topic answer but others are just too hard to swallow; I really hoped what I thought as an observation wouldn't be berated, etc/ I attended UC Davis, top ag school in the US, I know science, and my decision to offer up anecdotal observation re skin/hair of my clean eating friends was to spotlight another bit.; sometimes we get caught up in pounds but the other signs of great health are beautiful and more awesome than a 24 inch waist.
  • Very interesting. My take on "clean": I think that the body would be best served eating what is found only in nature, We didn't eat processed foods when we were hunters and gathers. We ate meat, berries, fruits and vegetables and nuts. We drank only water. I doubt there were many overweight folks back then.

    I'm betting we didn't live that long then either, or have as much fun!

    But we also didn't have girls going through puberty 5 years earlier then a decade before.
  • Some of these threads are great in that people can really argue or feel their way to a topic answer but others are just too hard to swallow; I really hoped what I thought as an observation wouldn't be berated, etc/ I attended UC Davis, top ag school in the US, I know science, and my decision to offer up anecdotal observation re skin/hair of my clean eating friends was to spotlight another bit.; sometimes we get caught up in pounds but the other signs of great health are beautiful and more awesome than a 24 inch waist.

    YES! I don't define myself as healthy based on my size. I define myself as healthy because I eat a lot of organic whole foods. Two years ago I had a ****ty immune system. I had strep, shingles and colds every other week. It was horrible. Since eliminating the majority of processed foods and eating all of my fruits and vegs along with good quality supplements, I have had one cold in the past year!

    I will not feed my kids fast food or gmo laden snacks. The more I limit their refined sugars, the less they seem to crave it.

    Poptarts and ****ty foods aren't FUN to me. They are poison.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    "The potential to over-consume a food does not mean that you will. "

    This one sentence actually sells the clean eating approach. Clean eating focuses on nutrition dense foods rather than calorie dense foods. Yes, potential is going to effect each person differently, but why stack the deck against yourself? Why make it harder to be properly fed without being fattened? Why put up with a food that had calories added for the pure purpose of making it taste better?

    You can lose weight eating a set amount of anything (e.g., twinkies), but you won't feel well doing so. But that's you and you are welcome to do to your body what you want. I'll eat clean, feel better, lower body fat, and get to the proper weight/healthy blood markers. Good luck
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    Because you can still eat clean and be obese? Just because you eat a certain way doesn't guarantee weightloss or health, it is how much.

    Now this week I could not wait to eat clean after eating so much processed food last week! It does make me feel better and more satisfied but I'm not gonna preach it to everyone.

    As for the hair (diet/genes/lifestyle) arguement. It's all three but does play a huge part. If, for example, I had a pregnant client I would tell her to eat a cleaner diet to keep her hair in good condition as you lose less hair while your pregnant, you need the nutrients to keep it looking good. Got dandruff? Could be dry skin caused by your diet (as someone mentioned their ezcema cleared up after eating clean) so diet is very important for your hair! (eta: and skin!)
  • mspoopoo
    mspoopoo Posts: 500 Member


    It also comes from genetics and other lifestyle habits.

    416859_239522249465873_537117355_n.jpg

    It still amazes me when people are fooled by heavily photoshopped photos. The photo on the right was taken in a studio with lighting, makeup and hair artists and probably 100s of shots to get that one and then photoshopped.
  • mspoopoo
    mspoopoo Posts: 500 Member
    I LOVE Armi Legge. He's so smart, so real and gets to the heart of things without making you want to pull your hair out. He's made me a critical thinker in an area where I've always let my emotions rule over common sense. Being desperately unhappy with your weight will do that. Being desperate for years will make you grab on to every new weight loss gimmick and gizmo that comes down the pike. Empower yourself with knowledge, backed up by science and turn a deaf ear to all the nonsensical noise. And for goodness sake, read Armi's blog. You'll learn a thing or two!

    http://impruvism.com/clean-eating/

    I know this is a controversial topic and I fully expect a debate from all sides. But,the only way to make an educated decision is listen, learn and then make up your mind.

    It's just someone who put on twist on something to make a buck. Just like all the other diet gimmicks. Same with IIFYM.
    A few years from now, it will be something else.

    Plus he is just wrong like he says, "No Food Directly Damages Your Health" Tell that to the person with peanut allergy.
  • tootoop224
    tootoop224 Posts: 281 Member
    In to read later.
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
    I have my own ideas about what "clean eating" (also called a healthy, balanced diet) is FOR ME, but I never push it on others or judge how others eat. I'm not a "clean eating" snob. :smile: I don't insult vegetarians or vegans, nor do I shame people who eat a bunch of processed and fast food (which I call "crap food"). I eat some occasionally, myself. I am confused when people eat mostly crap food, and then complain about their weight or health. But that's their journey. Their business.

    I think the problem over the phrase "clean eating" is caused by the many "clean eaters" who preach it like a religion or look down their noses at people who eat otherwise because it makes them feel good or special. And I hate that as much as the next person.

    I think many people who claim to "eat clean" do it in an obsessive way or at least claim to, eating THEIR version of clean 100% of the time. And if that works for them, I don't have a problem with it. When they start proselytizing to me, trying to convince me to eat as they do, like they have found the holy grail, then I have a problem with it. I am as capable of deciding what food works for me as I am of making other decisions about my life. I don't need to be told how to eat or how to live.

    I don't think "clean eating" is a myth. I DO think we each define it for ourselves, if we use the phrase at all. And I'm ok with that.

    I think people who insist there is no such thing as "clean eating" are pretty much doing the same thing as those who insist there is only one way of clean eating.
  • 5ftnFun
    5ftnFun Posts: 948 Member
    I LOVE Armi Legge. He's so smart, so real and gets to the heart of things without making you want to pull your hair out. He's made me a critical thinker in an area where I've always let my emotions rule over common sense. Being desperately unhappy with your weight will do that. Being desperate for years will make you grab on to every new weight loss gimmick and gizmo that comes down the pike. Empower yourself with knowledge, backed up by science and turn a deaf ear to all the nonsensical noise. And for goodness sake, read Armi's blog. You'll learn a thing or two!

    http://impruvism.com/clean-eating/

    I know this is a controversial topic and I fully expect a debate from all sides. But,the only way to make an educated decision is listen, learn and then make up your mind.

    It's just someone who put on twist on something to make a buck. Just like all the other diet gimmicks. Same with IIFYM.
    A few years from now, it will be something else.

    Plus he is just wrong like he says, "No Food Directly Damages Your Health" Tell that to the person with peanut allergy.

    It's apparent you did not read the article.

    Under the section "No Food Directly Damages Your Health," he says "There are specific medical reasons for avoiding certain foods. And by “medical reason,” I don’t mean some naturopath, acupuncturist, homeopath, or voodoo priest reading chicken entrails said a certain food is bad for you. I mean a real doctor diagnosed you with a specific illness, and based their dietary recommendations on sound scientific evidence." .............He sites people who have a severe peanut allergy as an example.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I doubt there were many overweight folks back then.

    Probably not, but not because of what they ate or didn't eat. It was more about availability and the physical exertion necessary to acquire food at all.

    Yep. They were walking all the damn time.

    Wait...they didn't have cars back then? Bummer, dude.

    ever seen the flinstones? Of course they had cars back then...

    But you had to use your feet to make it go. The invention of the car engine is what started the obesity epidemic.

    fred flinstone was not exactly slim and trim ....
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    What's "food from nature?"

    Even the organic fruits and veggies come from huge swaths of cleared land that has been primed for optimal growth, cultivated in mass quantity, picked for minimum spoilage at market, and shipped in huge, diesel-fueled trucks to market.

    Not sure there's any "nature" there unless you're out hunting pig with a bow and arrow and picking the blackberries in the swamp or something.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    In . . .

    to watch this thread go the same direction as all the others.

    Some lessons are very hard to learn.
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,641 Member
    bump to finish reading later
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member


    It also comes from genetics and other lifestyle habits.

    416859_239522249465873_537117355_n.jpg

    It still amazes me when people are fooled by heavily photoshopped photos. The photo on the right was taken in a studio with lighting, makeup and hair artists and probably 100s of shots to get that one and then photoshopped.
    I pretty much ignore someone's arguments about "lifestyle" when they post those photos, yes.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I LOVE Armi Legge. He's so smart, so real and gets to the heart of things without making you want to pull your hair out. He's made me a critical thinker in an area where I've always let my emotions rule over common sense. Being desperately unhappy with your weight will do that. Being desperate for years will make you grab on to every new weight loss gimmick and gizmo that comes down the pike. Empower yourself with knowledge, backed up by science and turn a deaf ear to all the nonsensical noise. And for goodness sake, read Armi's blog. You'll learn a thing or two!

    http://impruvism.com/clean-eating/

    I know this is a controversial topic and I fully expect a debate from all sides. But,the only way to make an educated decision is listen, learn and then make up your mind.

    :flowerforyou:

    This is an excellent article, well researched and documented, and logically presented. I approve of this message.

    tumblr_m96o8dwjLj1ranhnao1_500.gif
  • choijanro
    choijanro Posts: 754 Member
    Very nice article ,,


    well to put it simple,, if u want to get big or bulky,, just consume many calories
    and if u want to get small or slim,, just consume less calories,,,


    Calories In & Calories Out = Balance Diet+Exercise
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    "The potential to over-consume a food does not mean that you will. "

    This one sentence actually sells the clean eating approach. Clean eating focuses on nutrition dense foods rather than calorie dense foods. Yes, potential is going to effect each person differently, but why stack the deck against yourself? Why make it harder to be properly fed without being fattened? Why put up with a food that had calories added for the pure purpose of making it taste better?

    You can lose weight eating a set amount of anything (e.g., twinkies), but you won't feel well doing so. But that's you and you are welcome to do to your body what you want. I'll eat clean, feel better, lower body fat, and get to the proper weight/healthy blood markers. Good luck

    Nicely worded!

    Your nutritional regiment is one-dimensional if you only focus on the quantity of food consumed without regard to the quality of what you are consuming. A good diet doesn't entail shoveling garbage in your body, ensuring that you are eating less than your daily caloric allowance, and then patting yourself on the back and celebrating like you are doing something spectacular.

    Clean eating is prioritizing the quality of the food you are consuming and being a discriminating eater, not just blindly counting calories.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    Love the Alan article!
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
    In . . .

    to watch this thread go the same direction as all the others.

    Some lessons are very hard to learn.

    I'm new... what direction do the other threads go and what is the lesson?
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
    Hi,
    I LOVE Armi Legge. He's so smart, so real and gets to the heart of things without making you want to pull your hair out. He's made me a critical thinker in an area where I've always let my emotions rule over common sense. Being desperately unhappy with your weight will do that. Being desperate for years will make you grab on to every new weight loss gimmick and gizmo that comes down the pike. Empower yourself with knowledge, backed up by science and turn a deaf ear to all the nonsensical noise. And for goodness sake, read Armi's blog. You'll learn a thing or two!

    http://impruvism.com/clean-eating/

    I know this is a controversial topic and I fully expect a debate from all sides. But,the only way to make an educated decision is listen, learn and then make up your mind.

    For a bit of balance, I recommend that you watch this video. It goes for over an hour, but it is worthwhile.
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/
    kind regards,

    Ben
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    In . . .

    to watch this thread go the same direction as all the others.

    Some lessons are very hard to learn.

    I'm new... what direction do the other threads go and what is the lesson?

    I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. I will not be sucked into this thread. :bigsmile:
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
    I just ate a half dozen donuts! YUM! u mad bro?
  • SJVZEE
    SJVZEE Posts: 451 Member


    It also comes from genetics and other lifestyle habits.

    416859_239522249465873_537117355_n.jpg

    It still amazes me when people are fooled by heavily photoshopped photos. The photo on the right was taken in a studio with lighting, makeup and hair artists and probably 100s of shots to get that one and then photoshopped.

    I didn't know who the second person was so I did some google imagining and yeah, she doesn't look like the posted picture in 'real' life :tongue: Also, for the above picture of Gillian-that was taken while she was doing the reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. Throw anyone in the wild for a few days without good sleep, makeup and a hair dryer and see how they look :huh: Not a fair picture comparison at all. Here's a good article about the pictures and the whole 'I look better because of my diet' debate http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/03/13/takedown-my-diet-is-making-me-beautiful-also-known-as-i-am-better-than-you/