Why “Clean Eating” is a Myth by Armi Legge

Wildflower0106

"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

I like how every one is so sure about how other people will feel when doing something. I am a IIYMer, I don't eat clean, I have lost weight, my bf% was around 45% and is now 19%, I never get sick, I am happy and healthy, and I have plenty of energy to fuel my fast paced active lifestyle. Oh and I have maintained for 2 years. Good luck to you too!

bcattoes

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 ....

Touché. That darn Wilma was just too good a cook, I guess.

bound4beauty

One of the reasons I started this thread is because of all the fear mongering that goes on in these forums. Sugar is toxic, white bread is poison, meat causes cancer, artificial sweetener is deadly...

All the while this is going on, this is happening (quoted from a blog post by Leigh Peele)

"The American Psychiatric Association is considering for the first time classifying Orthorexia as a mental illness. There is a rise in “adult picky eating” as well as anorexia and bulimia. All day long in my inbox and facebook feeds I see fear. Fear of bread, fear of fats, fear of carbohydrates, gluten, GMO’s, refined sugars, potatoes, tomatoes, meat – nothing is safe from claims or suspicion. The end result is you being scared and making choices based on fear rather than need or solid scientific data."

I also find if interesting how we all read the same article but based on your own bias going in, we only infer from the article that which supports our argument.

Nowhere in the article does is say that you should consume nothing but twinkies and poptarts or gorge on fast food. What it does say is to take a balanced approach. IF YOU WANT TO. If you don't ever again, for the rest of your life, ever, ever, ever want ice cream to pass your lips, then you don't have to. You never have to have cake or Chinese take out or a hamburger or anything else. But don't tell me that I'm not a healthy person because I do. You don't know me. You don't know what my blood work says. You don't know what my skin and hair look like. You don't know that when ever I've tried to do a very rigid diet that I've failed over and over again. And you really shouldn't care that my choosing to eat according to my own 80/20 rule is working perfectly for me.

What I would like though is for the fear mongering to stop. The rise of eating disorders is a real problem and it's my opinion that this attitude that food is either GOOD or BAD is contributing to it. What this article is proposing is moderation.

Sabine_Stroehm

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

highervibes

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

If people don't have the common sense to strike a balance there is nothing you or I could say to help (or hinder) their plans.

You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think.

Sabine_Stroehm

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

If people don't have the common sense to strike a balance there is nothing you or I could say to help (or hinder) their plans.

You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think.

Exactly.

shannashannabobana

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

Exactly.

Also, if I never hear the term orthorexic again it will be too soon. Choosing to skip the cake is not an eating disorder.

bound4beauty

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

I think making people afraid of food, especially people who don't know anything about nutrition, is not a fair comparison to those saying that it's okay to eat donuts and pop tarts. I haven't seen one post that says that's all you should eat. Of course there are trolls who say things just to get a rise out of people, but I don't believe that anyone seriously suggested you should nothing but sugary, fried baked goods all day.

And what if I can eat one doughnut a day but balance it out the rest of the day with veggies, fruit, lean meat, etc? That's pretty much what I do. I save room every day for a treat. Whether it's a cone from McDonalds or the lemon square I had at a party last night. I still hit all my macro nutrient goals and was able to socialize and enjoy the tacos and sangria served. No guilt, no shame, no feeling like a failure. All the things I would have felt before when I was so determined to be a "clean" eater. I suffered through many parties not eating or drinking anything because it didn't conform with my "plan". That is no way to live. For me. Maybe it's okay for you. And that's cool too.

bound4beauty

Also, if I never hear the term orthorexic again it will be too soon. Choosing to skip the cake is not an eating disorder.

Maybe not for you but that doesn't mean it's not a huge problem for other people.

5ftnFun

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

I think making people afraid of food, especially people who don't know anything about nutrition, is not a fair comparison to those saying that it's okay to eat donuts and pop tarts. I haven't seen one post that says that's all you should eat. Of course there are trolls who say things just to get a rise out of people, but I don't believe that anyone seriously suggested you should nothing but sugary, fried baked goods all day.

And what if I can eat one doughnut a day but balance it out the rest of the day with veggies, fruit, lean meat, etc? That's pretty much what I do. I save room every day for a treat. Whether it's a cone from McDonalds or the lemon square I had at a party last night. I still hit all my macro nutrient goals and was able to socialize and enjoy the tacos and sangria served. No guilt, no shame, no feeling like a failure. All the things I would have felt before when I was so determined to be a "clean" eater. I suffered through many parties not eating or drinking anything because it didn't conform with my "plan". That is no way to live. For me. Maybe it's okay for you. And that's cool too.

I don't eat all of my calories in a day in fish and carrot sticks. I also don't eat all of my calories in a day as pop tarts and ice cream. There's a middle ground here, and I like being there. Sounds like you do too. And some of the fittest, strongest or leanest people on this site do this. Why? Because it works.

namluv

gotta tag for later - big fan of moderation in all things myself

cfredz

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

They didnt live long because they didnt have modern medicine. Not because they didnt eat cake.

Sabine_Stroehm

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

I think making people afraid of food, especially people who don't know anything about nutrition, is not a fair comparison to those saying that it's okay to eat donuts and pop tarts. I haven't seen one post that says that's all you should eat. Of course there are trolls who say things just to get a rise out of people, but I don't believe that anyone seriously suggested you should nothing but sugary, fried baked goods all day.

And what if I can eat one doughnut a day but balance it out the rest of the day with veggies, fruit, lean meat, etc? That's pretty much what I do. I save room every day for a treat. Whether it's a cone from McDonalds or the lemon square I had at a party last night. I still hit all my macro nutrient goals and was able to socialize and enjoy the tacos and sangria served. No guilt, no shame, no feeling like a failure. All the things I would have felt before when I was so determined to be a "clean" eater. I suffered through many parties not eating or drinking anything because it didn't conform with my "plan". That is no way to live. For me. Maybe it's okay for you. And that's cool too.

I think mocking people who choose to eat "clean" isn't good either. And that happens often here. Usually followed by posts about donuts and pop tarts.
Eat the donut!
But let me eat the way I want, and pass on what *I* believe to be good habits.
Feel free to do the same.

Wetcoaster

Layne Norton posted a link to the same article on his Facebook page also.....interesting to read the comments there....

https://www.facebook.com/LayneNorton

casmithis

go on, I'm listening!!

For the record, I try to eat clean just because I feel way better when I do. Nothing to do with weight loss or macros just a personal preferance.

MommyisFit

on the flip side of all of that so-called fear mongering is a dominant presence declaring: eat donuts and pop tarts every day, just "stay under your calories".
I think it balances out fairly well.

I think making people afraid of food, especially people who don't know anything about nutrition, is not a fair comparison to those saying that it's okay to eat donuts and pop tarts. I haven't seen one post that says that's all you should eat. Of course there are trolls who say things just to get a rise out of people, but I don't believe that anyone seriously suggested you should nothing but sugary, fried baked goods all day.

And what if I can eat one doughnut a day but balance it out the rest of the day with veggies, fruit, lean meat, etc? That's pretty much what I do. I save room every day for a treat. Whether it's a cone from McDonalds or the lemon square I had at a party last night. I still hit all my macro nutrient goals and was able to socialize and enjoy the tacos and sangria served. No guilt, no shame, no feeling like a failure. All the things I would have felt before when I was so determined to be a "clean" eater. I suffered through many parties not eating or drinking anything because it didn't conform with my "plan". That is no way to live. For me. Maybe it's okay for you. And that's cool too.

I think you make a very good point. Some people see something and take it to the extreme. That goes with anything - there will always be those that just take it to the level of obsession. I am a so called "clean" eater. I eat clean about 90% of the time. I do have the occasional snack. Last night I wanted ice cream - so I had ice cream. For me, it is ok every once in awhile. I can't do it much more than that because of blood sugar anyway.

I try to teach my children to be aware of what they eat and to make sure that they read labels, but I don't want them to grow up and either be "afraid" of food or just completely pigout on junk because they can. So, in my house, we do "growing food" (food that comes from nature and is not processed) and "sometimes food" food that is ok to enjoy every so often as a treat. I am hoping they end up with a healthy relationship with food.

TheEffort

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.

BUMP.

thesophierose

I think the whole process is that people are afraid of food. I do love eating 'healthy' food, but it really goes back to calorie in-calorie out. It's just with the healthy foods, most are low calorie and it is extremely hard to overeat on them... which makes them a perfect add in to a lifestyle change.

That article makes a good point!

cheeky0122

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. That being said, we live in a different time, one with cake and mac and cheese and all and it's delicious, so I won't stop eating it. But that stuff should not be primary in our diet and for a lot of people it is, and there you have the basis for a lot of health problems. Everything in moderation, balanced diet will always be best in my opinion.

Hunter/gatherers burned an insane amount of calories everyday just trying to survive, they rarely had a chance to sit down and rest except when they were sleeping. They also had short lifespans. The energy expenditure of today's society is absurdly low when compared. It has waaaaay more to do with the fact that our society is consuming much much more, and burning much much less, it is not some certain chemical in the processed foods that is causing obesity, it is the fact that people who are obese are running a caloric surplus every single day, the end.

I agree with the points you touch on, but it is a common misconception that hunter-gatherers had a shortened life expectancy. Mortality rates before the age of 15 were 38%, but after age 15 most, and many, hunter-gatherers lived into theirs 60's and beyond.

WendyTerry420

The author says: "There’s no way to define clean eating, which means there’s no way to measure or quantify what effect this concept might have on your health. There’s also no way to objectively compare a “clean diet” to other diets."

Essentially, "clean eating" means different things to different people. So why not LET IT mean different things to different people.

Isn't "I've been eating clean for two weeks and I feel good" easier than saying "For two weeks I've been making food choices that I believe to be beneficial to my weight and/or my health." ? Remember, we're not allowed to call it a "diet" anymore because we want it to be a sustainable "lifestyle change". We're running low on efficient ways to describe the difference between living up to the standards of the eating plan we believe is healthy vs. ignoring those standards.

How about, "I've eaten a lot of nutritious foods for the last weeks" instead? :flowerforyou: