I heard that eating clean makes you feel better...
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But shorter for meat and cheese, if you have nimble pets.paperpudding wrote: »oh, yes - the count to 5 or whatever is irelevant if you have a dog - before you get to 2, the piece is gone
speaks from personal experience
Wait..food hits the floor?! Mine used to stand next to me in the kitchen looking up with his mouth wide open ready to catch anything that falls.
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claireychn074 wrote: »I definitely prefer my food clean - so I wash my fruit and veges first, and throw out anything dropped on the floor.
Other than that, "clean" is a buzz word that doesn't actually mean anything.
I liked your post but I do have disagree with one point; three second rule for stuff on the floor, and especially chocolate! 😀
I've eaten a piece of lasagna I dropped on the floor before,told my hubs that's why I rarely get sick my body has immunity cuz I'm such a slob😆4 -
iuoyuwwrmlioxneunm wrote: »Isn't clean eating healthy eating? Like low sodium, low saturated fat, low sugar and white processed carbs? Basically what doctors tell you to avoid?
I have heard the term "clean eating" from bodybuilding books before, but I guess there was never really a tangible definition floating around.
There is no single definition. People will include the stuff you listed above, but also other things. And they will sometimes exempt things that fall into the categories you list above (like fruit, which can have lots of sugar).1 -
iuoyuwwrmlioxneunm wrote: »Isn't clean eating healthy eating? Like low sodium, low saturated fat, low sugar and white processed carbs? Basically what doctors tell you to avoid?
I have heard the term "clean eating" from bodybuilding books before, but I guess there was never really a tangible definition floating around.
That diet reminds me of this
The only problem is it still has dihydrogen monoxide. That stuff is EVERYWHERE!
Yes, but if you use organic dihydrogen monoxide then you'll be fine mostly.5 -
I will share my experience and I am not swayed by the "disagree" that I may get. I know how I feel. I know how my health is directly connected.The things I have been through as it relates to nutrition are impactful, direct and there is enough science to truly explain reasons they would be happening.
First, let me share my interpretation of clean. To me, a "clean diet / clean food" are primarily whole foods from the earth. The highest of what "I call clean foods are nutritious and in origional form. As a definition that includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains, legumes, herbs, seeds, root vegetables. Sometimes the nutrients become more biovailable from steaming, or heating or broken down enough for digestion. I do believe some foods CAN be considered (relatively)clean that may be more broken down provided the ingrediants are not artificial, highly processed, unnutritious or carcenogetic. I feel that things like food bars, SOME protein powders, tofu, green powders and even SOME packaged foods. This is what I PERSONALLY FEEL is clean food eating.
Now, not all foods I have considered clean are good for me. Legumes and grains are 2 examples. I may occasionally have somerhing with either but not much. They do not agree with me. Most fruit does not make me feel good, even some vegetanles. The there are foods like dark chocolte, coconut cream and perhaps an occasional vegan cheesecake piece I will completely enjoy. Why? It is a minor ampunt, not a habit, the choices are still made from good ingrediants. I have plant based protein bars. Since I have been out of work I have not wanted any and have really got to a point of a very whole food plant based life by choice.
Changing my diet that is right for my body has changed me and ultimately EVERYTHING in my life. Having the right foods for ME makes me feel good. They help me stay focused and energized. Foods that are good for me help my digestion, body pain, weight, focus, motivation and most of all my HEALTH. Mentally and physically.
I am 48. I have SLE Lupus. I have a life long history of depression, anxiety and other heslth complications. Now that my eating suits my ability to heal and be nourished I am asymptonatic and have stopped or cured other things. I feel happier and more confidant.
Do I sometimes eat foods thqat are not on my list? I can but usually do not. The longer I eat the way I do the more my tastes have changed, I am very aware of the outcome of things that ultimately leave me unsatisfied or less than, and it usually is not worth it to me. I have also found endless varieties, alternatives and new things that are even better.
For example, let me tell you about on evivid experience. Jolly Rancer Gummies. Many years ago I loved them! I ate a bag no problem. Even if I was counting calories it was a favorite. Calories do matter- probably the most as it rlates to weight. Well I had stopped eating them along with many, many other things like cookies, sweets, pizza and so on.
One day I had been somewhere and there was an open package that was shared. "I thought, hmmm... I think I will have a few. As soon as I tasted them I thought... ew.... fakeness and wax! I actually spit them out. It was not guilt. I just had no desire for them. If I do want one I would have one. Even if I wanted a chocolate chip cookie- again it is easy now to find one that has my definition of clean ingrediants.
Find what makes YOU happy. It is overwhelming the endless infinity of misinformation, bias, propaganda, craze and all kinds of group and personal feelings are shoved at us non stop. Even reading several studies can vary. The only way to figure this out is through you being real and honest with YOU.
I only share my experience. I am not telling anyone what they should do, how they should eat regardless of how I feel, unless they come to me for advice. I have worked in the fitness, nutrition and supplementation field over 20 years. I have worked with hundereds of different people on all levels, ages. Through experience I know each person is unique and will have a personal best. Once they each are ready to be true about food and lifestyle they will go on either not paying attention, self sabotaging or being complacent in a mediocracy that can be cofortably uncomfortable. Agin the key is individuality.
I know this is long but the message I want to convey is that yes- foods DO affect and effect us, period. For ME, eating CLEAN as it is usually interpreted as a whole food (plant based for ME) diet has imporved my world and gives me joy.5 -
I will share my experience and I am not swayed by the "disagree" that I may get. I know how I feel. I know how my health is directly connected.The things I have been through as it relates to nutrition are impactful, direct and there is enough science to truly explain reasons they would be happening.
First, let me share my interpretation of clean. To me, a "clean diet / clean food" are primarily whole foods from the earth. The highest of what "I call clean foods are nutritious and in origional form. As a definition that includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains, legumes, herbs, seeds, root vegetables. Sometimes the nutrients become more biovailable from steaming, or heating or broken down enough for digestion. I do believe some foods CAN be considered (relatively)clean that may be more broken down provided the ingrediants are not artificial, highly processed, unnutritious or carcenogetic. I feel that things like food bars, SOME protein powders, tofu, green powders and even SOME packaged foods. This is what I PERSONALLY FEEL is clean food eating.
I don't understand the process by which our personal impressions about food will impact how our body receives them (unless we're talking about some kind of placebo effect). If "clean foods" have an objective, observable impact on our bodies, then it follows that "clean foods" must be an objectively definable category of foods, a group that can be identified. To me, that is where the "clean eating" discussion usually breaks down. Many "whole foods from the earth" are nutrient-dense. However, there are nutrient-dense foods that aren't in that category and there are "whole foods from the earth" that aren't especially nutrient-dense. I also don't see the logic in determining that a food is bad simply because it is "artificial," highly processed, or even low in nutrients. There are situations where a low nutrient food can be very useful (for example, a high carbohydrate gel during an endurance activity) or improve the quality of a meal while not contributing many calories. The context is important.
An example I think of is hot sauce. I eat it just about every day. It is pretty processed and doesn't contribute much to meals other than flavor and sodium. In the context of my diet, where I have no concerns about sodium, I consider it to be a really good thing and it makes it very easy to meet my calorie goals by making my lower calorie meals very palatable to me. I don't see any net benefit to my health if I decide to eliminate it because it is low nutrient and processed.15 -
tiffanyleilarsen wrote: »When is that supposed to take effect? Has anyone tried it? Did you feel better and if so, when?
I basically feel like garbage all the time. I've only been eating clean for a week and I know that it's probably too soon to see any results... I just want to know where the light at the end of my tunnel is.
I tend to look at nutrition on the whole rather than breaking it down to individual, isolated foods or particular meals. Getting proper nutrition is important, and most people are very capable of meeting their nutritional needs while still having some indulgences.
I eat a pretty "clean" diet in terms of eating mostly whole foods or minimally processed foods...but I didn't really notice any kind of "feel better." I'm not sure what feeling like garbage actually means, but when I was overweight I felt sluggish all of the time and tired. That mostly changed when I started exercising regularly and moving more. I think being sedentary generally has the side effect of feeling kinda crappy. I'd say regular exercise and losing weight had a lot more to do with feeling better than my diet. At times I have been unable to exercise due to injury or other life circumstances, and typically feel pretty lousy when I go for an extended time without regular exercise even though my diet remains on point.5 -
I will share my experience and I am not swayed by the "disagree" that I may get. I know how I feel. I know how my health is directly connected.The things I have been through as it relates to nutrition are impactful, direct and there is enough science to truly explain reasons they would be happening.
First, let me share my interpretation of clean. To me, a "clean diet / clean food" are primarily whole foods from the earth. The highest of what "I call clean foods are nutritious and in origional form. As a definition that includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains, legumes, herbs, seeds, root vegetables. Sometimes the nutrients become more biovailable from steaming, or heating or broken down enough for digestion. I do believe some foods CAN be considered (relatively)clean that may be more broken down provided the ingrediants are not artificial, highly processed, unnutritious or carcenogetic. I feel that things like food bars, SOME protein powders, tofu, green powders and even SOME packaged foods. This is what I PERSONALLY FEEL is clean food eating.
I just don't understand singling out some extremely processed foods (like protein powder and veggie powders or many commercial nut milks) but excluding others (like sriracha or other hot sauces, as Jane notes, or something like plain greek yogurt or, I dunno, canned beans or a premade soup that is only different from an at home one due to somewhat more sodium) makes sense. It seems incoherent. And claiming one eats clean because one has decided that the way you personally eat = "clean" and without any less arbitrary standard (like what a nutrient dense diet actually involves) really does seem like some combination of magical thinking and virtue signaling.
I decided a while back that I don't really care for any protein powders and prefer to get my protein in other ways (from whole foods or options like tofu and tempeh, which are pretty longstanding cultural staples), but I don't pretend that makes my diet "cleaner" that those who use protein powder (nor do I think it's a big deal if I do decide to have a protein bar occasionally in a pinch). Similarly, I dislike the concept of veggie powders since I have a personal preference -- which I admit may be a bit of magical thinking -- that it is better to get nutrients from whole foods. However, again, I don't claim this makes my diet "cleaner" or better or what not. It's just a personal prejudice that affects how I eat.9 -
Actually, hot sauces can be very ... I hate this word, but "clean". I have around two dozen different ones & have also made them myself from home grown peppers. Some are definitely witch's brews of food-industry chemicals from vats off the New Jersey turnpike, but others are 3-4 ingredient "natural" style hot sauces made out of vegetables, fruit, and a non-excessive amount of salt. The latter are usually habanero-based and often come from Trinidad, Belize, etc. Here is a "clean" 4-ingredient hot sauce from Yucatan that I eat by the barrelful.
https://www.hotsauce.com/el-yucateco-xxxtra-hot-chile-habanero/
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I guess the question I'd ask - throwing it out here to any of the folks who've said they like to eat clean, by whatever definition of "clean" they prefer - not just asking the most recent such person:
I understand/accept that you have good reasons for eating the way you eat: In what way do you find it helpful or better to refer to that way of eating as clean, knowing that other people will make assumptions (maybe incorrect ones) about what that means?
It might be useful to refer back to the initial post in the thread amusedmonkey helpfully posted, for a sample of diverse possible (mis)understandings: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10337480/what-is-clean-eating5 -
Actually, hot sauces can be very ... I hate this word, but "clean". I have around two dozen different ones & have also made them myself from home grown peppers. Some are definitely witch's brews of food-industry chemicals from vats off the New Jersey turnpike, but others are 3-4 ingredient "natural" style hot sauces made out of vegetables, fruit, and a non-excessive amount of salt. The latter are usually habanero-based and often come from Trinidad, Belize, etc. Here is a "clean" 4-ingredient hot sauce from Yucatan that I eat by the barrelful.
https://www.hotsauce.com/el-yucateco-xxxtra-hot-chile-habanero/
As I understand the "clean" definition, being store-bought and in a jar rather than homemade makes something not clean, typically (the not processed thing). I agree with you that plenty of hot sauces have few ingredients and could be made at home if one had the skills, but same with lots of things that are dismissed as unclean. This is why the terminology is so silly.
I love hot sauces and have a great many.5 -
**SIGH*** First, I love hot sauce. I have a particular kind that is my favorite. I use mustard. I did not say all processed food is bad. Some foods were made (engineered) for sports performance, health ailmints, fortification. There are tousands of foods. Im not here to label, pick whats what. I am not talking about anyone or anything that others feel What I am sharing is for ME, What makes me feel good. What helps me have great reports from the lab tests and how I sleep, my energy. What clean eating means to me is eating things that make me feel good.
There are foods that do impact your health. There are foods that are relatively indiferent or even so enjoyable it makes it something great. Happiness is really what keeps us well.
I will say this again. From MY experience, when I decided to swap certain choices my health and eight improved. I can eat 200 calories of cake or 200 calories of whole grain oats and keep my calories where my goal would be. Sure, some days that cake could be what I want. Its usually not. The oats would keep me full longer, they would sit in my stoamch better and I simply prefer them. Oats, by the way are a great example of "processed" food that has benefits.
This whole question is asking when does eating "clean: make you feel better. I answered in the context of what my experience is. Period. The term "whole foods" I use to refer to vegetables, greens and foods from a garden or farm. I use protein powder because I like it, it helps complete certain needs and is convenient. I also love tempeh, tofu or edamame. Hemp tofu ( Tempt) by the way is awesome. Its hard to find, I g see t it from a local healthful store- market.
There are usually underlying causes for not feeling good, that diet alone won't chhange- until you identify the reasons. Then food can be used many times to assist in helping and healing. Food has been used for thousands of years as medicine. In Chinese medicine, sugar is sometimes what is needed to cure. What matters is your body and what it needs.
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The point was that the decision on whether a processed food is bad, in your words, seems totally arbitrary.
and I dont think the question was share what you individually like to eat, that has no universal application.
(cant see need for this defensive prefacing what you are saying with" I dont care if I get disagrees!" either)11 -
the question was also asking "if it made you feel better" I just used myself as an example to share how much a diet of vegetables, plants and less processed over all did make me feel better.
I can talk science if you want. Bottom line is - medically speaking- yes food that helps health is based on factual scientific evidence. It can make yo feel better.
" Eating a double cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds 3-4 times a week will increase longevity in people who have high blood pressure and reduced symptoms of depression " said no Health and wellness professional ever. "Switching to a mediterranean diet has profound affect on diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease' -yup. "Children with seazures have showed theraputic improvement with a low sugar and higher fat diet." yup
Bottom line, food matters.
The question was asking when does changing the diet make you feel better. It takes time and if it has more than just a food related reason then that needs to be undrstood. Eating the wrong clean foods doesnt help either.1 -
**SIGH*** First, I love hot sauce. I have a particular kind that is my favorite. I use mustard. I did not say all processed food is bad. Some foods were made (engineered) for sports performance, health ailmints, fortification. There are tousands of foods. Im not here to label, pick whats what. I am not talking about anyone or anything that others feel What I am sharing is for ME, What makes me feel good. What helps me have great reports from the lab tests and how I sleep, my energy. What clean eating means to me is eating things that make me feel good.
There are foods that do impact your health. There are foods that are relatively indiferent or even so enjoyable it makes it something great. Happiness is really what keeps us well.
I will say this again. From MY experience, when I decided to swap certain choices my health and eight improved. I can eat 200 calories of cake or 200 calories of whole grain oats and keep my calories where my goal would be. Sure, some days that cake could be what I want. Its usually not. The oats would keep me full longer, they would sit in my stoamch better and I simply prefer them. Oats, by the way are a great example of "processed" food that has benefits.
This whole question is asking when does eating "clean: make you feel better. I answered in the context of what my experience is. Period. The term "whole foods" I use to refer to vegetables, greens and foods from a garden or farm. I use protein powder because I like it, it helps complete certain needs and is convenient. I also love tempeh, tofu or edamame. Hemp tofu ( Tempt) by the way is awesome. Its hard to find, I g see t it from a local healthful store- market.
There are usually underlying causes for not feeling good, that diet alone won't chhange- until you identify the reasons. Then food can be used many times to assist in helping and healing. Food has been used for thousands of years as medicine. In Chinese medicine, sugar is sometimes what is needed to cure. What matters is your body and what it needs.
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Most people here are not saying that what one eats does not matter for health, or matter to how one feels. Quite the contrary.
OP said she was eating "eating clean", expecting to feel better, and feels worse. The main point by others posting is that "clean eating" really tells us nothing about how she is eating. "Eating for health" and "clean eating" are not clear synonyms (largely because "clean eating" has no standard definition). Her clarification suggested that she might have bought into some arbitrary and usually irrelevant myths (such as saying "not eating from pre-made packages").
It sounds like what you mean by "clean eating" is pretty sensible. It sounds a good bit like how I eat, frankly, and how I know some of the other "anti clean eating terminology" people in the thread primarily eat.
But other people, in other threads, have used the term "clean eating" to refer to superstition-filled, myth-based rules for eating that either are unrelated to eating for health ("no white foods", "nothing from a bag, box or can"), or in some rare particularly bizarre cases, that actually seem counter-productive to achieving good nutrition.
And yes, a lot of jokesters came out in this thread, to bring up the 5-second rule or washing veggies, because the term "clean eating", over time, has become a laughingstock, rightly or wrongly, because of the very odd posts sometimes seen about it, and because of people advertising their "clean diet" but eating in ways that realistically were nutritionally very questionable.
Sometimes there is an adaptation period**, but in general, someone who's started getting excellent nutrition should expect to feel better, eventually, if they came from a very nutritionally void way of eating.
Despite the hand-wringing about the standard american diet (SAD), most USA-ians are not seriously nutritionally deficient. There are some common things that are suboptimal: Not enough veggies/fruits, not enough fiber, a few micronutrients that can come up short, too many calories (this last a biggie). But a large number of people are eating well enough that I doubt they'll see a huge, short-term boost from eating reallyReally well, and maybe not even a long-term one.
And again, some rule-sets defined as "clean eating" by some people do not at all move a person any closer to getting better nutrition. If I avoid white foods, only shop the perimeter of the supermarket, eat zero added sugar, etc. (real example definitions), I can still be eating too few veggies/fruits, not getting enough fiber, be short on some micros, etc. Some of those rules provide zero help.
** Sometimes, a major dietary switch will go better if phased in, because there are adaptation issues. The commonest example is fiber. I was in a thread for a "10 veggie servings a day" challenge. A good thing, right?
Well, some participants went from negligible veggies daily, to 10+ servings, all at once and . . . got digestively stopped up, and very uncomfortable. Some of us more experienced big veggie eaters encouraged them to drink enough water, and eat some more fats, and . . . everything came out all right in the end. That's an adaptation example. People dramatically increasing fiber are better off not doing it all in one giant leap, often. Otherwise, "eating better" will make them feel worse, possibly much worse.
I'm inclined to agree with Wolfman, that for me being active is more material to how I feel than is how I eat (but I've never eaten appallingly terribly, in nutritional terms - just in calorie terms ).
Still, nutrition is important for health, and to feeling good. But nutrition primarily is getting enough of the important macronutrients (and in some cases ideally considering sources of them, like MUFAs/PUFAs, Omega 3/6 balance, etc.), fiber, well-rounded macronutrients (not just known vitamins & minerals in some tablet, but a range of antioxidants and other phytochemicals, ideally).
It doesn't matter what color the food is, it doesn't matter what part of the store it came from, it doesn't matter what sort of packaging it was in when we bought it, often it doesn't even matter how "processed" it is (it matters what the process was and did!), or how many syllables are in the ingredients (it matters what the ingredients actually are, of course). Someone who managed to get the right number of calories, macros, fiber and micros (or close) all from fast food - which I admit might be a challenge - can theoretically be in a better-nourished state than someone who eats "only foods from an animal or the ground", but who gets very inadequate protein, or no B12.
Nutrition matters. Arbitrary rules don't help. "Clean eating", as a term, is strongly associated with arbitrary rules, in practice.9 -
**SIGH*** First, I love hot sauce. I have a particular kind that is my favorite. I use mustard. I did not say all processed food is bad. Some foods were made (engineered) for sports performance, health ailmints, fortification. There are tousands of foods. Im not here to label, pick whats what. I am not talking about anyone or anything that others feel What I am sharing is for ME, What makes me feel good. What helps me have great reports from the lab tests and how I sleep, my energy. What clean eating means to me is eating things that make me feel good.
There are foods that do impact your health. There are foods that are relatively indiferent or even so enjoyable it makes it something great. Happiness is really what keeps us well.
I will say this again. From MY experience, when I decided to swap certain choices my health and eight improved. I can eat 200 calories of cake or 200 calories of whole grain oats and keep my calories where my goal would be. Sure, some days that cake could be what I want. Its usually not. The oats would keep me full longer, they would sit in my stoamch better and I simply prefer them. Oats, by the way are a great example of "processed" food that has benefits.
This whole question is asking when does eating "clean: make you feel better. I answered in the context of what my experience is. Period. The term "whole foods" I use to refer to vegetables, greens and foods from a garden or farm. I use protein powder because I like it, it helps complete certain needs and is convenient. I also love tempeh, tofu or edamame. Hemp tofu ( Tempt) by the way is awesome. Its hard to find, I g see t it from a local healthful store- market.
There are usually underlying causes for not feeling good, that diet alone won't chhange- until you identify the reasons. Then food can be used many times to assist in helping and healing. Food has been used for thousands of years as medicine. In Chinese medicine, sugar is sometimes what is needed to cure. What matters is your body and what it needs.
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So you define "eating clean" as "eating in a way that makes you feel better". So, eating in a way that makes you feel better will make you feel better.
I agree.
This goes back to my first reply: identify what makes you feel worse in order to take steps toward feeling better. Eggs make me feel bad physically, so by that definition, they're unclean. Nuts make me feel bad mentally because I usually overeat them, so they're unclean. Ice cream every now and then (usually only in the summer) makes me feel good and I'm not really tempted to overeat it, so it's clean. I'm all for customizing your diet to your needs and wants.
By your definition, almost everyone who replied to this thread is a clean eater. We have vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, and we have people like me who think instant ramen is one of the cleanest foods on earth because it's portion-controlled and satisfying and had saved my calorie allowance more than once during big projects when I had to work extreme hours. Many of those who replied have found a way to balance their food intake in a way that helps them feel better mentally and physically, but there are so many variations of what makes people feel better that you can't really make a consistent set of rules under a single term.
The problem with nebulous terms is that everyone interprets them the way they want. When you have a name (especially one that carries moral connotations) you expect a certain set of rules that frame that name. If they don't exist you make them up (generic "you"). If someone else asks you, you tell them your own set of rules which may or may not be a good fit for them. They may feel tempted to follow those rules (or even make up their own rigid rules) because "clean" sounds better, purer, and more moral than simply "eat a diet that helps you meet your physical, mental, and social needs". The latter does not give you a set of rules, and you know that any rules you have for yourself are flexible and can be bent or changed if something changes.7 -
AnnPT77 EXcellent answer, thank you.
amusedmonkey- same So (basically) we are in agreement. My answer did not articulate the way It should have, my first answer was based on reactions from previous posts. It probably ws further fueled by the 3 on line courses for continuing educaton based on Clinical Integrated medicine, Science of Natural remedies and recent interventions.
In my profession I have daily doses of peole coming to me with thier interpretations which again are just like you are describing- some big new thing that is the latest psuedo science, marketing, etc. Unfortunately good intentions and enthusiasm leave a person in same place, stuck or totally an advocate. I am actually glad to read there are people in this group who do more than just count calories ( which do matter too...lol)
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AnnPT77 EXcellent answer, thank you.
amusedmonkey- same So (basically) we are in agreement. My answer did not articulate the way It should have, my first answer was based on reactions from previous posts. It probably ws further fueled by the 3 on line courses for continuing educaton based on Clinical Integrated medicine, Science of Natural remedies and recent interventions.
In my profession I have daily doses of peole coming to me with thier interpretations which again are just like you are describing- some big new thing that is the latest psuedo science, marketing, etc. Unfortunately good intentions and enthusiasm leave a person in same place, stuck or totally an advocate. I am actually glad to read there are people in this group who do more than just count calories ( which do matter too...lol)
I totally agree with you. People are prone to swinging to extremes (in any direction). Attaching labels such as clean eating would only facilitate that. It also pushes people to think in terms of single foods, single macros, single ingredients, or even single meals. This makes things harder for them instead of looking at their diet as a whole and flexibly balancing it.
As an example, these are the macros of my breakfast today:
If you look at it without seeing the foods many will think it has to be a junk meal. If you get 50 clean eaters in a room and show them that screenshot you will hear at least one of the following:
- My entire day's worth of carbs in one meal?
- Look at all the sugar!
- That's too much fat for one meal
- How is it healthy to eat this much saturated fat?
- You had TRANS FAT???
These are the foods that I had for this meal:
Depending on the person's definition of clean eating you will probably hear at least one of the following:
- You eat full fat dairy?
- You eat white bread?
- Dairy is not good for you
- Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable and those are not good for you
- Feta has too much sodium
Here is the nutrition of this one meal, which makes up less than 1/5 of my daily calorie allowance:
Less than 1/5 of my calories and more than 1/3 of my nutrient needs. I'd say I can afford white bread. I can also meet my nutrient needs and afford chocolate or ice cream or whatever else people consider "bad". I don't have high blood pressure so I can afford sodium, not to mention that this is one meal. I'm perfectly capable of looking at it and thinking "maybe I should have less sodium for lunch and dinner".
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the question was also asking "if it made you feel better" I just used myself as an example to share how much a diet of vegetables, plants and less processed over all did make me feel better.
I can talk science if you want. Bottom line is - medically speaking- yes food that helps health is based on factual scientific evidence. It can make yo feel better.
" Eating a double cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds 3-4 times a week will increase longevity in people who have high blood pressure and reduced symptoms of depression " said no Health and wellness professional ever. "Switching to a mediterranean diet has profound affect on diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease' -yup. "Children with seazures have showed theraputic improvement with a low sugar and higher fat diet." yup
Bottom line, food matters.
The question was asking when does changing the diet make you feel better. It takes time and if it has more than just a food related reason then that needs to be undrstood. Eating the wrong clean foods doesnt help either.
Except you are arguing against a strawman here - nobody was saying food doesn't matter or that it doesn't help health.
Nobody at all.
Of course people who eat a very nutrionally poor diet are likely to have health issues and of course if you have a medical reason to avoid something, do so.
Nobody disputed that.
That doesn't change what I said about your definition of what processed foods fit into clean eating seems rather arbitrary and what feels better for you individually " using myself as an example" does not have universal application - ie not much relevance for other people, like OP, for example.
And I don't think there is any such thing as 'the wrong clean foods' - mainly because, as already pointed out, the term clean foods is so arbitrary and no foods are wrong anyway ( barring allergies etc)
The dosage matters and the overall diet matters - but individual wrong foods - nope.
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paperpudding wrote: »The point was that the decision on whether a processed food is bad, in your words, seems totally arbitrary.
and I dont think the question was share what you individually like to eat, that has no universal application.
(cant see need for this defensive prefacing what you are saying with" I dont care if I get disagrees!" either)
Yeah, if so, anyone who eats in a way that makes them feel good -- which is probably most of us in this thread -- gets to define their diet as clean. Yay, we are all clean eaters.
Again, I think in reality the only purpose people have in using the term is to try to claim that their diet is superior than others, to virtue signal in some way.
Maybe saying one eats a nutritious diet also does that to some degree, but it ALSO is based on some real and explicable reasons. I can explain why I think one diet is more nutritious than another, if that's in fact true. You can't do that with the "clean" thing. The usual definition is "not processed" and typically that's just false. And I still see zero value in NEVER eating a cookie (but eating protein bars) vs. occasionally having a cookie within the context of a great overall diet, assuming you feel good doing the latter, and I don't believe that just having an occasional cookie would make the vast majority of people feel like garbage or whatever is claimed by those touting clean eating as superior.5 -
Bottom line, food matters.
The question was asking when does changing the diet make you feel better. It takes time and if it has more than just a food related reason then that needs to be undrstood. Eating the wrong clean foods doesnt help either.
Nope -- no one here has denied that diet matters. The question was whether "eating clean" as defined by whatever "clean eating guru" was making the claim, since invariably people who decide that eating clean is magic are reading articles from someone pushing a particular way of eating "clean."
If you look back at my first post in this thread, as well as those of others, we all said that we thinking eating a nutrient sufficient and healthy diet often affects health, and none of us pretended that would be a controversial opinion that garners lots of dislikes. (And as I noted, it is in fact true that there are those who will claim the McDonald's burger as "clean" so long as you avoid the bun and ketchup). That's because it fits their preferred way of eating and what they claim are the "bad" processed foods (this would be from an anti carb POV).)
You seem to me to be claiming that if one cares about nutrition one uses the term clean, and anyone who doesn't doesn't care about how they eat or having a healthful diet, and that false. I find that on average those with the best understanding of nutrition don't use the term clean and also understand that diet is about including certain foods in the diet for sufficient nutrition, not overeating, and moderation with lower nutrient foods -- not all or nothing thinking such as that any diet is good if you don't eat whatever the bad foods are (as defined by the clean eater) and any diet that includes any of them is bad and harmful.8 -
This is why it's usually best to just set a calorie target, hit it consistently, and exercise if you can. Most everything else is debatable.
One person's processed food is another person's revered staple that's enabling them to stay on track and lose 30 or 50 or 100 lbs, which dwarfs the ingredients list on a label as far as health impact is concerned.8 -
This is why it's usually best to just set a calorie target, hit it consistently, and exercise if you can. Most everything else is debatable.
One person's processed food is another person's revered staple that's enabling them to stay on track and lose 30 or 50 or 100 lbs, which dwarfs the ingredients list on a label as far as health impact is concerned.
So true! And that's why the base of the "healthy nutrition" pyramid is/should be appropriate caloric balance and activity/exercise!5 -
Yesterday's evening meal - clean or unclean?
Homemade dish of pasta and sauce. Homemade = clean? Perhaps.
White pasta (shock horror!) - it's a white starchy carb therefore unclean, came in a package from the wrong part of a store = unclean, unclean. And of course it must completely negate the whole grains I had earlier in the day because that's the evil power of white carbs!!!! I fully expect to die sometime today. And of course I'll die heavier despite the overall calorie deficit for the day because.... Erm, because something scary written on the internet?
Tomato based sauce. Tomatoes = clean but sorry they came in a can from wrong part of the store. Two unclean ticks of course tip the balance. Filthy, filthy tomatoes.
Lentils - peas so clean, single ingredient so doubly clean. But again they have been processed, packaged and found in the wrong part of the store. Three unclean ticks to two clean ticks must completely negate all the nutrition in lentils.
Courgettes, carrots, mushrooms, onion, celery, garlic. Yep all those are clean. Or are they as the celery and mushrooms had some packaging? Surely that packaging must have somehow changed the contents? At least they came from the right part of the store though. Does mixing a load of single ingredients together now exceed the limit on ingredients in a sauce to qualify as clean. Also if someone can't pronounce courgette does that make it unclean too?
Parmesan cheese. Far too tasty and enjoyable to be clean, definitely processed and salty as well. Pretty sure salt is regarded as unclean despite being an essential electrolyte.6
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