CLEAN EATING? JOIN ME

GingerLolita

I try to eat mostly clean. I don't adhere to any specific definition of clean eating or try to follow it 100% of the time because that is very difficult to sustain, but I emphasize whole foods and cook most of my food. I've been very busy lately, so I'm trying to make more time for cooking again and trying out some recipes for cookies and granola bars so I don't have to buy pre-packaged stuff as often.

seliinac

This. And it IS sustainable. Many of us on here have been doing it for years (I've been doing it for over a decade).
If you decide you want to eat healthier foods while on this journey DO IT. There is no downside to it.

There is a downside to it. Compliance is an issue for many people. If compliance suffers, feelings of guilt and failure follow. It also makes it more difficult to eat in social situations.

Don't pretend there are "no downsides."

Feelings of guilt and failure do not necessarily follow. It's all depends upon your attitude. We are all not 'black and white'. Many people are more flexible and forgiving of themselves than you give them credit for.

jonnythan

This. And it IS sustainable. Many of us on here have been doing it for years (I've been doing it for over a decade).
If you decide you want to eat healthier foods while on this journey DO IT. There is no downside to it.

There is a downside to it. Compliance is an issue for many people. If compliance suffers, feelings of guilt and failure follow. It also makes it more difficult to eat in social situations.

Don't pretend there are "no downsides."

I guess I could understand the downsides to 'clean eating' -and if you are a bit obsessive compulsive- it could lead to disordered eating patterns. But I feel like this can happen even just calorie counting if that is the type of personality you have.I mean calories can be demonized just as well as food don't you think?

Yes, calories absolutely can be demonized. Which is why it's so important to set appropriate calorie and nutrient goals and focus on meeting them.

That's what's important at the end of the day: actually achieving proper nutrient and energy intake. Not whether the food you ate was clean or paleo or whatever else the buzzword of the day is. What matters is giving your body enough but not too much in terms of nutrients and calories.

sullus

i want to try clean eating. i can only do it until thanksigving but then well, i have to skip thanksigivng and get back on eating clean after that until xmas LOL. cant miss my aunts yummy meal! but i think this would really help me lose a few extra over the next few weeks

Most things in a thanksgiving dinner are arguably clean.

ndj1979

i want to try clean eating. i can only do it until thanksigving but then well, i have to skip thanksigivng and get back on eating clean after that until xmas LOL. cant miss my aunts yummy meal! but i think this would really help me lose a few extra over the next few weeks

clean eating will not help you lose weight faster..

Eating in a calorie deficit will lead to weight loss.

So if you want to lose weight, create a 500 cal per day deficit and maintain it over the long term...and you can still have you thanksgiving and xmas blow out...

True that you need a calorie deficit to lose weight, but if you are only clean eating you tend to get fuller off less calories than usual. People get confused when others say its all about calories, because they suddenly think processed **** is great because it has 90calories. But a granola bar at 90 calories wont fill you up any more than a serving of baby carrots at 30 calories, so in a sense.....eating clean alone will cause you to lose weight.

only if you are in a calorie deficit..

If I eat "clean" foods in excess of my maintenance calories then I will gain weight.

CollieFit

I fail to understand why some people can't just live and let live.

An OP starts a harmless thread on wanting to find like-minded people fof support and immediately arrives the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

Please don't attempt to convince anyone that you're providing this service for the benefit of the OP, out of some misguided concern for whether her approach is "sustainable" in your usually not so humble opinion or not. You're just doing it to validate your own approach and because you like to hear the sound of your own voice.

She's an adult and can make up her own mind about what she wants to eat, so why try to talk her out of finding like-minded others only because it's not what you chose?? :huh:

Holly_Roman_Empire

I just can't do the whole clean eating thing. Number one, I've never met two people with the same definition of it, and number two, I don't understand why anyone would want to deprive themselves unnecessarily. Why on earth would a person who likes ice cream, pizza and apple pie (or whatever) decide to ELIMINATE those delicious things when those things, indeed ALL foods, can be incorporated moderately into a healthy weight loss plan. Why eat clean for a few weeks, then drop it for Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas and so on? Why not have a flexible plan that you can sustain EVERY day of your life?


Edited: for spelling. Up too early here. :ohwell:

This exactly. I can't seem to find anyone that agrees on what it means. Besides that, I just hate the term "clean". It gives a negative connotation to every other food like it's dirty or messy or something. After making a batch of homemade brownies that clean eaters can't enjoy, the only thing messy or dirty about it is my kitchen countertop! :happy:

jonnythan

the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

That's extremely unfair. No one told the OP to eat anything in particular, let alone Pop Tarts.

Let me repeat my first post in the thread, for both you and the OP:

It's really tough to sustain "clean eating" for any length of time. It's important you understand that it's not necessary for health and weight loss. If you start to find it difficult or you eventually give in to your desires and eat some "unclean" food, please realize that's not a failure. What's important for your weight loss is to hit your calorie goal, not how clean your food is.

A lot of people dislike "clean eating" because it demonizes foods that are perfectly healthy and sets people up for failure when they eat something unclean.

faradaysdream

Sorry, I don't know how to do quotes but you said you were diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis...which is directly caused by environmental food choices. I don't know where you came up with that because I too have Pan U.C and I have been in remission for almost 8 years now. Up until last month I lived on McDonald's and junk and it never effected my UC....they don't know what causes Colitis., In my case, it has nothing to do with foods, it has to do with stress!

I'm sorry that you have Pan UC...doesn't sound like fun

If eating McD's works for you, great

It doesn't work for me.

faradaysdream

I fail to understand why some people can't just live and let live.

An OP starts a harmless thread on wanting to find like-minded people fof support and immediately arrives the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

Please don't attempt to convince anyone that you're providing this service for the benefit of the OP, out of some misguided concern for whether her approach is "sustainable" in your usually not so humble opinion or not. You're just doing it to validate your own approach and because you like to hear the sound of your own voice.

She's an adult and can make up her own mind about what she wants to eat, so why try to talk her out of finding like-minded others only because it's not what you chose?? :huh:

This thread is depressing me and making me not want to participate in these forums

FerretBuellerr

It's really tough to sustain "clean eating" for any length of time.

I have to disagree with you one that one, to an extend. It's only tough when you don't make time to cook meals from scratch instead of from a box or a drive-through, or when you crave something that you associate as being "un-clean." Pizza, cheeseburgers, ice cream, cake, etc. etc. CAN be "clean" foods - it's all in the preparation of it. At least that's (mostly) how I define clean eating myself.

A lot of people dislike "clean eating" because it demonizes foods that are perfectly healthy and sets people up for failure when they eat something unclean.

Honestly, if someone is going to cry and call themselves a failure and flip out for eating something they define as un-clean, then they are taking it wayyyyyyyy too seriously and need to loosen up. When I desperately crave McDonalds, I will go get McDonalds. Period. And I don't sit there and cry into my BigMac because it's full of preservatives and other junk that I don't really want to put into my body, I just enjoy it. The only guilt I feel is knowing I could have made my own healthier dinner at home, but I was too lazy to do so. Guilty of laziness, that's all! :laugh:

Also, calling fast-food (or processed, whatever) healthy is...a bit of an oxymoron. If you can explain to me why, for example, eating a Big Mac meal with fries and a pop is just as healthy as eating a home-prepared chicken-breat with fresh vegetables, then I will stand corrected. I definetly enjoy both and am not afraid to, but I would prefer the latter.

ndj1979

I fail to understand why some people can't just live and let live.

An OP starts a harmless thread on wanting to find like-minded people fof support and immediately arrives the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

Please don't attempt to convince anyone that you're providing this service for the benefit of the OP, out of some misguided concern for whether her approach is "sustainable" in your usually not so humble opinion or not. You're just doing it to validate your own approach and because you like to hear the sound of your own voice.

She's an adult and can make up her own mind about what she wants to eat, so why try to talk her out of finding like-minded others only because it's not what you chose?? :huh:

right so we are all jerks for giving our opinion on a public forum?

All we are trying to say is that you do not have to eliminate whole food groups, label foods as "good" or bad", or "clean" and "unclean" to lose weight..

Just eat in a calorie deficit, work out, eat reasonably healthy, hit your macros, and you will be on your way ...

seliinac

I fail to understand why some people can't just live and let live.

An OP starts a harmless thread on wanting to find like-minded people fof support and immediately arrives the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

Please don't attempt to convince anyone that you're providing this service for the benefit of the OP, out of some misguided concern for whether her approach is "sustainable" in your usually not so humble opinion or not. You're just doing it to validate your own approach and because you like to hear the sound of your own voice.

She's an adult and can make up her own mind about what she wants to eat, so why try to talk her out of finding like-minded others only because it's not what you chose?? :huh:

right so we are all jerks for giving our opinion on a public forum?

All we are trying to say is that you do not have to eliminate whole food groups, label foods as "good" or bad", or "clean" and "unclean" to lose weight..

Just eat in a calorie deficit, work out, eat reasonably healthy, hit your macros, and you will be on your way ...

OP did not ask for anyone's opinion. She asked for like-minded friends. She also did not ask for advice on losing weight.

jonnythan

Honestly, if someone is going to cry and call themselves a failure and flip out for eating something they define as un-clean, then they are taking it wayyyyyyyy too seriously and need to loosen up.

It happens ALL THE TIME. People go on restrictive diets and then when they eat something unapproved they feel like a failure. Often they binge on that food.

And even if that doesn't happen, once they meet their goals and go off the restrictive diet they fall directly back into old eating habits and put the weight right back on.

Restrictive diets are the primarily culprit behind failed diets and yo-yo dieting.

The proper thing to do is what you have done: learn how to fit the "unclean" or "bad" or "unapproved" foods into your diet in a responsible way. That is precisely why my first post in this thread cautioned the OP not to fall into the "bad food = failure" trap.

paleojoe

OP did not ask for anyone's opinion. She asked for like-minded friends. She also did not ask for advice on losing weight.

Hi!

Im trying to do this clean eating thingy... Anyone else do it and want to be friends!? Add me

I have a nice group of supportive MFP Friends already im just looking for like-minded attempting clean eating people to steer me in the right direction as im new to it all!

Lots of Love
Jodie x

Just to refresh everybody...

ndj1979

I fail to understand why some people can't just live and let live.

An OP starts a harmless thread on wanting to find like-minded people fof support and immediately arrives the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

Please don't attempt to convince anyone that you're providing this service for the benefit of the OP, out of some misguided concern for whether her approach is "sustainable" in your usually not so humble opinion or not. You're just doing it to validate your own approach and because you like to hear the sound of your own voice.

She's an adult and can make up her own mind about what she wants to eat, so why try to talk her out of finding like-minded others only because it's not what you chose?? :huh:

right so we are all jerks for giving our opinion on a public forum?

All we are trying to say is that you do not have to eliminate whole food groups, label foods as "good" or bad", or "clean" and "unclean" to lose weight..

Just eat in a calorie deficit, work out, eat reasonably healthy, hit your macros, and you will be on your way ...

OP did not ask for anyone's opinion. She asked for like-minded friends. She also did not ask for advice on losing weight.

well I will just stay out of the public forums from now on ...*rolls eyez*

Myhaloslipped

I fail to understand why some people can't just live and let live.

An OP starts a harmless thread on wanting to find like-minded people fof support and immediately arrives the "STFU and eat poptarts" crew.

Please don't attempt to convince anyone that you're providing this service for the benefit of the OP, out of some misguided concern for whether her approach is "sustainable" in your usually not so humble opinion or not. You're just doing it to validate your own approach and because you like to hear the sound of your own voice.

She's an adult and can make up her own mind about what she wants to eat, so why try to talk her out of finding like-minded others only because it's not what you chose?? :huh:

right so we are all jerks for giving our opinion on a public forum?

All we are trying to say is that you do not have to eliminate whole food groups, label foods as "good" or bad", or "clean" and "unclean" to lose weight..

Just eat in a calorie deficit, work out, eat reasonably healthy, hit your macros, and you will be on your way ...

OP did not ask for anyone's opinion. She asked for like-minded friends. She also did not ask for advice on losing weight.

well I will just stay out of the public forums from now on ...*rolls eyez*

lol please don't. When people post topics, your name is one of the ones I scroll to immediately to find sensible answers and suggestions.

da_bears10089

I just can't do the whole clean eating thing. Number one, I've never met two people with the same definition of it, and number two, I don't understand why anyone would want to deprive themselves unnecessarily. Why on earth would a person who likes ice cream, pizza and apple pie (or whatever) decide to ELIMINATE those delicious things when those things, indeed ALL foods, can be incorporated moderately into a healthy weight loss plan. Why eat clean for a few weeks, then drop it for Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas and so on? Why not have a flexible plan that you can sustain EVERY day of your life?


Edited: for spelling. Up too early here. :ohwell:

Your first point is spot on. I had a girl that was on my FL and she was putting in her food notes that she was on day 14 of clean eating, but she had pasta, quest bars and other sauces in her diary. I asked her about it and she got offended.

paleojoe

I just can't do the whole clean eating thing. Number one, I've never met two people with the same definition of it, and number two, I don't understand why anyone would want to deprive themselves unnecessarily. Why on earth would a person who likes ice cream, pizza and apple pie (or whatever) decide to ELIMINATE those delicious things when those things, indeed ALL foods, can be incorporated moderately into a healthy weight loss plan. Why eat clean for a few weeks, then drop it for Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas and so on? Why not have a flexible plan that you can sustain EVERY day of your life?


Edited: for spelling. Up too early here. :ohwell:

Your first point is spot on. I had a girl that was on my FL and she was putting in her food notes that she was on day 14 of clean eating, but she had pasta, quest bars and other sauces in her diary. I asked her about it and she got offended.

This is so true... to a person on the SAD diet, my diary would look very "clean". To a vegan, it would look very "dirty".

Solomino

I guess everyone has their triggers.