Do I have to eat 100% clean to lose weight?

EHisCDN

The short answer is no. A calorie deficit will cause weight loss, regardless of what you eat. For me personally I still eat some "junk" (although I'm trying to get out of the habit of labelling food as good or bad, it's just food!) but I find "healthy" foods leave me feeling more satisfied, and in general I feel better for eating them. I also happen to love to cook so making healthy foods at home is no problem. And I love veggies!

starvinkevin

Thanks for the input guys. I guess the consensus is you can lose weight eating junk but its not optimal for health. Anyway I got another confirmation this is true - I lost 2.2 lbs from yesterday morning and 1.6 lbs from my lowest point last week. I ate junk food for about half my meals every day but I made sure to track them accurately and burn off the excess through cardio. I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing as eating healthy all the time is unsustainable for me.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Thanks for the input guys. I guess the consensus is you can lose weight eating junk but its not optimal for health. Anyway I got another confirmation this is true - I lost 2.2 lbs from yesterday morning and 1.6 lbs from my lowest point last week. I ate junk food for about half my meals every day but I made sure to track them accurately and burn off the excess through cardio. I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing as eating healthy all the time is unsustainable for me.

I will tell the honest truth about my weight loss -- I ate a lot of "junk" food. All kinds from candy/chips to lunch meat/canned soups to fast food to soda. I lost about 40 pounds. I fluctuate up and down 5 pounds -- I have kept it off for about 10 years now. With time, I started eating more "clean" it was a completely natural progression for, my taste buds changed . I still eat lunch meat, McDonald's and drink pop though -- just less now. I never thought of them as "bad". For the longest time, I never worked out either. Then I found myself wanting to. All of these changes came easier because they were spread out and didn't feel terrible and forced.

You will find success in doing what you find to be sustainable and you will have success. How anyone else achieves their goals is basically irrelevant. Good luck to you.

Myhaloslipped

You do not have to eat 100% clean however just creating a calorie deficit will not help your goal. The timing of when you eat bad food can be helpful to your cause. Look into carb backloading. It is a fun way to lose get lean and eat what you want

^not this.

Rai007

No
but when u have less to eat you want to eat good to stay satisfied and fuller
with that said u can still trade junk with clean
a calorie is a calorie
your macros will be fine but micros i dont think
(aldo i am no science student to know about macros/micros)