Clean Eating Bashing?

kelly_e_montana

So I notice lately it's pretty trendy to bash those who eat clean (whatever that means to them) or paleo. I know there are arguments on both sides of the fence regarding whether or not a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, with the body of research suggesting it is but newer research suggesting the types of calories do matter. Now, let's talk about something that is NOT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS!

For those who eat clean, do you do it strictly for weight loss?

For me, I eat clean because I've eaten at a deficit using processed foods and have eaten at a deficit eating more whole foods and I simply feel more energetic, get sick less often, and have less gastrointestinal problems when I eat cleaner. The issue is not about weight loss for me, it's about overall well-being.

Has anyone ever tried both and noticed no difference in how they feel? I'm just curious. I'm open to the possibility that my experience is not yours. :flowerforyou:

I also like the concept of eating clean because I think it indirectly or directly leads to a lot of behavior that is good for the sustainability of our food systems. In my quest to eat cleaner, I have gotten into growing my own food and that has been great exercise, a good stress release, and a great way to get more connected with my food (which in turn has helped with my eating disorder recovery). Eating clean takes me to farmers' markets where I get to buy local food and support local families. In some cases, I really do know my farmer because I am my farmer or I see them every week. Eating clean has decreased the number of pesticides I am taking in as well as contributing to the food system. By supporting local food, I am decreasing emissions that come from transporting food all over the world. I'm not 100 percent perfect at this. I do eat strawberries in the winter. However, every little bit helps.

Eating clean has gotten me to try foods that I would have never tried, leading to a greater diversity in my diet. Eating clean has taken me away from fast food places that strive for identical food products all the time. In striving for identical food products, we limit genetic diversity in our food system, and heirloom seed varieties go by the way side due to the shelf life of their products when shipped or lack of uniformity in the products they produce. In seeking identical products, we encouraged genetic modifications; the effects of GMOs through generational mutations cannot be known for decades. Identical products produce very strange and controversial commercial meat raising and processing practices in large industrial farms, stockyards,and meat packing facilities. Don't get me wrong. I love meat. But, I prefer to know the source of my meat through hunting or via the rancher that raised it.. Luckily, I live somewhere where this is possible.

So, do I think eating clean is better behavior for me and for the planet? Yes. But are you ready for it? Maybe not.

I guess I'm just making a plea to stop bashing those who eat cleaner and consider the wide range of reasons we might choose to eat cleaner than we once did. I'm not some overly zealous environmentalist. I just want to know and understand the food that fuels me and where it comes from. I am willing to participate directly in that process and I don't think it's appropriate to disparage those want to put more effort into their own health and the health of society just because you're not at that point.

P.S. Yes, I know how we eat is just one component of our health.

Kitship

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

kelly_e_montana

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

LOL I've said that "this is myfitness pal, not myweightlosspal" thing many times, too. :laugh:

DavPul

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

name three

cfredz

I am really glad you posted this so I dont have to haha. I totally agree. Before i started eating "clean" (the best that i can at least) i had so many stomach problems, ate fast food a lot, never went to the farmers market or bought fresh produce, everything was always frozen (not that theres anything wrong with that, but i do LOVE the farmers market, and i am actually spending LESS money than I was before) I am definitately a much happier person than I was at the beginning of the year. I try not to judge what other people eat and it really bothers me that people put down cleaning eating so much.

elleloch

I guess I don't really get the backlash at all. I eat mostly clean things (80/20) but it's a personal decision. I can't really get up in arms about what other people eat, as it has nothing to do with me or my own goals.

PikaKnight

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

Why does eating twinkies mean you aren't fit?

Hornsby

Subscribed for the conversation.

OP, I agree with you. I don't believe you "have" to eat clean to be healthy, but it definitely can't hurt. It does make me feel better as well when I eat clean. That being said, it could just be psychological as I have lost most my weight eating rather dirty at times.

I just don't see how on earth it can be good to eat something that can live in a can for a year and not spoil.

nytrifisoul

Its the people that insist that eating clean is the only way to lose weight and keep it off that cause the overall bashing. Same with vegans who look disgusted when someone orders a steak and go all animal activist on you. Those people ruined it for me.

kelly_e_montana

LOL There is a whole book dedicated to that topic called Twinkie Deconstructed. Read it if you're so inclined.
Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated into What America Eats Paperback
by Steve Ettlinger (Author)

BeachIron

In to hear more about these elusive standards of health that can't be objectively measured . . .

kyleekay10

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

name three

This

DavPul

this place definitely ain't named "MyScienceBasedFactsPal" either

pineapple_jojo

I feel massively better in my self since I cut out the junk. I was really run down and caught a lot of colds while eating processed foods at a deficit. I try to eat clean as much as I can manage - it's good for my health, my moods and better for the environment. It's also quite a lot cheaper than buying ready made foods.

Clean eating is a good thing as far as I'm concerned!

kelly_e_montana

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

Why does eating twinkies mean you aren't fit?

NO ONE SAID THAT! This is exactly what I'm talking about.

Kitship

I can only say this from personal experience, but I have more energy, perform better and basically don't feel like crap when I am eating *mostly* clean. To me, that is fitness. And this is after basically living off of fast food for years. I think OP's point is that there is no use in bashing people who eat clean because they see it as working towards fitness.

carrieo888

I think the bashing comes from the misnomer of "eating clean" and the people who like to wave their Eating Clean flags as if the rest of us are lesser beings for liking an occasional Twinkie.

I like that you make the distinction of eating "cleaner" and more "sustainably." It is essentially impossible to eat clean, given our environment. Not a drop of water, speck of soil or iota of air is clean; the environment is not clean, so you can not grow or produce anything that is truly clean. I'm no Greenie, or environmental activist, I just know that we've polluted every part of this planet so even "organic" foods are not as healthy for us as they would have been 100 years ago.

That said, I do agree that producing your own food, or supporting local growers/farmers, is the healthier thing to do, and I'm all for it.

I just really don't like the phrase "eating clean." But it's not all about me, afterall. :-D

cuinboston2014

I rarely eat clean in the way that you do - but I wish I did more of it. It is easier where I am in the summer to eat clean because I can grow my own veggies (I just started this year!) and it's easier to get to one of the many farmers markets we have. I do feel better the less processed junk I have. I, however, really struggle with meal prep since I'm on the go and don't make it a priority - hello protein bars!

I can imagine for me this is partly due to sodium intake. I absolutely LOVE salt. So I will add salt to everything. I have even just dumped salt on my finger to eat it a few times. So eating lots of processed food, combined with my sometimes lack of self control to not salt everything, causes me to ingest way more sodium that I need making me feel bloated and disgusting.

I also love that when I eat cleaner, I typically eat less calories and more nutrients. True, not everyone is here to lose weight as I am, but for me this is a HUGE benefit.

You have a great poitn with the meat. Sometimes when I think of what they do to chickens etc to plump them up I'm disgusted and don't even want to eat it. BUT - I'm not to the point of being more selective about my meat.

The thing on this site is that no matter what topic you post, someone is going to hate on it. And that's fine. Eating clean works for you and you have some awesome points for it!

I also love the feeling of community at the farmer's market. As corny as that sounds I really love going there.

I'm in school to be a Registered Dietitian and the facts surrounding processed food are horrendous. It may not even be the food itself but the habits that it encourages people to pick up!

kyleekay10

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

Why does eating twinkies mean you aren't fit?

NO ONE SAID THAT! This is exactly what I'm talking about.

It was implied that eating twinkes = not fit.

Still waiting on the three ways eating clean contributes more to fitness than eating "twinkies" or whatever else does.

mreeves261

Perhaps if the "clean eaters" on here weren't so elitist acting perhaps they would get a little more respect. I watched the clean eaters bash the crap out of IIFYM'ers on here for a while. As well as bashing anyone who didn't eat clean. If you aren't one of the people involved in that I apologize but you have to understand, this didn't just come out of no where.

Tis why I keep my eating habits to myself.

kelly_e_montana

Re: The Twinkies. The point is not what you don't eat. It's about what you do it. If you choose to have a Twinkie, fine. But why are people mad at people who choose to make their diet cleaner. It's fine if I have a Twinkie if I've already met my nutritional needs, from an individual perspective.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that many clean eaters are not just eating clean for themselves but because they care about food system sustainability. You don't have to be perfect to fall in the cleaner eating group.

dirty_dirty_eater

I've never bashed anyone who claims to eat clean.

I have challenged them to define it. (No two people have ever given the same definition.)

Without any clear definition of what it is, and with the claims for the health benefits (of whatever it is) being unsubstantiated, I think it's pretty clear that it doesn't even exist.

So, the concept I bash to the point of denying any meaningful existence.

The practitioners...I've never met them.

ril0riley

The thing is that posting on these forums isn't just about sharing anecdotes for a pat on the back-- when you talk about a diet or a fitness regimen or a lifestyle change or juice cleanse or voodoo ritual, you're advocating it to a community who might use your advice in an attempt to reach any of their goals.
Sure, bullying happens, and personal attacks suck but someone outlining why they believe a particular strategy ISN'T they right way to go doesn't mean they're bashing-- they're advocating their point, too.

Eat "clean" if you want, whatever that means for you. But don't worry if posting about it results in people asking you for more specific research or to more rigorously defend your point against some evidence to the contrary.

kelly_e_montana

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

Why does eating twinkies mean you aren't fit?

NO ONE SAID THAT! This is exactly what I'm talking about.

It was implied that eating twinkes = not fit.

Still waiting on the three ways eating clean contributes more to fitness than eating "twinkies" or whatever else does.

It was not implied. You inferred it.

3 Reasons: Meeting your nutritional needs before you eat exclusively snacks is on its face better for you or nutritional guidelines would not exist at all. Twinkies take a great deal of processing and transporting of ingredients to accomplish, which contributes to water and air pollution, neither or which are good for you. Twinkies contain a lot of corn-based ingredients which contribute to the mono-cropping of American and threaten the sustainability of the food system.

Do your own freaking research on Twinkies. You are lazy for making me do it for you.

I see some people on here that survive exclusively on fast food and I really don't want to pay for your Obamacare for you.

3dogsrunning

I've been on both sides. I've tried paleo a la the Whole 30 ( I do actually like to eat that way as it fills me up, keeps me full, I get lots of veggies and is an easy way for me to maintain a deficit, but the weight loss I experience is simply because I am not eating the type of foods I tend to over eat). I've done the "bodybuilder clean eating". I've done the whole "clean eating" (a la Tosca Reno), to the point of obsessive and have come out the other side.

My beef with "clean eating" is there is no clear definition of what that exactly is. Back when I started doing it, it meant lean meats, whole grains, dairy, and foods that have all natural ingredients. Now, I see a lot more people saying it is grassfed meat, no dairy or non-pasturized dairy, no grains, etc. It seems to have moved to a more paleo/primal definition. It rings true to the point that this article makes, the goal posts are always moving. Yesterday's "clean" food is now today's evil food.

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/

I have to say, hanging out in the clean eating recipe thread is always entertaining.

I do not believe in demonizing food. Yes, I believe that the majority of our food should be from whole foods, but I don't believe that processed food is the devil either.

The whole supporting local farms is a totally different topic, IMO. I also like to support local farms, sustainable production, etc.


The difference between the two - I don't notice a difference in how I feel.

Hestion

Ive said it before, veggies need washing before eating, so do some fruits, then its clean food ;-)

quiltlovinlisa

Meh, I'm all for folks doing whatever works for them.

Kitship

I agree! This is myFITNESSpal, not myWEIGHTLOSSpal. Eating clean contributes to fitness in more ways than eating twinkies at a deficit does.

Why does eating twinkies mean you aren't fit?

NO ONE SAID THAT! This is exactly what I'm talking about.

It was implied that eating twinkes = not fit.

Still waiting on the three ways eating clean contributes more to fitness than eating "twinkies" or whatever else does.

By eating twinkies at a deficit, I meant eating ONLY twinkies at a deficit. And as I mentioned before, this is from my personal experience only. Didn't mean to act like I know everything.

Phoenix_Warrior

Right, but don't put those people who eat differently than you down in the same manner you dislike the others putting paleo and "clean" eating down. This really isn't black and white. There is a grey area in between these two approaches that people find and I'm assuming is what a lot of the iifym people go by. You still need to eat balanced, you still have nutrients to reach your objectives but it doesn't mean completely turning away from a whole plethora of food because it's viewed as "bad". And, you can still be healthy... just my observation. I feel perfectly fine and perform well in day to day, as well as exercising throwing in a Mcwrap or a cup of ice cream into my diet. It's not as though the other side is saying "Fill up your day with bacon for greatness and lose weight!" it's, eat things you once enjoyed or DO enjoy but fit it into a balanced diet. Clean or paleo to an extreme CAN be unhealthy if you aren't balancing your nutrient needs. Do as you see fit but just because the opposite end wants a chance to chime in doesn't make them wrong. Being different isn't wrong.

ril0riley

The paleo folks do love their bacon

pineapple_jojo

Well said Phoenix!