Do I HAVE to eat salmon and broccolli?

caity165

Hey everyone,

I'm in a good place right now and finally ready to lose the weight - I have 30lbs to go and may decide to drop a further 10 when I get there.

But I have issues.

In the past I've tried eating as clean as possible - think lean meats, eggs, greek yogurt, berries, nuts, vegetables. But I ALWAYS give in to my craving for a Chinese, and spiral downward from there. Eating so healthy is just too overwhelming (I've even tried the 'small changes' thing, but they never seem to stick).

So, what I'm wondering is, if I keep track of my calories, can I be a bit more flexible with what I eat?

Now, for the record, I'm NOT saying I'm going to eat 1500 calories worth of burgers, chips and chocolate. Just to clear that up.

But sometimes, a day might look like this:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs (160 calories), wholewheat toast (100 calories), butter (50 calories), mocha light frappuccino (150 calories)

Lunch: BBQ chicken wrap from cafe (400 calories)

Dinner: Subway (400 calories) - on the go

Late night snack after dance class - diet coke, chicken nuggets (300 calories)

Total: 1500 calories.

This is not perfect eating - I've got fast food and starbucks in amongst the lean protein and wholegrains. But, I've hit my calorie target for the day and it's not sooo bad.

I'm just thinking if something like this is better to strive for, than clean eating all the time, which I never seem to be able to sustain. The above is maintainable, whilst not perfect.

What do you all think? How do you strike the right balance?

chellycakes

My day looks similar.. Remember this is a lifestyle change, ya gotta find something ya can stick with!! Not many people can eat 'clean' 100% of the time! Even if you eat Chinese or binge, it's just one day!! Don't let one 'mistake' ruin everything!

Poofy_Goodness

You can find success eating whatever food you want as long as you hit your calorie goal and your macro-nutrient goal.

SupermanRitz

I was good until I got to the chicken nuggets and diet coke, I cringed a little. You don't have to eat perfect all the time but something like that is taking it past loosening up a little. If you were to eat something like that, especially as late as you say, you're going to undo a lot of hard work. I'd suggest changing that one meal to something cleaner and you should be fine. Most days I eat close to 3 tablespoons on Nutter Butter

avskk

You don't HAVE to do anything but pay taxes and die.

That food day doesn't look terrible to me; if it's sustainable for you and helps you meet your goals then go for it. There are no food police waiting to clap you in irons.

ren_ascent

If it works for you do it. That is all.

caity165

But I'm not sure how it's undoing my hard work - I stayed within my calorie goal. And a calorie is a calorie no matter what time of day.

susannamarie

Doesn't look terrible. Getting the calories under control is the most important thing.

richardheath

This is why I hate the whole "clean eating" fad!

There are NO foods that should be totally off limits (medical reasons excluded) if it means you cannot stick to it. Why do people feel they have to punish themselves to do this?

Eat a balanced diet. Set a reasonable calorie goal and meet it over the course of a week (single days can be higher or lower). Eat foods that allow you to get to your micronutrient goals. Eat a variety of foods so you hit your macronutrient goals.

That's it.

Allow yourself to eat Chinese once in a while if you like it. Eat chicken nuggets. Salmon is icky. Just make it fit.

This doesn't have to be so complicated people!

sarrah_n

I might swap the chicken nuggets for some fruit and yogurt (some nutrients that were lower in the day), then call it a day! I don't follow any type of clean eating plan, but rather what I feel is "SMART" eating. I had Burger King last week and didn't feel bad about it. But I DID need to plan accordingly earlier in the day to get in a good amount of higher quality. nutritious foods.

PS- I eat meal 5 at roughly 9:30pm every day with no problems

marypatmccue

There isn't anything wrong with chicken nuggets and diet coke -- I see no reason to exclude them. Hit your calorie and macro goal and you should be fine.

godhorse

.

vwbug86

Here is a great post from the forums http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

clambert1273

I was good until I got to the chicken nuggets and diet coke, I cringed a little. You don't have to eat perfect all the time but something like that is taking it past loosening up a little. If you were to eat something like that, especially as late as you say, you're going to undo a lot of hard work. I'd suggest changing that one meal to something cleaner and you should be fine. Most days I eat close to 3 tablespoons on Nutter Butter

no it won't. I have seen many people on here that eat what they want and still lose and have great bodies. I personally have Ben & Jerry's ice cream just about daily - otherwise I would eat the whole container and feel deprived.

All moderation - I drink a lot of water throughout the day and still have my diet coke at night It is up to the OP how she chooses to handle her weight loss as well as be comfortable in that pursuit. Just like her, I tried the "clean" eating (whatever that is) and to be quite hones- it sucked. I hated every minute of it. Now, I enjoy what I am doing...

So more power to her. I would suggest, if you stall then re-evaluate where you are and where you want to go

Mokey41

I eat crap all the time and have maintained for 3 years now. As long as you stay in a calorie range it really doesn't matter and eating chicken nuggets at night isn't going to undo any hard work.

caity165

Godhorse - I'm not obese.

clambert1273

I eat crap all the time and have maintained for 3 years now. As long as you stay in a calorie range it really doesn't matter and eating chicken nuggets at night isn't going to undo any hard work.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :drinker:

MakePeasNotWar

Depends on your goal. If you just want to lose weight, all you need is a caloric deficit and you'll lose.

If you want to be healthy, you need to make sure you are meeting your protein needs, and getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need most days, if not every day. I don't know if the chicken wrap or Subway meals have vegetables in them, but if not, I would be worried about vitamin and mineral intake. Some fruit would be a good addition too.

It's not just about cutting out what you don't need. You need to make sure you are getting what you do need as well.

bumblebreezy91

The only thing you HAVE to do to lose weight is eat at a deficit.

3foldchord

I lost my weight by eating at a deficit and getting plenty of protein. Not clean or paleo, or anything.

Siansonea

I eat crap all the time and have maintained for 3 years now. As long as you stay in a calorie range it really doesn't matter and eating chicken nuggets at night isn't going to undo any hard work.

This. But for me, it's Taco Bell, not chicken nuggets. I don't get where people think that if you eat certain foods, you just swell up like the Michelin Man. It's a numbers game. Your body is ready to process as much biomass as you want to throw at it, but the caloric quantity of the biomass is much more important from a weight loss perspective than the "quality". Or should I say perceived quality. There is very little difference between many so-called clean foods and their "processed" counterparts, when you remember that your stomach is an acid-filled food dissolver. Compared to the garbage people ate for the first million years of human evolution (and the eons of evolution that led to humans), we eat pretty high "quality" stuff these days, even the chicken nuggets. Very little in the way of harmful bacteria and maggots 'n such, for one thing. :drinker:

Cindyinpg

I eat crap all the time and have maintained for 3 years now. As long as you stay in a calorie range it really doesn't matter and eating chicken nuggets at night isn't going to undo any hard work.

Yep! I eat ice cream everyday, sometimes Poptarts, chips, hamburgers, Subway, cake.... tomorrow I'm going to the movies and having popcorn, M&M's and licorice goodies.... And I've lost 125lbs eating like that. :bigsmile:

jonnythan

On Saturday I had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and McDonald's for lunch and dinner. Pretty awesome.

judyde

This is why I hate the whole "clean eating" fad!

There are NO foods that should be totally off limits (medical reasons excluded) if it means you cannot stick to it. Why do people feel they have to punish themselves to do this?

Eat a balanced diet. Set a reasonable calorie goal and meet it over the course of a week (single days can be higher or lower). Eat foods that allow you to get to your micronutrient goals. Eat a variety of foods so you hit your macronutrient goals.

That's it.

Allow yourself to eat Chinese once in a while if you like it. Eat chicken nuggets. Salmon is icky. Just make it fit.

This doesn't have to be so complicated people!

^I agree with this. I would suggest adding a multivitamin (I love the gummy ones!) to get your vitamins. I don't see a lot of veggies in that sample diary. Otherwise, just eat sensibly and don't deprive yourself or you won't be able to stick with it. If you want to eat clean, take a shower before you eat. :-)

TheRealParisLove

I go back and forth, I'll eat clean for a while, then I fall off the wagon and eat whatever for a while. Now that my weight is up almost 7 pounds, I'm back to eating clean.

Gaining the weight is damn easy. Losing the weight isn't very difficult. Keeping it off is really, really hard.

bumblebreezy91

This is why I hate the whole "clean eating" fad!

There are NO foods that should be totally off limits (medical reasons excluded) if it means you cannot stick to it. Why do people feel they have to punish themselves to do this?

Eat a balanced diet. Set a reasonable calorie goal and meet it over the course of a week (single days can be higher or lower). Eat foods that allow you to get to your micronutrient goals. Eat a variety of foods so you hit your macronutrient goals.

That's it.

Allow yourself to eat Chinese once in a while if you like it. Eat chicken nuggets. Salmon is icky. Just make it fit.

This doesn't have to be so complicated people!

^I agree with this. I would suggest adding a multivitamin (I love the gummy ones!) to get your vitamins. I don't see a lot of veggies in that sample diary. Otherwise, just eat sensibly and don't deprive yourself or you won't be able to stick with it. If you want to eat clean, take a shower before you eat. :-)

^All of this! All of it! :drinker:

jonnythan

I go back and forth, I'll eat clean for a while, then I fall off the wagon and eat whatever for a while. Now that my weight is up almost 7 pounds, I'm back to eating clean.

This, friends, is the exact reason you shouldn't eat clean. It leads directly to yoyo dieting.

Eat a restrictive diet, you lose weight, but eventually fall back into old eating patterns and it comes right back. While eating "clean" you do not learn how to fit the foods you actually love into a healthy diet.

You should learn to integrate those "unclean" foods you love into your normal diet. Maybe that way you'll be able to keep the weight off.

Cindyinpg

I go back and forth, I'll eat clean for a while, then I fall off the wagon and eat whatever for a while. Now that my weight is up almost 7 pounds, I'm back to eating clean.

This, friends, is the exact reason you shouldn't eat clean. It leads directly to yoyo dieting.

Eat a restrictive diet, you lose weight, but eventually fall back into old eating patterns and it comes right back. While eating "clean" you do not learn how to fit the foods you actually love into a healthy diet.

You should learn to integrate those "unclean" foods you love into your normal diet. Maybe that way you'll be able to keep the weight off.

My thoughts exactly. I used to be the same way. Eat clean for a few months, lose weight, go crazy with deprivation, binge, gain weight..... It was a vicious circle. Now, I have the best of both worlds and it's a sustainable lifestyle, not a miserable diet. :drinker:

twixlepennie

There isn't anything wrong with chicken nuggets and diet coke -- I see no reason to exclude them. Hit your calorie and macro goal and you should be fine.

This.

While losing weight I counted calories and ate the foods I normally did- fast food several times a week, lots of lean cuisines, 'diet' foods etc. Lost the weight with no problem and transitioned into maintenance. That's when I got sucked into the whole 'clean' eating thing and I became obsessive about what kinds of food I was eating. Things I enjoyed were not allowed anymore and I began eating things I hated, just because it was 'healthy/clean'. It was exhausting and stressful.

Thing is-my blood work didn't magically change for the better when I started eating 'clean', I didn't start feeling better, looking better etc. I'm coming off of that now, after realizing how crappy of a way that is to live. Now I'm back to enjoying the foods I like, watching calories and aiming to hit my macros.

Eat what you enjoy eating, count calories and work on hitting your macros. Really, it's that simple

Francl27

Eating what you want within your calories is the best way to learn good eating habits IMO. It might not be the 'healthiest' but who cares? It's a lifestyle change. It teaches you how to eat in moderation, so that you can keep it up for the rest of your life. IMO it's what matters.

I don't eat clean. I eat ice cream, chocolate, cookies, too many protein bars, but in moderation. I just stay under my calories and try to reach 110g of protein every day... after that, whatever! Heck I had cheesecake for my lunch last week.

Enjoy your Chinese food.

jillianash

I was good until I got to the chicken nuggets and diet coke, I cringed a little. You don't have to eat perfect all the time but something like that is taking it past loosening up a little. If you were to eat something like that, especially as late as you say, you're going to undo a lot of hard work. I'd suggest changing that one meal to something cleaner and you should be fine. Most days I eat close to 3 tablespoons on Nutter Butter

No! Just eat within your calories! eat your chicken Nuggets if you want to!

Plus when you eat doesn't really matter. I use to not eat past 7pm RELIGIOUSLY and i never ever lost weight. EVER. its BS.
Now I eat at 9pm almost every night and i am losing weight.

Do what works for you. Its your Body and your life.