eating clean and calorie counting

denaebrown1997
denaebrown1997 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
If I am eating clean and getting my necessary amounts of fat, protein, and carbs do I really have to count calories? I drink 4 fresh 16oz smoothies a day. and then one "cheat meal" I guess you could call it where it's not necessarily 100% healthy but its in the boundaries and nothing too crazy like a fast food meal. Should I be super focused on the calories since they are from healthy foods?

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    If your daily needs are, let's say, 2000 calories and you eat 2500 calories of "clean food" you'll gain weight. You can maybe be less focused than some, work on intuitive eating and learn to get really good at knowing how many calories are in certain things you eat often, but calories in v. calories out is what's to affect your weight. You may feel better eating "clean" food, so stick with it, but be cognizant of how much you're eating.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    If I am eating clean and getting my necessary amounts of fat, protein, and carbs do I really have to count calories? I drink 4 fresh 16oz smoothies a day. and then one "cheat meal" I guess you could call it where it's not necessarily 100% healthy but its in the boundaries and nothing too crazy like a fast food meal. Should I be super focused on the calories since they are from healthy foods?

    Of course not, clean calories don't cause fat gain
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Some people do very well with intuitive eating, but the truth is that most don't. We tend to be bad about forgetting we ate that snack or eyeballing portions that are twice the actual serving size. You're welcome to try it and see if you gain or lose without logging, but if you don't get the results you're looking for it's the first thing I'd suggest looking at. Even if it's just for a few weeks to establish a baseline.

    But if you're already counting your macros (fat, protein, carbs) then why not just track calories too?
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Your body doesn't care if you eat clean calories or not. A calorie is a calorie. If you don't know how many you take it then you have no idea if you're at a deficit. It's just as easy to overeat while eating "clean" or "healthy" as it is eating whatever the opposite of those is.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    On which planet?
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
    You don't HAVE to do anything. Be warned- while eating clean is a LOT healthier than eating processed foods, they still have calories and can be fattening. If you truly want to lose the 60lbs on your ticker, it would be advisable to track your calories. Calories are a measurement of energy, and the energy we take in that we don't burn gets stored away in our bodies for later use. If we have too much, we gain fat. When we burn more energy than we take in, we begin to use those stores, and lose weight.

    You won't know how much you are taking in, how much to burn, how to set goals, tweak your program, etc if you aren't keeping track. It'll also be nearly impossible to stay consistent if you don't track what you're doing.

    Tracking calories educates and often surprises me. Sometimes a food or drink that I consider low calorie is actually much higher than I thought. Portions are important too. Those 9 calorie almonds are small, and a few handfuls add up fast! For me, writing things down makes me mindful- I will think twice before I eat that chocolate cake, knowing that I will have to add 400 calories to my day. I will be more motivated to work out if I am close to my calorie limit at 2pm, or over it at 7pm! It helps.

    Eating clean is a GREAT start and a major change, and I hope you enjoy it. I cringe at eating processed foods any more (other than cheese and yogurt).

    Good luck!
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    Back up please. Let's see the science behind this "well known fact"- because you can eat too many calories eating clean. Maybe you define eating clean as only lean meat and veggies... Most people define it as unprocessed foods...

    I wanna live in the magical world where calories are free and magic tricks make you lose weight for good!
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Yes, you do need to count calories. The basis of ALL diets is a calorie deficit. This means Paleo, Clean Eating, IIFYM, Keto, Juicing, etc. All of them have a calorie deficit at their core as the basis of why they can work.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    You need to look up the definition of "fact", because it certainly is not true. Even as an opinion it is incorrect. That would suggest that fat people did not exist 200 years ago and I can assure you that they did.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    You need to look up the definition of "fact", because it certainly is not true. Even as an opinion it is incorrect. That would suggest that fat people did not exist 200 years ago and I can assure you that they did.

    I looked up a different definition...
    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcasm
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    You need to look up the definition of "fact", because it certainly is not true. Even as an opinion it is incorrect. That would suggest that fat people did not exist 200 years ago and I can assure you that they did.

    I looked up a different definition...
    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcasm

    Touche.
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    On which planet?
    Thank you! I'd like to book my ticket to THAT planet! Although, I was saying not true as I read that.

    OP, I switched to clean eating, but did not count calories or measure food. I lost 50, mainly due to the major change up I gave my body, but then after 4 months, I stopped losing. Had I known at the time, to count calories, and adjust the amount of calories I ate to match my new weight, I would have continued losing. But, you can only know for yourself if you try it. Give it 2 months and see what happens. It works for you, awesome, if it doesn't try it differently.
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    It is a well known fact that you can NOT get fat eating clean. Stick to lean meats and whole vegetables and you will be down to where you want to be in no time.

    You need to look up the definition of "fact", because it certainly is not true. Even as an opinion it is incorrect. That would suggest that fat people did not exist 200 years ago and I can assure you that they did.

    I looked up a different definition...
    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcasm

    :clap: :)
  • Levesque_7
    Levesque_7 Posts: 104
    Your body doesn't care if you eat clean calories or not. A calorie is a calorie. If you don't know how many you take it then you have no idea if you're at a deficit. It's just as easy to overeat while eating "clean" or "healthy" as it is eating whatever the opposite of those is.

    This x1000^^ I can overeat almonds like its nobody's business and if i didnt count calories i would probably be way over my cals for the day, everyday!
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Your body doesn't care if you eat clean calories or not. A calorie is a calorie. If you don't know how many you take it then you have no idea if you're at a deficit. It's just as easy to overeat while eating "clean" or "healthy" as it is eating whatever the opposite of those is.

    This is especially true if you're drinking a large portion of your calories, as you appear to be. Some people seem to think shakes and smoothies have magical fat-burning properties, and they don't. One of my protein shakes is 400 calories, and most of the time, the only thing I add other than the protein powder and ice/water is fresh fruit. Sometimes I add 4 oz of nonfat Greek yogurt to make it creamier if I don't have any bananas. If I drank even two of those a day, that's half my daily calories gone. If I weren't counting calories, I probably wouldn't realize that, and I'd overeat.

    If you're trying to lose weight, especially if you're close to goal, I do think calorie counting is critical.

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