Clean eating; what is it really?
newtonk520
Posts: 35 Member
Since I've joined MFP I've noticed a lot of people talking about clean eating. I'm curious about what it's all about. I' think it has to do with removing processed foods from your diet but I know it's more then that. If you've adopted the clean eating lifestyle can you educate me? I'd like to learn about it and see if it's a fit for me. 
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From reading posts about it, it seems like everybody has a different definition. I hear "clean" and assume it means organic, unprocessed, whole foods. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, meats. No preservatives, chemicals or by-products. I've heard people go so far as to say it includes buying only local, in season foods... Then you have the people who insist all food is food and no food is "bad" food. I'd have to agree that no particular foods will make somebody fat if they are at maintenance or a deficit, but I don't believe for a second that chemical preservatives in food are "good" for you. I don't think there is one "true" definition of "clean" eating/foods. I just eat the things that I want in moderation. I would love to eat organic because I don't like the idea of putting chemicals in my body, but it's too much effort imo and I would die if I ever gave up candy.0
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It means you freely admit you know next to nothing about nutrition, science is too hard and you'd rather just make stuff up as you go along.
Obviously, limiting processed food is a good idea for both health and weight management, but don't pretend it's something it's not. Demonising food often leads to an 'all or nothing' approach to diet.0 -
It's a riddle wrapped up in a mystery and deep fried in enigma.0
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It's a riddle wrapped up in a mystery and deep fried in enigma.
Pretty much. You won't find two people who agree about what it means.0 -
like "toning" it should be consigned to the rubbish bin of history.0
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clean eating = eatin all the foods that I think are healthy and avoiding all the foods that I think are bad. What I think must be correct whether I know anything about nutrition or not and includes all my irrational phobias about foods.
Not everyone who is into clean eating has a stupid definition of it though. For some it just means eating more fresh foods and less processed foods (and they're not phobic about processed foods either). But for others it includes all kinds of irrational beliefs about food. And when it comes to your question, the answer is unfortunately "whatever the person who's using the term happens to define as clean eating".0 -
Its more of an idea than a definition since so many people take it to varying levels. But its generally a shift to eating foods in as close to their naturally occurring state and avoiding highly processed and foods with little nutritional value. Clean eating talk is also one of the best ways to start a pissing contest on mfp.0
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Clean eating seems to be about not eating anything that's been processed. "Nothing from a packet or can" is one slogan you'll hear. People will also talk about "chemicals". The problem is that everything is chemicals, even the organic stuff that's "clean".
I suspect what happened was this: long ago in ye olden times there was food and you ate it when it was fresh and if not you got sick and/or it tasted bad. Later we learnt to preserve things using simple things like cold, salt, drying, spices etc. Later still we learnt how to do so with additives. But we also learnt we could colour and flavour food that way too.
But then there's the profit motive. If you can make your food look nicer, taste better, last longer and/or make it more cheaply you can make more money. Which means there's a motive for cutting corners. Some, very important word so I'll repeat it, some of the things we add to food to achieve these ends weren't necessarily good for us. Or weren't good for us in the quantities we were consuming them. One answer to this is regulation. Food has to be checked for safety and authorised before it can be sold. But that's a slow process and it usually only gets rid of the big high impact items i.e. stuff that's definitely dangerous. Another answer on an individual level is to research for ourselves what may be harmful (or may be harmful to us specifically) and choose what we eat on that basis. (This still partly relies on regulation in the form of accurate labelling)
But this is hard and generally a lot of work. So we take a short cut. We say "anything in a packet or can". But that doesn't even necessarily rule out all additives never mind whether those particular additives are harmful or helpful. I mean if we're going to avoid say preservatives then we need to make sure we're well versed on older methods of how to make sure food is fresh and safe. I'm sure some clean eaters do try to do this. I'm equally sure that in many cases it's not necessary and they exchange one set of risks for another.0 -
clean eating = eatin all the foods that I think are healthy and avoiding all the foods that I think are bad. What I think must be correct whether I know anything about nutrition or not and includes all my irrational phobias about foods.
Not everyone who is into clean eating has a stupid definition of it though. For some it just means eating more fresh foods and less processed foods (and they're not phobic about processed foods either). But for others it includes all kinds of irrational beliefs about food. And when it comes to your question, the answer is unfortunately "whatever the person who's using the term happens to define as clean eating".
Lol! This is spot on!0 -
Since I've joined MFP I've noticed a lot of people talking about clean eating. I'm curious about what it's all about. I' think it has to do with removing processed foods from your diet but I know it's more then that. If you've adopted the clean eating lifestyle can you educate me? I'd like to learn about it and see if it's a fit for me.
honestly... it's a food phobia.
at it's core, that's what it is.
you'll hear all kinds of arguments claiming otherwise, but those are all specious arguments. the whole notion behind clean eating is that certain kinds of foods are inherently bad and should be feared and not be consumed. this is pretty much the definition of a phobia.0 -
Easy. I live in a remote part of Louisiana so when I am home all my meals are prepared at home with whole ingredients, organic, local and unprocessed. I hunt and fish and have neighbors with chickens so all my meat is hand harvested. That's my CLEAN. When I go to New Orleans, an hour and a half north, I get a sugar filled cocktail and grab a hotdog from a street vender, for starters.0
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It seems to be a label used to justify not very well thought through and unscientific methodology towards food selection.
The selection of foods included I believe is purely down to the personal wants and desires of the person using it.
('From what I've read on here, anyway.")0 -
It's a riddle wrapped up in a mystery and deep fried in enigma.
That sounds delicious. Is it very high in calories?0 -
Interpretation varies and clean eating will always start arguments
I interpret it as whole food, whole grain and no processed junk, preferably organic. Food as it should be naturally. 0 -
Clean eating talk is also one of the best ways to start a pissing contest on mfp.
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I really like this article on clean eating
http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
tL;DR
There is no definition. It had varied greatly over the years.0 -
there is no one definition for clean eating..
but in…for the show that is to come….0 -
Like beauty, clean eating means different things to different people. I try to get no more than 25% of my calories from junk food & processed foods. My favorite snacks are fresh fruit, nuts, or a small square of really good dark chocolate.
YMWDV (your mileage will definitely vary).0 -
there is no one definition for clean eating..
but in…for the show that is to come….
The thing is.... it seems like so many of the 'mean' people aren't very active lately.... leaving the rest of us starving for entertainment.
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Like beauty, clean eating means different things to different people. I try to get no more than 25% of my calories from junk food & processed foods. My favorite snacks are fresh fruit, nuts, or a small square of really good dark chocolate.
YMWDV (your mileage will definitely vary).
Ahhhh. That makes perfect sense. :noway:0 -
Eating whole foods 90% of the time.0
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Many users on MFP love to bash clean eating, but the truth is that most clean eater I've talked to follow the popular 80/20 approach, meaning they only eat clean about 80% of the time. I don't have any off-limits foods (except dairy for health reasons), but I try to avoid artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, as well as preservatives, when possible. I try to eat more whole, unprocessed, homemade food and less prepackaged, processed, and fast food. I also always choose meat without antibiotics when possible, but that's also connected to my commitment to buy humanely farmed meat. Of course, most clean eaters, like myself, realize this isn't realistic to commit to 100% of the time, so we allow ourselves to eat any kinds of food, even those that don't fit the definition of clean eating. Of course, you'll find that everyone has their own definition. If you do some research and learn about nutrition, you can define for yourself what clean eating means to you, if you wish to follow it. You can lose weight without eating clean, but eating healthier, less processed food is never a bad thing!0
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Many users on MFP love to bash clean eating, but the truth is that most clean eater I've talked to follow the popular 80/20 approach, meaning they only eat clean about 80% of the time. I don't have any off-limits foods (except dairy for health reasons), but I try to avoid artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, as well as preservatives, when possible. I try to eat more whole, unprocessed, homemade food and less prepackaged, processed, and fast food. I also always choose meat without antibiotics when possible, but that's also connected to my commitment to buy humanely farmed meat. Of course, most clean eaters, like myself, realize this isn't realistic to commit to 100% of the time, so we allow ourselves to eat any kinds of food, even those that don't fit the definition of clean eating. Of course, you'll find that everyone has their own definition. If you do some research and learn about nutrition, you can define for yourself what clean eating means to you, if you wish to follow it. You can lose weight without eating clean, but eating healthier, less processed food is never a bad thing!
I'm not bashing. What you described, that's pretty much how I eat. I just don't label it with some vague confusing label. Or decide if food is bad or good.
Go to the recipe section and look for "clean" recipes. More often then not it turns into a huge debate on whether the recipe is "clean" because of the ingredients.
When everyone decides for themself what the definition is, it renders the term useless.0 -
Many users on MFP love to bash clean eating, but the truth is that most clean eater I've talked to follow the popular 80/20 approach, meaning they only eat clean about 80% of the time. I don't have any off-limits foods (except dairy for health reasons), but I try to avoid artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, as well as preservatives, when possible. I try to eat more whole, unprocessed, homemade food and less prepackaged, processed, and fast food. I also always choose meat without antibiotics when possible, but that's also connected to my commitment to buy humanely farmed meat. Of course, most clean eaters, like myself, realize this isn't realistic to commit to 100% of the time, so we allow ourselves to eat any kinds of food, even those that don't fit the definition of clean eating. Of course, you'll find that everyone has their own definition. If you do some research and learn about nutrition, you can define for yourself what clean eating means to you, if you wish to follow it. You can lose weight without eating clean, but eating healthier, less processed food is never a bad thing!
isn't that sort of like calling yourself a vegetarian because you only eat meat 20% of the time? :huh:0 -
This is eating clean right here: https://player.vimeo.com/video/407947320
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Topic: Clean eating; what is it really?
It means don't eat anything you drop on the ground or find in a public restroom...0 -
A grocery story where I live had to put up sign saying, the meat isn't bad, we've just stopped adding colour to it to mach your idea of what ground meat is supposed to look like.0
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Its a pretty meaningless term coined by a magazine...to make you think everything you've been doing is wrong and you need their help to fix it. Seriously though...if what you mean by clean is less processed, more natural, fewer chemical additives, ok....I can support that idea. If you mean slavishly eating only organic veggies and unicorn tarts...no thanks.0
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Most clean eaters I've talked to follow the popular 80/20 approach, meaning they only eat clean about 80% of the time.isn't that sort of like calling yourself a vegetarian because you only eat meat 20% of the time? :huh:
Exactly! It's entirely subjective. Plenty of people who eat fish &/or poultry call themselves vegetarian. (I knew a vegetarian who ate bacon once in a while.) All we can do is tell the OP what clean eating means to each of us. It's just our personal opinion; everyone gets to decide for him- or herself what clean eating looks like to them.
There is no one right answer for everyone.0
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