How 'Clean Eating' leads to 'Binge Eating'.

kelsully

That is part of the issue. We all have different histories and genetic backgrounds. My mother is obese, has high cholesterol etc. My father is lean, eats an odd diet and drinks beer etc...his diet is very simple but nary a fruit or veggie crosses his lips. He has perfect numbers etc at physicals. You can be skinny and have unhealthy "numbers", you can be fat and all your bloodwork etc can be in the normal ranges. What are we defining as healthy? What if you can fit that definition of healthy while eating crap and not exercising? What if you are doing all the right thing..even clean eating etc, and still can't get numbers in healthy range?

I recently read in a magazine..that I unfortunately cannot reference as I just sent all the magazines to the kids' school, that moderation is the healthiest way to eat. Pork Chops have some things that need to be avoided but also have some nutrients that we shouldn't miss out on. If you never eat a Pork Chop because of the fat then you missing the nutrients Pork Chops do provide. The key is to eat a reasonable portion of Pork Chops once in a while...not three pork chops every night of the week. Carbs are necessary for our bodies and our cells. Carbs are not evil but overloading on simple carbs is indeed bad for your body...complex carbs are good. If the goal is health there are many ways to accomplish that. I could not survive on a low carb/high protein diet as I am a vegetarin. What the heck would I eat? Would I just munch almonds all day long? My mom on the other hand has done very well on eating plans like South beach because it encourages foods she loves and discourages her pitfalls...I don't think clean eating is a bad thing but it may not be necessary for some to be "healthy". I think if you can live a clean living diet and not binge from time to time etc then good for you but it just isn't the appropriate way for all.

PJilly

That is part of the issue. We all have different histories and genetic backgrounds. My mother is obese, has high cholesterol etc. My father is lean, eats an odd diet and drinks beer etc...his diet is very simple but nary a fruit or veggie crosses his lips. He has perfect numbers etc at physicals. You can be skinny and have unhealthy "numbers", you can be fat and all your bloodwork etc can be in the normal ranges. What are we defining as healthy? What if you can fit that definition of healthy while eating crap and not exercising? What if you are doing all the right thing..even clean eating etc, and still can't get numbers in healthy range?

I recently read in a magazine..that I unfortunately cannot reference as I just sent all the magazines to the kids' school, that moderation is the healthiest way to eat. Pork Chops have some things that need to be avoided but also have some nutrients that we shouldn't miss out on. If you never eat a Pork Chop because of the fat then you missing the nutrients Pork Chops do provide. The key is to eat a reasonable portion of Pork Chops once in a while...not three pork chops every night of the week. Carbs are necessary for our bodies and our cells. Carbs are not evil but overloading on simple carbs is indeed bad for your body...complex carbs are good. If the goal is health there are many ways to accomplish that. I could not survive on a low carb/high protein diet as I am a vegetarin. What the heck would I eat? Would I just munch almonds all day long? My mom on the other hand has done very well on eating plans like South beach because it encourages foods she loves and discourages her pitfalls...I don't think clean eating is a bad thing but it may not be necessary for some to be "healthy". I think if you can live a clean living diet and not binge from time to time etc then good for you but it just isn't the appropriate way for all.

I agree. I think it's also important to remember that in addition to different histories and different genetic backgrounds, there are also different goals. If we have different destinations in mind, we're certainly not all going to take the same path. I know that I have found what is working for me in that it's giving me the results I want, but I also try to respect the fact that others have different goals and different methods of reaching them. It's frustrating when that's not reciprocated.

HealthyChanges2010

bumping to read later..

HealthyChanges2010

"Clean" food - what a laugh! A calorie is a calorie. Sure it may be technically healthier to have a calorie of lean chicken than a calorie of processed sugar but you know what, at 329lb's I'm pretty much all about getting the weight down for now. I can fine tune my diet at a later date. For now, one of the only reasons I can keep up with this diet is because I'm still allowed mayonnaise with my dinner, and still allowed to eat some pie, so long as I don't go over my calorie count. I think an awful lot of people on MFP feel the same.

I'm not saying I haven't made changes. I have at least one serving of vegetables with my dinner which never used to happen, and I eat more fruit than I used to, but I still eat my breaded chicken breast steaks and turkey dinosaurs. I cut out chips (or fries, or whatever you want to call them) and started eating new potatoes instead. I'm loosing weight at a healthy and sustainable rate, I feel great, and I don't have to eat food that frankly I don't like and don't want to eat.

Food should be seen primarily as a fuel source yes but it is a source of pleasure too and I refuse to suck the pleasure from my life by eating foods I neither like nor can afford nor that cost the Earth. I'm not going to eat a load of brown rice grown on the other side of the world and flown here that tastes absoloutely horrid when I can eat a yummy delicious white potato that was grown just a few miles away just for the sake of "clean eating" when all I want to do is loose some weight.

Now don't get me wrong, so called clean eating is healthier for your body on so many different levels and I know this, but I, and many others here, are climbing a pretty big mountain. For us, not eating a constant torrent of sugar at all hours of the day IS a lifestyle change! Cutting down on the large portions we have accustomed ourselves to over the years IS a lifestyle change!

My first priority is to get this weight off, that is the single most beneficial thing I can do for myself right now. That in itself will cut down the chance of diabetes, stroke, heart disease etc. Then I can concentrate on eating a little more healthy. More likely than not this will come as part of the package of cutting down calories because I physically won't be able to eat what I am eating now and still loose weight and that's how good habits are formed and stuck to, not by overhauling you entire lifestly in one huge go and expecting to be able to stick with it. Both your body and mind will rebel.

I know because I've tried. Having me a slice of the pie once a week stops me from wanting a whole pie all the time, the craving of which will eventually get to me and I will binge and undo all of my good work.

I think you ROCK!!:drinker: Making small changes that will last in my thoughts take us much further than drastic changes in a short period of time. Drastic changes that don't last are my idea of a 'DIET'. You're now adding in veggies and fruits? YAY! Awesome, hey whatever changes we make that are healthier than what we did in the past are just that, changes in the right direction.

I hear what you're saying, when I started out, I didn't workout like I do now, I didn't eat as many veggies or fruit or chicken as I do now. I learned from those on this site and other healthy modes how to make small changes and continued that way. Once we begin to see the weigh drop and can do a bit more, we add it in, whether it be more veggies, more walk time etc.

I think you will do fine:flowerforyou: and will be very successful because you have a healthy realistic attitude toward change.

Wishing you the best on your journey:flowerforyou:

hippiechel

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/01/quiz-are-you-a-moderator-or-an-abstainer.html

This is an interesting, and connected blog post about "moderators" vs. "abstainers".

For me, I cannot moderate. Having cake/cookies/pie refined sugar in general in "moderation" simply doesn't work. I get triggered, I want more sugar (and more and more and more) and then, well, I'm screwed. It is much easier for me to have none than have some.

For me, and I think I'm hearing Grokette say this at the core of her argument...no junk is easier than some junk.

If you read the article, notice the part where it says that people are extraordinarily judgemental/harsh towards people who the other approach is working for. I think we're just so hardwired to have one or the other be the correct approach for us that it's hard not to demand that it's the correct approach for everybody.

{tiptoes backwards out of the the room}

:flowerforyou:

this. i am pretty sure i am an abstainer. (blogged about trying to abstain here: http://www.whatstheskinnie.com/rachel-vegan-journal)

we all work in different ways, and have different definitions of things. in the end, we just want one another to be healthy and to achieve our goals!

tmaksparkie

Fist of all how everyone wants to go about their healthy lifestyles is up to them. I just wanted to say that I am a clean eater and a lot of people have said that it is more likely for us to binge eat because we deprive ourselves of certain food choices well that is not true, I still have pizza and ice cream but I make it myself with clean ingredients so I know what is in it, it really is all about just eating real food and not what big companies that manufacture foods with lots of chemicals so it can stay on the shelf longer. If it don't rot I don't eat it, if it did not come from the ground or have a mother I don't eat it, if my great grandma would not know what it is I don't eat it, if I cannot make the item with stuff in my pantry I don't eat it. For me it is that simple. Thanks to everyone for their views on this subject and do what works for you.

Mike523

Wow, this is quite a discussion!

My opinion is that everyone needs to find their own path to health in their own way. I am a mostly clean eater. Not 100%, but pretty close - and the few factory-made foods I eat are healthier choices like high fiber cereals and the like.

Now that being said, I won't take the stance that if you aren't eating clean you aren't making a lifestyle change or improving your health. Obviously you can improve your health by eating in moderation. But I do think that there is a difference between eating empty sugary calories and eating nutritious whole grains, veggies, lean proteins, etc. The difference may not manifest itself on the scale, because as others have said a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss - it's really just math, burn more than you eat. But the difference tends to reveal itself in your blood chemistry - cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, etc. Making healthy choices can completely transform your blood profile, and help prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases.

But as far as WHAT to eat, what works for one person doesn't work for everyone. You have to find what works for you and stick with it. That's what makes it a lifestyle change - the sticking with it.

Honestly though, going back to the original article... I don't think it was clean eating that led to the author's binge eating, it was the weekly binge-filled "cheat days" that led to binge eating.

Cbandelier

Interesting post.

I think the title is a little misleading. ANY kind of restrictive diet can lead to the types of cravings and binges as this author described.

Furthermore, some of the foods that the author identified as "dirty" are not necessarily so. Eggs, bacon, pizza, burgers, and so on can all be incorporated into a "clean" diet, as long as close attention is payed to the types of ingredients being used and the way the animals were raised.

I see that a lot of people have commented on whether one needs to completely cut out certain types of foods, or whether "everything in moderation" is appropriate. I think it really depends on the person. I do think that some of the changes mentioned by others, such as decreasing portions, reducing (not eliminating) processed/fast/"dirty" foods or whatever - these ARE lifestyle changes, just not as extreme a change as some people choose to make.

Making these small changes and losing weight WILL make you healthier and lower your risk of lifestyle-based disease. Again, maybe not to the extent as someone who totally eliminates a type of food, but any improvement is better than none. The "all-or-nothing" approach works for some people, but not the majority. Furthermore, based on my own experiences with the "all-or-nothing" type folk in my family, I have noticed that they seem to be the ones most obsessive about food, but, more importantly, they are more hypercritical, worrisome, stressed, and overall less happy than those with more moderate choices.

Personally, I would not do well to exclude some things totally and forever. Maybe someday this will change, but not right now and I am very happy with choices I am making.

ShrinkinMel

I love clean eating but I don't feel guilty when I eat "unclean" things if I'm in moderation. I'm more of a 75-80% clean fan. lol Totally don't throw everything out the window especially in the beginning when you may feel deprived and more urges to binge on it later.

3LittleMonkeys

I am not 100% Clean Eater, but I try. Heck even the Cleanest Eaters I know have something not clean every now and then.

I also disagree with the a calorie is a calorie saying. 100 calories of raw almonds and 100 calories of candy will definitely effect your body differently.

girlinahat

Fist of all how everyone wants to go about their healthy lifestyles is up to them. I just wanted to say that I am a clean eater and a lot of people have said that it is more likely for us to binge eat because we deprive ourselves of certain food choices well that is not true, I still have pizza and ice cream but I make it myself with clean ingredients so I know what is in it, it really is all about just eating real food and not what big companies that manufacture foods with lots of chemicals so it can stay on the shelf longer. If it don't rot I don't eat it, if it did not come from the ground or have a mother I don't eat it, if my great grandma would not know what it is I don't eat it, if I cannot make the item with stuff in my pantry I don't eat it. For me it is that simple. Thanks to everyone for their views on this subject and do what works for you.

thank you. This to me is what 'clean eating' is all about, and apart from Michael Pollan's Real Food I've never read a single book about the 'clean eating diet'.

For me it's about knowing what goes into our food - pizza can be clean if you know what the ingredients are, and there's no better way to do this than to make it yourself. Yesterday I was looking for Creme Fraiche. Creme Fraiche is made with milk and bacterial cultures. So why does Tesco feel the need to put tapioca starch and pectin in it? The only reason I can think is that they are both thickeners. Sure, they are edible ingredients, but they don't need to be there.

I eat clean because I love food. I love the way individual parts of a meal taste, and how fantastic combinations can be made with flavours. Eating clean helps me appreciate those flavours more. It's not about having brown rice and a chicken breast, have a potato if that is what you want, hell, even make it into crisps (chips) if that is what you want, but keep it close to what it started as, don't pulverise the potato, dry it into a powder and press it into a shape, dusting some flavour on one side and call it a Pringle.

Eating clean does NOT lead to binge eating. Binging leads to binge eating.

xraychick77

I try to eat as clean as i can. I am a vegetarian who bodybuilds. I know better than to eat crap, since its just empty calories which does nothing for gaining muscle or giving energy. I have no issues with binge eating, and i certainly dont look down on people who eat pizza. I eat pizza! Everyone has to make their own choices and be held responsible for those choices. I am not a perfect clean eater, but since i became a vegetarian clean eater person who exercises alot I have never felt more energetic and healthier in my life. I am 33 yrs old who works night shift. Try working 12 hr nights in a busy ER then hit the gym first thing after getting off work. I love it!

freerange

Wow, that article sounds like excuses for not admitting that the person has "eating and overeating" issues and making excuses for not eating clean.

This is just my opinion and my 2 cents. But in reality.................Clean Eating ENDS Binge Eating

..................................because it takes away the cravings for other foods. If you are getting adequate FAT, protein and Veggies you will have a really hard time binging on those items because those foods keep you full and your belly (and mind) satisfied for longer................

I, personally don't believe in the whole "everything in moderation"................That is not what a true lifestyle change is.

A lifestyle change is not eating less of the same things you were eating before. What have you seriously changed??????

A lifestyle change is exactly that, a CHANGE and that change has to come from within and the WHOLE YOU has to make that change also. Lifestyle change to lose weight should affect every aspect of your life.............

I no longer eat cakes, pies, cookies, bread, rice, pasta.................

Once a year, on my birthday, I will allow myself to have 1 piece of cheesecake and that is it. I have done this for the past 3 years.

I don't miss the cakes, pies and cookies either..............

As far as bread, I don't miss it. It seriously takes away from the taste of the food that is in between those slices of bread. Hamburgers, grilled chicken breasts taste so much better by themselves or wrapped in lettuce leaves.

Wheat is very blah and bland................

Pasta, I now use spaghetti squash.................

Rice - Well, I just don't have the desire to eat it any longer............

I allow myself a baked white or sweet potato 1 or 2 times a month.

Good post, I'm kind of tired of people blaming everything except themselves. Just because one happens after the other does not mean one caused the other. How about this, eating pizza makes you fat, I know a bunch of people (fat people) that eat pizza. Get real, your own OCD leads to binge eating,,,,,,, here's a shock for you, most body builders have OCD, at least the good ones, those that don't can't compete because they don't have what it takes to be the best at Bodybuilding.

labgirl3

For me, I cannot moderate. Having cake/cookies/pie refined sugar in general in "moderation" simply doesn't work. I get triggered, I want more sugar (and more and more and more) and then, well, I'm screwed. It is much easier for me to have none than have some.

For me, and I think I'm hearing Grokette say this at the core of her argument...no junk is easier than some junk.

Couldn't have said it better myself! I almost hate telling people I'm eating Paleo / Primal / low-carb / clean (whatever it is - some combination of all of those, and none 100% perfectly of course), since I always get the reaction that it's not healthy to completely eliminate a food group - in this case, carbs. Well, for me it is. I binge on carbs. I can't just eat a little because then I want a lot. When I completely cut out bread, potatoes, rice, oatmeal, etc - I have no more cravings. Ever. I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but it certainly does work for me. I do still eat fruit at least once or twice a day, and plenty of non-starchy veggies.

I don't think clean eating is to fault for the binge behavior - I'd be constantly craving carbs if I were eating oatmeal and rice every day, along with a cheat of monstrous proportions once a week. That would turn into an all out obsession in my brain. It's really just not that difficult (for me) to cut out the crap (bread, sugar, grains, processed junk) completely. I know that sounds crazy restrictive, and I would have been the first to poo-poo the idea this time last year, but it works.

I also don't agree with this "a calorie is a calorie" notion. Of course you can lose weight on any calorie-restricted diet (witness the Twinkie / McDonald's / potato "diets"), but that doesn't mean it's healthy. I don't want to lose weight while stuffing myself with processed junk. It's not healthy, and it causes cravings that make it impossible for me to stick to for any amount of time. Again - it might work for some, it just doesn't make sense for me.

This isn't to say that I never cheat - I do! I had BBQ sauce on my chicken for lunch, and I'm going out for a yearly fondue party tonight, and will have at least some of the cheese fondue (probably won't be tempted by the chocolate - another major change from last year). I have a small square of dark chocolate every night (as opposed to an entire bag). But I never have a cheat day or even a cheat meal where I go all out. I just don't care to do that - and I don't miss it in the least.

It's funny - I used to think this way of eating was crazy because I didn't want to deprive myself of the "joy" of eating (and cooking and baking) my favorite foods. I still enjoy food just as much, but now I'm so much more likely to focus on everything else - my dinner companions, the conversation, the great glass of wine. And after going down 5 pant sizes and 40 lbs, and hearing compliments about my weight loss nearly every day, the joy of eating has been replaced by the joy I feel when I look in the mirror. I still have a long way to go, but I actually enjoy not getting my happy moments from food anymore. I'm no longer obsessive about what or when to eat. It's...freeing. :flowerforyou:

alaskagrown

I haven't read the rest of the replies, but it seems like the problem is the wording. "Clean"eating doesn't necessarily lead to binge eating unless you dislike "boring" clean food, like the original poster. I find that clean eating helps because I get to eat plenty of yummy food that I like, like chicken breasts and brown rice.

...But then, I'm not a french fry gal.

I think the title of the post should have been "Overly restrictive eating leads to binge eating," which I DO agree with. Any "diet" or food restriction that gets you to a place where you're craving foods you don't eat will eventually lead to binge eating, so in this I agree 100% with our original poster. Moderation IS, indeed, the key, with clean foods or anything else.

agdeierl

Grokette, I think you are being entirely too hard on some of these commenters. To be fair, I think it would have been more accurate were the article titled, "How Clean Eating MAY Lead to Binge Eating", instead of "How Clean Eating Leads to Binge Eating". Maybe that's why you're acting so defensive. I haven't read every single post, but I really don't think any of these people meant to personally attack your way of eating. I think it's incredible that you're a clean eater--seriously, kudos to you! I'm sure it's very healthy, and I know you must LOVE the way your body feels as a result! However, I think the issue of whether to eat clean or not lies within each person's personality (as well as location and income). Clearly for some people, eating clean can lead to binge eating, because the cravings for the foods they want but can't have become unbearable. On the other hand, some people cannot have a taste of junk food, or they'll want it all the time. There's so much we still don't know about the brain to understand why this is, but that's really irrelevant. I think most people would agree that clean eating is extreme IN COMPARISON to the way most people in our country eat. That doesn't mean it's bad or that anyone shouldn't try it. On the contrary, I say if you think you can happily maintain clean eating, DO IT, because your health will improve, and your body and mind will feel so much better. Likewise, eating junk most of the day every day like many of us MFP-er's is an extreme on the opposite end of the spectrum. Obviously, it's a BIG no-no. I know that there are risks associated with indulging in unhealthy foods, which is why I eat them as rarely as possible. I think I probably wouldn't be too happy eating clean, though, for several reasons, which I think are obvious to most of you, but I won't get into here, because I'm tired of typing! Going from eating junk all day to eating it one time once a week or once a month IS a change, for the better. It might not be as large a change as it could be, but it's a start. We all have to start somewhere, and any step in the right direction should be celebrated, not criticized. I think one of the MOST unhealthy things you can do is obsess over food--whether that be unhealthy, fried foods or clean foods.

Mindful_Trent

I haven't read the rest of the replies, but it seems like the problem is the wording. "Clean"eating doesn't necessarily lead to binge eating unless you dislike "boring" clean food, like the original poster. I find that clean eating helps because I get to eat plenty of yummy food that I like, like chicken breasts and brown rice.

...But then, I'm not a french fry gal.

I think the title of the post should have been "Overly restrictive eating leads to binge eating," which I DO agree with. Any "diet" or food restriction that gets you to a place where you're craving foods you don't eat will eventually lead to binge eating, so in this I agree 100% with our original poster. Moderation IS, indeed, the key, with clean foods or anything else.

Very well said! :drinker:

mamawildbear

For me, eating less of everything was a HUGE lifestyle change. I grew up with the entire family having "seconds" at every meal. We had dessert every night and it was always something like 3 giant scoops of ice cream. Breakfast was a bowl filled to the brim with cereal. Going to Weight Watchers was a huge wake up call and getting to grips with what a proper portion size looked like was startling.

Serving myself the proper portion has been the change of a lifetime and required diligent use of measuring cups and a scale to readjust my vision of how much I should be eating.

I have no desire to do "clean eating." I still eat pizza but one or two slices instead of 5-6. If I have ice cream, it's one tiny scoop.

However, I do have to watch out for trigger foods. There are just some foods that having just one causes a cascade that leads to disaster. I can have a little scoop of ice cream and be done, however, I can't eat Oreos, for example. One Oreo will lead to the entire bag in my stomach and me feeling sick and disgusted with myself.

For me, it's eat everything in moderation but abstain completely from the trigger foods.

alaskagrown

Oh, and P.S. The whole "calories are calories" argument?

Calories ARE calories when weight loss is the only goal. The Twinkie guy proved that-- you can eat 1200 cals of M&Ms or 1200 cals of chicken breast and brown rice and you will lose weight. The problem with that is that 1200 cals of M&Ms simply aren't very big compared to the chicken and rice.

BUT, even though calories are calories, M&Ms are not chicken, and chicken is not spinach, and spinach is not sweet potato as far as the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids etc. go.

SO, to sum up:

Calories=calories in a weight loss race.

x food does NOT = y food for the benefits you get. If you eat tons of junk food, you will get lots of fat and sugar, training your body to respond to fat and sugar. Down the line, that can equal heart disease, diabetes, i don't have to tell you. Different nutrients are the LEGOs of your body, and you need all of them for healthy, working systems.

Calories EQUAL calories.

Food DOES NOT EQUAL other food.

Thank you for listening.

mamawildbear

I also disagree with the a calorie is a calorie saying. 100 calories of raw almonds and 100 calories of candy will definitely effect your body differently.

Yes and no. With respect to weight loss, they are the same. 100 cal = 100 cal. But 100 cal of candy won't satisfy you as much as 100 cal of almonds and you'll be more likely to reach for something else shortly. And obviously nutrition-wise there's a huge difference.

We have a burger place near us and I calculated that a single burger contains my entire calorie allotment for the day. So if in a day, I ate nothing but that burger, I could still lose weight. However, I'd be hungry with only that burger because it wouldn't tide me over for the entire day. Eating empty calories is not practical as a weight loss technique because they are just not filling enough. However, if you could stick to your daily calorie allotment eating "bad" foods, you would still lose weight. You might be nutrient deficient but you'd still weigh less. I think that's what the "calorie is a calorie" thing refers to.