If 'eating clean' is so easy for you, how did you get fat?

spamantha57

I was more or less stuck in bed for about 2&1/2 years. That's how I got fat. Continuing to eat better for my body is what got me out, & being able to exercise again is what is making me lose weight.
Everyone is different.

angel5561

It wasn't easy at first but for some people it gets easier as it becomes a part of your new lifestyle . Thats not to say there won't be days or times where you want to eat something not so good for you. I don't eat clean per say just try and make healthier choices eat more fruits n veggies get more protein and keep my sodium low. Also I think you adjust to eating less calories . When I eat healthier filling foods like protein healthy fats and loads of veggies I do feel fuller then when I was shoving my face full of cake that made my blood sugar go crazy and caused me to probably crave more junk. Processed foods are full of crap that make you want to eat more crap. When you give your body the right nutrition you start to feel more balanced and have less cravings after a while at least I do anyway.

Gwennie9476

Great post, not that I am the first to say that, but it is! I got fat because I was a gold member of the clean plate club from the time I could remember. When I was little, you didn't leave food on your plate and my mom was a very very good southern cook who loved to fry things and make biscuits and loads of rice and gravy and oh my! on and on and on.

I was never told I couldn't have anything. My mom wanted me and my 3 siblings well fed and she did it wonderfully...maybe a bit too much so. When I grew up things didn't change much until I hit 365 on my 5'4" frame after my first child. I lost 150 pounds in one year and I have done this twice more since then and am doing it again as well. I guess I love losing that weight over and over again.

However, it is the taste of it and sometimes the nostalgia from it. Some things remind me of my mom and I love her and miss her. I still and ALWAYS will incorporate one day a week where I can have anything I want for one meal. I will never cut that out because if I do then this will NEVER work for me. Eating clean and healthy is find and dandy and I am totally happy with my food and the choices I make. Food made me fat because I tend to overeat and food will make me thin again...it is all in the relationship you choose to have with it in the end.

ccam99

I read your question differently than most. You ask. "If your relationship with food is so healthy, how did you get fat in the first place?"

I would answer that most people who are over weight did not have a healthy relationship with food at the time (i.e. they ate too much processed food, high fat, high sugar, etc.). They have a healthy relationship with food now because they learned how to eat "clean" as it's called. In my mind, eating clean means eating as close to nature as possible. Fruits, vegetables, protein from meats, etc. Try to stay away from excess sugars, processed foods, etc. I lived for my southern sweet tea and still have quite the sweet tooth but I gave up my tea last year for plain tea or water with lemon. I do on rare occasions have something sweet to drink. I have slowly changed to eating more fruit and vegetables in lieu of junk food. You can't live life by depriving yourself but you learn to eat these treats much, much less. Try switching a few items for healthier choices, maybe starting with your lunch and after a while it becomes what you prefer to eat over any junk food. So, people started out overweight due to their bad choices and ended up enjoying eating more nutritious food and in the process lost weight. Good luck on any changes you decide to make.

agymah

Did you guys ever see that controversial movie Supersize Me? That's where a guy ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days straight. He gained 24.5 pounds, his body fat shot up 63% and his cholesterol skyrocketed by 65 points.

Well, recently a physician in North Carolina ALSO ate all of his meals at McDonald's for 30 days. But he LOST 9 pounds, shed 20% of his body fat, his high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol went up and his blood sugar and triglycerides went down!

How the heck did he do that?

By making two changes, both of which hold the secret to creating unstoppable fat loss for anybody, even if you're stuffing your face with fast food.

Unlike the guy in “Supersize Me” who ate all the meals as they came, this physician NEVER ate starch with fat. That's a deadly combo that creates a belly-fat bulging calorie bomb. Starch is processed to produce many of the sugars in processed foods.

The starch spikes your #1 fat-making hormone insulin. And the fat delivers a megaton of calories for that insulin to convert into fat. For example, he took off the bread from his burger and he didn't eat fries. Everything else was fair game though.

So if you want to block the fat-making capacity of your meals, never eat starch and fat together. http://www.whyicantloseweight.com

6ftamazon

Well I think most people they didn't know what healthy eating means in the first place. Or a lot of people just didn't care. And then there's the people who think they're eating healthy and they're not. Not to mention you can eat healthy foods and still get fat...there's a plethora of reasons why someone can get fat and it's not always because they ate too much mcdonalds.

Now as for how I gained the weight, I was in an abusive relationship where the guy actually held me down and shoved food down my throat. I'm sure that could even be the case for others too.

eric_sg61

Did you guys ever see that controversial movie Supersize Me? That's where a guy ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days straight. He gained 24.5 pounds, his body fat shot up 63% and his cholesterol skyrocketed by 65 points.

Well, recently a physician in North Carolina ALSO ate all of his meals at McDonald's for 30 days. But he LOST 9 pounds, shed 20% of his body fat, his high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol went up and his blood sugar and triglycerides went down!

How the heck did he do that?

By making two changes, both of which hold the secret to creating unstoppable fat loss for anybody, even if you're stuffing your face with fast food.

Unlike the guy in “Supersize Me” who ate all the meals as they came, this physician NEVER ate starch with fat. That's a deadly combo that creates a belly-fat bulging calorie bomb. Starch is processed to produce many of the sugars in processed foods.

The starch spikes your #1 fat-making hormone insulin. And the fat delivers a megaton of calories for that insulin to convert into fat. For example, he took off the bread from his burger and he didn't eat fries. Everything else was fair game though.

So if you want to block the fat-making capacity of your meals, never eat starch and fat together. http://www.whyicantloseweight.com

I eat starches with fat all the time. Research more and post less.

6ftamazon

Did you guys ever see that controversial movie Supersize Me? That's where a guy ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days straight. He gained 24.5 pounds, his body fat shot up 63% and his cholesterol skyrocketed by 65 points.

Well, recently a physician in North Carolina ALSO ate all of his meals at McDonald's for 30 days. But he LOST 9 pounds, shed 20% of his body fat, his high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol went up and his blood sugar and triglycerides went down!

How the heck did he do that?

By making two changes, both of which hold the secret to creating unstoppable fat loss for anybody, even if you're stuffing your face with fast food.

Unlike the guy in “Supersize Me” who ate all the meals as they came, this physician NEVER ate starch with fat. That's a deadly combo that creates a belly-fat bulging calorie bomb. Starch is processed to produce many of the sugars in processed foods.

The starch spikes your #1 fat-making hormone insulin. And the fat delivers a megaton of calories for that insulin to convert into fat. For example, he took off the bread from his burger and he didn't eat fries. Everything else was fair game though.

So if you want to block the fat-making capacity of your meals, never eat starch and fat together. http://www.whyicantloseweight.com

As a diabetic I find this completely ignorant, wrong, and biologically inaccurate. Please do some research before you sprout these claims.

brittaney0625

i'm sure what they mean to say is "since i've decided to commit to being healthy, it has been easy"

before, they ate what they wanted and didn't care, now that they made the commitment to being healthy, they realized how easy it is for them.... i am NOT one of those people, it is a struggle for me, but that's just my two cents.

Amen!! I am one of those people.

Becoming healthy and fit is a mind set.. If you can get the right mind set you can do anything.

FoxyLifter

Did you guys ever see that controversial movie Supersize Me? That's where a guy ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days straight. He gained 24.5 pounds, his body fat shot up 63% and his cholesterol skyrocketed by 65 points.

Well, recently a physician in North Carolina ALSO ate all of his meals at McDonald's for 30 days. But he LOST 9 pounds, shed 20% of his body fat, his high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol went up and his blood sugar and triglycerides went down!

How the heck did he do that?

By making two changes, both of which hold the secret to creating unstoppable fat loss for anybody, even if you're stuffing your face with fast food.

Unlike the guy in “Supersize Me” who ate all the meals as they came, this physician NEVER ate starch with fat. That's a deadly combo that creates a belly-fat bulging calorie bomb. Starch is processed to produce many of the sugars in processed foods.

The starch spikes your #1 fat-making hormone insulin. And the fat delivers a megaton of calories for that insulin to convert into fat. For example, he took off the bread from his burger and he didn't eat fries. Everything else was fair game though.

So if you want to block the fat-making capacity of your meals, never eat starch and fat together. http://www.whyicantloseweight.com

Wrong. He lost weight because he ate below his TDEE.

brittaney0625

I read your question differently than most. You ask. "If your relationship with food is so healthy, how did you get fat in the first place?"

I would answer that most people who are over weight did not have a healthy relationship with food at the time (i.e. they ate too much processed food, high fat, high sugar, etc.). They have a healthy relationship with food now because they learned how to eat "clean" as it's called. In my mind, eating clean means eating as close to nature as possible. Fruits, vegetables, protein from meats, etc. Try to stay away from excess sugars, processed foods, etc. I lived for my southern sweet tea and still have quite the sweet tooth but I gave up my tea last year for plain tea or water with lemon. I do on rare occasions have something sweet to drink. I have slowly changed to eating more fruit and vegetables in lieu of junk food. You can't live life by depriving yourself but you learn to eat these treats much, much less. Try switching a few items for healthier choices, maybe starting with your lunch and after a while it becomes what you prefer to eat over any junk food. So, people started out overweight due to their bad choices and ended up enjoying eating more nutritious food and in the process lost weight. Good luck on any changes you decide to make.

Yep.

cuckoo_jenibeth

On the same note, I also don't understand the "I struggle so hard to reach 1200 calories!" people.

Really?
^^^^This!!

SquishyLaughter

Right now, I am struggling to reach 1200 calories.

The only things I changed is that I no longer drink soda, and I don't snack as much.

I've realized that ALL my calories came from sodas and snacking. I only ate ~800 calories a day of what I now consider "real" food.

It is rather horrifying thinking back that I ate at LEAST 1200 calories a day of sodas and cookies and candy before I started really keeping track.

Meerataila

The exact mechanisms of satiety are way beyond me, but there are foods that make me less hungry after I eat them and foods that make me more hungry, and I'm determined to stay away from the latter. It's working so far.

Also, I just started eating vegan, fairly minimally processed (just some raisins, extra virgin olive oil, sesame seeds toasted in oil, and sun dried tomatoes). Then some germy human gave me a cold. My appetite has been gone for several days. But I guarantee if I were eating ice cream and cookies, I'd have no problem putting 3000 calories a day of them down, snotty nose or no snotty nose.

Meanwhile, I'd be pretty scared to put 3000 calories of roughage down my gullet on any day. Because the next day, all that fiber is going to have to find the exit, isn't it?

AgentOrangeJuice

i didn't know how to eat for the longest time, but now that I've taken the time to learn how to eat nutritious whole foods, it is easy.

The fats you eat are the fats you show. I would put cheese on everything, dip my fries in mayo. I was eating poly-saturated fats in abundance. And I wasn't active, I would sit around watching TV or playing video games.

American restaurant marketing has us eating 16 oz of protein on a plate and only 4 oz of veggies, which should be reversed.

seltzermint555

How did I get overweight to begin with? Bad choices. Too much unhealthy restaurant food, too much processed food, simply too much food. In the beginning of our marriage, when we were broke and just getting started, it was things like hamburger helper and cheap beef. As our income increased, it became more and more restaurant food.

^ I completely relate to this. Very similar situation for me, too. Grew up eating lots of restaurant food, convenience meals, etc. That was the norm to me and I didn't go to great lengths to change that. When my ex husband and I saw our incomes grow, our waistlines did too...more dinners out, more alcohol, more of everything. It just seemed "normal" to do that, at the time.

There was a thread last week about "what did you eat before changing" and it kind of opened my eyes to the reasons and ways I became morbidly obese. Little things truly do make a difference. The amount of cheese and mayo you put on your sandwich. What is a "normal" amount of baking in your household (for me it was 3-4 times a week baking scones and cookies and other treats). I didn't eat huge portions. I didn't eat all junk. I liked and regularly ate veggies with hummus and fresh fruit for lunch. I just did not realize how many calories I was eating and until joining this website, by which time I'd lost 45 lb stabbing in the dark at "healthier eating", I had no clue if I needed to eat 500 or 3,500 cal per day...truly.

I do not eat "clean" - I guess compared to some people I do, about 80% of the time - but not by my definition. I also do not follow Paleo or any other specific dietary philosophy.

I am "addicted" (NOT SERIOUSLY ADDICTED) to sugar...meaning, I take huge pleasure in my square of dark chocolate every 2nd day, or scoop of ice cream once or twice a week, or banana-Nutkao homemade crepes for dinner once a month. But the majority of the time I really do think of food more as fuel, and I'd just as much like to have broccoli and tilapia for dinner tonight as a burger and fries.

fatbastardslim1980

Beer

joepage612

calories are what make you fat. it is the whole premise of how MFP works.
I was vegan and semi-raw vegan at my fattest.
you might not get colon cancer but you can get fat on any type of calories.
there were obese people before refined sugar was ever invented. before ovens were invented too probably.

TerraJanuary

This whole "dieting" thing is getting very heavy for me. I never thought I was actually a food "addict" but it's clear that I am, on some level. Since starting MFP and counting calories, my relationship with food has really been put under the microscope.

Just yesterday, I took my kids to the amusement park. They begged for Dippin Dots and other crap and the whole time, every cell in my body was screaming for sugar and junk food... funnel cakes, ice cream, fries. It felt exactly like a giant nicotine fit, but for junk food.

I have an alcoholic friend who told me that she never understands how people have 1 glass of wine or 1 cocktail. What's the point if you can't have, like 10 drinks and get all messed up?

That's how I am with food. What's even the point of eating if all I can have is this salad and small scoop of brown rice?

But, just like an alcoholic, I guess you have to "fake it until you make it," because after a while the cravings for junk go down, you start eating to live instead of living to eat and develop a taste for food that is actually nourishing. It's happened to me in the past, I just hope I can get to that place again soon.

pinkraynedropjacki

I started eating clean recently. I got fat after eating boxes of brownies, bags of cookies, 3 sandwiches in a day, anything and everything from the frozen section, pasta (mac and cheese and those sidekick type of things), chicken fingers, cheese and crackers (not in moderation), and eating fast food almost every day.

So eating clean made me lose weight because I'm not eating so much cr@p. 57lbs lost in 5.5 months. Yea I'll stick to eating clean.

actually it was a calorie deficet that made you lose weight....

sorry eating "clean" is a buzz word and will have no impact on weight loss if you don't do it in moderation too...

:flowerforyou: Thank you for that :flowerforyou: someone was bound to say the truth sooner or later.