Getting below 20% BF - do you HAVE to eat "Clean"?

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  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    I certainly don't eat clean and I'm pretty sure I'm below 20%bf
  • KKishaA
    KKishaA Posts: 160 Member
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    Uh.....yeah.... I think you are bellow 20%, SL darlin'! :tongue:
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    never mind quote didn't work
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    Alright I am off to read the macro link. I do understand what they are but my confusion comes from the % method, like 40/30/30. Isn't macros about getting the minimums of what you need to meet your goals, vs staying at a % of a number? If I eat 1500k one day and follow 40/30/30 I eat 150c/112.5p/50f but if I have another day that I eat 2000k, do I aim for 40/30/30 again by eating 200c/150p/66.6f ? There is no magic in the synergy between the ratios, correct? I just eat my required 150c/112.5p/50f and if I go over that I eat what ever I want....right?

    Yeahhh....I go with numbers. I like to be over 110g P and 50-60g F (Fat makes me happy) and then the rest is just whatever. I set up my diary with percentages close to those numbers, but I don't alter my course when I eat more/workout calories shift my goal.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    No, but it made it a lot faster and easier for me.
  • KKishaA
    KKishaA Posts: 160 Member
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    True ^. I am coming out of a place where I am experimenting with eating normal aka all the food I felt to guilty to eat for years because I was a dieting junkie. It has been around 3 months and I can now remain physically relaxed while eating a sandwich. I honestly used to give my shelf S--- every time I ate or thought about bread. So I have made some progress!
    That said I am now shifting toward eating a little less processed food now. Because I want to, not because I HAVE to.
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
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    I certainly don't eat clean and I'm pretty sure I'm below 20%bf

    That said... I DO bust my *kitten* hard when I work out (boxing primarily), eat at a deficit (on average), and have started lifting weights.
  • catsandtats
    catsandtats Posts: 29 Member
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    I'm at 18% BF and I don't think I *have* to eat clean but I'm very short so that has an effect on the total amount of calories I can eat per day and still reach my goals. I find it's much easier to reach my goals when I eat the foods I'm supposed to eat (lean protein, veggies, complex carbs, etc) than eat cookies and ice cream every day. That said, I don't deprive myself either.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    No.


    That being said, it helps to eat more nutrient dense whole foods - but you do not have to eat 'clean'
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    Alright I am off to read the macro link. I do understand what they are but my confusion comes from the % method, like 40/30/30. Isn't macros about getting the minimums of what you need to meet your goals, vs staying at a % of a number? If I eat 1500k one day and follow 40/30/30 I eat 150c/112.5p/50f but if I have another day that I eat 2000k, do I aim for 40/30/30 again by eating 200c/150p/66.6f ? There is no magic in the synergy between the ratios, correct? I just eat my required 150c/112.5p/50f and if I go over that I eat what ever I want....right?

    Yeahhh....I go with numbers. I like to be over 110g P and 50-60g F (Fat makes me happy) and then the rest is just whatever. I set up my diary with percentages close to those numbers, but I don't alter my course when I eat more/workout calories shift my goal.

    Protein grams are and should be determined by your weight. There's no magical number. And 50-60 grams of fat seems VEFY high to me but again, I don't know your body weight and goals) I shoot for my protein and fiber goals first, as that helps to keep you full longer while at a calorie deficit, carbs come in last (for me) and I am a runner who needs carbs to fuel my runs, but I simply don't over do it.
  • Wilson929
    Wilson929 Posts: 100
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    I don't eat clean and just workout as hard as I can. Lifting and my form of cardio is Zumba. I eat what I want and what I feel like. I try to keep it as clean as I can, but splurge when I feel the need. It for sure can be done without eating clean. I have no idea what my body fat is, but I would say I'm close to 20%
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    Alright I am off to read the macro link. I do understand what they are but my confusion comes from the % method, like 40/30/30. Isn't macros about getting the minimums of what you need to meet your goals, vs staying at a % of a number? If I eat 1500k one day and follow 40/30/30 I eat 150c/112.5p/50f but if I have another day that I eat 2000k, do I aim for 40/30/30 again by eating 200c/150p/66.6f ? There is no magic in the synergy between the ratios, correct? I just eat my required 150c/112.5p/50f and if I go over that I eat what ever I want....right?

    Yeahhh....I go with numbers. I like to be over 110g P and 50-60g F (Fat makes me happy) and then the rest is just whatever. I set up my diary with percentages close to those numbers, but I don't alter my course when I eat more/workout calories shift my goal.

    Protein grams are and should be determined by your weight. There's no magical number. And 50-60 grams of fat seems VEFY high to me but again, I don't know your body weight and goals) I shoot for my protein and fiber goals first, as that helps to keep you full longer while at a calorie deficit, carbs come in last (for me) and I am a runner who needs carbs to fuel my runs, but I simply don't over do it.

    What makes you think my protein goals aren't determined by my weight? Do you think I pulled a number out of the air? And I wouldn't call 50-60 grams of fat high. That's slightly less than 30% of my usual intake. Hardly what I would call a 'high fat' diet by any means.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    How do ice cream and pizza always get into these conversations? Ice cream isn't on either side. It can be "clean" by nearly every definition, or not. So can pizza. Eating either of these items is not evidence of one way or the other, but they come up in all of these threads.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    I find that ice cream thread slightly obnoxious.

    Also I'd like to get to a point I could do that; however I don't think I would flaunt it.

    What the heck is so obnoxious about eating ice cream???
  • krystalrfletcher
    krystalrfletcher Posts: 13 Member
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    I think it really depends on your body. I'm about 17% body fat right now trying to cut down to about 13% for a competition. If I have more than 1 or 2 cheats a week my body fat starts creeping up, and now I'm eliminating all cheats for the next 10 weeks to get even lower.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
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    I find that ice cream thread slightly obnoxious.

    Also I'd like to get to a point I could do that; however I don't think I would flaunt it.

    What the heck is so obnoxious about eating ice cream???

    ^ I would like to know this as well. I would probably use the word delicious but ya know. Different strokes? :/
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    I find that ice cream thread slightly obnoxious.

    Also I'd like to get to a point I could do that; however I don't think I would flaunt it.

    Ummm..s it's okay to "flaunt" juice cleanses, detoxes, bread substitutes, weight loss/fitness challenges, what you ate for breakfast/lunch/dinner, etc...but it's not okay to do a funny thread as both a parody and a way to show those that moderation and weight loss are possible? What makes that thread "annoying" and the others not?
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    I find that ice cream thread slightly obnoxious.

    Also I'd like to get to a point I could do that; however I don't think I would flaunt it.

    What the heck is so obnoxious about eating ice cream???

    ^ I would like to know this as well. I would probably use the word delicious but ya know. Different strokes? :/

    Exactly! I think I will have some delicious ice cream tonight. I hope that isn't too obnoxious.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    I find that ice cream thread slightly obnoxious.

    Also I'd like to get to a point I could do that; however I don't think I would flaunt it.

    What the heck is so obnoxious about eating ice cream???

    ^ I would like to know this as well. I would probably use the word delicious but ya know. Different strokes? :/

    Exactly! I think I will have some delicious ice cream tonight. I hope that isn't too obnoxious.

    meh, I'm gonna have obnoxious amounts of delicious ice cream and post about it so someone will get butt hurt and complain about sabotage and obnoxious, shirtless jerks who don't understand. Now accepting hate mail . . .
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Options
    I find that ice cream thread slightly obnoxious.

    Also I'd like to get to a point I could do that; however I don't think I would flaunt it.

    What the heck is so obnoxious about eating ice cream???

    ^ I would like to know this as well. I would probably use the word delicious but ya know. Different strokes? :/

    Exactly! I think I will have some delicious ice cream tonight. I hope that isn't too obnoxious.

    meh, I'm gonna have obnoxious amounts of delicious ice cream and post about it so someone will get butt hurt and complain about sabotage and obnoxious, shirtless jerks who don't understand. Now accepting hate mail . . .

    I already had my HD Cappuccino Gelato. It was yummy. Oh oops. I just posted about it.

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