Are you a Clean Eater?

dtimedwards

What does it mean to "eat clean"? I have seen this terminology on other posts too. Sorry, I'm pretty new here.


I eat all kinds of foods. I don't know what "clean" foods vs. "dirty" foods means. I probably eat some of each?

In my opinion, eat clean= 5 ingredients or less.

so if I made an omelet with eggs, free range chicken, organic tomatoes, organic avocado, onion, and some cheese that would not be clean because it has six ingredients, really???

I'm talking about ingredients on a food label. Don't be a wise *kitten*.

So YOU weren't clear with your arbitrary definition of a non-defined term, but I'M the *kitten*. Gotcha.

ndj1979

What does it mean to "eat clean"? I have seen this terminology on other posts too. Sorry, I'm pretty new here.


I eat all kinds of foods. I don't know what "clean" foods vs. "dirty" foods means. I probably eat some of each?

In my opinion, eat clean= 5 ingredients or less.

so if I made an omelet with eggs, free range chicken, organic tomatoes, organic avocado, onion, and some cheese that would not be clean because it has six ingredients, really???

I'm talking about ingredients on a food label. Don't be a wise *kitten*.

please explain the five ingredient cut off in more detail for us "wise *kitten*'s"

ndj1979

I eat clean about 80% of the time. A couple of reasons why 1. All that "stuff" they put in there, preservatives and words I can't pronounce. 2. Carbs, just simple carbs, I still eat my veggies and fruit. I have never liked canned veggies unless they are home canned so that part hasn't changed. I really just want to cut out as much of the processed foods as I can. The one thing I'm not giving up is my yogurt. I've discovered Voskos greek and I love it. Fage also is very yummy.

do you have a carb sensitivity?

Not at all, but by giving up those carbs I find I don't crave sugary stuff.

not really sure I see the connection between carbs and craving sugary stuff…..but whatever floats your boat...

Really? it's NOT about floating a boat it's about what works for me. I eat pasta and bread and I crave sugar and lots of it. I don't eat those things and I don't crave sugar and I can actually bake yummy stuff and walk away only having a taste instead of the whole thing. You on the other hand may not have that problem, your lucky.

again, don't see the connection …

sound more like a will power issue or something ….

translation - whatever floats your boat = whatever works for you...

Serah87

I take a shower before I eat, does that count?? :huh:

tahneesummers88

I used to be.. and it led me to lose 10 kgs TWICE.. on two separate occasions. I dropped the weight FAST and man was it great!

The problem I had was I deprived myself so much.. that of course both times.. I put back on all of the weight. Because I would binge like never before!! "Clean eating" as they say doesn't work for me!! I HATED it. I would cry and cry because "i couldn't" the foods I wanted. Ergh...

Love MFP. I can eat WHATEVER I want.. as long as I'm in deficit!

tmauck4472

I eat clean about 80% of the time. A couple of reasons why 1. All that "stuff" they put in there, preservatives and words I can't pronounce. 2. Carbs, just simple carbs, I still eat my veggies and fruit. I have never liked canned veggies unless they are home canned so that part hasn't changed. I really just want to cut out as much of the processed foods as I can. The one thing I'm not giving up is my yogurt. I've discovered Voskos greek and I love it. Fage also is very yummy.

do you have a carb sensitivity?

Not at all, but by giving up those carbs I find I don't crave sugary stuff.

not really sure I see the connection between carbs and craving sugary stuff…..but whatever floats your boat...

Really? it's NOT about floating a boat it's about what works for me. I eat pasta and bread and I crave sugar and lots of it. I don't eat those things and I don't crave sugar and I can actually bake yummy stuff and walk away only having a taste instead of the whole thing. You on the other hand may not have that problem, your lucky.

again, don't see the connection …

sound more like a will power issue or something ….

translation - whatever floats your boat = whatever works for you...

LOL I have the will power to lose over 200 lbs. I'm SURE that's not the issue.

CoderGal

No. I really enjoy food, and I am not a clean eater. I'm a dirty girl:





BAT BERRY!

roasted peppers for pepperanada

gnocchi with cheese, not clean at all.

this was later battered and deep fried :devil:

chicken, lamb, beef, and 4 types of cheese fondue




for Gado Gado

pepperanada

Indonesian Sautee

tea

choming mango while making mango chutney for spiced tofu experiment (it went well)

beginnings of shawarma

fresh bread, strawberry spinach salad with roasted candied nuts and chicken curry and irish coffee

gone


I do eat processed goods, some of them as seen above, I process myself (I also bake bread...not in a bread maker). I'll eat pretty much anything put in front of me when I'm hungry. On a regular basis, I have 'bad' food every day. This includes processed, sugared, salted stuffz. Today was homemade mars bars. Sadly I don't have a pic so google will show you:

amandastephens9003

Um whoa this BLEW up LOL

What I mean by "clean eating" (FOR ME!) Is eliminating any DIET foods, ie Weight Watchers, South Beach, Lean Cuisine... that full of sodium processed junk. <<That i wish my friend who is 5'3 and weighs almost 300 pounds would STOP eating! I beileve it is doing her bp/fat loss more harm than good>>

I do enjoy a baked good, chocolate, ice cream, and cheesecake, once a month. I find that if I cut it off completely, i will binge. And of course when I go to a concert... i have to drink!!!! It's a rule :P lol

ETA: I should also add: Medifast, Herbalife, and Plexus Slim

jonnythan

Awww that's cute.

Anyway, today I ate a Double Down which probably permanently disqualifies me from the clean eating club.

CoderGal

Awww that's cute.

Anyway, today I ate a Double Down which probably permanently disqualifies me from the clean eating club.

I love those things! They're so perfect

PikaKnight

Um whoa this BLEW up LOL

What I mean by "clean eating" (FOR ME!) Is eliminating any DIET foods, ie Weight Watchers, South Beach, Lean Cuisine... that full of sodium processed junk. <<That i wish my friend who is 5'3 and weighs almost 300 pounds would STOP eating! I beileve it is doing her bp/fat loss more harm than good>>

I do enjoy a baked good, chocolate, ice cream, and cheesecake, once a month. I find that if I cut it off completely, i will binge. And of course when I go to a concert... i have to drink!!!! It's a rule :P lol

ETA: I should also add: Medifast, Herbalife, and Plexus Slim

What does your friend have to do with this now? And I eat processed foods, sometimes even a few Lean Cuisine stuff and I've been fine.

Achrya

Um whoa this BLEW up LOL

What I mean by "clean eating" (FOR ME!) Is eliminating any DIET foods, ie Weight Watchers, South Beach, Lean Cuisine... that full of sodium processed junk. <<That i wish my friend who is 5'3 and weighs almost 300 pounds would STOP eating! I beileve it is doing her bp/fat loss more harm than good>>

I do enjoy a baked good, chocolate, ice cream, and cheesecake, once a month. I find that if I cut it off completely, i will binge. And of course when I go to a concert... i have to drink!!!! It's a rule :P lol

ETA: I should also add: Medifast, Herbalife, and Plexus Slim

My mom enjoys a Lean Cuisine most days at work, but has successfully dropped over 15 (maybe closer to 20 now) pounds since February. So I'm forced to ask, what the hell do you have against Lean Cuisine?

Fullsterkur_woman

Um whoa this BLEW up LOL

What I mean by "clean eating" (FOR ME!) Is eliminating any DIET foods, ie Weight Watchers, South Beach, Lean Cuisine... that full of sodium processed junk. <<That i wish my friend who is 5'3 and weighs almost 300 pounds would STOP eating! I beileve it is doing her bp/fat loss more harm than good>>

I do enjoy a baked good, chocolate, ice cream, and cheesecake, once a month. I find that if I cut it off completely, i will binge. And of course when I go to a concert... i have to drink!!!! It's a rule :P lol

ETA: I should also add: Medifast, Herbalife, and Plexus Slim

I can almost *guarantee* that nobody else had that in mind. That is *precisely* why we say you can't define clean.

KaleeCat

I am a dirty eater all the way! After being on this merry-go-round of eating clean, juice fasting, master cleansing (not that I have any problems with any of those! They work great and I had awesome results, it's just that way of eating isn't sustainable for me), really any diet you think of I probably tried it. I've found that I'm not going to change what I eat no matter what I do, so I've been teaching myself portion control and it's been a much easier way of eating for me than anything else I've done. Of course I throw in some salads, apples, carrots, celery in there, but they don't make up the majority of what I eat. But I'm also a vegetarian so I don't eat meat either (does that make my diet sound a little more "clean"??

_KitKat_

I think I eat clean, I never even get to follow the 5 second rule....if I drop it my dogs get it, now they are Dirty Dirty eaters always eating off the floor :noway:

Seriously I eat what I want, for myself that means no soda (causes migraines) and I am a great cook so I really dislike frozen meals this does not make these items bad or dirty...I just don't like them. I keep seeing this argument come up on mfp to me it seems counterproductive, most here with a lot to lose already have a poor relationship with food and attach emotions to it, why do some people feel the need to vilify certain foods. It can make people with a lot to lose that already have strong emotions feel even more confused. Also as someone that as short as 3 years ago never had a weight issue, never even thought about it....most people that have always been fit do not walk around worrying if their food is dirty, they just eat in moderation when hungry; except if they don't have dogs and they drop it, then they are wondering when they mopped last.

SarahVibe

I stopped drinking soda a couple of years ago and it was absolutely the best best BEST decision of my life! I lost weight quickly and I realized after a few months how unnecessary soda really is. Really, really bad for us. Now, if I ever drink it, which is very very rare, only when I'm drinking whiskey ..which is unfortunately my favorite drink, it hurts my tongue! The CO2 is so intense, I can't take that carbonation at all. Great job to you! Such a good step to where you are going!

I am trying to eat cleaner, as I doooo love my fatty carbs! Do you have any advice on some clean foods? I usually stick to chicken breast, white fish, and veggies like asparagus, peas, or corn, but I am getting tired of these foods. Any advice?

Otterluv

Um whoa this BLEW up LOL

What I mean by "clean eating" (FOR ME!) Is eliminating any DIET foods, ie Weight Watchers, South Beach, Lean Cuisine... that full of sodium processed junk. <<That i wish my friend who is 5'3 and weighs almost 300 pounds would STOP eating! I beileve it is doing her bp/fat loss more harm than good>>

I do enjoy a baked good, chocolate, ice cream, and cheesecake, once a month. I find that if I cut it off completely, i will binge. And of course when I go to a concert... i have to drink!!!! It's a rule :P lol

ETA: I should also add: Medifast, Herbalife, and Plexus Slim

This whole thing post confuses me as the criteria seems a bit arbitrary.

I am 5'3" and used to weigh almost exactly 300lbs. I wonder how many people hypothesized about why I was that weight? I suspect quite a few. For me, it was a medical condition, being way too sedentary, and eating above my (pathetic at the time) maintenance levels. But, I would guess that people who knew me had other theories. Whatever.

Plenty of thin people eat plenty of processed food. I sincerely doubt that you can place all of the blame for her weight on Lean Cuisines and other processed "diet" foods.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I don't follow your logic about the lean cuisines. I mean, I think they're gross and I don't eat them. But they're not innately unhealthy. They've got a lot of salt, but unless your friend has been told to limit sodium by a doctor she's probably fine.

Aside from that, is she asking for your input? If not, I'd keep it to myself. She's not doing anything harmful and will likely resent you for drawing a seemingly arbitrary line in the sand, where chocolate etc are fine but lean cuisines are bad because reasons.

coolblondenerd

If not, what do you eat?

I'm pretty flippin' proud of myself, I haven't had a soda in 2 months. It was my addiction! When i drank it, i would would go through at least 3:1 liters a week!
I've lost 6 pounds... I know that's all water weight but hey it's a first step!

I am for the most part. I try to eat processed food as little as possible, but at the same time I don't deny myself treats once they fit in my calorie goal and a couple of treat meals.

asciiqwerty

SURE - I always wash my veg after harvesting from the garden, i'm not a fan of added soil, slugs and earwigs.
I also wash my hands between handling different types of food so as not to transfer say raw meat juice onto salad.



seriously though, I prefer to eat actual ingredients that i recognise and understand, i'm not a fan of supplements/shakes/additives....

sijomial

I'm talking about ingredients on a food label.

I must be missing something here!
So my lunch is tuna, egg, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, capers, lemon juice.

If I made it myself it would be clean despite having eleven ingredients rather than five but if I buy it ready prepared (packaged no less!) with an ingredient label on it then it becomes dirty?

asciiqwerty

I must be missing something here!
So my lunch is tuna, egg, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, capers, lemon juice.

If I made it myself it would be clean despite having eleven ingredients rather than five but if I buy it ready prepared (packaged no less!) with an ingredient label on it then it becomes dirty?

but if you had bought salad dressing rather than using oil and vinegar, there might also be fillers, sweetners ... and other things that are unnecessary but cheper than oil and vinegar

Inkratlet

I always wash my food before eating it

Oh, I LOLed when someone turned up in the gym with a can of paleo energy drink. You what? HOW is that unprocessed. Someone put it in a can FGS. It has had to go through a process to get to that state. All food is processed. I process my lunchtime salad by taking stuff from bags and putting it all in a bowl.

INPUT > PROCESS > OUTPUT

jonnythan

Um whoa this BLEW up LOL

What I mean by "clean eating" (FOR ME!) Is eliminating any DIET foods, ie Weight Watchers, South Beach, Lean Cuisine... that full of sodium processed junk. <<That i wish my friend who is 5'3 and weighs almost 300 pounds would STOP eating! I beileve it is doing her bp/fat loss more harm than good>>

I do enjoy a baked good, chocolate, ice cream, and cheesecake, once a month. I find that if I cut it off completely, i will binge. And of course when I go to a concert... i have to drink!!!! It's a rule :P lol

ETA: I should also add: Medifast, Herbalife, and Plexus Slim

I eat Atkins and Lean Cuisine frozen meals. I ate them a lot when I lost my first 40 lbs. I guess I did it wrong?

ndj1979

I'm talking about ingredients on a food label.

I must be missing something here!
So my lunch is tuna, egg, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, capers, lemon juice.

If I made it myself it would be clean despite having eleven ingredients rather than five but if I buy it ready prepared (packaged no less!) with an ingredient label on it then it becomes dirty?

dirty!

ndj1979

I must be missing something here!
So my lunch is tuna, egg, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, capers, lemon juice.

If I made it myself it would be clean despite having eleven ingredients rather than five but if I buy it ready prepared (packaged no less!) with an ingredient label on it then it becomes dirty?

but if you had bought salad dressing rather than using oil and vinegar, there might also be fillers, sweetners ... and other things that are unnecessary but cheper than oil and vinegar

lol, so the injection of salad dressing makes it more dirty???? What if it is organic salad dressing from unicorn farms????

tennisdude2004

I live by the 5 second rule, does that count as clean eater?

JulsiePie

**walks into her kitchen, opens the freezer, looks at her Lean Cuisine boxes......closes the freezer, sits on the floor and cries since she will never be part of the cool clean-eaters now...**

Galatea_Stone

I don't define my foods with unnecessary labels that can't be satisfactorily defined. It's too much work to stress over whether a food is clean or dirty.

Take a taco salad. It's considered a dirty food. A very dirty food, but what is it really?

Did mashing the beans make them less of a bean?
Did shredding the lettuce make it less of a lettuce?
Dicing the tomato?
Mixing water into the corn masa to make the shell?
Is it the ground beef?
The pico or salsa?
The shredded cheese?
The extra hot sauce?
The sour cream?
How about the chili powder and cilantro?

Individually, these items are consumed by people who call themselves "clean eaters" all the time. But combine them, and they're suddenly evil. This is just an example. You can deconstruct a pizza, a cheeseburger, or any number of foods and the definition changes.

littlekitty3

I wash all my food, including protein powder.