Clean Eating

Bernadette60614

You may want to check out some of the private groups (which you can join!) on MFP.

On Netflix, a couple of documentaries Netflix streaming: Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead..

Also, if you don't have Netflix, you can check out Dr. John McDougall on YouTube. He's recently featured in a documentary titled "Processed People". If you search by that title, you'll see a very quick clip of him explaining what that means.

GL!

lemurcat12

I see "clean eating" recipes as a specific subset of regular cooking, specifically those recipes that do not use white flour and refined sugars or alternatives like coconut flour, beans, coconut sugar, cauliflower for pizza crust, etc. I'm not a "clean eater" but I do seek out some of the recipes because they're often lower in calories, lower GI (I have PCOS so this is relevant), more nutrient-dense, and are dishes I won't binge on even if it's sweet stuff.

Thank you for this. I am so bad with words. I'm sorry to the other poster

Thank you both, and this helps in one way, although I am now even more confused in others.

This does make it make more sense why people would use "clean eating recipes," and I have read vegan and vegetarian and even paleo recipes for similar reasons, though I am none of those.

But it seems to contradict the suggestion that "clean eating" is just cooking for yourself from whole foods.

Also, maybe I'm just a boring cook, but I suspect the vast majority of normal recipes not for dessert or some kind of bread (including crust) or, of course, pasta (which I will never give up) don't involve flour or sugar. I'm often a simple cook, but even when I'm not I can think of tons of recipes that involve meat and vegetables and sometimes fruit or nuts plus homemade sauce and spices that might be higher calories, but also might not, but don't use sugar or flour and would seem entirely consistent with "clean eating" even based on that more restrictive definition.

Anyway, I'm posting too much and mercifully have to do something else now, so will shut up about it for a while.

Adpalangi

I agree. I to have started clean or whole foods, it's been about eight weeks now, and I feel so much better putting ingredients together for a dish when I know exactly is in them. I think I will adopted it as my new lifestyle but I'm not going crazy about it. If I'm around processed food at a dinner party, birthday party, whatever I certainally am not going to pass the occasional piece of cake. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not to the point of being obsessed about it. Changes where ever I can, and if I can't I just go with the flow being certain to watch my portions, as usual, and estimate if I want to put that much processed food in my mouth, watching for calories fat and sugar.
This is all new to me so I tried motto give advice but just to share my experience.

Best of luck!

establishingaplace

I see "clean eating" recipes as a specific subset of regular cooking, specifically those recipes that do not use white flour and refined sugars or alternatives like coconut flour, beans, coconut sugar, cauliflower for pizza crust, etc. I'm not a "clean eater" but I do seek out some of the recipes because they're often lower in calories, lower GI (I have PCOS so this is relevant), more nutrient-dense, and are dishes I won't binge on even if it's sweet stuff.

Thank you for this. I am so bad with words. I'm sorry to the other poster

Thank you both, and this helps in one way, although I am now even more confused in others.

This does make it make more sense why people would use "clean eating recipes," and I have read vegan and vegetarian and even paleo recipes for similar reasons, though I am none of those.

But it seems to contradict the suggestion that "clean eating" is just cooking for yourself from whole foods.

Also, maybe I'm just a boring cook, but I suspect the vast majority of normal recipes not for dessert or some kind of bread (including crust) or, of course, pasta (which I will never give up) don't involve flour or sugar. I'm often a simple cook, but even when I'm not I can think of tons of recipes that involve meat and vegetables and sometimes fruit or nuts plus homemade sauce and spices that might be higher calories, but also might not, but don't use sugar or flour and would seem entirely consistent with "clean eating" even based on that more restrictive definition.

Anyway, I'm posting too much and mercifully have to do something else now, so will shut up about it for a while.

No, you're right, a lot of regular recipes would count as "clean eating recipes."

I feel like people turn to "clean eating" as a way to give up added sugar and carbs, so that they can lose weight without that pesky calorie counting. I will say that I have done "clean eating" challenges anywhere from 30-90 days, and they were successful during (though a disaster afterwards when I found myself binge-eating the foods I missed).

IllustratedxGirl

I agree on the fact that at the end of the day it is all about calories in versus out, BUT for your overall health it is better if those calories are made up from healthier choices.

This!

lemurcat12

I don't see why caring about health or nutrition must equal "clean eating," however. Sure, some people mostly just care about losing weight, but I haven't found reason to assume that the average active poster at MFP doesn't care about health. It's just that there are different ideas about what's healthy and even different things work for different posters. The idea that you can only be healthy by swearing off ALL whatever it is, always, seems dubious. If it works for you, great--it's one potentially healthy approach among many. But, in part because the actual health reasons for never ever eating a cookie aren't that strong, it's not going to work for many, so the question is whether it's discouraging or counterproductive to try and fail. Probably for some, yes, for some, no.

Also, I don't understand why desserts are consistently equated with processed. They are totally separate things unless it really just stems from a flour/sugar antipathy, which seems to trend more paleo. Oh, well.

paperpudding

So, if you are looking to start clean eating because you want to change your eating habits (i.e. eat natural foods, etc.), I started with a week long detox that basically jolted me into that direction. I still allow myself days where I can eat (in moderation) the things I love so I don't binge on them in a weak moment.

When I first started that route, I did this detox: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/weight+loss/diets/bikini+detox+diet,20613

It worked well, allowed you to eat a lot of food, and then you can slowly reintegrate the things you determine fit for your diet.

OP if you want to start eating clean, whatever that means to you, then do it.

But forget doing any silly detoxes first.

Yagisama

There's a huge difference.

Okay, cool. What's the difference?

I'd be interested to know what the difference is as well.

Confuzzled4ever

To each their own. I think half of what some people eat is disgusting and counter productive to what this site is about, but i'm not going to drag them through the mud to prove my point. You object to the phrase "clean eating". You've made your statement and you've voiced your opinion. Good for you.

See I have agreed with some of the things you have said - we seem to agree on what is IMO the most important thing: personal preference.

But now we see why people get annoyed at the clean eating clique. Disgust is a rather strong word IMO. Not only disgust - but you are disgusted by HALF of what some of us eat. You say you don't consider any food "unclean" or "dirty" but you find it "disgusting". Weird.

Counter productive in what sense? Considering that no single food in isolation (and moderation) can damage your health, or cause nutrient deficiencies, and eating ANY food in excess calories can cause weight gain - what is counter productive about the "disgusting" food we eat??

What part of disgusting equates to me calling them dirty or unclean. If you find brussel sprouts disgusting do they cease to be good for you?

Disgusting: arousing revulsion or strong indignation; offensive to the physical, moral, or aesthetic taste

Some people have a strong dislike of the phrase clean eating, because they perceive it as labeling other food incorrectly. The word disgusting fits.

Clearer?

chilledbeast

Good for you! I think Clean Eating is the way to go. Benefits of clean eating is that it can drastically reduce or eliminate cravings. Clean eating will change your health and hopefully your weight. I disagree that it is all calorie counting. I eat weight more calories than I am supposed to but I eat very clean and healthy and I lose half a pound a day.

No you don't.

tedrickp

Clearer?

Not really, but I don't want to argue semantics. Have a great day.

Yagisama

To each their own. I think half of what some people eat is disgusting and counter productive to what this site is about, but i'm not going to drag them through the mud to prove my point. You object to the phrase "clean eating". You've made your statement and you've voiced your opinion. Good for you.

See I have agreed with some of the things you have said - we seem to agree on what is IMO the most important thing: personal preference.

But now we see why people get annoyed at the clean eating clique. Disgust is a rather strong word IMO. Not only disgust - but you are disgusted by HALF of what some of us eat. You say you don't consider any food "unclean" or "dirty" but you find it "disgusting". Weird.

Counter productive in what sense? Considering that no single food in isolation (and moderation) can damage your health, or cause nutrient deficiencies, and eating ANY food in excess calories can cause weight gain - what is counter productive about the "disgusting" food we eat??

What part of disgusting equates to me calling them dirty or unclean. If you find brussel sprouts disgusting do they cease to be good for you?

Disgusting: arousing revulsion or strong indignation; offensive to the physical, moral, or aesthetic taste

Some people have a strong dislike of the phrase clean eating, because they perceive it as labeling other food incorrectly. The word disgusting fits.

Clearer?

I don't like Brussels sprouts but I wouldn't call them disgusting since I know others like them.

MsMaryMac48

I am actually quite surprised by the negative in this post. I heard great things about this forum, and was anticipating supportive comments from people trying for essentially the same thing. C'mon everyone, I was all hyped up!

My thoughts exactly! DON'T listen to the nay-sayers. When I began my weight loss journey many years ago it was a slow process of clean eating. Target your five-nine fruits and vegetables (whole not juiced) more vegetables than fruits, only use whole grains and do so sparingly and lean protein. It's really not that hard. Your cravings will subside and you will be on track. Eat small meals often and you will not get hungry. I started out just walking around my neighborhood and that was the jump start I needed to get active later after I started feeling stronger and more "active".

Little things like park farther away from the store, use the stairs. You've heard it all before just make it deliberate. Every bite you take is a decision toward your goal. Ask yourself is this getting me closer to my goal? Is this cookie/cupcake worth 30 minutes on the treadmill? If the answer is no, then step away, eat an apple and take a walk.

Good luck on your journey. Not everyone here is so negative. I hope you find the encouragement you need without feeling criticized every time you make a comment. I guess the old fogies that have been on MFP for ever and a day get a little frustrated with newbies.

I'm one of those that can't stay on forum long because the negative comments are just depressing. But I am glad to be an encourager if needed!!!

lemurcat12

Some foods are disgusting to me personally, as a matter of taste (for example, I know many love it, but canned tuna reminds me too much of canned cat food), but that's just a matter of personal preference, and not something I'd elevate to a dietary principle. (It's also something I try to get over in most cases, as pickiness, including in myself, bothers me. I kind of like Jeffrey Steingarten's efforts to be the Man who Ate Everything, and thus attempt to have an open mind about food items that I'm culturally disinclined to try when traveling. There are, of course, limits, and anyway I digress.) Of course, though it's common to have strong food preferences, I'd never tell someone I thought their food was disgusting or assert (other than in jest) that my taste is somehow objectively correct--that's obviously rude, every bit as rude as saying someone else's food is not clean.

More significantly, however, it really doesn't make much sense as an explanation of what "clean eating" or the term. You don't need rules against eating food that you don't like. People just naturally don't eat food they don't like. You only need rules against foods that you do like, but don't want to eat for some reason. Thus, as used here, "disgusting" seems to mean something beyond personal taste preferences.

Also, at least one "clean eating" guru has now been referenced in the thread, John McDougall. McDougall might have an issue with the claims that "clean" just means perimeters (including meat and dairy), and also seems to love the potato (good man!), which is demonized by many around here. But just a two second check with google and it seems that McDougall not only recommends eliminating huge numbers of foods (although he'd be fine with my oh-so-processed steel cut oats!), but he describes these foods as poisons in your diet. Just like Reno's "toxic foods," I guess it isn't strictly "unclean," but it sure seems to be the same thing.

Again, if you think something is really a poison and bad regardless of the quantities, you shouldn't censor your opinions, but that does seem to be something that must be evidence-based, not a matter of personal preference, and if that's what clean eating is about clean eaters should own it. If the assertion is that eating any processed food is bad for you, it's a fair question to ask why this is so in every single case given the tradeoffs.

Around here it seems like far more self-proclaimed clean eaters really just mean that they avoid or eat less of* high calorie, non nutrient dense food items and, in some cases, specifically avoid certain substances (like HFCS or man-made transfats). This seems to be something different, and I'm not sure why the interest in using the "clean" label except because it's a group identity, I guess, even if the group lacks coherence. So long as they don't insist that eating "clean" is the only way to care about health, whatever.

*Relative standard, so especially strange to call this "eating clean" vs. trying to change my diet to focus more on health.

jjplato

My thoughts exactly! DON'T listen to the nay-sayers. When I began my weight loss journey many years ago it was a slow process of clean eating. Target your five-nine fruits and vegetables (whole not juiced) more vegetables than fruits, only use whole grains and do so sparingly and lean protein. It's really not that hard. Your cravings will subside and you will be on track. Eat small meals often and you will not get hungry. I started out just walking around my neighborhood and that was the jump start I needed to get active later after I started feeling stronger and more "active".

Great advice. I eat primarily whole foods and I've come to enjoy them much more than the pre-packaged stuff. Forget all the people here arguing semantics and obsessing over what the word "clean" means or doesn't mean. Common sense will serve you just fine. There's also a "clean eating" group that you can join if you want to be able to ask questions without a bunch of snarky comments and crazy cat ladies hijacking your thread :-)

AMDLove

The fact that people are so wrapped up around the term "clean eating" is quite childish and just a way to be an a**hole. I am sure most people here on this forum and MFP has heard of the term "clean eating", so there is no reason to question MissKelly about what she means by eating clean. That is just being obnoxious and rude. Why even comment? I understand giving constructive criticism and even opposing the clean eating lifestyle, but there is no reason to get upset about the term. Grow up!

I do believe a calorie is a calorie, however, eliminating or limiting processed foods should help you feel better and even look better, in my opinion. Your body processes a 200 calorie cupcake differently than a 200 calorie fresh fruit platter. You will not be so tired after eating. I think "clean eating" is more so for your overall health than weight loss, but I believe it can help a lot.

lemurcat12

I don't think anyone has been questioning MissKelly or saying anything negative to her at all. There's just another conversation or 4 that branched off from the original topic.

On that topic, though, wanting to discuss something means that you find it interesting, not that you are upset about it. I am interested in what psychologically attracts people to the term or concept of clean eating, especially those who don't actually eliminate foods, the one thing that would seem to distinguish so-called "clean eating" from other ways of eating. Anyone who has heard of the term "clean eating" must know it has no consistent usage at all, except that the self-proclaimed "clean eater" thinks that some foods are clean and others, well, aren't. For example, in the Whole30 thread "clean" is used to mean consistent with those principles--no grains, dairy, or potatoes, among other things. Whereas for the previously referenced McDougall it means no meat, dairy, or eggs and no processed food of certain kinds (but some are okay), and potatoes and whole grains are fine and dandy. Given these kinds of disparities I don't see how anyone can claim to know what another person's use of the term means, let alone claim that anyone who is confused must be disingenuous. And there seems to be less actual commonality between the diet ideas of clean eaters as between some clean eaters and some, gasp, non clean eaters.

This is illustrated by the shift in your own post from processed vs. not (as if all processed foods were somehow the same, and as if things like frozen veggies did not contribute to the health of many) to a fruit plate vs. a cupcake. If one thinks cupcakes must be eliminated from a "clean eater's" diet, the issue is unlikely processing--surely we've all had homemade cupcakes?--but one or more of its ingredients. Not confusing, unknown chemicals, but butter, flour, or sugar. On the other hand, the fruit plate may well be processed. You can buy pre-made ones at my grocery store.

If the assertion is made that the "clean eating lifestyle" is a good thing, one should be able to identify what it is and in what ways it is more beneficial than the non-clean eater lifestyle. Yet I don't know what either is supposed to be, except that the non-clean eater lifestyle seems to involve never eating vegetables and an unnatural attachment to Lunchables, which seems far more of a caricature than anything I've said.

Oh, and my dietary choices don't make me tired. If they did I'd change them. So again is it possible that the diet of non clean eaters is being caricatured a bit?

kristinemaravilla

That is a great start. Overly processed foods have a lot of saturated fat, sugar, and salt - getting rid of them would definitely help you lose weight.

lemurcat12

My thoughts exactly! DON'T listen to the nay-sayers. When I began my weight loss journey many years ago it was a slow process of clean eating. Target your five-nine fruits and vegetables (whole not juiced) more vegetables than fruits, only use whole grains and do so sparingly and lean protein. It's really not that hard. Your cravings will subside and you will be on track. Eat small meals often and you will not get hungry. I started out just walking around my neighborhood and that was the jump start I needed to get active later after I started feeling stronger and more "active".

Great advice. I eat primarily whole foods and I've come to enjoy them much more than the pre-packaged stuff. Forget all the people here arguing semantics and obsessing over what the word "clean" means or doesn't mean. Common sense will serve you just fine. There's also a "clean eating" group that you can join if you want to be able to ask questions without a bunch of snarky comments and crazy cat ladies hijacking your thread :-)

I wasn't going to respond to this, but, sigh, now I've started.

The funny thing (or actually not all that surprising thing) is that I actually agree with most of the advice you quoted (not the small meals, I think that's pure preference) and I also eat mostly whole foods and never ate much in the way of pre packaged stuff, other than those you say don't count for some reason. (Although there are definitely pre packaged foods and contexts where I think they add to the healthy options available--like frozen veggies--whether I happen to eat that item or not.). That application of common sense and, well, moderation vs. strict ideological rules is why I'm (by any definition I've ever heard, as well as due to an antipathy to calling foods unclean) not a "clean eater"--it has been explained to me that "clean eaters" at least aspire to not do most, but ALL, to eliminate. If you say just try to apply common sense I don't see what makes "clean eating" a thing. It's giving a special name to what any number of other people do. To moderation, even.

But maybe I'm just crazy. One thing that is not true, however, is that I'm a nay sayer or discouraged the OP from changing her diet. I'm quite enthusiastic about the benefits of cooking and vegetables and all sorts of stuff that is not the exclusive way of "clean eaters." Crazy that.

tennisdude2004

Hi everyone!
I just heard about this amazing site and am starting my weight loss journey tomorrow. I have just thrown away all of my terrible packaged preservative filled foods, and have done research on clean eating. I was wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions for me? Thank you!
Can't wait for the healthy new me!

Good luck on your cleaner eating journey.

Hopefully cutting back on the junk food should help you get into a calorie deficit easier.

A tip would be: - take it one step at a time, sometimes changing too much at once might prove a step too far.

Also, don't get too bogged down with what is classed as clean and not clean by the MFP community - It's your diet so it's your rules. You class it as clean - then it's clean.