Clean Eating

establishingaplace

Answered.

But my related question--if you don't actually think foods you have declared off-limits are unclean and don't, in fact, actually avoid them (processed, added sugar, whatever) with any more regularity than the average non-clean eater in these parts, why call yourself a clean eater? What's the point, or what are you trying to convey?

"unclean" or "dirty" food is a term that was made up by people who do not like the term "clean eating". I have never heard it uttered by a person outside of these forums. In my book, no food is unclean or dirty, it just may not fall under clean eating just as some foods do not fall under paleo or vegetarian or vegan or *insert diet of choice*. If that is your perception, then that is not my problem. Clean eating is a term coined to describe a movement started back in the 60s for people to get away from chemically altered (by man) or doctored up food and get "back to nature" or "back to basics" Its not a diet. You don't have to like or agree with it, that's the beauty of freedom of choice. And yes, much with everything else in the world, the term has been used by more and more people and not always correctly and it's open to interpretation, much like everything else on the planet. I don't think food has to be organic in order to be considered clean, some people do. 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.

Haha.

WLG1974

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

establishingaplace

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

And Instagram. I've gotten so many great recipes from Instagram. Pictures of yummy food motivate me to eat yummy food!

tedrickp

Answered.

But my related question--if you don't actually think foods you have declared off-limits are unclean and don't, in fact, actually avoid them (processed, added sugar, whatever) with any more regularity than the average non-clean eater in these parts, why call yourself a clean eater? What's the point, or what are you trying to convey?

Just to qualify what I am about to say - clearly from my posts in this thread, you know that I do not believe in clean eating. I also take it one step further by saying it is possibly dangerous and potentially a gateway to Orthorexia Nervosa (which is a serious issue especially in the fitness world).

That said - I get why people would call themselves "clean eaters". I do believe in the power of community. Being able to coalesce with like minded individuals can be empowering and help people towards their goals. That is actually the one thing about clean eating I understand LOL

QuietBloom

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!

We are trying to give you the best chance at success. If you think you have to 'eat clean' to lose weight, or to maintain that loss, it will be a much more difficult journey and you might fail. Eat what you like, but meet your macros, micronutrient goals and calorie goals. No special foods required. :flowerforyou:

QuietBloom

I am on the same journey! The biggest thing I have learned is to READ LABELS! Try to avoid added sugar and salt (Use raw, natural honey) and skip it if there are ingredients that you don't know what they are. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible, fresh meat, veggies, dairy, fruit. I have only been doing this for 6 weeks and it has made a HUGE change! Congrats on beginning the journey!

I just ate this. Will I be okay? I don't know what some of this stuff is.

Seriously.. If it's an apple or pineapple or berry or something (which knowing these forums it likely is) then it's fine.. You're not obtuse enough to not understand the person is referring to chemicals that are added by man.

Well, from the looks of blueberry ingredients, if you add them to pancakes, you are screwed. Just sayin'.

rileamoyer

I know lots of folks swear by what diet they follow (diet meaning what they eat every day). However, I knew that I would not be able to change my lifestyle drastically (e.g. become a vegan, follow paleo diet, or Atkins etc) and do it for the rest of my life. My answer was PORTION CONTROL followed by increasing veggies and fruits, and making small changes such as - if I have potatoes for dinner, I skip bread. So far this has worked for 4 years! So whatever you choose, ask yourself - will I be able to eat like this the next 30, 40, 50 years??? Good luck.

QuietBloom

I just threw out my fake, imitation Snicker style ice cream bars by Skinny Cow for the real Snickers ice cream bars. I'll take the 20 extra cals for taste any day. I guess we're both making changes!

Good girl.

KBmoments

bump

lemurcat12

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

WLG1974

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

There's a huge difference.

I realize you are not trying to pick on me, you just asked a question, and that's fine.

lemurcat12

That said - I get why people would call themselves "clean eaters". I do believe in the power of community. Being able to coalesce with like minded individuals can be empowering and help people towards their goals. That is actually the one thing about clean eating I understand LOL

That's interesting and as I think about it, probably correct, and probably one reason why all kinds of diet movements are popular. I'm also so puzzled why people want diets with instructions--eating plans or special rules and all that. It seems to me (and definitely sometimes is) some kind of belief that it only works if you follow the rules, like magic. But the community thing likely is part of it, although MFP itself allows for community even without that, of course.

I think the clean eating one bugs me more than something like paleo (which just seems like folks doing their own thing, to each their own) since it largely seems like people trying to wall off discussion of stuff I am into--cooking and nutrition and all that--as if only the self proclaimed "clean eaters" cared about that, and everyone else simply gobbled up Lunchables, followed by Twinkies, for every meal. Not that there's anything wrong with eating Lunchables and Twinkies in moderation, if that's your bliss. ;-)

lemurcat12

There's a huge difference.

Okay, cool. What's the difference?

establishingaplace

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

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.

WLG1974

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

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

StephanieOugh2014

I read a lot of page one, skipped to page 7 but then thought I should say something. I don't want to label my eating so strictly. I do mostly eat whole foods. I do not drink diet sodas and try to stay away from white sugar and white flour. High-fructose corn syrup scares the crap out of me! But I eat bacon and coconut oil regularlly. I do eat around 1500 calories a day and am fully satisfied at that amount. High protein. Instead of eating ice cream I eat a lot of greek yogurt with vanilla stevia and frozen cherries. I find when I eat out, and I do, I am choosing way better these days. But if I really wanted a treat outside of the totally healthy realm, like real icecream, I will eat it. But not every day. If you want to see what I eat (including wine) then you can add me as a friend. I'm always interested in what other people are eating too!

Thezestiest

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

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.

I have PCOS, too!

pishposh12

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.

lemurcat12

"unclean" or "dirty" food is a term that was made up by people who do not like the term "clean eating". I have never heard it uttered by a person outside of these forums.

First, it's implicit. If some food is special because it's clean and other food is not clean, what is it?

Second, like I said, at least some sources attribute the term or its current popularity to Tosca Reno, who denies responsibility for the concept, but that's a different thing than the term. She most certainly uses it to distinguish "clean" foods from "toxic" ones. If you have a different source for the term itself, I'd be happy to look at it, but I very much doubt (it's simply illogical) that it's unrelated to an idea of various categories of food being not clean or unclean or the like.

If that is your perception, then that is not my problem.

This is bogus, since the term itself was clearly chosen to make that very statement. People like the OP might happen on it and think "oh, this is what this is called," and they shouldn't be jumped on for it, but beyond that people who espouse it should at least own it. If that statement wasn't intended, the term wouldn't be used.

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.

And I don't see much difference between what many self-proclaimed clean eaters eat and what many others here eat, beyond their attachment to that term as a description and supposed intention to stop eating certain uh, not clean foods, that they continue to eat on occasion. That seems to me at least something worth discussing--why is it better to consider a decent chunk (20% or whatever) of your diary essentially a sin (at least that's how the references make it sound), something done against your will, a mistake, something to be ashamed of, vs. just accepting that a healthy diet can involve a mix of food, some more chosen for nutrient value, some more for just taste, some for both? Now as I've said lots of times, I'm not actually that against eliminating food items for those for whom it works (same with paleo, etc.). However, if you really find them disgusting and don't like them, what's the purpose of eliminating them? I've never eliminated Lunchables in part because it would never occur to me to eat them. If I were to eliminate apple pie it's because that's something I would think to eat, because I really like apple pie. That beng the case, rather than put myself in a situation where I occasionally eat it, but only under circumstances where I have to tell myself that I couldn't help it, why not just say it's something I eat on special occasions if I don't think it fits in my calories more often?

This is something I'm open to discussion on (not saying you need to discuss it with me, since I get the sense my posts irritate you), as I do think there are circumstances in which elimination of foods makes sense. I've eliminated some (as a personal matter, I wouldn't suggest to anyone else that they should do similarly) for ethical reasons and also have found short term eliminations useful in getting rid of unhealthy habits. And I also agree that what kind of food lifestyle works for people is a personal matter and depends on personality, etc. I just happened on the "clean eating" debate here where it was being suggested that if you don't absolutely eschew "added sugar" (well, except when you are eating it, as clean eaters mostly seem to on occasion) that you must eat only out of the packaged food aisles.

Timshel_

Just know that clean eating in and of itself does not cause weight loss. You have to eat less calories then you burn to lose weight. You can do that eating processed foods or not.

Ed Zachary