How important is it to "eat clean"

SarahMZxx

Hi all,

How important is it to eat "clean"?! Surely eating a low fat sandwich of say 300 calories is better than eating a "clean" meal of double that?! Does it really matter WHAT you eat? I'm not saying i want to eat complete junk...I don't. But sometimes i eat on the go and i just grab the healthiest option which may not be considered "clean" but is lower in calories than a cleaner option...

Thanks! xxx

BigT555

calories in vs calories out for weight loss, everything else is for general health. if you eat 500 cals of candy vs 500 cals of chicken and broccoli you would lose the same amount of weight, but the chicken and broccoli will be more filling and give you more nutrients

in_the_stars

I don't want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me.
Doug Coupland

;D

nancy10272004

How important is it to eat clean to lose weight? Not at all.I am a fan of basing my diet off of fruits, vegetables, legumes, eggs, healthy fat and whatever else is probably good for me but eat frozen dinners, go out to eat at places that would make clean eaters on MFP cringe and I'm still losing weight and feeling great.

I had a bag of Doritos for dinner the other night. It was awesome. Too much sodium but otherwise awesome.

4legsRbetterthan2

calories in vs calories out = weightloss or gain
macros and micros can have a large effect on your overall heath and fitness goals as well
if weight loss is your only goal and you want to keep things simple then just worry about the calries. If you have other goals in mind then do some research on that.

drunkenwaltz

Just because something is low in calories/fat doesn't mean it is inherently healthy.

seabirdie12

Just because something is low in calories/fat doesn't mean it is inherently healthy.

This.

If you mean 300 calories of a sandwhich is "better" for you in the sense that you'll lose weight faster, that is true. Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out. Overall health is not. You could lose weight on 1200 calories of ice cream a day. Is it healthy? No.

seltzermint555

How important is it to eat clean to lose weight? Not at all.I am a fan of basing my diet off of fruits, vegetables, legumes, eggs, healthy fat and whatever else is probably good for me but eat frozen dinners, go out to eat at places that would make clean eaters on MFP cringe and I'm still losing weight and feeling great.

I had a bag of Doritos for dinner the other night. It was awesome. Too much sodium but otherwise awesome.

Pretty much this.

I would say my diet is 80% "clean, healthy, blah blah" and 20% junky. I had a birthday cake shake for dinner the other night and it was everything I dreamed it would be ;-)

Honestly, I have looked at many diaries of users whose logs are like lists of whole, organic foods and all natural nutritional supplements and OFTEN those users are still obese/overweight and have a host of health problems. This causes me to lose faith in the general school of thought that healthy eating is the cure-all for everything...JMHO

Most importantly, I want a sustainable lifestyle that will allow me to keep at it comfortably for life. Not a diet. I'm going to have a donut and a gyro with grape leaves or Mexican food on Saturdays. Forever.

tennisdude2004

For people who want to "eat clean", I'm sure it's very important.

For people who don't, I'm not sure its important at all.

Hope that answers your question.

RllyGudTweetr

Just because something is low in calories/fat doesn't mean it is inherently healthy.

This.

If you mean 300 calories of a sandwhich is "better" for you in the sense that you'll lose weight faster, that is true. Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out. Overall health is not. You could lose weight on 1200 calories of ice cream a day. Is it healthy? No.

http://www.geekosystem.com/twinkie-diet/

JoRocka

For people who want to "eat clean", I'm sure it's very important.

For people who don't, I'm not sure its important at all.

Hope that answers your question.

this is spot on.

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SKME2013

calories in vs calories out for weight loss, everything else is for general health. if you eat 500 cals of candy vs 500 cals of chicken and broccoli you would lose the same amount of weight, but the chicken and broccoli will be more filling and give you more nutrients

^^ this.

If it is just about weightloss you can eat anything, if you want to do something for your health it is important.
Stef.

shellylb52

For people who want to "eat clean", I'm sure it's very important.

For people who don't, I'm not sure its important at all.

Hope that answers your question.

this is spot on.

Agreed^^

tedrickp

Why Clean Eating is a myth:
http://evidencemag.com/clean-eating/

brboydjr

It's not just the calories but the type of calories. Clean eating is only important if you choose to make it important. Sometimes when eating on the run it's very hard to do. The key is to always try and health healthy snacks readily available. I keep fruit at my office and in my car for the quick pick me up.

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ChriJMitch

You can eat clean and still gain weight. Its all about hitting your calorie deficit. Eating a bag of M&M's for every meal will still probably keep you under your calorie goal, but your muscles will atrophy, you will have horrible mood swings, your energy level is going to be really low, your skin and complexion will get real bad, etc. It's just going to be really hard on your body in general.

Remember skinny /= healthy. Splurging on treats is A-Ok, but there is a physical reason doctors tell you to eat your fruits and veggies.

Escloflowne

I had a bag of Doritos for dinner the other night. It was awesome. Too much sodium but otherwise awesome.

You're my hero!

in_the_stars

Clean eating is a meaningless term that varies from person to person. It's equally as important to diet as mxyplxtk is to nuclear fusion.

I suppose I should own my farm then. sigh...

BigT555

calories in vs calories out for weight loss, everything else is for general health. if you eat 500 cals of candy vs 500 cals of chicken and broccoli you would lose the same amount of weight, but the chicken and broccoli will be more filling and give you more nutrients

^^ this.

If it is just about weightloss you can eat anything, if you want to do something for your health it is important.
Stef.

Except this is completely false because if you ate nothing but candy you'd eventually die of nutritional deficiencies within a few months to a year. Not to mention that obesity has been linked to malnutrition and calories from refined sugar are nutrient void. And that even one soda a day raises diabetes risk by around 20%.

thats why i said everything else is for general health. nobody here is promoting a diet of pure candy, everything in my first post is completely true.

zoodocgirl

Why don't you just try mindful eating and pay attention to how you FEEL after eating certain things and then you'll know what's important for you and what isn't.

Eleventy billion people say they feel "better" eliminating grains.
I just feel hungry and cranky when I do that. So I eat grains and I feel just fine, despite the fact that according to the gospel of the internet, they aren't currently considered "clean".

When I drink liquid milk, a medium-sized nuclear war happens in my stomach, so I avoid it. Not because it isn't "clean" but because I'm lactose intolerant.

I know a lot of "clean" eaters who still drink beer, frequently. Hops gives me a migraine. I learned this by carefully paying attention to what I was eating when I got a headache, and doing some elimination trials. But I would never presume to suggest that other people eat the way I do or don't eat.

Don't worry so much about what the "rules" are. Eat stuff, write it down, pay attention to how you feel immediately, a few hours later, the next day. Recognize patterns. Adjust.

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itodd4019

I don't want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me.
Doug Coupland

;D

HAHAHQAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

that's great

_John_

IN...for ridiculous hypotheticals

BigT555

Except there's no mention that it only holds true for short-term. Insulin resistance will effect energy utilization and can therefore cause reductions in weight loss.

Reference:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/10/5/563.full.pdf

that article is for diabetes type 2 patients, which is a separate case entirely.

when you start talking about insulin resistance in any form things get really mucky since it differs so much from one person to another, but generally speaking it wont have a great effect on weight loss unless your eating a ridiculous amount of sugar on a daily basis

SugaryLynx

I just like food.

itodd4019

Except there's no mention that it only holds true for short-term. Insulin resistance will effect energy utilization and can therefore cause reductions in weight loss.

Reference:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/10/5/563.full.pdf

that article is for diabetes type 2 patients, which is a separate case entirely.

when you start talking about insulin resistance in any form things get really mucky since it differs so much from one person to another, but generally speaking it wont have a great effect on weight loss unless your eating a ridiculous amount of sugar on a daily basis

Or drinking you A&& off.

I think many of these posts re disquises for drinkers.

SO- if you are drinking your calories, it's really hard to keep an honest measure of cals in vs out

just my .02

conqueringsquidlette

One of these days they'll figure out how to inject beer with a perfect blend of nutrition and we'll never have to eat healthy things ever again.

dayone987

Just because something is low in calories/fat doesn't mean it is inherently healthy.

This.

If you mean 300 calories of a sandwhich is "better" for you in the sense that you'll lose weight faster, that is true. Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out. Overall health is not. You could lose weight on 1200 calories of ice cream a day. Is it healthy? No.

http://www.geekosystem.com/twinkie-diet/

I cannot believe the number of people that reference this diet in the MFP forums...

I've personally analyzed Prof. Haub's results and spoken with him about the experiments. First off the "Twinkie Diet" is a misnomer that was given by the media to hype the story. If you actually look at his food logs only about 30% of his calories came from sweets/desserts. Prof. Haub also ate a couple servings of fruit and vegetables every day to include a large variety over the course of the experiment - which is more than the average American consumes. He also took multivitamins, drank caffeine, and consumed protein powders. The diet was far from a "Twinkie Diet" and actually a step above the average American diet.

Additionally Prof Haub never got blood work done at the end of the experiment to ascertain health impact from this diet - kind of a big deal. And even bigger of a deal Prof Haub doesn't recommend anyone do this diet. All he wanted to do was prove that calories was the short term drive to weight loss and you could lose weight with a far from optimal diet.

Whenever I have see the Twinkie diet referenced on MFP, it generally is to emphasize the point that weight loss happens when CI< CO
I can't recall anyone here ever saying it was the healthiest way to lose weight.