What is clean eating?

MzKym1981

Hi pals I'm Kimberly & I'm working on becoming a healthier me!! I'm trying to make better food choices. What do you consider clean eating?

Alluminati

Not sure. In for answers.

GingerLolita

Everyone will probably give a slightly different answer (and I'm sure there will be some ridiculous comments like "food that is washed), but I strive to eat clean as often as possible.

The simplest definition in my book is: whole, single-ingredient foods or foods made with ingredients I understand and would use in home cooking. no artificial ingredients and no meat/dairy/eggs with antibiotics, hormones, etc.

BoatsnHose

Clean eating is eating foods that help achieve your goals.

Any food can be "clean" if it helps you achieve what you want.

JoRocka

Food's you wash before you eat.




Otherwise as waldo says- it's the adjective diet.. you'll see a lot of this associated with it
"pure"
"unprocessed"
"whole"
"clean"
"unchemical"
"non-toxic"
"no white breads"
"no junk food"

It's largely dependent on who you are speaking with at the time- but it's arbitrary set of guide lines people use to describe how they eat.

Unfortunately it often creates this default "bad" connotation to all foods that are not "clean". which is just silly.

Amitysk

In for the opposing opinions!! Thank you Friday.


ETA: bad spelling.... :grumble:

rachelrb85

Wash your fruits and veggies before eating!
If you really need to clean up your diet, just cut down on some pre-packaged foods and up the fruits/veggies/lean meats. Still eat and enjoy what you want, just in moderation.

SonicDeathMonkey80

It's only eating foods raised in your own personal garden/farm.

HeidiCooksSupper

If you want to learn about healthy eating, go to Harvard's Nutritionsource, a totally non-commercial, science-based approach made easy to understand and remember through such things as their "Healthy Eating Plate."

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

dbmata

Hi pals I'm Kimberly & I'm working on becoming a healthier me!! I'm trying to make better food choices. What do you consider clean eating?

Not eating something off the floor, or involved with scat.

_Josee_

Obviously, it means washing your food before eating it.

lemurcat12

"Clean" eating has no clear cut definition. Generally it seems to be used by people who cut certain foods out of their diet to designate that they don't eat those foods. I believe in eating healthy, tend to eat seasonally and cook most of my food from whole foods (since I like to cook--I ate that way before losing weight too), and eat lots of vegetables, but I see no reason to adopt arbitrary rules about what I will or won't eat or eliminate foods and I don't think foods like ice cream or homemade pie are "unclean" or unacceptable in a healthy diet, so I reject the term as unhelpful and obnoxious.

If you think you have an issue with eating too many processed foods of certain types (remember that yogurt and frozen veggies, along with any number of other extremely healthy foods are "processed"), with lots of high calorie or non-nutrient-dense items, or too much fast food, etc., the problem is with making these things the center of your diet not with eating any of them ever. Definitely try focusing on vegetables and home cooked meals if that appeals to you -- I think that's an easy way to eat more healthfully and cut calories --- but I am forever mystified why people want to go to extremes from eating all of these items with no moderation at all to cutting things out and then announce that they are eating "clean." If you have to struggle to maintain some kind of special diet, vs. figuring out a way to eat healthfully within your preferences, then it's much less likely to be sustainable, and it's really not necessary.

BlueBombers

In for the comments! I love these clean eating threads!

sullus

Clean eating is whatever you want it to be. Decide some things are bad, for whatever reason. Don't eat them. There you go, you're eating clean.

cwolfman13

It is a fairly abstract concept....

Just eat a well balanced diet that is chalk full of nutrition and use common sense...nutrition isn't rocket science.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

Have you asked yourself that question? What do you consider clean eating op? I bet if you answer then make a few changes, you'll feel like you are "making better food choices".

J72FIT

It's a marketing term that ignites debate and sells diet books, nothing more...

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

Always follow the proper sanitation practices when preparing your food, such as cooking your meats to the proper temperature, washing all fruits and vegetables before consuming them, and using clean, non-stagnated water, free from parasites. Especially if you're in a third-world country.

:laugh:

vismundcygnus27

It's a marketing term that ignites debate and sells diet books, nothing more...

I totally agree. No one seems to agree on what "eating clean" actually means - some people focus on cutting out processed foods, others seem preoccupied with eating organic, non-GMO food. Many talk about avoiding chemicals and preservatives - which seems silly to me - food additives aren't inherently bad for you. It's a buzzword.

sljohnson1207

I'm sure it means something different to each person, but to me it is just a matter of choosing consciously and deliberately a product in a more natural state.

Even most of those items are processed in one way or another, but for instance, instead of choosing a heavy whipping cream with sorbic acid, dipotassium phosphate, produced from cows given hormones, caged and milked by machinery (there is nothing wrong with making this choice in my opinion) you may select/choose a heavy cream from a local dairy that doesn't add preservatives and doesn't give their cows hormones, and maybe the cow lives outside and gets sunshine and is milked by hand.

This can be true of every item we purchase. I tend to shop the perimeter of my grocery store, which I find has items in their more natural states, however, I'm not against convenience and processed foods when they fit my goals. I do prefer to buy fresh vegetables from farmers whenever possible, but it isn't always convenient or affordable for my budget. I also like Birdseye Steamfresh vegetables from the freezer section because they are fast, easy, and sometimes less expensive than the same item from the produce section.

I personally don't see much difference between a fresh head of cauliflower from the produce section versus the bag of frozen chunks of cauliflower. One, I have to wash, remove stem and cut in chunks myself, boil, then use the food processor. The other, I pour from the bag into my pot, boil, then put in food processor. Sometimes I make the choice to save myself a step or two, but I still consider it eating "clean".

_Resolve_

You will get lots of interpretations on clean eating.

I try my best not to eat food with processed carbs because typically the beneficial fiber has been stripped out of it. I eat organic veggies when possible because I used to work with pesticides, I was licensed for years with restricted use pesticides; after I had to learn what was in them and be around them I do everything I can to limit my exposure. I eat grass fed local meats and organic chicken from the butcher when possible.

Do I freak out if I can't get organic veggies or grass fed meats? Nope, not at all.. I just prefer it. Is eating clean the only way to "do it right" NOPE not at all, I have plenty of friends on here and have seen countless successful people who don't eat like me. Everyone is different and do things for different reasons.

I used to eat mindlessly and would shovel food into my mouth without making decisions and caring what I ate, thats how I got to 375 lbs. I had to make a complete 180 change to be successful and its worked. With my decisions I have been able to lose a considerable amount of weight, maintain a "normal" A1C as a type 2 diabetic without medication, I go for long endurance rides weekly without bonking and lift heavy 5 days a week; can I say my diet is the only reason for my success.. again nope not at all, I am sure all of the other factors have played a part in it.

lemurcat12

It's a marketing term that ignites debate and sells diet books, nothing more...

Best answer.

lemurcat12

I'm sure it means something different to each person, but to me it is just a matter of choosing consciously and deliberately a product in a more natural state.

Even most of those items are processed in one way or another, but for instance, instead of choosing a heavy whipping cream with sorbic acid, dipotassium phosphate, produced from cows given hormones, caged and milked by machinery (there is nothing wrong with making this choice in my opinion) you may select/choose a heavy cream from a local dairy that doesn't add preservatives and doesn't give their cows hormones, and maybe the cow lives outside and gets sunshine and is milked by hand.

This can be true of every item we purchase. I tend to shop the perimeter of my grocery store, which I find has items in their more natural states, however, I'm not against convenience and processed foods when they fit my goals. I do prefer to buy fresh vegetables from farmers whenever possible, but it isn't always convenient or affordable for my budget. I also like Birdseye Steamfresh vegetables from the freezer section because they are fast, easy, and sometimes less expensive than the same item from the produce section.

I personally don't see much difference between a fresh head of cauliflower from the produce section versus the bag of frozen chunks of cauliflower. One, I have to wash, remove stem and cut in chunks myself, boil, then use the food processor. The other, I pour from the bag into my pot, boil, then put in food processor. Sometimes I make the choice to save myself a step or two, but I still consider it eating "clean".

Sounds like you have the same approach as I do basically. I would never call this "clean," so I'm kind of curious what it is that makes that designation appeal to you, especially since you acknowledge that it really doesn't mean anything, since people all have their own definitions.

My dislike for the term is that it seems to assert superiority over those who don't "eat clean" and, even more, that it's basically a trendy term that means nothing, but from a more pragmatic POV it asserts that there are categories of foods you don't eat. There are lots of foods I don't eat (I don't care for them, think they are worse for me than something else that serves the same purpose, have strong ideas about how I like to eat, etc.), but I would be hard pressed to generalize about them in a "clean eating" kind of way, as it seems you also would. For example, if I were to buy into a "no processed foods" rule, I'd either be a hypocrite or have to explain to myself why lots of processed foods that I think make my diet healthier (like some you mention or I did above) must be off limit, and I couldn't come up with a reason.

I do make choices between foods sometimes based on one being less processed or more local/seasonable or more natural or for ethical reasons and various other distinctions, as I think we all do, but I wouldn't characterize this as clean vs. not. It's just part of navigating the numerous choices we have as consumers, that really can't be simplified to "eat foods on this list and not that" in any kind of sensible way.

Meerataila

My definition of clean eating is unprocessed or minimally processed (preferably by me) foods. I eat fairly clean to avoid coloring, preservatives, artificial flavoring, and disgusting bits of insects and insect excretions that accidentally and deliberately end up in heavily processed foods. If I could afford it, I'd buy organic all the time, too.

sculli123

rinse off your fruit before you eat it

parkscs

No one knows but I hear it's good for removing toxins.

Sabine_Stroehm

Everyone will probably give a slightly different answer (and I'm sure there will be some ridiculous comments like "food that is washed), but I strive to eat clean as often as possible.

The simplest definition in my book is: whole, single-ingredient foods or foods made with ingredients I understand and would use in home cooking. no artificial ingredients and no meat/dairy/eggs with antibiotics, hormones, etc.

There will be tons of "not off the floor", "I shower", "I wash them" absurd threadjacking comments. There always are.

Sabine_Stroehm

It doesn't really matter what others consider clean eating.

You decide what fits your lifestyle/healthstyle.

I chose for myself as well. I tend to build a diet around whole foods. I eat a lot of nutrient dense vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, legumes, lean meats, fish, dairy, and some whole grains. I prepare them in the healthiest/tastiest ways I know how. When I eat out, I choose restaurants that prepare delicious dinners using whole foods.

I choose breads that resemble breads my grandmother would have made.

Obviously, given how I build my diet, there's not a lot of room for fast foods, and heavily processed convenience foods.

Does this help me with weight maintenance? You bet. Does this help me with my goals of being healthy, fit person? Absolutely. Is it necessary for all folks for weight loss? Nope.

JoRocka

Everyone will probably give a slightly different answer (and I'm sure there will be some ridiculous comments like "food that is washed), but I strive to eat clean as often as possible.

The simplest definition in my book is: whole, single-ingredient foods or foods made with ingredients I understand and would use in home cooking. no artificial ingredients and no meat/dairy/eggs with antibiotics, hormones, etc.

There will be tons of "not off the floor", "I shower", "I wash them" absurd threadjacking comments. There always are.

well- when you use an completely arbitrary way of describing how you eat- then yes- you tend to get some silly comments. It's less about thread jacking and pointing out with some humor that it's completely arbitrary how you define how you eat.

And you're right. because you said this next

It doesn't really matter what others consider clean eating.

You decide what fits your lifestyle/healthstyle

which is totally accurate.

shining_light

It doesn't really matter what others consider clean eating.

You decide what fits your lifestyle/healthstyle.

I chose for myself as well. I tend to build a diet around whole foods. I eat a lot of nutrient dense vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, legumes, lean meats, fish, dairy, and some whole grains. I prepare them in the healthiest/tastiest ways I know how. When I eat out, I choose restaurants that prepare delicious dinners using whole foods.

I choose breads that resemble breads my grandmother would have made.

Obviously, given how I build my diet, there's not a lot of room for fast foods, and heavily processed convenience foods.

Does this help me with weight maintenance? You bet. Does this help me with my goals of being healthy, fit person? Absolutely. Is it necessary for all folks for weight loss? Nope.

^ This is exactly the way I would say I try to eat. My ONLY reason for eating foods as close to natural and minimally processed as possible is that I find I tend to binge eat on things that are not this way, so it's best to avoid processed foods for myself. Now, my husband can eat all the white pasta and nachos and chocolate that he wants and not have this problem, so I know I shouldn't blame the food. But since I can't trust myself to enjoy the processed delicious things of life without going overboard, I find it best to abstain. It still comes down to calories in vs. calories out. I just find my self-control is better without consuming certain things.

lemurcat12

It doesn't really matter what others consider clean eating.

You decide what fits your lifestyle/healthstyle.

As others have said, great advice.

(Now if only we could lose the annoying "clean eating" label, since it makes no sense anyway.)