Real food vs processed, and calories

SummerFun2011

I am a clean eater so I would rather eat "real" food rather than something processed.

me too usually, but sometimes i go for taste. i HATE butter bu tlove margarine! weird i know

PattyfromToledo

for me personally...if i cant pronounce it I wont eat it. You CAN survive shopping fhe perimeter of a grocery store.

HonkyTonks

Everything in moderation. If your calorie count is in the right range, and your macronutrient and micronutrient intake is adequate, don’t stress too hard about what you’re eating and just enjoy it. On the other hand, don’t eat McDonald’s three meals a day either.

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/

rjsbdsjas

I'd rather the real thing, including good thick creamy Greek yoghurt. Michael Pollan is really interesting. 'Eat food, mostly plants, not too much'. Kind of makes sense. I don't have much processed food any more - use my calories on whole foods and lots of veg, and I notice I don't get hungry as much anymore.

I loved that book too! It really changed how I look at food. I strive to eat whole foods as much as possible and much prefer the taste, also agree that I don't get hungry as often when I eat 'clean'. The biggest difficulty I have is that prepping whole food often takes longer than using processed. I like to cook, but am often short on time.

Whole natural foods are definitely the best way to eat.

alabughosh

I eat very clean, whole ingredients. I try to make as much at home as possible and when I buy packaged foods I read the labels religiously. Like you said, this isn't necessarily going to affect your weight loss at all. I managed to stay over 200 pounds for 4 years eating clean foods. Pints of ice cream made with all natural ingredients are bad for you...haha. Two things I can say in favor of eating clean:

1. Whole grains. I just started this recently and I will never go back. It keeps me full and satisfied longer. When I eat white bread, I feel like I basically ate nothing an hour later.

2. TASTE! It tastes sooo much better. I first noticed the difference when I ate a cheap quality chocolate bar and then read the ingredients...gross. But now I notice it with any food that's not made with natural, healthful ingredients. Bottles of salad dressing, for example, taste weird and chemically.

lauz45

This sounds good. I've got TONS of recipe books and i'm struggling with money so i'm going to make a plan this week whilst my boyfriend is away: plan out our meals, enough for 2 weeks a time so I don't make those expensive stops at the corner shop every night, don't resort to ordering in, and eat home cooked food.

I'm going to try and wean myself off artificial sweeteners too. That will be hard I only have saccharin in my tea, which is not linked to cancer or anything like that as far as I am aware, but it's still unneccessary. I have 2 in every cup of tea at home, probably 6 mugs a day.

Once i've made the switch to natural, wholefoods, maybe I can kick my disgusting 20-a-day cigarette habit! (that just made this whole thread seem like a waste of time I know, 1000's of chemicals in those bad boys). One step at a time though!

Di3012

Just a quick one, who on here would rather take the extra calories and eat something 'real' than go for the extra low calorie/fat option that is highly processed?

A good example is butter - in my fridge i've got spreadable butter, with 3 ingredients (butter, vegetable oil, salt), and low cal 'spread' (flora light) which has 9 ingredients, most of which are unrecognisable, but is a lot less calories and fat.

I got a free book with a magazine that makes a lot of sense, it's basically about clean eating, and i'm finding it interesting.
'Food Rules - an Eater's Manual' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/0141048689/ref=pd_sim_b_1

As a reluctant processed food queen i'd like to know if it does in fact make a difference.

I eat low fat stuff, I take sweeteners in my tea and coffee and I watch the calories - I am trying to lose weight

mbts08

What a coincidence on your post about butter! I was just comparing these today at the grocery store. I decided to go with the real butter. It does have more calories but we are also trying to cut out fake and processed food.

Amy_nz

My apologies if someone has already posted this - I haven't read all responses because it's nearly bed-time!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?pagewanted=all

I would completely rather have real food despite the calories - butter instead of table spread with 9 chemicals but no actual food etc. Yes, calorific. But the body's been working with those calories for centuries, it's a bit more accostomed to it.

I've been eating clean-ish for three months and have lost 10kgs (more than 20lbs). I'm not completely religious about it and we do eat processed stuff, but it's well and truly in the minority. And my system is loving it - I'm performing better in every way than I have before. Give me good food! I'll count the calories as well, it's helpful. But if I have to choose between an artificial low-calorie snack and an apple that probably has loads of sugar in it, I'll choose the apple any day of the week. No question. It just makes me happier.

bio_fit

So why eat something unhealthy in order to get healthy? If you want to eat something unhealthy *because its tasty*, then enjoy yourself. Knock yourself out, but figure it into your overall plan. But to eat something unhealthy...for health? Doesn't make sense. Why bother?

What makes it unhealthy?

sweet110

I truly believe that your body processes real food and processed food differently. I had one bad winter where I ate exactly 1300 calories a day: Spanikopita, gummy bears, and cheese curls. That was it. Every day. For 3 months. I'm so not kidding. Did I mention it was a bad winter? I didn't gain any weight...the processed food didn't magically make me fat on 1300 calories a day. (I wasn't trying to lose at that point....it was a bad winter) But when I am eating my calories from vegetables, fruit, high quality protein and fat, I can *lose* weight on 1400-1500 calories a day.

There is suggestive evidence that your body expends less energy to digest processed (aka partially digested) food, so I'm not waving hippie dust...there is some decent evidence out there that might explain my anecdotal experience.

However, I also think that new dieters tend to over think things. You don't need to become obsessed with eating clean in order to lose weight. Make a few changes. Figure out what are acceptable changes for you...and if you want to eat some processed foods to cut calorie corners...eh. Just keep being concerned with your health and acting on it, little by little, and you'll be better off than most.