Flexible Dieting = Success (rant)

Game8

I've seen many posts on here strongly advocating eating only "clean foods". And carbophobia, or the irrational fear of sugar seems also prevalent among many people in the nutrition section.

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty". So what's this moral superiority of eating only things like brown rice, broccoli, lean chicken and olive oil? Why does everyone have to list all the treats they had in the confessional thread?

Bakkasan

I like you sir

Game8

If a food you wanna eat fits into your daily goals, then there's no reason not to eat it. No need to torture yourself!

rfarinha

That's what I've been doing the last 14 months, and I think I've done okay!

c2111

Hi, I eat clean, that means I avoid processed foods anything with ingredients that I dont recognise I avoid. So it works for me I dont get cravings, I dont get sugar spikes and Im happy. I eat lots of natural foods, , My philosophy of eating clean came from reading the lean & clean book, I found it very informative and changed my perspection on foods. I now drink filtered water, eat predominantly organic, avoiding added hormones, antibiotics, preservatives etc. I recently have had to under go chemo and with that in mind im pretty toxic anyway so by eating this way Im trying to recuce the damage to my liver, kidneys. If you are interested I'd suggest going to your library and look up the book, its a great read, and nice recipes. Goodluck on your journey

shmoony

I agree 100% as long as you'e getting a balance of macros and all of your micros. If you don't eat "clean" (and yes, I am equally annoyed by the concept), then it's harder to meet your micronutrient requirements and stay under your cals. Agree?

dorilou1969

could not agree more. I am doing exactly this, not going crazy though, and I am consistently losing weight.

Game8

I agree 100% as long as you'e getting a balance of macros and all of your micros. If you don't eat "clean" (and yes, I am equally annoyed by the concept), then it's harder to meet your micronutrient requirements and stay under your cals. Agree?

I think the most useful thing about this site is that it quantifies how much you should eat of each macro nutrient. Now all you have to do is solve this puzzle by logging what you eat. It's hard enough as it is, why limit your choices of food and complicate things further? Yes, 100% agree

RamoZimm

I'm doing much better using your philosophy than I did with the low-carb diet. I try to be sensible about what I eat, but don't want to think I can never have a certain food ever again. I don't feel deprived and don't beat myself up if I eat something less than stellar.

Louisianababy93

If a food you wanna eat fits into your daily goals, then there's no reason not to eat it. No need to torture yourself!

AMEN! i had one kid get mad cause i ate a hotpocket for lunch one day and i was like you know what,it tasted good and i ate nutella afterwarda and it was still in my goal calories. -

volume77

I do understand what you're saying. On the other hand i must say it is much easier to create a calorie deficient with whole foods, which, in the end, is what matters for weight loss. ... Not arguing.... Just sayin......

Arexxx

My idea of eating 'clean' is limiting my poptart intake to one box a week.

But it is a lot easier to stay under the calorie goal if you eat "whole" foods. Two poptarts for 450cals or marinated chicken with veggies?

FabMrFox

I do understand what you're saying. On the other hand i must say it is much easier to create a calorie deficient with whole foods, which, in the end, is what matters for weight loss. ... Not arguing.... Just sayin......

bless your heart

Louisianababy93

My idea of eating 'clean' is limiting my poptart intake to one box a week.

But it is a lot easier to stay under the calorie goal if you eat "whole" foods. Two poptarts for 450cals or marinated chicken with veggies?

hmm,i really like the two poptarts.

californiagirl2012

I've seen many posts on here strongly advocating eating only "clean foods". And carbophobia, or the irrational fear of sugar seems also prevalent among many people in the nutrition section.

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty". So what's this moral superiority of eating only things like brown rice, broccoli, lean chicken and olive oil? Why does everyone have to list all the treats they had in the confessional thread?

I agree totally. I did all the fad diets, low carb, low fat, all organic, blah blah blah and diet the yo-yo weight for 15 years. It wasn't until I ditched all the diets and just ate what I like, mostly healthy, but including treats whenever I want them within my calorie budget that I lost the most weight ever, 60 lbs at age 50, defying all the fad diets, female hormone issues, adrenal fatigue among other things, and have kept it off for over a year now.

Keep it simple. Life is too short to deprive yourself of foods you love (within reason, if you need to lose fat you have to eat less, duh).

It's freedom to me that I let go of all those food restrictions. I'm enjoying life much more now.

Game8

I do understand what you're saying. On the other hand i must say it is much easier to create a calorie deficient with whole foods, which, in the end, is what matters for weight loss. ... Not arguing.... Just sayin......

A calorie deficit is important, but so is your macro nutrient break down (how much of that is carbs, fats and protein). Eating only "clean" foods limits your selection and makes things dull and unnecessarily more difficult.

Julicat6

I think eating more whole, less processed food helps me feel fuller and have fewer cravings. I chose them when its convenient and affordable, but I am not fanatical about it. I want to enjoy life, and sometimes that means eating out. Flexibility is THE KEY to making it a lifestyle change and doing it for the rest of my life.

BeautyFromPain

I eat mostly "clean" because a lot of other foods are triggers for bingeing with me.
If I don't even have one, I'm fine.. but if I have one - within an hour the whole box will be gone.

Dave198lbs

IEating only "clean" foods limits your selection and makes things dull and unnecessarily more difficult.

totally false

Candysland2013

Amen ... I've failed so many times trying to be too strict and then I break ... This time I don't deprive myself and I'm doing so much better!

Game8

My idea of eating 'clean' is limiting my poptart intake to one box a week.

But it is a lot easier to stay under the calorie goal if you eat "whole" foods. Two poptarts for 450cals or marinated chicken with veggies?

You should be able to eat whatever foods you want to achieve your goal. That's the whole point. For e.g. my goal from Aug - Oct was to eat 4,000 cals a day. I wouldn't be able to eat that much if I had to stick with "whole" foods only.

Mpol2

Hi, I eat clean, that means I avoid processed foods anything with ingredients that I dont recognise I avoid. So it works for me I dont get cravings, I dont get sugar spikes and Im happy. I eat lots of natural foods, , My philosophy of eating clean came from reading the lean & clean book, I found it very informative and changed my perspection on foods. I now drink filtered water, eat predominantly organic, avoiding added hormones, antibiotics, preservatives etc. I recently have had to under go chemo and with that in mind im pretty toxic anyway so by eating this way Im trying to recuce the damage to my liver, kidneys. If you are interested I'd suggest going to your library and look up the book, its a great read, and nice recipes. Goodluck on your journey

Good luck with your treatment.

PetulantOne

I agree 100% as long as you'e getting a balance of macros and all of your micros. If you don't eat "clean" (and yes, I am equally annoyed by the concept), then it's harder to meet your micronutrient requirements and stay under your cals. Agree?

I think the most useful thing about this site is that it quantifies how much you should eat of each macro nutrient. Now all you have to do is solve this puzzle by logging what you eat. It's hard enough as it is, why limit your choices of food and complicate things further? Yes, 100% agree

I would have a really hard time if the website didn't track macros. I don't eat "clean" by any stretch of the imagination. But I find the more I focus on upping my protein, and keeping sodium in check, some things are starting to fall into place. But yes it annoys me when people say you can't eat "crap" and lose weight. It just isn't true. This whole thing can be hard enough, why complicate it anymore than it has to be?

KellyBGarland

Elliott, I would have to disagre with you on what you said about your body not knowing the difference in what you eat. While your body does still work off the fuel you provide it, I found from experience that the better foods I ate, the better I felt and more energy I had. When I would eat crummy, calorie rich foods without any true nutritional value, such as a cookie, some chips, or even a beer, my body definitely notices. I am not saint in regards to eating 100% whole or natural foods, but do notice a difference when I take advantage of my "cheat days", or weeks when I might be on vacation.
I do see your point in playing the calorie game, and while I also know that moderation is key, natural and nutrient rich foods definitely are the best fuel for your body.

Gt3ch

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty".

A completely false assumption.

So what's this moral superiority of eating only things like brown rice, broccoli, lean chicken and olive oil? Why does everyone have to list all the treats they had in the confessional thread?

It's not a moral or moral superiority issue. Our bodies are not simple thermodynamic machines that are completely unaffected by artificial chemicals and require no micro-nutrients. Health and good nutrition go beyond simply counting calories & protein.

Game8

Elliott, I would have to disagre with you on what you said about your body not knowing the difference in what you eat. While your body does still work off the fuel you provide it, I found from experience that the better foods I ate, the better I felt and more energy I had. When I would eat crummy, calorie rich foods without any true nutritional value, such as a cookie, some chips, or even a beer, my body definitely notices. I am not saint in regards to eating 100% whole or natural foods, but do notice a difference when I take advantage of my "cheat days", or weeks when I might be on vacation.
I do see your point in playing the calorie game, and while I also know that moderation is key, natural and nutrient rich foods definitely are the best fuel for your body.

I agree that you have to honor the needs of the body, but also don't forget about the needs of the mind. Giving your body nutrients is important, but so is emotional satisfaction.

Game8

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty".

A completely false assumption.

my claim simply points to the fact that it isn't this black and white. The body has needs that can be quantified, and you can eat any foods you want as long as by the end of the day you satisfy these needs.

msbunnie68

I eat quite healthily but I won't say no to a nice cookie (or a glass of red) if it fits my calories...

..although I did list a confession thread because my sole motivation to exercise that day wasn't to get fit/ripped/musclebound/ it was purely so I could fit a corona beer into my calories for the day. I posted for a laugh because it gave me a bit of mirth knowing that the only motivating factor that day for me was an icy cold beer with my husband.

I try to avoid getting into the eat clean/macros/protein powder comments in each thread as we have to live our lives once we achieve our goals, and I don't plan on being miserable or exasperatingly judgemental to my friends and family while I do this. I also don't want to set myself up in a nutritional bubble that is not sustainable for me given our social life and my husband's business engagements etc that I have to hostess.

Yogi_Carl

Complex carbs and wholefoods take longer to digest than sugar and salt high refined junk foods so they satisfy hunger for longer so you eat more for your calories and take in less calories overall, compared to your high sugar snack which will give you a calorie spike and then drop rapidly making you want another fix straight away until you feel sick.

I've been there. I know where I'm going now I've made the effort to clean up my diet, but thanks for the original post which was interesting and made me think about why I eat the way I do.

Gt3ch

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty".

A completely false assumption.

my claim simply points to the fact that it isn't this black and white. The body has needs that can be quantified, and you can eat any foods you want as long as by the end of the day you satisfy these needs.

But you don't actually know exactly what you're body needs. All of us here are making assumptions and guesstimates based on rough measures and rules of thumb for macros only. That's not precise and it's not EVERYTHING the body needs.

You CAN do a lot of things. CAN is somewhat irrelevant when you're talking about personal needs and goals. My point is optimal health goes beyond your macros.

You CAN hit your macros with a diet of solely McDonalds burgers and fries and soda. But that's not EVERYTHING your body needs. If you do that over time you will develop deficiencies and be battling extreme hunger as you crash from the sugar spikes. Good luck maintaining you macro limit and functioning well.

There also are people with chemical sensitivities, allergies, chronic or degenerative conditions as well as people who are here as part of a broader lifestyle change for disease prevention. It's silly and baseless to tell them there is no benefit to eating clean.

chrisdavey

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty".

A completely false assumption.

So what's this moral superiority of eating only things like brown rice, broccoli, lean chicken and olive oil? Why does everyone have to list all the treats they had in the confessional thread?

It's not a moral or moral superiority issue. Our bodies are not simple thermodynamic machines that are completely unaffected by artificial chemicals and require no micro-nutrients. Health and good nutrition go beyond simply counting calories & protein.

The issue is people always take things to the extreme examples. The OP has mentioned that a variety of micronutrients (as co-enzymes for a lot of bodily functions) are required and clearly if you were to only eat "junk" food these needs would not be met. (Not likely that a typical macronutrient split would be met either)

And the other issue is that body composition change doesn't necessarily equal good health.

That whole moderation thing always comes into play

You don't "need" to live off chicken/brown rice/broccoli but if you are on a lower calorie diet then eating the majority of these sorts of foods will definitely help with satiety and longer term success. If you can fit a pop tart into you're day and still be in calorie deficit and it helps psychologically then go ahead! (I do :happy:)