What does 'clean eating' mean?

amflautist

I hear people say they 'eat clean'. What does this mean? Is it a popular diet plan? Is the phrase only used on mfp, or would the average woman on the street understand its meaning? Am I the only clueless person in the world on this?

Mokey41

It means wash your hands before dinner, no really it usually means someone is eating whole, unprocessed foods. Could mean they're also eating organic too.

SideSteel

I hear people say they 'eat clean'. What does this mean? Is it a popular diet plan? Is the phrase only used on mfp, or would the average woman on the street understand its meaning? Am I the only clueless person in the world on this?

Clean generally means unprocessed. In my opinion, it's a categorization that has some ambiguity to it and in some cases causes problems (not problems from eating clean, but problems related to dieters stressing out over categorizing their foods). I'd check out the following:

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/#cleandirty

DrewMartGrawr

I certainly haven't eaten clean today. Two egg McMuffins and a Powerade... it's convenient. But I'm moving away from this dank apartment in a couple of weeks into a house with a real kitchen, and I can't wait to start preparing my own food properly. We're so accustomed to eating crap with fillers. I didn't know to even care until recently. Taking a Biology class has opened my eyes. We're machines, food really is fuel, and we don't work by magic.

Not my topic, but thanks for the answers and links. ^^

lwagnitz

I know it as eating healthy unprocessed foods. Grains, fruit, veggies, nuts, lean meats, etc

Boki_raina

check out Tosca Reno website. www.ToscaReno.com .She has written many books on clean eating .

neverstray

To me it means not eating anything that comes in a bag or can or is already processed. No restaurant food, no fast food, no junk food. Just lean meats, and whole grains and veggies and fruits. It's very simple. To me, it also means no butter, oil, cheese, mayo, ketchup, and all that other junk. It's really difficult to do for some people. It's fairly easy for me because I dont care that much about how my food tastes. If you'rea little picky, or if you need variety, it gets challenging. But, can be done. It just takes a very concisous effort about what you are putting in your body,.

If you think about it, it's a little odd that most people eat with almost no regard for what they are actually consuming regarding fast food and processed foods.

californiagirl2012

I hear people say they 'eat clean'. What does this mean? Is it a popular diet plan? Is the phrase only used on mfp, or would the average woman on the street understand its meaning? Am I the only clueless person in the world on this?

It's the new fad term in the diet and fitness world. Back in the day we used to call it organic eating. I think it's trying to emulate organic eating. Home prepared meals not in a package, not fast food.

James_1954

It's a throwaway perjorative.

lwagnitz

I hear people say they 'eat clean'. What does this mean? Is it a popular diet plan? Is the phrase only used on mfp, or would the average woman on the street understand its meaning? Am I the only clueless person in the world on this?

It's the new fad term in the diet and fitness world. Back in the day we used to call it organic eating. I think it's trying to emulate organic eating. Home prepared meals not in a package, not fast food.

I think they don't call it that anymore because they would assume they are referring to eating "organic" produce and meats... just a guess. I don't think clean eating is the same as eating "organic".

Timkoetta

I have been eating clean (well trying...have been for the most part) for about a month now and I have lost just over 12 lbs. I do not go hungry, AT ALL... and I am healthier now than I have been in a long time. I feel A LOT better. My schedule does not permit a lot of regular exercise so most of my weight loss has been from eating clean.

I agree with what someone else said...it can mean different things to people and some do it different ways. For me I try to cut out as much processed food as possible (which is almost all of it). I eat organic when possible. The sugar I eat comes from my fruit. I do not eat bread. I try to eat the best quality whole food I can find.

I also cut out gluten and I do not miss it. This is not really part of "clean eating" though.

:flowerforyou:

fit4lifeUcan2

To me clean eating means nothing processed. But i've seen people get on others on here about what they eat and claim they are clean eaters but so and so is not. Then you look at their diary and see they are eating those processed powdered protein shakes. So its all in what you think clean eating really is. My chemistry professor, registered dietitian and bio professor have all said that clean eating is eating foods that are not processed and it doesn't even have to be organic because not all organic foods are truly organic. While they don't use pesticides a lot of the fertilizers they use have been processed or made from things that did contain pesticides. I know a guy who works for an organic farm and he told me that the fertilizer they use contains coffee grounds which were not organically grown so in essence they were grown with pesticides. Even though he works for an organic farm he does not eat all organic because not all foods are truly organic. Its just a choice some people make for one reason or another. I avoid processed foods because of the salt and my tendency to have high BP as well as how it affect my heart defects and my MS. I get palpitations and racing skipping heart beats. I do have some processed foods now and then. Typically that's because its the last thing left to eat in the house till I get out food shopping.

fit4lifeUcan2

I hear people say they 'eat clean'. What does this mean? Is it a popular diet plan? Is the phrase only used on mfp, or would the average woman on the street understand its meaning? Am I the only clueless person in the world on this?

It's the new fad term in the diet and fitness world. Back in the day we used to call it organic eating. I think it's trying to emulate organic eating. Home prepared meals not in a package, not fast food.

I agree

BenChase

just a little sidenote to help here. i read a saying i liked a while back in an article about clean eating. (paraphrasing here) " look at the ingredient list, if it has one ingredient it's good, the lower the amount of ingredients the better, if you can't pronounce an ingredient you shouldn't be eating it."

WendyTerry420

It's a throwaway perjorative.

:flowerforyou:

Timkoetta

just a little sidenote to help here. i read a saying i liked a while back in an article about clean eating. (paraphrasing here) " look at the ingredient list, if it has one ingredient it's good, the lower the amount of ingredients the better, if you can't pronounce an ingredient you shouldn't be eating it."

Exactly

WendyTerry420

just a little sidenote to help here. i read a saying i liked a while back in an article about clean eating. (paraphrasing here) " look at the ingredient list, if it has one ingredient it's good, the lower the amount of ingredients the better, if you can't pronounce an ingredient you shouldn't be eating it."

Exactly

But a lot of "not being able to read the ingredients" is simply a lack of education. After Googling a lot of these "non-pronouncable" items, I found out they were actually the scientific name for something that was a common, ordinary item.

LoraF83

I have been eating clean (well trying...have been for the most part) for about a month now and I have lost just over 12 lbs. I do not go hungry, AT ALL... and I am healthier now than I have been in a long time. I feel A LOT better. My schedule does not permit a lot of regular exercise so most of my weight loss has been from eating clean.

I agree with what someone else said...it can mean different things to people and some do it different ways. For me I try to cut out as much processed food as possible (which is almost all of it). I eat organic when possible. The sugar I eat comes from my fruit. I do not eat bread. I try to eat the best quality whole food I can find.

I also cut out gluten and I do not miss it. This is not really part of "clean eating" though.

:flowerforyou:

No offense, but you lost weight from having a calorie deficit....not from eating "clean".

A calorie deficit is all you need for weight loss, no matter what food sources you are using.

"Clean eating" or chosing more nutritious/healthy foods is for health.

Contrarian

No food porn.

Kaydana123

just a little sidenote to help here. i read a saying i liked a while back in an article about clean eating. (paraphrasing here) " look at the ingredient list, if it has one ingredient it's good, the lower the amount of ingredients the better, if you can't pronounce an ingredient you shouldn't be eating it."

This reasoning seems pretty flawed to me. It would suggest that the more education a person has had in chemistry, the more foods they're allowed to eat while still considering those foods clean. In fact, it would suggest that a huge number of additives are better for you than tasty, healthy exotic fruits with hard to pronounce names. If I followed this advice then I wouldn't be able to eat rambutan but would be fine with just about anything that is added to food as a flavouring/stabiliser/emulsifier/whatever.

It also suggests I'd be better off drinking my housemate's cola than eating my vegetable chili as it has less ingredients.

I think I'll leave this clean eating thing to the fans of fad diets...

lwagnitz

I have been eating clean (well trying...have been for the most part) for about a month now and I have lost just over 12 lbs. I do not go hungry, AT ALL... and I am healthier now than I have been in a long time. I feel A LOT better. My schedule does not permit a lot of regular exercise so most of my weight loss has been from eating clean.

I agree with what someone else said...it can mean different things to people and some do it different ways. For me I try to cut out as much processed food as possible (which is almost all of it). I eat organic when possible. The sugar I eat comes from my fruit. I do not eat bread. I try to eat the best quality whole food I can find.

I also cut out gluten and I do not miss it. This is not really part of "clean eating" though.

:flowerforyou:

No offense, but you lost weight from having a calorie deficit....not from eating "clean".

A calorie deficit is all you need for weight loss, no matter what food sources you are using.

"Clean eating" or chosing more nutritious/healthy foods is for health.

I'd beg to differ... a little. And I'll tell you why. Before I started, I was eating like CRAP (and that wasn't usual for me, I was generally a pretty healthy eater and understood nutrition). But, I quickly lost 10lbs due to "clean eating". I'm assuming because it just kind of "cleansed" me, I would say. But, obviously, loss is from calorie deficit, but loss can also be from other things besides fat, i.e. water weight, being backed up, etc. And eating cleans helps those things.