Clean diet ??

theplatypus

So what exactly is a "clean" diet? I feel like it's different for everyone, but I was wondering if there were actually guidelines for a clean diet. For me personally, I view a healthy vegan diet as being a clean diet.

Firefox7275

It's worth running a search, there was a thread on this in the last two days.

Josee76

google is your friend!

Topher1978

Would bleached rice and bleached flour be clean? They've been bleached...

soonpass

You don't have to go vegan to eat clean. But basically... from the research I've done is sticling to whole, natural, lean unprocessed foods. Example: Chicken breast - clean, hot dog - not. Whole wheat over white ect. For a while I did a lot of recipes from cleaneatingmagazine.com, I stopped because I really wasn't committed but looking to pick them up again!

SideSteel

Hello there Platypus,

Here is my opinion on clean eating:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/822501-halp-my-sandwich-isn-t-clean

3dogsrunning

"Clean" is a very subjective term.

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

There are lots of foods considered vegan than many would not consider clean.

jaztoderan

I always considered a "clean diet" a diet free from processed foods.

CoderGal

Hello there Platypus,

Here is my opinion on clean eating:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/822501-halp-my-sandwich-isn-t-clean

In my opinion, everyone should have his opinion :P

WinnerVictorious

So what exactly is a "clean" diet? I feel like it's different for everyone, but I was wondering if there were actually guidelines for a clean diet. For me personally, I view a healthy vegan diet as being a clean diet.

IMHO, it's simple food snobbery. just like low carb diets, or low fat diets, or paleo diets, etc.

any diet that identifies certain foods as "good" and certain foods as "bad" is food snobbery in my book.

a calorie is a calorie.

nutritionally, it may make sense to eat the bulk of your calories from certain foods to meet your macro needs. that's fine.

however, pizza is no better or no worse than spinach, when eaten in moderation.

life is after all meant to be enjoyed!

CoderGal

So what exactly is a "clean" diet? I feel like it's different for everyone, but I was wondering if there were actually guidelines for a clean diet. For me personally, I view a healthy vegan diet as being a clean diet.

IMHO, it's simple food snobbery. just like low carb diets, or low fat diets, or paleo diets, etc.

any diet that identifies certain foods as "good" and certain foods as "bad" is food snobbery in my book.

a calorie is a calorie.

nutritionally, it may make sense to eat the bulk of your calories from certain foods to meet your macro needs. that's fine.

however, pizza is no better or no worse than spinach, when eaten in moderation.

life is after all meant to be enjoyed!

snobbery, or a bit of ignorance to the fact some people will take it or a certain way or lazyness of not caring how it will come off. I often use the words 'I try to eat clean when I can' to mean foods I consider good for me given my options at the time and the way I eat. It's one of those ambiguous statements that each individual kind of answers for themselves.

jayche

IMHO, it's simple food snobbery. just like low carb diets, or low fat diets, or paleo diets, etc.

any diet that identifies certain foods as "good" and certain foods as "bad" is food snobbery in my book.

a calorie is a calorie.

nutritionally, it may make sense to eat the bulk of your calories from certain foods to meet your macro needs. that's fine.

however, pizza is no better or no worse than spinach, when eaten in moderation.

life is after all meant to be enjoyed!

You would need to eat 3 pounds of spinach for it to be the same caloric value as 1 slice of pepporoni pizza. Add in the amount of sodium you'll be consuming eating said pizza vs. the spinach and you'll have a great time comparing the two. Not saying don't eat pizza ever, just don't get the idea that just because it fits your macros it's going to be a healthier or just as healthy as other alternatives.

IIFYM =/= calorie is a calorie. In fact its actually the opposite, it recognizes that all calories are NOT the same therefore splits calorie intake into Protein/Carbs/Fats.
Please note that even people who follow IIFYM eat healthy, micro-nutrient dense foods 90% of the time. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because it fits your macros you can eat pizza and poptarts all day and be healthy.

Before anyone responds please understand this... I'm not a stating a position for or against IIFYM so don't bother starting the "Clean Eating vs. IIFYM" ****storm with me, I'm simply promoting a better understanding of the subject before applying it to your lifestyle (if you so choose to).

stephdeeable

Buy whatever groceries you enjoy. Go home, fill your tub with hot water and bleach. Soak groceries 4-6 hours. Rinse. And congratulations! You eat clean.

Topher1978

For real, when I hear it I think of organic, non antibiotic treated, non poison treated stuff... that seems clean to me, and I cannot afford it...

mcjabber

I think a lot of vegan food would not be considered 'clean', because it's highly processed (like soy meat substitutes). Clean generally means unprocessed stuff (meats are included--like, a chicken breast can be clean, bacon isn't because it's cured--although it is wonderful...). Or, as a friend recently put it, 'eating without ingredients' (like listed on a package).

Snobby or not, I feel a night and day difference when I eat this way. I'm not really careful about organic, but I'm pretty careful about packages!

jdooks

Honestly, the verdict is still out on the negative effects of processed foods. Processed foods are seen to have negative health effects but if you look at the nutritional label, they are loaded with simple carbs and way more fats than a person needs in a day.

A clean diet really should be a full spectrum of various vitamins and minerals along with a healthy ratio of no more than 20% calories from fats (saturated or non-saturated actually does not matter), and 40% or more from proteins and the rest from carbs. All this while staying in your target caloric intake.

It's a bit silly how processed foods are looked down upon as the causation for negative health effects when people totally disregard the nutritional profile of the foods. A bad nutritional profile is a bad nutritional profile, the food being processed or not means very little. You can have processed foods which are incredibly healthy. Same thing with natural sugars and high fructose corn syrup, it makes no difference as its chemically the same and your body treats the stuff the same which at the end of the day, too much sugar is too much sugar.

mcjabber

Hello there Platypus,

Here is my opinion on clean eating:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/822501-halp-my-sandwich-isn-t-clean

Interesting--I consider myself a clean eater (at least on good days), but it never even OCCURRED to me that there are 'good foods' and 'bad foods' like this article is describing (or badmouthing). I try to get a pretty good ratio of protein, carbs, and fats, of all colors and shapes and styles, because frankly, if I don't, I feel like crap. I would never call an avocado a bad food because it's fat (in fact, I'd call it an awesome food most of the time :laugh: ) I guess the only things I'd consider 'bad foods' are the ones that give me terrible reactions. Like pizza, lol. I love it, I eat it about quarterly, and I always regret it for two days of gastrointestinal despair and vow never to have it again. Until a few months go by...:noway:

Trainypooh

nothing processed and no refined sugars.

LovelyLifter

i like it better dirty

WinnerVictorious

IMHO, it's simple food snobbery. just like low carb diets, or low fat diets, or paleo diets, etc.

any diet that identifies certain foods as "good" and certain foods as "bad" is food snobbery in my book.

a calorie is a calorie.

nutritionally, it may make sense to eat the bulk of your calories from certain foods to meet your macro needs. that's fine.

however, pizza is no better or no worse than spinach, when eaten in moderation.

life is after all meant to be enjoyed!

You would need to eat 3 pounds of spinach for it to be the same caloric value as 1 slice of pepporoni pizza. Add in the amount of sodium you'll be consuming eating said pizza vs. the spinach and you'll have a great time comparing the two. Not saying don't eat pizza ever, just don't get the idea that just because it fits your macros it's going to be a healthier or just as healthy as other alternatives.

IIFYM =/= calorie is a calorie. In fact its actually the opposite, it recognizes that all calories are NOT the same therefore splits calorie intake into Protein/Carbs/Fats.
Please note that even people who follow IIFYM eat healthy, micro-nutrient dense foods 90% of the time. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because it fits your macros you can eat pizza and poptarts all day and be healthy.

Before anyone responds please understand this... I'm not a stating a position for or against IIFYM so don't bother starting the "Clean Eating vs. IIFYM" ****storm with me, I'm simply promoting a better understanding of the subject before applying it to your lifestyle (if you so choose to).

actually a calorie is a calorie.

it's a unit of energy. it doe not vary whether it's 1 calorie of pizza or 1 calorie of spinach or 1 calorie of butter.

a calorie (or in our case really, a kilocalorie) has a precise meaning and has nothing to do with nutrition at all. to conflate the two issues is to misunderstand completely what i posted above.

Terriann7

Would bleached rice and bleached flour be clean? They've been bleached...

No, that is not clean eating. Go for less processed, less refined, less chemicals...etc.

jayche

IMHO, it's simple food snobbery. just like low carb diets, or low fat diets, or paleo diets, etc.

any diet that identifies certain foods as "good" and certain foods as "bad" is food snobbery in my book.

a calorie is a calorie.

nutritionally, it may make sense to eat the bulk of your calories from certain foods to meet your macro needs. that's fine.

however, pizza is no better or no worse than spinach, when eaten in moderation.

life is after all meant to be enjoyed!

You would need to eat 3 pounds of spinach for it to be the same caloric value as 1 slice of pepporoni pizza. Add in the amount of sodium you'll be consuming eating said pizza vs. the spinach and you'll have a great time comparing the two. Not saying don't eat pizza ever, just don't get the idea that just because it fits your macros it's going to be a healthier or just as healthy as other alternatives.

IIFYM =/= calorie is a calorie. In fact its actually the opposite, it recognizes that all calories are NOT the same therefore splits calorie intake into Protein/Carbs/Fats.
Please note that even people who follow IIFYM eat healthy, micro-nutrient dense foods 90% of the time. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because it fits your macros you can eat pizza and poptarts all day and be healthy.

Before anyone responds please understand this... I'm not a stating a position for or against IIFYM so don't bother starting the "Clean Eating vs. IIFYM" ****storm with me, I'm simply promoting a better understanding of the subject before applying it to your lifestyle (if you so choose to).

actually a calorie is a calorie.

it's a unit of energy. it doe not vary whether it's 1 calorie of pizza or 1 calorie of spinach or 1 calorie of butter.

a calorie (or in our case really, a kilocalorie) has a precise meaning and has nothing to do with nutrition at all. to conflate the two issues is to misunderstand completely what i posted above.

I suppose it wouldn't matter if you got all your calories from fats then instead doing a 40c/30f/30p split then?

Edit: This is worth the time to read if you got some time to read:
"Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance"
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1199154

The results of our study challenge the notion that a calorie is a calorie from a metabolic perspective.