Losing weight but not clean eating?

BflSaberfan

I have about 20-30 lbs to lose and yes I have a family too. We dont eat fast food or anything like that and they are definitely in great shape (kids and hubby) so I guess the diet must not be all that bad, i just ate too much for my height lol

Ditto! Hubs and I still eat fast food (not the kiddo though...only good stuff for him lol). My husband is a foot taller and super skinny and I found I was trying to "keep up" with what he ate. Horrible idea. I'm still eating mostly the same things, just making sure I'm only have 1 to 1 1/2 portions instead of 2 or 3. And now that my little guy has started eating with us, I make a point to work veggies into every meal and have switched from white bread to wheat, white rice to brown, etc. Considering we pretty much only ate meat, potatoes, cheese, and pasta before, these are definitely big changes. So far I've been losing at the one pound per week rate.

Maybe I will try the wheat change too. Funny you mention your hubby, mine is 6'4 185 lbs...cant gain weight for the life of him!

BflSaberfan

It is partly calories in, calories out. the difference is how you will feel with a cleaner diet that does not consist of processed foods and mostly carbs. I find that I have alot more energy and dont feel as blah with less processed foods in my diet. the day after my treat meal (which is whatever I want like pizza, burgers, drinks, sweets) I feel like total crap and am lethargic all day.

it also depends on what your goals are. ie. just be thin vs thin and toned.

totally unrelated to your diet, but are you not starving with just two meals??? I start getting hangry right around the 3hr mark after my first meal.

I eat all day long, I just mostly log it all in the breakfast category.

kayaksara

I think you can lose weight on what you are doing. I have in the past. Now I am 43 and want to keep my cholesterol in check along with just being healthy in general. I pretty much follow clean eating about 90% of the time. I feel sooo much better. And my face and skin look younger and fresher too. And artificial, processed foods leave me hungry for more. So I don't see the point any more. I just ate 1/2 cup of steel cut oats with a cup of blueberries and that will keep me full for 2-3 hours. And I don't crave anything bad for my next meal...which will most likely be my afternoon spinach salad! Good luck! :happy:

bcattoes

I glanced at a couple days of your diary and it didn't look bad. If you eat a lot of processed foods, I'd suggest tracking fiber, as many are lacking in it.

If you want to "clean" up your diet, do it gradually. Just make one or two changes for now. Once that becomes habit, make another. Keep going until you are satisfied.

girlnextdoor64

Extreme attitude leads some people to failure...Somewhere in the middle I think is a good compromise..Everything we do regarding our body should be a lifestyle not a diet, HATE this word..."diet"....

This.

Spartan_Maker

As nearly everyone has said, it's about being in a calorie deficit. If you can maintain a deficit and get adequate protein while eating those types of foods, you'll succeed at body recomposition. If you want micronutrient insurance, buy yourself a GMP certified multivitamin.

iAMsmiling

The Dirt On Clean Eating
Worth the read.

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

ncl1313

I'm anti-veggie. I have to hide them in my own food in order to eat them. Here are my favorite tricks:

Roast them. It makes broccoli and cauliflower less broccoli-y and cauliflower-y.
Sweet potatoes. Spread mashed on grilled cheese. Make instead of baked potato. Basically sweet potatoes are the best thing ever.
Zucchini/yellow squash/mushroom-take on the flavor of whatever you cook them in. I hide all of these things on pizza and in spaghetti sauce (pureed carrots can hide in spaghetti sauce too).
Barilla veggie pasta.
Spinach. I HATE raw spinach. If I chop it up super tiny with fresh herbs that I like (cilantro, dill, parsley, whatever) it doesn't even taste like spinach anymore.

BAM! Clean(ish) eating!

icimani

Extreme attitude leads some people to failure...Somewhere in the middle I think is a good compromise..Everything we do regarding our body should be a lifestyle not a diet, HATE this word..."diet"....

I totally agree with this ^ ^.

If you're eating at or some below your calorie goal and losing weight then you're doing great. At the beginning I was more concerned with portions sizes and just getting enough fruits and vegetables. Now that it's become more of a habit, I'm tweaking to include cleaner foods. And I think you're right - when you have other people in the household it becomes much more complicated so small changes might be the ticket.

stumblinthrulife

Law of diminishing returns. It applies to diet as much as anything else in life.

The vast majority of the health benefits will be gained from just losing the weight, however you may choose to do it.
Then you'll get a benefit from hitting the correct macros for your goals.
Then you'll get some incremental benefit from getting all your micros.
Then a small bump from eating 'clean'.
Then you may or may not gain some health benefit from specialist diets like veganism or paleo. Of course those diets have other perceived moral or social benefits, but we're talking in the context of health.

You can argue the exact order that these come to as much as you want. But fact is that if you get the broad strokes right, you'll do ok. Then you can start looking for the incremental improvements, if you so wish.

LorinaLynn

I love those Lipton/Knorr side dishes, too, especially the rice ones.

Here's what I do when I'm short on time. Get boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut it into chunks. (I see Wegmans on your list a lot... they usually have chicken breast for $1.99/pound in the big packs.) Stir fry that with some oil until cooked through, add some frozen vegetables, and cook the rice or pasta side in the same pan. IE, chicken, Oriental blend veg, and Teriyaki noodles, then topped with some rice noodles for crunch. Or chicken, pepper onion stir fry, and Mexican rice, topped with shredded cheese. A whole meal, one dirty pan to clean, and about 20 minutes start to finish.

Momof2Monkeys

If you fill guilty about feeding your family processed food perhaps you should change Try starting to change slowly so it doesn't overwhelm you and your family. Try eating clean for one meal a day or maybe snacks then work your way to all clean eating. I have been trying to slow convert my family to clean eating for a year now. But on the other hand and you are losing weight and are fine with the way you and your family eats, stick with what works for you. What works for one person may not work for someone else.

Sunny_fit4life

Here's my opinion... You can only start where you are and work with what you have. You take it one step at a time toward better health. As long as you're always making better choices than yesterday, then you're doing it right. You can't make drastic changes overnight because for the majority of people they will not last.

So to be more specific, I think it's fine that you're doing this right now. If you want to work toward a cleaner diet, that's absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend it, but you don't have to do it all at once. You can slowly add more whole foods in and eliminate the processed stuff as you go.

I used to eat a lot of processed food every single day and I eat cleaner now, though not 100% perfect. I do feel better when I eat this way, though. Also, I feel like I get more out of my workouts

runzalot81

On Sundays, I make something just for me. I love finding tasty recipes online with respectable ingredients. I pack up this dish and eat it for lunch for the rest of the week.

My child is a very picky eater so I do make the kid staple chicken nuggets, spaghetti etc. He'll eat corn and I try to introduce something new every once in awhile. For example, I put two little sweet potato sticks on his plate yesterday. He cried and wailed but he ate them. He would NOT be allowed his sweat treat if he didn't.

He eats fruit and nuts with wreckless abandon. He likes my baked treats so I try to use the best ingredients in my baking. I still say home baked is way better than something from the store. He also loves the healthy ones like my knock off Larabars.

He told me he'll eat vegetables when he's a grown up like me LOL

My husband is also a picky eater. I let him fend for himself.

Cait_Sidhe

I've lost a decent amount of weight following the IIFYM rule (if it fits your macros). Currently losing ~ 1.5 lb/week and most of my food is processed. As long as it doesn't take you over your calorie limit, it won't make a difference in fat loss.

ETA: my food diary is always open if you'd like to take a look.

waldo56

Clean eating is a bunch of nonsense.

Meet your calorie and protein goals, and you're good to go.

beangen

Oh man, it makes me sad to people still going by the "calories in, calories out" routine, or saying that a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. That myth is from old, bad science that has been completely debunked. You have to remember that food is much more than energy. It is also information that actually tells your genes how to do their job. You don't really think that 500 calories from broccoli is the same as 500 calories form Oreos, right? Besides the energy factor, those foods tell your body to do very different things. You might feel fine now, but look at what most people 50 and above look like. That's when the body finally says "enough" and starts breaking down. It's because of choices made up until that time.
Check out this writeup from the guys at Life Time gym. Those guys get it. http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2013/1/5/why-tracking-and-counting-calories-does-not-work-part-1.html

kikicooks

Oh man, it makes me sad to people still going by the "calories in, calories out" routine, or saying that a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. That myth is from old, bad science that has been completely debunked. You have to remember that food is much more than energy. It is also information that actually tells your genes how to do their job. You don't really think that 500 calories from broccoli is the same as 500 calories form Oreos, right? Besides the energy factor, those foods tell your body to do very different things. You might feel fine now, but look at what most people 50 and above look like. That's when the body finally says "enough" and starts breaking down. It's because of choices made up until that time.
Check out this writeup from the guys at Life Time gym. Those guys get it. http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2013/1/5/why-tracking-and-counting-calories-does-not-work-part-1.html

I completely agree that 500 calories of healthy, whole foods will be more beneficial for your body than processed foods and junk food. I know I feel crappy after too much of the not so good stuff. But, you can still lose weight with the calories in calories out thing, people do it all the time & that is what the OP's question was.

ashzacher

I try to eat clean as much as I can. For me, its all about moderation. Carby things like pretzels chips and crackers were always my go to.. but I've learned portion control on those is key! I try to find the best and most unprocessed snacks. when I buy a bag, I split it into individual snack bags. That way I can only eat one serving! Generally, I try to avoid anything with added sugar - no juices, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, or processed stuff in general. I try my best not to eat anything packaged with more than 4-6 ingredients, and o like to know what they are! On occasion though, you have to treat yourself. I allow myself one diet Coke a week otherwise I drink water all day every day with the occasional almond milk and coffee.

I wanted to eat clean because my body doesn't react well to having crap in it. I find that I have a ton of energy when eating cleaner, too! If I am running that day, I run a hell of a lot better when my body has good fuel in it.

I know some people say its all calorie in and calorie out.. but do you really want all of those extra chemicals and stuff floating around in your body? I certainly don't! try watching the video "Forks over Knives".. it explains a lot!! (although I couldn't cut out meat!)

Trilby16

This term "clean eating" which I never heard until I got here really sets my teeth on edge. It's so "virtuous," it makes me want to punch things. Sorry, just had to say that. You may continue.

LaurenAOK

Oh man, it makes me sad to people still going by the "calories in, calories out" routine, or saying that a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. That myth is from old, bad science that has been completely debunked. You have to remember that food is much more than energy. It is also information that actually tells your genes how to do their job. You don't really think that 500 calories from broccoli is the same as 500 calories form Oreos, right? Besides the energy factor, those foods tell your body to do very different things. You might feel fine now, but look at what most people 50 and above look like. That's when the body finally says "enough" and starts breaking down. It's because of choices made up until that time.
Check out this writeup from the guys at Life Time gym. Those guys get it. http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2013/1/5/why-tracking-and-counting-calories-does-not-work-part-1.html

You are correct, but you are talking HEALTH, not WEIGHT LOSS. Two very different categories. Of course eating clean is healthier for you and your body. I don't think anyone is saying that eating 500 calories of Oreos is the same, or just as healthy, as eating 500 calories of broccoli. But it IS pretty much the same when it comes to weight loss. When I first started this journey I had no interest in eating healthy. I lost the majority of my weight eating crap all day, every day, just staying at a calorie deficit. For weight loss, calories in vs calories out absolutely IS correct science. Now I eat cleaner because I want to be healthy, but that's a totally different story.

emondt

I'm actually new to the "clean eating" and have realized recently that as long as I keep my protein high and carbs and sodium moderate to low, I will do ok. Since I have stopped eating processed food, I do have tons more energy, but thats about it. No extreme weight loss or anything. Any good diet should consist of protein and fruit/veggies!! Like everyone has said, its calories in and calories out!!!

BioQueen

I think if you feel good, and are still getting those healthy things in your diet (and losing weight!), it's all about what works best for you!