Triumphantly Dirty (Non-Clean) Eaters

Joehenny

And I do very little cardio...

ninerbuff

IIFYM, IF and 80/20 eater who has at least one fast food meal a week. For years now..............................

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SarahSmilesCA

The only trouble I find with eating dirty is it makes me hungry and want more than what is properly portioned. My blood sugar spikes and I end up on a cycle of eating more junk. For example I can not eat just one triple stuffed oreo, I must have half the package, and at 100 calories a cookie, well I will be in the gym for weeks before I get all that excess off...so I keep them out of the house. Though I do indulge in them with friends from time to time. I have two or three when we do coffee together and hand the rest of the package to friends and let them devour them. They think I am a great friend...I, however, know how evil I am being to them LOL.

With that said I only eat clean about 80% of the time and what I consider clean is not low fat, but mostly paleo. I think low fat concept is a joke and the best way to derail your diet plan...

I believe eating dirty 20-25% percent of the time helps you stay on track the rest of the time.

For me the key is to stay within my calorie goals on MFP and balance the protein to carb ratio 3:2 and eat some healthy fat with the dirty stuff as well. So if i want a DQ cone after a work out, I consume my protein shake first (it has 30 calories in it, and no carbs and 1 gram fat). Eating the protein helps stabilize the blood sugar spike from the ice cream and prevents me from eating more ice cream than I should.

FitnSassy

Bump

Cindyinpg

Love this thread. I am a successful dirty-eater! I believed for years that dieting had to be a miserable daily grind of tuna and Brussels sprouts! How wonderful it was to join this site and learn that junk food is not evil and can be fit into a successful weight loss plan. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. Healthy food makes me feel better, but all is not lost if I have a chocolate bar and a bag of chips!

himel13

Good to know there are a lot of people like me out there! I have nothing against clean eating, but its just too hard. I'd rather eat what I want and then exercise it off (not that thats what I do :P, but in theory, thats what I prefer!!)

shaunap3

I don't know how everyone does it. For the most party I'm pretty healthy. I don't eat fast food and haven't for a long time. If I DO splurge on eating out I usually pick the healthiest option, or I shoot for "free range" or "organic" if I need to really stretch it and not feel TOO guilty about a huge slice of pizza or something. But I go one night with a couple of drinks and I balloon up like a whale! I have no idea how you've all lost weight and ate garbage the whole time...

The_Enginerd

I once patted the grease off my meat lovers pizza with a napkin, that counts as clean, right?

Lost and have maintained my loss for my loss for a year and a half. I eat fast food. A lot. And chocolate.

In...

...to read all of the "dirty eating" success stories of the mostly young people.

:flowerforyou:

*cough*

No way Sara, you are a special unicorn. A ripped, sexy, ice cream eating unicorn...

BluePHX

I want to see successes from people who don't have clean diets!

For reasons I'm not willing to get into, clean eating is not an option for me right now, and I really need the motivation. I know you guys are out there so if you can show me pics and give me tips on how to make it work, I'd be really grateful. I feel like a minority on MFP who doesn't eat clean and I could use the support!

(Just for background, I did lose 20+ pounds last year without a clean diet but I reset my ticker this year after falling off the wagon into the Land of Self-Induced Plateau. Back on it though!)

p.s. no preaching, please. If I could eat a cleaner diet, I would! I've read it all already. c:

A girl with Sharon Ehman's body as a profile pic who doesn't want to/can't eat cleanly. The irony. (Can't? Not sure how cutting out processed food could be something someone COULDN'T do... but I won't pry.)

shadow2soul

I'll have to get back to you when I actually have some decent progress pics. I didn't start taking progress pictures until recently and I really avoided camera's if at all possible when I was at 260lbs.

I eat what I want, just in moderation.

kmm7309

70 pounds down so far. I have hypothyroidism and PCOS, so I don't lose as fast as others. I've lost 12 inches on my hips alone.

My diet is cleaner than it's ever been, but I lack in a lot of stuff. I eat everything I want. I try to modify if possible, or limit portions. I do try to keep my carbs under 150. That is plenty.

Joehenny

To certain "Clean eaters": Please stop walking around like you're better than everyone else when in reality you don't know how to count your macros.

commandax

I eat whatever I want... food is food. I just try to eat just what I can burn. On Saturdays, when I spend 3 hours kickboxing, that means I can indulge in a delicious cheeseburger with fries and a few craft beers at my favorite pub. Most days at lunchtime I order something like an Italian sub, a steak sandwich, a chicken burrito, or a fully loaded pizza... whatever strikes my fancy. I just try to keep my portions reasonable. Have half the Italian sub with some fresh veggies for lunch, and save the other half for dinner. Just pack the other half up and put it in the fridge before you even take a bite. If you eat at a reasonable pace and learn to savor your food, you'll be full by the time you're done eating and you won't even be thinking about the other half of your meal chilling in the refrigerator.

I do generally avoid stuff with a lot of sugar, not because of wanting to eat clean, but just because it often makes me feel sleepy and bloated, and I suspect that's why I don't really crave stuff like cake and candy. Once in a while I'll indulge in a cookie or an ice cream sandwich, if I come across something that looks particularly yummy, because for me there are no rules except "only eat what you can burn."

mareeee1234

BUMP!!

I don't have a success story ...yet
But I am seeing changes, without eating clean and just sticking to my calorie goal, and going over here and there. OH and I lift!

mareeee1234

I do not eat clean. I drink alcohol, eat ice cream and gelato regularly, and even (gasp) fast food sometimes.

Here's how I've changed eating dirty and lifting heavy:

Proof I think!

mareeee1234

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H2edyPLU8&list=WL36825C9108E5F7AF

^ Biolayne vid on clean eating!

westerly34

just go on my profile see my pics....ur body cant tell the difference between "clean" foods or "dirty" foods. theres no such thing! All your body sees are carbs protein and fats!!!

MochaMixAZ

While I would prefer to eat "clean" and I do prefer how I feel - I don't believe it's a necessity for weight loss. It boils down to simply expending more calories than you take in.

I've had lots of success - and some days it's clean eating - some days it isn't.

Best of luck to you!

Sarauk2sf

I once patted the grease off my meat lovers pizza with a napkin, that counts as clean, right?

Lost and have maintained my loss for my loss for a year and a half. I eat fast food. A lot. And chocolate.

In...

...to read all of the "dirty eating" success stories of the mostly young people.

:flowerforyou:

*cough*

No way Sara, you are a special unicorn. A ripped, sexy, ice cream eating unicorn...

:blushing: :flowerforyou:

DollyMiel

A girl with Sharon Ehman's body as a profile pic who doesn't want to/can't eat cleanly. The irony. (Can't? Not sure how cutting out processed food could be something someone COULDN'T do... but I won't pry.)

1. Not a "girl" but that's too complicated to get into!
2. I could never get that sort of body but it's admirable and I love the pants! What's wrong with that?
3. I never said I intend on eating like this forever and ever.
4. Did you read the p.s.? =u= v


Edit to add to #2 and that sort of body being impossible to achieve on a non-clean diet... maybe I can't do it, but... just gonna leave this here....

I do not eat clean. I drink alcohol, eat ice cream and gelato regularly, and even (gasp) fast food sometimes.

Here's how I've changed eating dirty and lifting heavy:

Joehenny

just go on my profile see my pics....ur body cant tell the difference between "clean" foods or "dirty" foods. theres no such thing! All your body sees are carbs protein and fats!!!

This macros and micros. Tired of having to explain why I am eating a burger on a diet to people.

It's common sense honestly. If you see a big mofo having 1 burger why on Earth would one think that 1 burger is going to destroy a whole day. One burger. LOL

Railr0aderTony

Lost a couple pounds without eatting clean.

HakunaMatata519

Check out my pictures on my profile! I went from 215ish lbs down to 140lbs. Still drank diet soda, ate my ice cream if I had calories left over and ate lean cuisines daily for lunches.

You don't have to eat like a bunny rabbit or our ancestors to lose weight. Just burn more than you consume and make good choices.

humidex8

Glad there's so many of you! I try to eat cleanly, but I love junk.. I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle.. and yes it works!

DollyMiel

Check out my pictures on my profile! I went from 215ish lbs down to 140lbs. Still drank diet soda, at my ice cream if I had calories left over and ate lean cuisines daily for lunches.

Very well done! You look awesome! The same clothes really put it in perspective. I hope I can do the same!

Just to add, I don't eat hamburgers for every meal or anything, but pretty much what you said. Normal diet, some clean foods, some very much not, but moderated. I'm glad to see so many people responding positively.

Obscuring

I have lost 10 lbs this month and the only thing I have denied myself is soda... which I didn't really drink more than twice a month anyway. I still eat whatever I want, I just make sure it's an appropriate amount! Although, if I want only cheetos for lunch one day, I won't deny myself, lol.

L33TBl0nde

I'm not a clean eater and I lost almost 20kg... (From overweight to normal)...
I don't eat junk ALOT.. But I do...
Also I don't follow any rules except 1: Use more energy, than you eat.

If I "overeat" 1000kcal, I exercise untill those are burned off.

Then you WILL loose weight. Trust me.

Chadomaniac

I eat what I want lol

trudiedurbridge

I try to eat healthy but I dont eat clean, I dont have a success story yet as I am only a couple of weeks into using MFP but it would be good to have some friends who es similar things to me I workout 3-4 times a week at the moment x

ctalimenti

I think I eat clean most of the time but I really don't know exactly what that means. I think it's unreasonable to exclude snacks and fun foods. I went to McDonald's over the weekend and had a Filet-o-fish meal. I about died when I entered the calories including my Coke. It was 1,000 cals! Yikes, good thing I don't do this that often.

Eating dirty is downright fun but you can really blow through your calories dammit!!!