Triumphantly Dirty (Non-Clean) Eaters

lizzybethclaire

I lost 30 pounds eating clean 80% of the time and dirty 20% of the time. I do admit I feel better when I am eating clean. So I have made a compromise. I eat clean most days, work in a few treats into my calories, watch my sodium, and drink a ton of water. I also lift weights every other day (or at least try too if I have time). I went crazy for awhile, gained and lost and gained, and I find this is the best way to keep my sanity and lose the excess pounds.

kitka82

I lost 60+ pounds by calorie deficit only. No dietary labels or restrictions. The only difference is that I eat more real food now, and not as many snack foods (chips, cookies, etc). I only started paying attention to macros 2 years ago when I did P90X. Lifting and eating more protein is what works for my body. My macros are 40 carb and 30 protein and fat. I do watch my sugar intake, and I cut back on alcohol when I need to not feel bloated. I still eat bread and white potatoes... I eat full fat dairy... If I had to pick a category, it would be IIFYM 90% of the time.

BohemianCoast

Only halfway through my journey, but I'm a 'fairly' dirty eater, also late 40s so not one of the young folks. I drink beer a couple of times most weeks, and the odd glass of wine. I love full-sugar Coke, and meat-heavy fast food like kebabs and burritos, and lots of full-fat dairy and eggs. I aim for 40/30/30 carbs/protein/fat, normally end up nearer 40/25/35, log everything, and don't fret when I miss targets. I try to do some cardio every day and strength 3x a week.

ducky715

I lost over 30 lbs. of pregnancy baby weight in six months by eating good and bad. I just counted calories. I think I'm going to add lifting heavy to get more tone all over though. I never had thin arms so that is one of mini goals for one day to have.

michellelemorgan

I'm 32 and typically a very healthy and clean eater. But for reasons probably similar to yours I'm not able to eat very healthy right now and haven't been able to for the past two weeks. I'm still exercising the same but exercise is a LOT harder now. It's difficult to consume all of those empty calories and not really be getting the nutrients you need. I've also noticed that the sodium from the food I"m eating is making me maintain a bit of a bloat that I'd rather not have. My tummy looks much trimmer when I'm not eating pasta, rice etc... anyway, I dont' think you'll do any permanent damage from not eating clean for a while but maybe while you're doing it you won't be in the best shape of your life.

ythannah

I'm so dirty, I'm not even quite sure what "clean" is, lol. I pretty much ignore macros, my carbs are always over (with most of those coming from the evil refined sugar) and my protein always under. Informally, I follow a pescetarian (sometimes vegetarian) diet so it's a real struggle to get enough protein. I have IBS so I need to eat extremely high fiber.

Peri-menopause has had more of a negative impact on my weight than my choice of food. I've managed to lose pounds by cutting calories i.e. just eating less of the same.

For the record, I haven't used a sick day at work for about 15 years, never catch the colds and flus that travel around my office like wildfire, and all my bloodwork is always "excellent" per my doc. Healthy as the proverbial horse.

CCusedtodance

I definitely eat "dirty". I eat my pizza washed down with beer. I will swing through Taco Bell for a burrito. I work 60+ hours a week and rarely have time to fix a meal for my husband, much less myself. I have lost 15lbs and I am focusing on working out to tone/strengthen up, more than the number on the scale. I have decided this is a LIFEstyle change and one I have to live with. Without my favorite foods I will just fail again and that is something I will not do!

AdrienneYocham

I'd love to be a clean eater, but I'm realistic. I love food. I'm learning to be the healthiest me I can be, and sometimes that includes junk food or fast food.

I've lost 56lbs this way. I would love to share a picture, but my work computer restrictions will not let me on a photosharing site. I did however load my pic as my main image on my profile.

Adrienne

xxcooneyxx

I'm not the dirtiest eater but im far from clean.
Also want to note that my starting weight was 15 lbs heaviest than the heaviest picture and im about 16 lbs lighter now than in the skinnier picture. I need to take new photos.

stephanieogle35

Well, I don't have before & after pics, but I can tell you that I'm making good progress and not eating specifically "clean". My breakfast 6 days out of the week is a Special K breakfast shake. My lunches are usually Healthy Choice t.v. dinners. I try to snack a lot on fruit, but I love the Skinny Cow chocolate treats and eat probably 1 per day. We do eat at home for dinner as much as we're able to, probably 4-6 times per week, but if/when we eat out, I try to get grilled chickens or salad or something calorie controlled. I do try to track all of my food so I know how many calories I'm eating and if I feel like I'm going to go over my calories by quite a bit, I try to go for a run to "earn" those calories. I still have a little while to get to my goal, but we have a young family and we needed to be able to make adjustments that we can live with. Portion control and convenience are key to me, so this is working for us for now.

The_Enginerd

I do not eat clean. IIFYM, or even if it doesn't, haha.

Holy crap... what are you doing for your workouts?

1ConcreteGirl

I've been getting a lot of messages from this thread because of these pictures:



So I thought I would come back and give a more detailed explanation of how/what I do.

I eat TDEE-15% because I'm in my last 10 lbs to lose. For people with more to lose, TDEE-20% works just fine.

I eat IIFYM most of the time. Sometimes I eat a whole pizza and drink whiskey and have dessert, too, for dinner just because I feel like it and because this is my life. I don't feel guilty, I decide to let myself have it, and I do, and the next day it's back to business as usual. One day won't make you gain weight, just like one day of good eating won't make you lose weight.

Set macros as follows. First, find your Lean Body Mass (LBM) if you don't know it, you can google a LBM calculator.
Set your protein to be one gram of protein per pound of LBM at a minimum.
Set your fats to be 0.35 grams per pound of LBM at a minimum
Let the carbs fall where they may.

AND STRENGTH TRAIN. That's the magic here, not my diet.

Here are more results from lady heavy lifters here.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/979178-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

ChangingAmanda

Not a clean eater - I have texture issues with fruits and veggies. I eat ice cream and oreos and lunch meat. I've cut out soda and cut way back on eating out. I watch my portions and if I go over one day, I try to be under the next couple days so it all evens out. I do not feel guilty if on special occasions and gatherings I do not log/count everything I eat. This has been a life style change not a diet. I've lost 43# and 47 inches since Oct. 20th. I do cross fit type circuit training classes 5 days a week. I'm accomplishing what I set out to do and I'm damn proud of it. :glasses:

savemama

I have made it more than half way to my goal by calorie restriction alone. I don't know how to do "IIFYM". I don't know how to "eat clean". (Yes, I know I can google both, but I'm happy doing what I'm doing for now).

I burn calories and I limit my intake. I splurge for important occasions. NO food is off limits

That said, veggies make it easier to hit my calorie goals because they are filling and low cal. They also make me feel good. So I try to eat as many of them as I possibly can get into my diet. I try to drink insane amounts of water... get a lot of fiber. Again, because it feels good, and makes it easier to hit my goals and feel full.

It works for me. And I'll change it up if/when it stops working.

Honestly, the religious-sounding judgment from some folks on here is a big turn off. It makes it sounds like there's only one way to lose weight. There isn't. And quite frankly, all the people I know IRL who do things like "clean eating" are the ones whose weight yo yos year after year. They lose big, look great, judge others.... then next year.... yeah, the weight is back (and then some). Because it's extreme. And when people do things in extreme its harder to maintain. Just what I find IRL. For true "maintenance" of weight loss, I really believe its about finding a sustainable solution that lets you live your life.

Why can't people let that solution be different for others? Weird.

Oh, and while we're confessing things. I work out when I feel like it (which means, a kid isn't sick, I have time to do that AND shower before work, and I feel up to it).

Here are some "progress pics" although I weighed more to start and weigh less now.



eta- I found a more recent pic

crypticcalicocat

I love this thread. I try to eat generally healthy, mostly because I feel guilty and I feel like I won't make any progress if I don't. So when I do eat something slightly unhealthy, I feel awful about myself. These posts me feel so much better, because it's really hard for me not to indulge in dessert every day! I really love the fact that there's been so much success without completely clean eating.

k3rbear1013

Lost a couple pounds without eatting clean.

:flowerforyou: :drinker: cheers to you!

hemendelson

I don't really see it as clean or dirty. In fact, for some reason those terms set me up for making worse choices. I don't want anything to be off limits because ultimately I will fail, and probably fail pretty badly. Instead, I try to eat what I enjoy and make healthier choices along the way because that way I can eat more. It's a trade-off. If I really want chocolate, I'll have chocolate (or pizza or whatever). But in doing so, I also know that I won't have as much volume to eat. So, if the choice is fried chicken by itself or grilled chicken with a side of whatever, I'll probably pick the grilled if I want to eat more food, and the fried if that's just really what I want and I won't feel satisfied until I have it. Ultimately, I want to be satisfied, and so that's a balance of eating more healthy choices and more tasty ones. Tracking everything helps me keep so much more mindful. Also realizing that I don't have to finish what I put on my plate or in my cup helps. I did a road trip this past weekend, and we bought some higher-calorie coffee drinks along the way. Well, I drank half and was happy (wished I had gotten a smaller portion just for money's sake, but that's ok). We had some trail mix with nuts and chocolate in it, and I enjoyed that, too, just measured tablespoon portions to keep track. Pausing to enjoy what I'm eating really helps, too. On the way back, at Wendy's, I got a grilled chicken sandwich, no sauce, and that was it. No soda or fries, as I would have in the past. And guess what, I was happy and full. So that worked. But if I wanted the fries, you better believe I would have had them (or at least a few)!

stephanie40403

bump

Eatkansasbeef

Bump

austinmclark

I eat dirty. The only thing I've cut out is soda (I just don't see the point of it). As a college student I eat fast food regularly, microwavable meals, too. I have lost 48 pounds since late February by only counting my calories, doing a lot of cardio, and moderate weight lifting. It's possible to eat dirty and lose. But it certainly doesn't work for everyone. Listen to your body.