Portion Control vs. Eating "Clean" ??

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MellyMelx23o
MellyMelx23o Posts: 80
in Health and Weight Loss
Can portion control diets help one lose weight reguardless of what they are eating?? I have been doing the Weight Watchers method, by rationing & it has been working great. I don't necessarily eat "clean" but I do make a concious effort to choose grilled chicken over fried, apples over chips, stuff like that. Moderation has been working for me ( 8 lbs in about 2 weeks) , but I've been getting alot of hell about eating Healthy Choice / Weight Watcher foods, 100 Calorie packs, and candy. I rarely go over my calories, drink plenty of water, take a multi vitamin & exercise daily.
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Replies

  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight.

    if you are also concerned about your overall health, then your food choices will play a role.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    Yes they can. WW is the best out there, IMO. It teaches you about choices and that you can eat anything, but there are consequences to making bad choices throughout the day.
  • lunagirl818
    lunagirl818 Posts: 9
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    The only thing I would warn about the packaged food is to watch the sodium. Calorie wise it is fine, but the sodium could lead to to retain water at some point. As long as you are aware it is fine right?
  • delonda1
    delonda1 Posts: 525 Member
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    Portion control does work and congrats to you for losing the 8lbs!!! Keep it up!

    It is your personal decision to eat clean if you want to or not. Over time it would probably help you more if you sometimes replaced some of your 100calorie packs with snacks of fruits or veggies... or if instead of buying healthy choice dinners/ lean cuisines make big batches of whatever it is you want and just freeze it or eat it that week because it will cut down on your sodium.

    Everyone has their own definition of eating clean on here and everyone is in the same boat of trying to be healthier than they were before so you do whats best for you
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    p.s. I took a look at a few days of your diary. IMO, lean quisine is sodium filled chemical crap. once in a great while if in a rush these chemical cardboard dinners might be ok, ( I wont eat that stuff) but every day is not a good idea
  • _Mimi_
    _Mimi_ Posts: 233
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    if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight.

    if you are also concerned about your overall health, then your food choices will play a role.
    ^^This^^ I by no means eat 100% clean, but I am working on it! I think not only will you be healthier, you will look leaner and your skin, hair and nails will look much better too.

    Also, I see you are not tracking sodium. I'm guessing it's rather high. Things that may not matter now, but could make a huge difference down the road.

    You can still do Weight Watchers and choose more whole, clean foods.
  • Sharyn913
    Sharyn913 Posts: 777 Member
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    if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight.

    if you are also concerned about your overall health, then your food choices will play a role.

    This. Your body will feel much better getting the right things!!
  • mcpherson4
    mcpherson4 Posts: 287 Member
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    If it ain't broke don't fix it. This is free Weight Watchers. Just saying.
  • ingalynn
    ingalynn Posts: 136 Member
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    I think it's all about taking steps. If you stay in your calorie range you will lose weight. I have lost 30 lbs by staying most days within goal and exercising every day. I don't eat totally clean. I am eating better the longer I do this because it is becoming easier to do so. My outlook and food diary is changing as time passes. But I still have white bread, and taco bell, and dairy queen when I want it, and am still losing 1-2 lbs per week.
  • likeschocolate
    likeschocolate Posts: 368 Member
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    Eating moderately is a great diet plan.
  • lesle1
    lesle1 Posts: 354 Member
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    if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight.

    if you are also concerned about your overall health, then your food choices will play a role.

    This. Your body will feel much better getting the right things!!

    Yep. This. Eating the right foods make a difference in health and performance. I eat junk my running, etc suffers. I eat healthier and my running improves. I can consume the same calories in healthier foods or not so healthy. Sure I'll lose weight.... but the difference is how I feel. Junk=don't feel as good, performance suffers. Healthy food= I feel great.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Can portion control diets help one lose weight reguardless of what they are eating?? I have been doing the Weight Watchers method, by rationing & it has been working great. I don't necessarily eat "clean" but I do make a concious effort to choose grilled chicken over fried, apples over chips, stuff like that. Moderation has been working for me ( 8 lbs in about 2 weeks) , but I've been getting alot of hell about eating Healthy Choice / Weight Watcher foods, 100 Calorie packs, and candy. I rarely go over my calories, drink plenty of water, take a multi vitamin & exercise daily.

    If it's working for you, don't worry about what other people are saying. Personally, "clean" eating works better for me because I have high blood pressure and I'm insulin resistant, so low sodium/low sugar helps my body work more efficiently to lose the weight. One advantage to "clean" eating is, you are eating much less calorie dense food. Therefore, you are able to eat much larger quantities of it, thereby helping you feel more satisfied.
  • gemmalouise85
    gemmalouise85 Posts: 157 Member
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    I did slimming world and lost 2 stone 2 years back
    and i ate limitless pasta and veg never counted calories
    so i do believe in if you eat certains foods with other certain foods you can have as much as u like
  • Longisland2NC
    Longisland2NC Posts: 60 Member
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    I personally do not like the frozen-pre packaged foods because they are way too salty for me. But thats me. I have tried to stay away from most processed food - though I did put some laughing cow cheese in my egg omelette this morning.....I try and not eat any of the pre packaged foods (frozen or dry).....I find I eat much healthier that way, and I FEEL better!
  • MellyMelx23o
    MellyMelx23o Posts: 80
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    if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight.

    if you are also concerned about your overall health, then your food choices will play a role.
    ^^This^^ I by no means eat 100% clean, but I am working on it! I think not only will you be healthier, you will look leaner and your skin, hair and nails will look much better too.

    Also, I see you are not tracking sodium. I'm guessing it's rather high. Things that may not matter now, but could make a huge difference down the road.

    You can still do Weight Watchers and choose more whole, clean foods.


    I usually use my iphone app & it does track the sodium, I only went over my sodium once this week (Thursday).
  • harleygaljojo
    harleygaljojo Posts: 111 Member
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    I watch my calories, fats and sodium but more or less eat what I'm in the mood for and it's been working for me.
  • lisalu2u
    lisalu2u Posts: 5 Member
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    While it's true that if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight, it is also true that sugar will make that process harder. I read the advice of others about the sodium and I agree. I also think if you ever get where eating less calories than your body needs and not losing weight then start taking the sugar calories out of your diet. Sugar is the Devil in disguise! This has really worked for me. Good Luck.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,411 Member
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    I started with portion control. I know me and knew I would not change my diet. I have focused some on eating healthier, but I still eat what I want. Portion Control was my success story - combined with exercise of course.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    If I could eat processed garbage and not constantly crave and also lose weight at the rate I'm currently losing it, I'd cheerfully do it. I like processed garbage food. It doesn't work for me, unfortunately. I tried! But one pastry in my belly gets lonely.
  • marlopaterson
    marlopaterson Posts: 53
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    For the most part, a calorie is a calorie. While it is possible to lose weight eating whatever you want if you stay under your calorie budget, your body won't feel as good as if you were eating clean, or making healthy choices all the time. I agree with the other posters about the sodium content in frozen dinners. I'd suggest eating less packaged/processed stuff. Save them for when you're in a rush and absolutely cannot make a meal from scratch. You already said that you were making healthier choices like apples versus chips, so just keep that up and keep going. Every little bit helps, AND 8 lbs in 2 weeks is fabulous! Congrats!

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