Flexible Dieting = Success (rant)

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Game8
Game8 Posts: 442
in Food and Nutrition
I've seen many posts on here strongly advocating eating only "clean foods". And carbophobia, or the irrational fear of sugar seems also prevalent among many people in the nutrition section.

But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty". So what's this moral superiority of eating only things like brown rice, broccoli, lean chicken and olive oil? Why does everyone have to list all the treats they had in the confessional thread?
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  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
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    I like you sir
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
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    If a food you wanna eat fits into your daily goals, then there's no reason not to eat it. No need to torture yourself!
  • rfarinha
    rfarinha Posts: 388 Member
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    That's what I've been doing the last 14 months, and I think I've done okay! :wink:
  • c2111
    c2111 Posts: 693 Member
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    Hi, I eat clean, that means I avoid processed foods anything with ingredients that I dont recognise I avoid. So it works for me I dont get cravings, I dont get sugar spikes and Im happy. I eat lots of natural foods, , My philosophy of eating clean came from reading the lean & clean book, I found it very informative and changed my perspection on foods. I now drink filtered water, eat predominantly organic, avoiding added hormones, antibiotics, preservatives etc. I recently have had to under go chemo and with that in mind im pretty toxic anyway so by eating this way Im trying to recuce the damage to my liver, kidneys. If you are interested I'd suggest going to your library and look up the book, its a great read, and nice recipes. Goodluck on your journey :)
  • shmoony
    shmoony Posts: 237 Member
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    I agree 100% as long as you'e getting a balance of macros and all of your micros. If you don't eat "clean" (and yes, I am equally annoyed by the concept), then it's harder to meet your micronutrient requirements and stay under your cals. Agree?
  • dorilou1969
    dorilou1969 Posts: 87
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    could not agree more. I am doing exactly this, not going crazy though, and I am consistently losing weight.
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
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    I agree 100% as long as you'e getting a balance of macros and all of your micros. If you don't eat "clean" (and yes, I am equally annoyed by the concept), then it's harder to meet your micronutrient requirements and stay under your cals. Agree?

    I think the most useful thing about this site is that it quantifies how much you should eat of each macro nutrient. Now all you have to do is solve this puzzle by logging what you eat. It's hard enough as it is, why limit your choices of food and complicate things further? Yes, 100% agree
  • RamoZimm
    RamoZimm Posts: 95 Member
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    I'm doing much better using your philosophy than I did with the low-carb diet. I try to be sensible about what I eat, but don't want to think I can never have a certain food ever again. I don't feel deprived and don't beat myself up if I eat something less than stellar.
  • Louisianababy93
    Louisianababy93 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    If a food you wanna eat fits into your daily goals, then there's no reason not to eat it. No need to torture yourself!
    AMEN! i had one kid get mad cause i ate a hotpocket for lunch one day and i was like you know what,it tasted good and i ate nutella afterwarda and it was still in my goal calories. :)-
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
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    I do understand what you're saying. On the other hand i must say it is much easier to create a calorie deficient with whole foods, which, in the end, is what matters for weight loss. ... Not arguing.... Just sayin......
  • Arexxx
    Arexxx Posts: 486 Member
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    My idea of eating 'clean' is limiting my poptart intake to one box a week.

    But it is a lot easier to stay under the calorie goal if you eat "whole" foods. Two poptarts for 450cals or marinated chicken with veggies?
  • FabMrFox
    FabMrFox Posts: 259 Member
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    I do understand what you're saying. On the other hand i must say it is much easier to create a calorie deficient with whole foods, which, in the end, is what matters for weight loss. ... Not arguing.... Just sayin......

    bless your heart
  • Louisianababy93
    Louisianababy93 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    My idea of eating 'clean' is limiting my poptart intake to one box a week.

    But it is a lot easier to stay under the calorie goal if you eat "whole" foods. Two poptarts for 450cals or marinated chicken with veggies?

    hmm,i really like the two poptarts.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    I've seen many posts on here strongly advocating eating only "clean foods". And carbophobia, or the irrational fear of sugar seems also prevalent among many people in the nutrition section.

    But the fact is that the human body doesn't recognize foods as "clean" or "dirty". So what's this moral superiority of eating only things like brown rice, broccoli, lean chicken and olive oil? Why does everyone have to list all the treats they had in the confessional thread?

    I agree totally. I did all the fad diets, low carb, low fat, all organic, blah blah blah and diet the yo-yo weight for 15 years. It wasn't until I ditched all the diets and just ate what I like, mostly healthy, but including treats whenever I want them within my calorie budget that I lost the most weight ever, 60 lbs at age 50, defying all the fad diets, female hormone issues, adrenal fatigue among other things, and have kept it off for over a year now.

    Keep it simple. Life is too short to deprive yourself of foods you love (within reason, if you need to lose fat you have to eat less, duh).

    It's freedom to me that I let go of all those food restrictions. I'm enjoying life much more now.
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
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    I do understand what you're saying. On the other hand i must say it is much easier to create a calorie deficient with whole foods, which, in the end, is what matters for weight loss. ... Not arguing.... Just sayin......

    A calorie deficit is important, but so is your macro nutrient break down (how much of that is carbs, fats and protein). Eating only "clean" foods limits your selection and makes things dull and unnecessarily more difficult.
  • Julicat6
    Julicat6 Posts: 231 Member
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    I think eating more whole, less processed food helps me feel fuller and have fewer cravings. I chose them when its convenient and affordable, but I am not fanatical about it. I want to enjoy life, and sometimes that means eating out. Flexibility is THE KEY to making it a lifestyle change and doing it for the rest of my life.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    I eat mostly "clean" because a lot of other foods are triggers for bingeing with me.
    If I don't even have one, I'm fine.. but if I have one - within an hour the whole box will be gone.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    IEating only "clean" foods limits your selection and makes things dull and unnecessarily more difficult.

    totally false
  • Candysland2013
    Candysland2013 Posts: 46
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    Amen ... I've failed so many times trying to be too strict and then I break ... This time I don't deprive myself and I'm doing so much better!
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
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    My idea of eating 'clean' is limiting my poptart intake to one box a week.

    But it is a lot easier to stay under the calorie goal if you eat "whole" foods. Two poptarts for 450cals or marinated chicken with veggies?

    You should be able to eat whatever foods you want to achieve your goal. That's the whole point. For e.g. my goal from Aug - Oct was to eat 4,000 cals a day. I wouldn't be able to eat that much if I had to stick with "whole" foods only.

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