What exactly is clean eating?

liya368
liya368 Posts: 122 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I want to lose weight but I also want to be healthy. Clean eating seems to be a new buzz word. I know it includes avoiding artificial colors and flavors but what else?

Would shopping at Trader Joe's constitute clean eating? I have been there and have checked a few labels-some of their items are very high in fat.

What should I be looking for to start eating healthier rather than just staying within my caloric goals?

Thanks!!

Replies

  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Eat whole raw unprocessed foods from nature.

    Foods that are not chemically enhanced have no additives and are as close to the way nature made them as possible.

    Veggies, lean pasture fed and cage free meats, nothing pre-made, enriched, enhanced or modified.

    Likely the stuff you are looking at that is high is fat is either high in good fat or is pre made foods.
  • Machafin
    Machafin Posts: 2,988 Member
    Most people refer to clean eating as staying away from processed foods, these include foods with all the qualities you stated as well as white flour, etc. A good rule of thumb, if it has a lot of ingredients you can't pronounce or have never heard of then its probable processed. Eat fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, etc, these have not be altered from their original form and are more along the lines of what you are looking for
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    Some people will say it's organic. Organic grass fed beef, free range chickens, organic produce, no boxes or bags. No processed food at all. Raw whole milk. etc.

    But there are as many variances on that as there are people.

    Just strive for whole foods. Not packaged stuff. Wherever you fall on the scale is fine.
  • TravisBikes
    TravisBikes Posts: 674 Member
    Washing everything with soap before you eat it....


    Sorry. :)
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    Fat is not bad for you. Look at sugar and chemical content instead.

    Eat fresh produce, lean meats, whole grains.

    NO fast food, food from a box, soda, "diet" foods (including those silly no fat and low fat foods), fried foods or junk foods.
  • chels0722
    chels0722 Posts: 465 Member
    Basically no processed foods. When you look at the ingrediets lable, you should be able to pronounce everything in the list. Not to mention the list should be as small as possible. One ingredient foods are your safest bet. Make lots of homemade food rather than premade or premixed food.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    It simply means eating whole foods and avoiding all processed foods. Trader Joe's isn't an organic/health food store so I'm sure it stocks a lot of processed foods.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/livestrongcom/clean-eating-5-simple-ste_b_632545.html
  • alysa521
    alysa521 Posts: 137 Member
    I think it means something different for everyone. My rule of thumb I try to avoid food with an ingredients list 95% of the time. This keeps me pretty focused on lean meats, veggies and fruit.
  • NaBroski
    NaBroski Posts: 206
    http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    Clean eating means different things for different people. For me I try to eat whole foods as much as possible, avoiding refined sugar and flour, I eat brown rice and whole grains, though there is some debate as to whether that's "clean". What "processed" foods I do eat, I make sure to read the ingredients, if the list is long and doesn't have actual pronouncable food names, then I don't eat it. Sometimes I find that I'm so focused on the ingredients that I forget to look at the calorie count. I can't afford to buy all organic, but buy it when I can. As for meat, I try to stay away from farm-raised fish and buy frozen chicken breast without hormones and steriods, I get Perdue from Costco. I'm not 100%, but I can say that I feel much better, I don't have the afternoon drag I used to have and have more energy then I know what to do with. A couple of sites to check out: Clean Eating Magazine and Tosca Reno's Cleaning Eating Diet.
  • MoonGypsyQ67
    MoonGypsyQ67 Posts: 121 Member
    Washing everything with soap before you eat it....


    Sorry. :)

    NOTE TO SELF: Do NOT drink a big gulp of water until AFTER reading the comments. I almost spit it all out over my keyboard trying not to laugh. Instead I just sort of choked and gagged it down, but thanks for the funny!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Clean eating is eating whole unprocessed or minimally processed foods. It is a great way to eat healthy, but it's not necessary to eat clean 100% of the time in order to be healthy.

    It doesn't really have much to do with weight loss. Weight loss is about calories.

    Fat is necessary for proper body function, so don't avoid it altogether. Look for healthy fats from vegetable and fish sources for most of your fat.

    If you want to learn more about basic healthy eating, this is a good resource: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/
  • Liatush
    Liatush Posts: 627 Member
    Fat is not bad for you. Look at sugar and chemical content instead.

    Eat fresh produce, lean meats, whole grains.

    NO fast food, food from a box, soda, "diet" foods (including those silly no fat and low fat foods), fried foods or junk foods.

    ^^^ this is what I follow.
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Clean eating to me means cutting out white flour and sugar mainly. Most of my diet comes from things that are grown naturally, and I eat potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, etc. I'm never 100%, but it's pretty easy. You don't really cut out a much, you just find whole nutrient alternatives.

    A lot of people say they don't eat anything out of a box, but I still eat organic oatmeal and other things out of a box.
  • dmaloof2013
    dmaloof2013 Posts: 134 Member
    It does not mattre where you shop, but what you buuy. You can still buy healthy products at trader joes. Clean eating means unprocessed foods. So if you eat hamburger helper for instance, no more if you want to eat clean.
  • yowza101
    yowza101 Posts: 196 Member
    Just remember just because it's healthy, don't mean that's it HEALTHY. You have to look at the ingredients, serving size, etc. Plus it all depends on what you can digest and what your body can and can't have. It all depends on what you can afford as well, sometimes eating healthy packs a punch on your wallet. For me, I just watch my portion sizes, don't fry as much and make sure that I work out during the week up to Saturday.

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