Did you lose more weight on Clean eaing or calorie deficit

emilycarr71404
emilycarr71404 Posts: 176 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been trying to 'eat clean" but due to the shaky nature of the term and my love of a weekly dairy queen blizzard, I don't think I am following that to the letter. I have just hit 20 lost in six weeks while doing a little of both methods. Here is my question; to people who did both methods--did you lose more weight doing clean eating or everything else? I see the benefits of doing both but I am honestly curious to see what you all think if you have done both methods.
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Replies

  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    "Clean" eating (however you define the term) by itself cannot make you lose weight. A calorie deficit is required. Clean eating is intended to promote general health and make it easier to maintain a caloric deficit. If you eat clean, but eat at a surplus, you will still gain weight.
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    Well, you lose weight when you are in a calorie deficit. Period. It doesn't matter what you eat, unless you have some sort of medical condition.

    If you eat squeaky clean while in a calorie surplus, you will gain weight. If you eat clean in a deficit, you will lose weight.

    I really didn't lose weight consistently until I started counting calories.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Eating clean isn't guaranteed weight loss. You can still over eat regardless of what the food is. I don't follow clean eating but do know that a calorie deficit definitely works.
  • guessrs
    guessrs Posts: 358 Member
    Definitely calorie deficit. I choose to eat clean because I find I have more energy throughout the day and feel full and satisfied while aiming at the deficit.
  • JennC831
    JennC831 Posts: 628 Member
    Calorie deficit; if you're eating too much of anything you're not going to lose weight...
  • emilycarr71404
    emilycarr71404 Posts: 176 Member
    I know a calorie deficit works. That is what I am doing. I was just asking if people found they preferred one way over the other while at a deficit.
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    I know you'll get lots of people telling you Eat Clean or It is all about the calorie deficit. I personally think it is actually both. To me eating clean means eating real. Eating nothing fake, no artificial sweeteners, no "low fat" products (I'm not talking skim milk here), no preservatives, no pre packaged products with more than 3 items in its ingredient list. The other side of the coin eat whatever, just don't take in too many calories.

    Well you can eat clean way and gain weight ... you can eat nothing but junk and loose weight. My question why would you do either of these? Eating clean is definitely something to strive for while staying within your calorie goal, however who wants to live the rest of their life without having cake, ice cream, doughnuts, chips ... or my personal weakness FRENCH FRIES.

    So my approach is to stay clean most of the time and indulge once in a while. So no way for me to tell which I loose faster at, because I do both.
  • MorningWhispers
    MorningWhispers Posts: 182
    Even the majority of us clean eaters are not eating 100 percent clean. You're making an effort to clean up your diet and that's great.

    Clean eating does make you feel fuller at a lower calorie amount so its fairly easy to stay under the calorie goal although I imagine if you have a big appetite or add in something not so clean (like Dairy Queen), you would go over that deficit.

    For me clean eating is more than just a way to lose weight. It is a total life style change and my over all health has improved so much since I gave up processed foods and refined sugars.
  • mittencat77
    mittencat77 Posts: 137 Member
    If it fits your macros (IIFYM) seems to be working for me. I am just starting to follow but already feel better...my fat was just too high! I always have a calorie deficit and have little to lose (just getting lean) but I was getting nowhere. Upping the protein and lowering the fat has helped me. I don't even worry about carbs - I never seem to get high enough.

    I would really recommend this and look on youtube for video by Dr. Layne Norton re: IIFYM. Explains really well.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    As someone who got fat cooking whole foods from scratch, I can tell you tight now that double portions of quinoa-stuffed acorn squash with curried apricots is no less fattening than a Big Mac.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    OP do you mean do you lose more weight on Clean eating vs. IIFYM (If it fits your Macros)? As you need a caloric deficit no matter want to lose

    I would say you lose more fat (not weight) if you follow IIFYM and your protein intake is set high enough, vs. clean eating where you get less protein since you wouldn't be focusing on getting x amount of it
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    it helps me lose body fat when I clean up my diet.
  • cpbatchelor
    cpbatchelor Posts: 3 Member
    I eat clean while maintaining my calorie deficit. I eat clean 90%/10% 6 days a week and allow myself a day off each week. Eating clean has helped change my cravings so on the off day I make good choices but still allow for a splurge. Its summer and real watermelon milkshakes are my fave at a local ice cream joint. Sugar is my biggest weakness but eating clean has helped curb the cravings for sugar. It can be hard to maintain the clean eating and calorie deficit since you are giving up the "low calorie" and "low fat" items. But, I find that I can do it much easier if I spend time Sunday cooking (2 hrs) and planning meals for the week. As I will cook items like jalapeno chicken burgers and stuffed peppers and stick them in the freezer so that they are ready for lunches and dinners throughout the week.
  • emilycarr71404
    emilycarr71404 Posts: 176 Member
    I am doing both methods I guess.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You can't lose weight without a calorie deficit, no matter what you eat.
  • OhLeita
    OhLeita Posts: 99 Member
    Clean eating is a really broad term for me. I did a version of it for health reasons about six months. Most of the food I ate was vegetables followed by fruit, grain/starches, fats and lean no-beef meat. Very little or no processed food made it harder to follow but eating at home rather than in restaurants helped. I didn't bother counting calories and lost a lot of weight but I ate a ton of vegetables so the answer to your question can be 'yes' and 'yes.'
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    I have been eating clean/healthy/unprocessed all my life and still got overweight. Only through calorie deficit did I start losing weight.
  • mommy3457
    mommy3457 Posts: 361 Member
    I know you'll get lots of people telling you Eat Clean or It is all about the calorie deficit. I personally think it is actually both. To me eating clean means eating real. Eating nothing fake, no artificial sweeteners, no "low fat" products (I'm not talking skim milk here), no preservatives, no pre packaged products with more than 3 items in its ingredient list. The other side of the coin eat whatever, just don't take in too many calories.

    Well you can eat clean way and gain weight ... you can eat nothing but junk and loose weight. My question why would you do either of these? Eating clean is definitely something to strive for while staying within your calorie goal, however who wants to live the rest of their life without having cake, ice cream, doughnuts, chips ... or my personal weakness FRENCH FRIES.

    So my approach is to stay clean most of the time and indulge once in a while. So no way for me to tell which I loose faster at, because I do both.

    :smile:
  • lemonmon1
    lemonmon1 Posts: 134 Member
    Clean eating > calorie deficit, BUT I don't understand why you can't do both. You want to be healthy, right? Make better choices and you will be healthier and leaner! It's pretty simple. You can eat a calorie deficit and be eating complete crap and what is the point of that? It's not good for you!!!!!
  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
    You can lose weight on twinkies and chocolate bars if you eat few enough calories. You won't feel so good after a while but you'll lose weight.

    Clean eating is about putting healthier food and less additives in your body. I eat about clean, so I'm not the clean ideal spokeswoman, but I have felt better since I've at least been paying attention to the issue.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    I guess I do both...I try to eat as little processed food as possible (lots of fresh fruits and vegetable, lean meats, whole grains, beans and legumes, etc.) but I also cut back on the calories.
  • mittencat77
    mittencat77 Posts: 137 Member
    This video really helped me!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H2edyPLU8
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There's nothing magical about clean eating. You can eat clean and still lose, maintain, or gain depending on your calorie intake. Weight loss is all about the laws of thermodynamics. You are not immune to the laws of thermodynamics just because you eat "clean".

    My advice...eat a balanced diet....get your nutrition on...get your essential fats and proteins and round out the rest of your diet with carbs and treat yourself to some ice cream once in awhile...and maintain a modest calorie deficit for weight loss. It's all very simple.
  • DJ478
    DJ478 Posts: 909 Member
    bump
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    I eat 80/20 meaning 80% of the time, my food is nutritionally dense. The other 20% is whatever I feel like eating as long as I'm within calorie limits.
    I've done the "clean eating" for contests and there's NO WAY I could eat that way for life. No SPAM with white rice would be like death.:laugh:

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SamanthaClarexo
    SamanthaClarexo Posts: 353 Member
    Both.
  • Lmns218
    Lmns218 Posts: 155
    Both. For me, eating clean helps me feel fuller longer. I had to lower my carbs and up my protein and fats to feel this way...but eating mostly clean and at a deficit is helping me lose
  • DryFlyGirl77
    DryFlyGirl77 Posts: 33 Member
    Yep, calorie deficit! I think that the less processed stuff that we eat does help to suppress some of the intense cravings that high sugar/fat foods induce and can lead to overeating, but nonetheless, calories are the single most important element to weight loss according to all the studies.
    :)
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    There's nothing magical about clean eating. You can eat clean and still lose, maintain, or gain depending on your calorie intake. Weight loss is all about the laws of thermodynamics. You are not immune to the laws of thermodynamics just because you eat "clean".

    My advice...eat a balanced diet....get your nutrition on...get your essential fats and proteins and round out the rest of your diet with carbs and treat yourself to some ice cream once in awhile...and maintain a modest calorie deficit for weight loss. It's all very simple.
    This this a thousand times this!
  • DryFlyGirl77
    DryFlyGirl77 Posts: 33 Member
    I eat 80/20 meaning 80% of the time, my food is nutritionally dense. The other 20% is whatever I feel like eating as long as I'm within calorie limits.
    I've done the "clean eating" for contests and there's NO WAY I could eat that way for life. No SPAM with white rice would be like death.:laugh:

    :drinker:

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