Lifting, Eating "Clean," and Muscle Definition

False. I can could point to dozens of counter examples on MFP alone without even thinking hard.

Let's define "Eating Clean," as it was told to me and focus on THIS loose definition:

"whole grains, hormone free meat, veggies, and water"

Ok, the above is what I was told that I HAD to eat, and avoid all other foods, in order to achieve the "ripped effect" when lifting.

In your experience, is this True or false?

(Please, only those with experience in achieving actual results respond to this.)

It's a load of bollocks.

I've been super ripped eating pasta, bread, rice, whatever. Just eat slightly below TDEE and put in the time and have patience. That's all it takes.

There are no magic bullets. There are no short cuts. There are no secret handshakes. It's good, old-fashioned, rolling up the sleeves and getting on with it.

lower BF% will give you the ripped look as long as you have at least some base of muscle underneath. As long as you are in a deficit that in not too large and get enough protein, and lift, most of your weight loss will come from fat, and in time you will have a ripped look. If you don't get enough protein, don't lift, too large of a deficit a large % of your loss will come from lean muscle and you will have to lose much more weight to looked ripped and it will most likely be skinny and ripped.

Broscience. The "ripped" look comes from very low body fat. For a female, it would be from 10%-12%. Now most of the females attaining this will eat a "clean" diet for one main reason (and competitive bodybuilders the same)..................................they usually eat in big amounts and snack all the time. Whole foods usually are less calorie dense so that means one can eat more in bulk compared to junk food and packaged foods. So if calories count, then whole foods allow more volume to be eaten. This way they don't have to reduce as much habitual eating.
Can one achieve a ripped look eating "unclean"? Of course. I've seen/know many people do it on a regular basis.

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

exactly what i was going to say

This should be interesting.

OP sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

I agree, you want to eat as clean as possible and eat the appropriate amount of calories for your goals. Perhaps slightly off topic but I personally don't believe "calories are calories". Your body will react very differently to a 450 calorie McDonald's burger than it will to a 450 calories of lean steak and vegetables. If this wasn't the case, pro bodybuilders (for example) wouldn't live off of Chicken & veggies (and other "clean" foods) to achieve the very low body fat %s while still being muscular.

Your comparison is irrelevant, a 450 calorie burger from McDonald's would have a different macronutrient profile than a "lean" steak with vegetables. Now, a burger vs a nice fatty steak, with vegetables, and mashed potatoes? Yeah, roughly equal, and body handles it the same way. The human body doesn't recognize "steak," "vegetables," or "Big Mac," that's 100% only your brain, your body just sees protein, fat, and carbs, and deals with them as it needs to.

Well let's say the drugs help a little too. As I've mentioned, whole foods are less calorie dense and if you've seen a pro bodybuilder eat in the off season, it's like a week's worth of food for me in one day for them. So eating more volume helps to keep them from going insane. I haven't really known a pro body builder yet that doesn't eat some junk food in the off season. Jay Cutler claimed to, but then there were pictures posted of him eating a Double Western Bacon cheeseburger while relaxing.
Don't get me wrong, a diet consisting of just junk food isn't going to cut it for them, but for pure bulk up, these guys will eat just about anything as long as it has high protein in it.

Wasn't referring to Cutler, Heath, or any of the other drugged out bodybuilders in my response. Look at someone who's a natural bodybuilder e.g. Cory Gregory. I'm sure he was the occasional "Double Western Bacon cheeseburger" but to get his lean, muscular look do you really think he doesn't eat clean most of the time? Seriously?

Bulking is a different topic and not what I was referring to in my response. Obviously, if you want to bulk up you need to eat in a surplus. But again, WHAT YOU EAT will make a difference in body composition. I'll use myself for an example. I have been trying to bulk up since July but want to put on as little fat as possible. Eating 2800kcal/day as clean as I can, I've gained 7lbs and haven't put on any fat. Pretty good IMO for someone who started at 125lbs. I guarantee you if I was eating 2800 kcal of CRAP my body composition at this point would be much different.

It's funny to me that a clean diet vs a crap one is even being debated one this forum. Just wow. Forget body composition, we haven't even touched on what eating unhealthy does for your health in general.

Well let's say the drugs help a little too. As I've mentioned, whole foods are less calorie dense and if you've seen a pro bodybuilder eat in the off season, it's like a week's worth of food for me in one day for them. So eating more volume helps to keep them from going insane. I haven't really known a pro body builder yet that doesn't eat some junk food in the off season. Jay Cutler claimed to, but then there were pictures posted of him eating a Double Western Bacon cheeseburger while relaxing.
Don't get me wrong, a diet consisting of just junk food isn't going to cut it for them, but for pure bulk up, these guys will eat just about anything as long as it has high protein in it.

Wasn't referring to Cutler, Heath, or any of the other drugged out bodybuilders in my response. Look at someone who's a natural bodybuilder e.g. Cory Gregory. I'm sure he was the occasional "Double Western Bacon cheeseburger" but to get his lean, muscular look do you really think he doesn't eat clean most of the time? Seriously?

Bulking is a different topic and not what I was referring to in my response. Obviously, if you want to bulk up you need to eat in a surplus. But again, WHAT YOU EAT will make a difference in body composition. I'll use myself for an example. I have been trying to bulk up since July but want to put on as little fat as possible. Eating 2800kcal/day as clean as I can, I've gained 7lbs and haven't put on any fat. Pretty good IMO for someone who started at 125lbs. I guarantee you if I was eating 2800 kcal of CRAP my body composition at this point would be much different.

It's funny to me that a clean diet vs a crap one is even being debated one this forum. Just wow. Forget body composition, we haven't even touched on what eating unhealthy does for your health in general.

Logical fallacy. Excluding the middle.

"everything in moderation including moderation"

My new favourite MFPer.

Let's define "Eating Clean," as it was told to me and focus on THIS loose definition:

"whole grains, hormone free meat, veggies, and water"

Ok, the above is what I was told that I HAD to eat, and avoid all other foods, in order to achieve the "ripped effect" when lifting.

In your experience, is this True or false?

(Please, only those with experience in achieving actual results respond to this.)

Back in the day I was cutting grass for a living, quite a few of us had 6packs, and not a single one of us was not scarfing down at fast food joints, dining on boxes of processed food, pizza, and several of us met up every Fri at Po' Folks for all you can eat fried catfish night, and had an agreement with the manages to hit a different place each week, as we could put a good dent in the profits. None of that was "clean" eating, and I don't think any of us ever hit a gym.

Now, I sit at a desk all day, go to the gym, count calories, and hope to lose the fat.