Triumphantly Dirty (Non-Clean) Eaters

Oh the irony of reading this thread from the start and s5eeing the people like "oh, I eat what I want and I've already lost 30 lbs in (x amount of time)" then looking down to their ticker to see that they have *currently* only lost 5lbs (aka gained some back) or have been inactive for over 6 months. Obviously "eating dirty" can work, too, but for some, that cockiness comes back to bite them in the butt.

P.S. I eat fairly dirty and have lost 50lbs but have definitely identified foods that are on a "once a month or else I will backslide" basis. Permanently.

To be fair, I'd venture to guess lots of the "clean" eating people out there didn't make it long either or gained some back. The vast majority of people who sign up on MFP don't make it long no matter what they do. I'd love to see some real stats from the site like total number of members, members who've logged more than 4 weeks, etc.

Good point I meant to add that the same is true for most of the restrictive dieting threads, too, (ex: VLC, green coffee extract) but in my experience, if a person just "takes smaller portions" of the foods that used to make them overweight, then eventually those portions start creeping up again. However, if a person commits to IIFYM, then you are actually aware of the amount of calories in those "dirty foods" that will then help you curb it. I guess my point is that dirty eating can be done in a smart way or a dumb way, but if a person goes into it all cocky then they won't succeed. Plus, this thread is full of people who *have* succeeded in losing and keeping off weight eating "dirty." Very inspiring as long as the newcomers realize that they still have to count calories and exercise consistent self-control. I personally save most of my "dirty foods" for a weekly cheat day, go balls to the wall and then get back on the wagon the next day but sometimes the "I eat ice cream/poptarts every day" crowd makes it seem like if a person isn't eating "dirty" foods every day, they are depriving themselves. I am actually pretty encouraged to see how many 80/20 people responded here.

omg! that is so me, lol! I guess I'm "dirtier" than I original thought....

I lost 75lbs eating extremely dirty (fast food several times a week), smoking a pack a day, drinking nothing but coffee, Diet Mt. Dew, and sugar free Red Bull and doing little exercise beyond walking and hiking. Kept it off until I quit smoking (10lb gain) and got pregnant with mini-me (60lb gain).

I'm here now to lose the baby weight and I am definitely still a dirty eater. I'm better than I used to be simply because my circumstances are different: I'm married with a family and we like to cook at home so I eat out less by default. I'm also training really hard because somewhere along the way I got addicted to exercise and I enjoy my new found strength and endurance. Because I'm training hard, I find staying hydrated to be more important so I've curbed my diet soda habit quite a bit (but still have a can or so daily and more on rest days).

Honestly I think the all or nothing mentality is completely terrible for anyone, and especially for someone who is struggling to lose weight to begin with. I mean look at the threads around here... someone who didn't know better would instantly think they MUST eat clean and MUST lift heavy and MUST watch their macros and MUST MUST MUST eat TDEE or they will go into starvation mode immediately and gain 100lbs. Yes, optimal health is an excellent goal and something all of us should be aware of, but for someone who has a tremendous amount of weight to lose, all it does is cause confusion and discouragement. Fix your calories FIRST, then worry about building on that with other healthy habits.

You gained the weight back which is not great. So I wouldn't preach too much.