Clean Eating and Counting Calories?

It depends on your definition of "clean".
I define clean as proteins, fruits, veg, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy and whole grains.
I have heard of people eating clean and not counting their calories.
I personally do, because you can definitely over eat on the good things, especially grains and dairy.
I know a lot of my fitfam are paleo and none of them watch their intake, but they arent eating grains, dairy or legumes, which can be high in calories.
I also try to focus more on my macro's than calories.

I haven't heard that but I think it's probably because a lot of 'clean' foods are low calorie and filling so you'd struggle to eat too much.

My OH enjoys clean foods and wants to gain weight but struggles to get all his calories in because he just doesn't have the time in the day to eat that much of what he enjoys.

This will turn into a "bash clean eating" thread.. but here's my thoughts anyway...

the premise is it is very hard to over eat when clean eating. If you are eating a lot of vegetables and fruits and lean meat, and not a lot of processed high calorie or empty calories it's difficult to over eat, but not impossible. You won't magically lose weight by only eating clean, unless you are eating at a deficit as well. The only way to be sure is to track that.

I am eating clean right now and I have a hard time eating to my BMR. I am forcing myself to eat dessert just to reach my minimum. (which really should be higher since I am also exercising) However i am currently not eating beans, potatoes, milk, starchy foods and some other foods that are still considered clean. So what you are eating plays a huge role in the whole don't need to count theory.

I eat a lot of vegetables, a big portion of lean meat (currently on a chicken kick cause it's what I have), yogurt and fruit and i'm stuffed well short of my calorie goal. Once you add in the other foods, like more starches, it's easier to over eat. Technically I don't need to count as i won't go over with my current diet. But as soon as I start eating oats and beans and other foods again, I wouldn't be so sure about no counting. (ya know, since my current diet is intentionally short term)

i'll still be eating clean, just more starchy, more higher calorie foods. Will make it easier to go over calories and gain weight.

Personally I don't count calories and I have been doing fine with it, but I also eat VERY clean when I'm eating right - no junk whatsoever.

One of the reasons I signed up here is so I could log my typical day and get a ball park of how many calories I was eating. As I figured, I was eating at a calorie deficit. If you're eating clean and exercising, I think it's pretty hard to be at a calorie surplus.

Personally - and this is just my opinion, I'm not a nutritionist/doctor/trainer/ect - I'm not a fan of the obsessing over calories and weighing food. I really don't have the time or desire to go through that. I've read a lot of diary logs since joining and I've seen a lot of people eating junk, just less of it so they can be at a calorie deficit. People eating a few grapes for breakfast, than junk food for lunch, then hardly anything for supper because they want to be under the dreaded calorie limit (and in the process, being over the recommended mg allowance of sodium from all the processed crap).

What's the good of that? I lost weight that way years ago and a) I was MISERABLE while doing it and b) I put it right back on as soon as I stopped - and I had to stop because it was unsustainable. Why starve yourself and be miserable?

When I started back in late January (35lbs down, many more to go) I promised myself I wasn't going to do that, and I was going to research proper nutrition and make sure I was fueling my body and giving it the nutrients it needed, which means a lot of lean protein, fruits and veggies, and healthier starch choices (brown rice, ezekiel bread, beans, ect).

I can honestly say I feel better, I'm not starving myself and "dieting" isn't a depressing thing like it was.

Eat to fuel your body IMO, nobody got fat eating too much fruit and vegetables

I lost my weight (and kept it off) without calorie counting, so I know it can be done.
If you build your diet around nutrient dense vegetables, lean meats, and low fat dairy and then add in whole grains, fruits, and nuts and seeds in moderation, and aim to leave out much of the heavily processed convenience foods, you may find that counting isn't necessary at all for you. And, if you kept eating that way after you hit your goal, you may find maintenance very manageable. I did.
It's not for everyone, that's for sure (as evidenced by many of the posts on here). What you have to figure out is if it's for YOU. Best of luck with whatever you decide!

Back a few months ago, I was reading up on "clean eating" just to figure out what it was. I still don't get how it's any different from eating healthy. On the site I was reading, they said they didn't eat anything that had more then 5 ingredients in it. Just for fun, once day when I was at the grocery store I looked at foods that are good for you that have ingredients listed to find some that are 5 ingredients are less.....I'm still looking.

That's because clean eaters generally do not eat anything in a box where ingredients are listed. Usually they try to stick to the produce and meat sections.

I'm having trouble figuring things out. I've been on MFP for almost a year and I've been scared to ask this... I workout a lot and burn anywhere between 800-100 calories a workout (says my HRM) and by the end of the week my weekly calorie goal is under 3-4 thousand calories. Should I be hitting my weekly calorie goal each week? I think with all of the working out and not eating back my calories I'm essentially starving myself but it's not my intention. I'm just horrible with anything that has to do with numbers and I can't figure this out. I keep changing my goals since I'm not sure of what a good balance is for me.

i can tell you that I will hit my daily goal then I will workout, burn the 800-100 calls and then go to sleep. i have to eat BEFORE my workouts since I have GERD and I can't eat before bed. I am a teacher so I wake up at 4:30 am everyday and I'm not home until 3 pm. I come home, eat, help my grandma out and then I workout at night. I do T-25 and I have my activity level set to "active." I will do T-25 plus some weight training at home. Nothing major. I do have a lot of muscle on me which is great. I just have some stubborn slight love handles that won't do away.

My stats are:
5'7''
139 lbs
Active
BMR is 1434

Anyone care to help me set my new goals up?

It depends on your definition of "clean".
I define clean as proteins, fruits, veg, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy and whole grains.

so steak, chicken, pork, and everything else not listed is "dirty"..???

that would make me filthy ...

yummm so so filthy