Clean Eating

I am on the same journey! The biggest thing I have learned is to READ LABELS! Try to avoid added sugar and salt (Use raw, natural honey) and skip it if there are ingredients that you don't know what they are. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible, fresh meat, veggies, dairy, fruit. I have only been doing this for 6 weeks and it has made a HUGE change! Congrats on beginning the journey!

I just ate this. Will I be okay? I don't know what some of this stuff is.

Occasionally I eat this kind of junk and then I feel horrible, not guilty, horrible. I agree shopping the perimeter of the grocery store works best for me also, meats, veggies dairiy, and fruit that's what I eat for the most part.

Answered.

But my related question--if you don't actually think foods you have declared off-limits are unclean and don't, in fact, actually avoid them (processed, added sugar, whatever) with any more regularity than the average non-clean eater in these parts, why call yourself a clean eater? What's the point, or what are you trying to convey?

"unclean" or "dirty" food is a term that was made up by people who do not like the term "clean eating". I have never heard it uttered by a person outside of these forums. In my book, no food is unclean or dirty, it just may not fall under clean eating just as some foods do not fall under paleo or vegetarian or vegan or *insert diet of choice*. If that is your perception, then that is not my problem. Clean eating is a term coined to describe a movement started back in the 60s for people to get away from chemically altered (by man) or doctored up food and get "back to nature" or "back to basics" Its not a diet. You don't have to like or agree with it, that's the beauty of freedom of choice. And yes, much with everything else in the world, the term has been used by more and more people and not always correctly and it's open to interpretation, much like everything else on the planet. I don't think food has to be organic in order to be considered clean, some people do. To each their own. I think half of what some people eat is disgusting and counter productive to what this site is about, but i'm not going to drag them through the mud to prove my point. You object to the phrase "clean eating". You've made your statement and you've voiced your opinion. Good for you.

I am on the same journey! The biggest thing I have learned is to READ LABELS! Try to avoid added sugar and salt (Use raw, natural honey) and skip it if there are ingredients that you don't know what they are. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible, fresh meat, veggies, dairy, fruit. I have only been doing this for 6 weeks and it has made a HUGE change! Congrats on beginning the journey!

I just ate this. Will I be okay? I don't know what some of this stuff is.

Occasionally I eat this kind of junk and then I feel horrible, not guilty, horrible. I agree shopping the perimeter of the grocery store works best for me also, meats, veggies dairiy, and fruit that's what I eat for the most part.

That "junk" is the ingredients list of an all natural, organic blueberry....just sayin'.

I am on the same journey! The biggest thing I have learned is to READ LABELS! Try to avoid added sugar and salt (Use raw, natural honey) and skip it if there are ingredients that you don't know what they are. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible, fresh meat, veggies, dairy, fruit. I have only been doing this for 6 weeks and it has made a HUGE change! Congrats on beginning the journey!

I just ate this. Will I be okay? I don't know what some of this stuff is. Of course you'll be okay if you eat blueberries, when I get

Occasionally I eat this kind of junk and then I feel horrible, not guilty, horrible. I agree shopping the perimeter of the grocery store works best for me also, meats, veggies dairiy, and fruit that's what I eat for the most part.

That "junk" is the ingredients list of an all natural, organic blueberry....just sayin'. I'm sorry I've never seen labels like that on blueberries when I buy blueberries it just says blueberries, or watermelon, apples, oranges, No I probably wouldn't eat it if I saw a label like that. Last night I had some chips and dip, something I don't normally do.But I ate very little of it. But when I eat a lot sugar it's like eating junk to me it makes me feel like crap. Not saying you shouldn't or anyone else should eat how or what I eat I just don't think it has to be such a debate. I in no way meant to offend anyone by calling some foods junk.

Go you! Clean eating is awesome. If you want support and to know how to do it right message me!

Answered.

But my related question--if you don't actually think foods you have declared off-limits are unclean and don't, in fact, actually avoid them (processed, added sugar, whatever) with any more regularity than the average non-clean eater in these parts, why call yourself a clean eater? What's the point, or what are you trying to convey?

"unclean" or "dirty" food is a term that was made up by people who do not like the term "clean eating". I have never heard it uttered by a person outside of these forums. In my book, no food is unclean or dirty, it just may not fall under clean eating just as some foods do not fall under paleo or vegetarian or vegan or *insert diet of choice*. If that is your perception, then that is not my problem. Clean eating is a term coined to describe a movement started back in the 60s for people to get away from chemically altered (by man) or doctored up food and get "back to nature" or "back to basics" Its not a diet. You don't have to like or agree with it, that's the beauty of freedom of choice. And yes, much with everything else in the world, the term has been used by more and more people and not always correctly and it's open to interpretation, much like everything else on the planet. I don't think food has to be organic in order to be considered clean, some people do. To each their own. I think half of what some people eat is disgusting and counter productive to what this site is about, but i'm not going to drag them through the mud to prove my point. You object to the phrase "clean eating". You've made your statement and you've voiced your opinion. Good for you.

Haha.

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

And Instagram. I've gotten so many great recipes from Instagram. Pictures of yummy food motivate me to eat yummy food!

I am actually quite surprised by the negative in this post. I heard great things about this forum, and was anticipating supportive comments from people trying for essentially the same thing. C'mon everyone, I was all hyped up!

We are trying to give you the best chance at success. If you think you have to 'eat clean' to lose weight, or to maintain that loss, it will be a much more difficult journey and you might fail. Eat what you like, but meet your macros, micronutrient goals and calorie goals. No special foods required. :flowerforyou:

I know lots of folks swear by what diet they follow (diet meaning what they eat every day). However, I knew that I would not be able to change my lifestyle drastically (e.g. become a vegan, follow paleo diet, or Atkins etc) and do it for the rest of my life. My answer was PORTION CONTROL followed by increasing veggies and fruits, and making small changes such as - if I have potatoes for dinner, I skip bread. So far this has worked for 4 years! So whatever you choose, ask yourself - will I be able to eat like this the next 30, 40, 50 years??? Good luck.

bump

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

There's a huge difference.

I realize you are not trying to pick on me, you just asked a question, and that's fine.

There's a huge difference.

Okay, cool. What's the difference?

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

I see "clean eating" recipes as a specific subset of regular cooking, specifically those recipes that do not use white flour and refined sugars or alternatives like coconut flour, beans, coconut sugar, cauliflower for pizza crust, etc. I'm not a "clean eater" but I do seek out some of the recipes because they're often lower in calories, lower GI (I have PCOS so this is relevant), more nutrient-dense, and are dishes I won't binge on even if it's sweet stuff.

Thank you for this. I am so bad with words. I'm sorry to the other poster

There's a lot, I mean A LOT of good eating clean recipes online. Amazon has a lot of clean eating recipe books as well.

How are "clean eating" recipes different than normal recipes? I mean, people keep saying that clean eating is just cooking with whole foods, eating from the perimeter (but not the deli or bakery), etc. Isn't that what regular cooking covers? I mean, I own a ton of cookbooks (part of the whole too into food thing), and that pretty much fits all of them.

I'm not trying to pick on you, but this is one of the things that drives me crazy about clean eating. It turns plain old cooking into some kind of special club with a special name.

I see "clean eating" recipes as a specific subset of regular cooking, specifically those recipes that do not use white flour and refined sugars or alternatives like coconut flour, beans, coconut sugar, cauliflower for pizza crust, etc. I'm not a "clean eater" but I do seek out some of the recipes because they're often lower in calories, lower GI (I have PCOS so this is relevant), more nutrient-dense, and are dishes I won't binge on even if it's sweet stuff.

I have PCOS, too!

"unclean" or "dirty" food is a term that was made up by people who do not like the term "clean eating". I have never heard it uttered by a person outside of these forums.

First, it's implicit. If some food is special because it's clean and other food is not clean, what is it?

Second, like I said, at least some sources attribute the term or its current popularity to Tosca Reno, who denies responsibility for the concept, but that's a different thing than the term. She most certainly uses it to distinguish "clean" foods from "toxic" ones. If you have a different source for the term itself, I'd be happy to look at it, but I very much doubt (it's simply illogical) that it's unrelated to an idea of various categories of food being not clean or unclean or the like.

If that is your perception, then that is not my problem.

This is bogus, since the term itself was clearly chosen to make that very statement. People like the OP might happen on it and think "oh, this is what this is called," and they shouldn't be jumped on for it, but beyond that people who espouse it should at least own it. If that statement wasn't intended, the term wouldn't be used.

I think half of what some people eat is disgusting and counter productive to what this site is about, but i'm not going to drag them through the mud to prove my point.

And I don't see much difference between what many self-proclaimed clean eaters eat and what many others here eat, beyond their attachment to that term as a description and supposed intention to stop eating certain uh, not clean foods, that they continue to eat on occasion. That seems to me at least something worth discussing--why is it better to consider a decent chunk (20% or whatever) of your diary essentially a sin (at least that's how the references make it sound), something done against your will, a mistake, something to be ashamed of, vs. just accepting that a healthy diet can involve a mix of food, some more chosen for nutrient value, some more for just taste, some for both? Now as I've said lots of times, I'm not actually that against eliminating food items for those for whom it works (same with paleo, etc.). However, if you really find them disgusting and don't like them, what's the purpose of eliminating them? I've never eliminated Lunchables in part because it would never occur to me to eat them. If I were to eliminate apple pie it's because that's something I would think to eat, because I really like apple pie. That beng the case, rather than put myself in a situation where I occasionally eat it, but only under circumstances where I have to tell myself that I couldn't help it, why not just say it's something I eat on special occasions if I don't think it fits in my calories more often?

This is something I'm open to discussion on (not saying you need to discuss it with me, since I get the sense my posts irritate you), as I do think there are circumstances in which elimination of foods makes sense. I've eliminated some (as a personal matter, I wouldn't suggest to anyone else that they should do similarly) for ethical reasons and also have found short term eliminations useful in getting rid of unhealthy habits. And I also agree that what kind of food lifestyle works for people is a personal matter and depends on personality, etc. I just happened on the "clean eating" debate here where it was being suggested that if you don't absolutely eschew "added sugar" (well, except when you are eating it, as clean eaters mostly seem to on occasion) that you must eat only out of the packaged food aisles.