How important is it to "eat clean"

I don't want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me.
Doug Coupland

;D

calories in vs calories out = weightloss or gain
macros and micros can have a large effect on your overall heath and fitness goals as well
if weight loss is your only goal and you want to keep things simple then just worry about the calries. If you have other goals in mind then do some research on that.

Just because something is low in calories/fat doesn't mean it is inherently healthy.

This.

If you mean 300 calories of a sandwhich is "better" for you in the sense that you'll lose weight faster, that is true. Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out. Overall health is not. You could lose weight on 1200 calories of ice cream a day. Is it healthy? No.

calories in vs calories out for weight loss, everything else is for general health. if you eat 500 cals of candy vs 500 cals of chicken and broccoli you would lose the same amount of weight, but the chicken and broccoli will be more filling and give you more nutrients

^^ this.

If it is just about weightloss you can eat anything, if you want to do something for your health it is important.
Stef.

Why Clean Eating is a myth:
http://evidencemag.com/clean-eating/

This content has been removed.

You can eat clean and still gain weight. Its all about hitting your calorie deficit. Eating a bag of M&M's for every meal will still probably keep you under your calorie goal, but your muscles will atrophy, you will have horrible mood swings, your energy level is going to be really low, your skin and complexion will get real bad, etc. It's just going to be really hard on your body in general.

Remember skinny /= healthy. Splurging on treats is A-Ok, but there is a physical reason doctors tell you to eat your fruits and veggies.

Clean eating is a meaningless term that varies from person to person. It's equally as important to diet as mxyplxtk is to nuclear fusion.

I suppose I should own my farm then. sigh...

Why don't you just try mindful eating and pay attention to how you FEEL after eating certain things and then you'll know what's important for you and what isn't.

Eleventy billion people say they feel "better" eliminating grains.
I just feel hungry and cranky when I do that. So I eat grains and I feel just fine, despite the fact that according to the gospel of the internet, they aren't currently considered "clean".

When I drink liquid milk, a medium-sized nuclear war happens in my stomach, so I avoid it. Not because it isn't "clean" but because I'm lactose intolerant.

I know a lot of "clean" eaters who still drink beer, frequently. Hops gives me a migraine. I learned this by carefully paying attention to what I was eating when I got a headache, and doing some elimination trials. But I would never presume to suggest that other people eat the way I do or don't eat.

Don't worry so much about what the "rules" are. Eat stuff, write it down, pay attention to how you feel immediately, a few hours later, the next day. Recognize patterns. Adjust.

I don't want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me.
Doug Coupland

;D

HAHAHQAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

that's great

Except there's no mention that it only holds true for short-term. Insulin resistance will effect energy utilization and can therefore cause reductions in weight loss.

Reference:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/10/5/563.full.pdf

that article is for diabetes type 2 patients, which is a separate case entirely.

when you start talking about insulin resistance in any form things get really mucky since it differs so much from one person to another, but generally speaking it wont have a great effect on weight loss unless your eating a ridiculous amount of sugar on a daily basis

Except there's no mention that it only holds true for short-term. Insulin resistance will effect energy utilization and can therefore cause reductions in weight loss.

Reference:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/10/5/563.full.pdf

that article is for diabetes type 2 patients, which is a separate case entirely.

when you start talking about insulin resistance in any form things get really mucky since it differs so much from one person to another, but generally speaking it wont have a great effect on weight loss unless your eating a ridiculous amount of sugar on a daily basis

Or drinking you A&& off.

I think many of these posts re disquises for drinkers.

SO- if you are drinking your calories, it's really hard to keep an honest measure of cals in vs out

just my .02

Just because something is low in calories/fat doesn't mean it is inherently healthy.

This.

If you mean 300 calories of a sandwhich is "better" for you in the sense that you'll lose weight faster, that is true. Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out. Overall health is not. You could lose weight on 1200 calories of ice cream a day. Is it healthy? No.

http://www.geekosystem.com/twinkie-diet/

I cannot believe the number of people that reference this diet in the MFP forums...

I've personally analyzed Prof. Haub's results and spoken with him about the experiments. First off the "Twinkie Diet" is a misnomer that was given by the media to hype the story. If you actually look at his food logs only about 30% of his calories came from sweets/desserts. Prof. Haub also ate a couple servings of fruit and vegetables every day to include a large variety over the course of the experiment - which is more than the average American consumes. He also took multivitamins, drank caffeine, and consumed protein powders. The diet was far from a "Twinkie Diet" and actually a step above the average American diet.

Additionally Prof Haub never got blood work done at the end of the experiment to ascertain health impact from this diet - kind of a big deal. And even bigger of a deal Prof Haub doesn't recommend anyone do this diet. All he wanted to do was prove that calories was the short term drive to weight loss and you could lose weight with a far from optimal diet.

Whenever I have see the Twinkie diet referenced on MFP, it generally is to emphasize the point that weight loss happens when CI< CO
I can't recall anyone here ever saying it was the healthiest way to lose weight.