What did eating clean/er do for you?

I try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. I feel healthier and happier for it.

cook all your meals fresh. Buy weekly and organic. Cut out dairy and meats, eat more pulses/legumes and fresh fruit and salads will always benefit you.

And eat your greens

Other than that do your research if you want to follow specific diets.

Eating "cleaner" helps me hit my calorie/macro/micro goals without much effort. I always get plenty of protein, fiber, potassium, etc. without having to think about it much. And that's great b/c that means I have plenty of calories left over for some guilt free junk food before bed

It's increased the complexion of my skin. My skin is clearer, I rarely break out, and my allergies are incredibly reduced. I also am less bloated and "puffy".

The easiest transition for me was trading out refined grains for whole grains. Most breads, pastas, and even snacks have a whole wheat or whole grain counterpart.

Instead of cutting things out, why not focus on adding things in? Every time we have a clean eating thread people start talking about all the things you need to eliminate from your diet. If you want to improve your health, you can find ways to do that without eliminating entire food groups or types of food.

Make a goal to get a certain number of veggies each day. Swap in whole grain versions of foods you already eat (bread, pasta, tortillas, rice, pancakes, etc). Greek yogurt over regular yogurt. Pick a meal that you love and find recipes online to make it at home for less calories and with more nutrient-dense ingredients. Don't get hung up on the fact that you may end up using frozen veggies or your brown rice can be microwaved in 90 seconds; not everyone has the time or resources to make things from scratch.

I don't have anecdotal evidence as to what this does for me because that's just how I like to eat and have eaten for years. I know that I tend to not feel as good when eating at restaurants or getting take out as I do when I cook. I still have treats as well, every night.

I try to get the bulk of my calories from mostly whole, minimally processed, nutrient dense foods. Once I have met my pre-determined macro needs, I round out the rest of my calories with whatever I fancy. To meet micro needs I just make sure to get plenty of variety. I personally don't call it clean or whatever... I find the term a bit ambiguous.

Eating this way has helped me keep calories in check since the former are very filling foods. The latter allows me to keep my sanity by not really cutting anything out, no foods are off limits.

Years ago I went through a 'clean' eating phase where I eliminating all kinds of 'bad' foods that I love from my diet. I felt smug, self righteous and better than everyone else - for about 1 day. Then I just missed cupcakes.

I now eat sensibly and in moderation. I've been successful at maintaining a healthy weight, I feel great, I enjoy food and exercise, wine, beer and CUPCAKES.

I simply feel better when I eat mostly unprocessed vegetables, fruit, meat, and dairy (in that order. i eat a lot of the first two and not very much of the last two). Fast food, deep-fried food and processed food loaded with extra fat, sugar, and salt make me slow, mentally and physically, and I usually feel pretty lousy after eating them.

Eating mostly unprocessed food makes it easier to keep track of the calories I am taking in and much easier to get the nutrients I need, so maintaining my weight is easier. Last thing... because I eat this way ninety or ninety-five percent of the time, I don't worry about going out for dinner or having a dessert: all the days of "eating clean" allow me to absorb the occasional slice or three of pizza without derailing me.

ADDED: I ate this way for fifteen years. I lost fifty-five pounds and had little trouble maintaining my weight although my life was pretty crazy busy. I stopped eating this way (and stopped exercising regularly) and, oddly enough, gradually re-gained most of the weight I lost. I returned to eating this way six months ago, got back to regular exercise, and have lost thirty-five pounds. I am still losing about a pound a week and I am not working terribly hard to do so.

The truth is that I don't eat sensibly when sugar/fat/salt/calorie dense foods are part of my regular diet and I do eat sensibly when I "eat clean". So that's what I do.

I guess you'd have to tell me what your personal definition of what "eating clean" is. I personally eat what ever I want with the goal that I'll eat under a calorie deficit. Processed foods or not doesn't matter.

I will say that eating more veggies and cooking more at home leaves me more satisfied and gives me more bang for my calorie buck than going to Burger King. 600 calories for a whoper sounds yummy, but it won't keep me for long. If I make my favorite home made chilli I can eat the same amount of calories and be super satisfied for hours.

Instead of cutting things out, why not focus on adding things in? Every time we have a clean eating thread people start talking about all the things you need to eliminate from your diet. If you want to improve your health, you can find ways to do that without eliminating entire food groups or types of food.

Make a goal to get a certain number of veggies each day. Swap in whole grain versions of foods you already eat (bread, pasta, tortillas, rice, pancakes, etc). Greek yogurt over regular yogurt. Pick a meal that you love and find recipes online to make it at home for less calories and with more nutrient-dense ingredients. Don't get hung up on the fact that you may end up using frozen veggies or your brown rice can be microwaved in 90 seconds; not everyone has the time or resources to make things from scratch.

I don't have anecdotal evidence as to what this does for me because that's just how I like to eat and have eaten for years. I know that I tend to not feel as good when eating at restaurants or getting take out as I do when I cook. I still have treats as well, every night.

This.

I improved my diet by just forcing myself to stop making excuses and cook, rather than getting dinner at work when I stayed late or getting takeout because I was tired or skipping dinner and eating ice cream because it was late and I had a bad day. Also, making breakfast (which I like) rather than grabbing a bagel on the way to work. Once I made cooking a priority and got back into the habit it was pretty easy, since I actually enjoy cooking. Also, I make sure I have a stocked kitchen during the week.

I still love restaurants (and most of the food I got even from takeout wasn't fast food, and was pretty high quality). Just also pretty high calorie, like lots of restaurant food. Now I try to make restaurants less regular and also don't assume that it's a special occasion and I can splurge every time I get restaurant food.

Anyway, one simple thing I did was just try to eat a decent amount of non-starchy vegetables with every meal and get adequate protein, and to try and eat a really varied amount of veggies, although I have my standbys. (I naturally eat a good amount of fruit in the summer, less so in the winter, and I'm not especially worried about that.) One immediate effect of this is that I felt like I was on much more of an even keel, and stopped feeling the need for a pick-me-up of some kind of food in the mid-afternoon. I also felt less hungry in general, even though I was eating fewer calories.

I know the OP is not planning to cut out stuff, but I initially did, simply because for me it was needed to teach myself that I didn't need certain foods when I was feeling bad, stressed, etc. I mention that simply because the positive effects I experienced remained 100% when I added those foods back in in moderation and continued generally eating an overall healthy diet.