Clean eating and trying to lose

acasey1420
acasey1420 Posts: 1 Member
edited March 7 in Health and Weight Loss
I am having trouble trying to stick with the clean eating.. I currently weight 170 pds and 5'3. I workout 6 days a week for at least 2 hrs.. any suggestions.. i do eat veggies and fruits but i am also a very picky eater.. im running out of ideas

Replies

  • missylectro
    missylectro Posts: 448 Member
    I'd suggest finding a balance... Eating your vegetables but also other things that make you happy. Just stay under your calorie limit.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,889 Member
    Weighing and logging everything?
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    There is no consensus on what "clean" even means. It's just the faddish catchphrase of the day. There's tons of proof that eating "clean" or low carb or low fat or Paleo or whatever isn't necessary to lose weight, as only a calorie deficit is necessary, regardless of the source of those calories. That being said, many people find that cutting out certain foods, like sugar or starches, makes it easier for them to stay within their calorie goal.

    Ask yourself first what you mean by "clean." Define it clearly, what is and is not clean to you...and why. Make sure you support your why with facts, not just trendy nonsense and "that's what I heard." There's no need to torture yourself with giving stuff up that you like if you're not getting any benefit from it.

    Personally, I don't eat "clean," but I do eat as much "whole foods" as possible. That means I make a lot of my pasta and bread from scratch, and eat a ton of veggies cooked a million different ways. But I still eat ice cream, vitatops, chocolate, kefir from a bottle, and I still eat Taco Bell. I never feel deprived, I eat what I want, and best of all, I know why I eat what I eat, and for the most part, I know exactly what's in it because I put it there.
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  • kingscrown
    kingscrown Posts: 616 Member
    Clean does mean something specific. It means real food from the source. As unprocessed as one can get it. Check out Tosca Reno for eating suggestions. I like her free menus. I use them to get ideas. Some are great as they are. Some I swap out something I don't like for something I do. Like Tuna fish sandwich for a chicken sandwich.
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  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,147 Member
    Eat what you normally do, only at a deficit.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,097 Member
    kingscrown wrote: »
    Clean does mean something specific. It means real food from the source. As unprocessed as one can get it. Check out Tosca Reno for eating suggestions. I like her free menus. I use them to get ideas. Some are great as they are. Some I swap out something I don't like for something I do. Like Tuna fish sandwich for a chicken sandwich.

    This means nothing in terms of fat loss...
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    kingscrown wrote: »
    Clean does mean something specific. It means real food from the source. As unprocessed as one can get it. Check out Tosca Reno for eating suggestions. I like her free menus. I use them to get ideas. Some are great as they are. Some I swap out something I don't like for something I do. Like Tuna fish sandwich for a chicken sandwich.

    Can you explain exactly what clean eating means? I went and checked out the recipes on that site and the first one was for "Eat Clean Pizza" and it uses canned tomatoes and all-purpose flour...

    OP find a reasonable calorie deficit, and don't worry about labeling foods. If you drop something on the floor and it's not within the 5 second rule, wash it

  • wannabeskinnycat
    wannabeskinnycat Posts: 204 Member
    Hi everyone

    For the first time in my life I'm now thinking about what I eat in terms of nutrition. For 20 odd years I've only thought about the taste/budget. And the change wasn't by choice. I have a certain amount of allowed calories a day so I want to get the most put of the food I eat as I can. For me that means no empty calories and the less processed food the better.

    I won't ever go back to eating how I did before. All those extra ingredients/chemicals etc are completely unnecessary.

    E.g. A can of Heinz vegetable soup contains: Water, Tomatoes (24%), Carrots, Potatoes, Pasta Tubes (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Peas, Onions, Swede, Modified Cornflour, Sugar, Haricot Beans, Vegetable Oil, Wheat Flour, Cornflour, Salt, Yeast Extracts, Herb Extracts, Flavouring, Vegetables: 28%.

    Only 28% of it is vegetables!! That's nuts. I know I can make a pan of veg soup with at least 70% of it being vegetables and it won't have 1.6g of salt either.

    I'm not a great cook and I don't have much spare time - I work 60 hour weeks and referee 2 teenagers but I now make time to eat healthier. I buy ready made taco shells cos I don't know how to make them yet but I'm planning on finding out. My slow cookers are always being used.

    I think I'm eating cleaner than I did before but clean will mean different things to different people. Is my Saturday taco unclean? Is clean eating only eating what you have grown/reared yourself so you know exactly whats in it? My father and his 11 brothers and sisters were raised that way so it is possible.

    And you're wondering where the fun is in all this? I've been doing this since 1st September 2014 and I've lost 2 stone 3 lbs (hardly any exercise as I had a stroke in January and still have mobility issues) so for me its a win/win.

    Eat how you think is best for you whether that be clean/fake/processed/vegan/pretend food. You'll know if its the best way for you or not. And its cool to do a bit of everything!

    Let me know what you guys think.

    Cheers




  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    I think 'clean' is a relative and subjective term. While it would certainly be admirable to only eat foods that you have obtained directly from the farm/garden/sea, not everyone's lifestyle and circumstances allows for this.

    Eat as clean as your lifestyle allows you... If that means eating a 350 calorie Lean Cuisine meal from the freezer section instead of a 1200 calorie fast food meal, then you are that much further ahead.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    missylectro wrote: »
    I'd suggest finding a balance... Eating your vegetables but also other things that make you happy. Just stay under your calorie limit.

    This. Clean eating is not necessary for weight loss. It's also an idea that is subject to personal opinion and definition - there is no "right" or defined way to eat clean. So, do what works for you.
    Keep a moderate calorie deficit, enjoy as many whole foods as you can (veggies, fruit, lean protein, whole grains, etc) and eat convenience food or treats as needed.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    kingscrown wrote: »
    Clean does mean something specific. It means real food from the source. As unprocessed as one can get it. Check out Tosca Reno for eating suggestions. I like her free menus. I use them to get ideas. Some are great as they are. Some I swap out something I don't like for something I do. Like Tuna fish sandwich for a chicken sandwich.

    And what exactly would fake food be? Because processed food is still food.

    This. Also if you're making a sandwich, you're eating something processed, because bread doesn't grow on trees. The grain has to be processed in order to you know.. make it.

    When I used to eat clean, I took it as meaning eating nothing that was prepackaged. And then I took it to mean that with the exception of rice, pasta, and dairy. Yet all of these things can be said to be processed.

    Better to just know your caloric needs and eat below that while eating what you love to eat, duh.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    GiveMeCoffee wrote: »
    kingscrown wrote: »
    Clean does mean something specific. It means real food from the source. As unprocessed as one can get it. Check out Tosca Reno for eating suggestions. I like her free menus. I use them to get ideas. Some are great as they are. Some I swap out something I don't like for something I do. Like Tuna fish sandwich for a chicken sandwich.

    Can you explain exactly what clean eating means? I went and checked out the recipes on that site and the first one was for "Eat Clean Pizza" and it uses canned tomatoes and all-purpose flour...

    OP find a reasonable calorie deficit, and don't worry about labeling foods. If you drop something on the floor and it's not within the 5 second rule, wash it

    I think for a lot of "clean" eaters, anything that you make yourself will be "clean." But like you said, you have to use ingredients that clearly are going through some type of process in order to be used and sold.
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
    Before I came to MFP, I had become obsessed with the idea that I need to eat "clean" foods. I actually own a couple of Tosca Reno's books (3, I think). I'm a pescatarian, so it was actually pretty difficult to stay away from all things not considered "clean" (Hello, Boca burgers). After transitioning for awhile, I managed to pull it off for about 6 weeks or so and lost about 4 pounds.

    I also drove myself a little crazy. (The amount of crazy may be a little higher if you ask my hubby, lol.)

    After I started MFP, I realized that all I need to lose weight is a deficit. Sure, it's great to eat whole foods or whatever, but it doesn't speed up weight loss, except by maybe replacing something that may be a little more calorie dense. If you really care about "clean" eating, as you define it, then do it as much as you can but realize that it isn't the be-all of eating. :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,860 Member
    Danielle_Husband wrote: »
    Before I came to MFP, I had become obsessed with the idea that I need to eat "clean" foods. I actually own a couple of Tosca Reno's books (3, I think). I'm a pescatarian, so it was actually pretty difficult to stay away from all things not considered "clean" (Hello, Boca burgers). After transitioning for awhile, I managed to pull it off for about 6 weeks or so and lost about 4 pounds.

    I also drove myself a little crazy. (The amount of crazy may be a little higher if you ask my hubby, lol.)

    Similar here, although for me it wasn't related to weight loss and I didn't know about Tosca Reno or the term "clean." But for some reason at one point I decided the best way to continue to eat healthy was to eat as "natural" as possible, which I took to mean that I wouldn't use canned tomatoes or pumpkin (not that I use canned pumpkin much, but I had a super clean pie that Thanksgiving), would make fresh pasta and bread rather than buy it, would not use low fat dairy, would buy fruit and veggies as locally as possible (I didn't go overboard with that, since I'm not ready to can, but I did read a couple of books on locovores and follow a local challenge one summer, heh).

    Some of that stuff I still do, some I think was a waste of time (canned tomatoes have their uses, IMO, and so does dried pasta, and I really like lower fat dairy in some cases). But the bigger point is that if anything I gained weight while doing that. And I was just generally a pain in the neck with my prissiness about food. Now that I've relaxed I think I eat as well or better, am losing weight, and it's just so much less complicated. I still enjoy eating as locally and seasonally as possible, and get even more of my meat from local farms for my own ethical reasons, but don't put ideology over what seems to make sense or really makes a taste difference for me. And if something is easier from the store--like greek yogurt or dried pasta, I get it.
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Danielle_Husband wrote: »
    Before I came to MFP, I had become obsessed with the idea that I need to eat "clean" foods. I actually own a couple of Tosca Reno's books (3, I think). I'm a pescatarian, so it was actually pretty difficult to stay away from all things not considered "clean" (Hello, Boca burgers). After transitioning for awhile, I managed to pull it off for about 6 weeks or so and lost about 4 pounds.

    I also drove myself a little crazy. (The amount of crazy may be a little higher if you ask my hubby, lol.)

    Similar here, although for me it wasn't related to weight loss and I didn't know about Tosca Reno or the term "clean." But for some reason at one point I decided the best way to continue to eat healthy was to eat as "natural" as possible, which I took to mean that I wouldn't use canned tomatoes or pumpkin (not that I use canned pumpkin much, but I had a super clean pie that Thanksgiving), would make fresh pasta and bread rather than buy it, would not use low fat dairy, would buy fruit and veggies as locally as possible (I didn't go overboard with that, since I'm not ready to can, but I did read a couple of books on locovores and follow a local challenge one summer, heh).

    Some of that stuff I still do, some I think was a waste of time (canned tomatoes have their uses, IMO, and so does dried pasta, and I really like lower fat dairy in some cases). But the bigger point is that if anything I gained weight while doing that. And I was just generally a pain in the neck with my prissiness about food. Now that I've relaxed I think I eat as well or better, am losing weight, and it's just so much less complicated. I still enjoy eating as locally and seasonally as possible, and get even more of my meat from local farms for my own ethical reasons, but don't put ideology over what seems to make sense or really makes a taste difference for me. And if something is easier from the store--like greek yogurt or dried pasta, I get it.

    Yep. You also have to factor in all of the extra cooking time, which becomes a chore after work. :\ Oh, the chopping you will do! Lol
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    "Clean" and "moderation" are defined differently by all the people who use the terms. I have no problem with people using the words, but they lack precision. I never know wth people are talking about until they explain their personal definitions of the words.

    Eating healthy is something we should all strive for. Healthy food makes a healthy you! But if the healthy diet you're attempting isn't working for you, it's time to switch things up a bit. Keep playing around until you find what does work for you. :)

    The paleo thing just pisses me off. I hope the guy who is suggesting that his wacko diet can cure cancer and schizophrenia...I hope he gets what is coming to him. It's just so wrong, profiting from people's desperation.
  • wannabeskinnycat
    wannabeskinnycat Posts: 204 Member
    I want a like button here :D

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