Clean Eating vs. Gluten Free/ Dairy Free/ Paleo Emeals

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katiefox21
katiefox21 Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition

So... in July I went to the doctor because I was having a lot of weird symptoms including my hair falling out, weight gain, acne, and constant upset stomach. She told me she thought I had leaky gut syndrome that was causing a systemic immune response, and told me I should go on a gluten free and dairy free diet. I am a nurse myself, so I took this with a grain of salt as leaky gut syndrome is not exactly a scientifically proven diagnosis, but I took her advice and gave it a shot.

Fast forward 4 months later, and I really expected some small changes at the very least, but I haven't lost more than a pound or two and I don't really feel very different. My hair is growing back, but I think that is due to the steroid injections she gave me, not the diet. For the last few days I have been eating gluten and dairy again to see if I noticed any difference after adding it back in, but I really haven't at all. In my opinion, the symptoms I was having (expecially the GI symptoms, which have improved overall but not gotten worse again after adding gluten and dairy back in) were related to the extreme stress I was under from taking final exams, graduating college, moving across the country 3 days later, looking for a job in a new city, and barely sleeping for months.

That being said, I still need some sort of eating plan because if I don't set rules for myself I will keep gaining weight. I just want to eat natural and healthy foods, because I think that is the real answer to weight loss and healthy living (and I miss my greek yogurt for breakfast!). I subscribed to the Emeals Paleo plan while I was GF/DF to make planning creative meals easier, but I am thinking of changing to the clean eating plan because I think that one probably is the most balanced and healthy overall, but there are so many other plan options. I am also hoping there are recipes that are a little less time consuming than the paleo plan (so much spaghetti squash- so much work!)

Has anyone used the clean eating Emeals plan, and how is it?

Also, what do you consider clean eating? What are your rules that you stick to?

If anyone else has had any similiar experiences or advice I would love to hear your feedback!

Replies

  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    The problem with clean eating is that there is no set definition of what it is.

    Also, this is not true.
    I just want to eat natural and healthy foods, because I think that is the real answer to weight loss
    Calories in, calories out is the answer to weight loss. Many on this site will attest to that.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I dislike the term "clean eating" (as I've explained boringly all over the forums) and don't see the point of a specific email plan, but I actually do try to mostly cook from whole foods and find that an easier way, for me, of creating a healthy eating plan that is consistent with my nutritional goals.

    One reason I dislike the term "clean eating" is that it's inherently ambiguous. Paleo people use it to mean "no grains," people into veganism might use it to mean no animal products, people concerned about fat use it to mean no foods high in saturated fat (like steak or butter), others use it to mean packaged products (but then weirdly don't count yogurt or the like), etc. The other reason I dislike it is that the foods excluded aren't "unclean"--it's insulting and not really specific about what you are trying to do.

    Also, although I have ideas about preferring (for me) cooking and all the rest, I am not perfect and don't try to be. I incorporate things like store bought ice cream into my diet (although I keep thinking I should just make it) and often buy lunch (although I'm picky about what I buy) and certainly have not eliminated going out to dinner.

    With respect to what I consider healthy eating that fits my nutrition goals and ideas about how I like to eat (again, cooking when possible), I try to focus on getting adequate protein (and for ethical and personal reasons tend to get my protein from local farms, including meat, eggs, and some dairy, although I buy yogurt and cottage cheese from the store, usually), and getting lots of vegetables, ideally at every meal. Beyond that, I incorporate fruit (especially when in season) and starches/grains where the calories fit, usually fruit at breakfast and starches at lunch and dinner.

    With this basic template--which I'm not at all saying anyone else should follow--it's really easy to just make meals from what I have on hand.
  • katiefox21
    katiefox21 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks for your reply!

    That is the dilemma with clean eating... I do much better when I have a set of rules for myself about what I can and can't eat AND limit my calories. I don't want to do some fad diet, but I need to come up with my own definition of what clean eating means in order to stay on track.

    I totally agree that calories in/calories out is the answer to weight loss. It's basic science. The problem is you can limit calories and lose weight but still be unhealthy because you eat 1500 calories a day of junk that has no nutritional value. I've done that in the past while counting calories and it's something I want to avoid this time around because although it works, it's just not a healthy lifestyle, and if I don't define what a "clean" diet is, I know I will default back to that (I have a weakness, for chocolate, what can I say :-P)
  • cmazurek85
    cmazurek85 Posts: 99 Member
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    I'm actually stuck on your claim that leaky gut syndrom isn't a scientifically proven diagnosis....Can you provide citations to back this up (from NIH, PubMed, Mayo clinic)? I've read numerous clinical studies about Chron's Disease that would say that leaky gut is a very real thing, at least, when it applies to autoimmune diseases.

    Regarding your original question about the emeals...I downloaded the 30 day guide to paleo not because I couldnt create the recipes myself, but because they included handy shopping lists. and the recipes were yummy! It was $25 for 2 months worth of recipes (one a day.) The portion sizes are a little big, so I often cook one dish and can eat it for 3 or 4 meals.

    http://www.primalpalate.com/
  • katiefox21
    katiefox21 Posts: 10 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    don't see the point of a specific email plan

    To clarify, Emeals is a service that I subscribe to that sends you weekly dinner recipes with shopping lists to make planning meals and grocery shopping on a budget easier. There are many different menus to choose from-- classic, kid friendly, paleo, low fat, low carb, clean eating plans, and even more. I really like how easy it makes planning healthy meals, but that's why I have to choose a certain "diet" to stick to. I was thinking of changing my Paleo subscription (that was the closest one to gluten/dairy free) to the clean eating one, but I wish I knew exactly what that meant so I could stick to it for all of my meals, not just the dinner recipes Emeals sends me.

    Thanks for sharing your input and advice! :)
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    katiefox21 wrote: »
    Thanks for your reply!

    That is the dilemma with clean eating... I do much better when I have a set of rules for myself about what I can and can't eat AND limit my calories. I don't want to do some fad diet, but I need to come up with my own definition of what clean eating means in order to stay on track.

    I totally agree that calories in/calories out is the answer to weight loss. It's basic science. The problem is you can limit calories and lose weight but still be unhealthy because you eat 1500 calories a day of junk that has no nutritional value. I've done that in the past while counting calories and it's something I want to avoid this time around because although it works, it's just not a healthy lifestyle, and if I don't define what a "clean" diet is, I know I will default back to that (I have a weakness, for chocolate, what can I say :-P)

    Type IIFYM into Google. Do some reading. Thanks me later.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    katiefox21 wrote: »
    To clarify, Emeals is a service that I subscribe to that sends you weekly dinner recipes with shopping lists to make planning meals and grocery shopping on a budget easier.

    Ah. I can see why you might like that, but it would drive me crazy for the same reason that trying to do any kind of plan or cook to recipes would drive me crazy. Cooking regularly got easier for me once started being able to just make something based on whatever I had in my refrigerator and pantry and, related, could plan how to have it stocked to allow for that. But I'm not saying that makes my way better--I think it's interesting how differently people approach this.

    Given the numerous ways that people define "clean eating" who knows, but my guess is that it mostly just means whole foods, lots of vegetables? Maybe a bit more than I'd like of the so-called "health" foods, like chia seeds and flax and all that. Probably whole grain pasta (if pasta at all) vs. regular and so on. Can you just switch and see if you like the recipes?
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    cmazurek85 wrote: »
    I'm actually stuck on your claim that leaky gut syndrom isn't a scientifically proven diagnosis....Can you provide citations to back this up (from NIH, PubMed, Mayo clinic)? I've read numerous clinical studies about Chron's Disease that would say that leaky gut is a very real thing, at least, when it applies to autoimmune diseases.

    Regarding your original question about the emeals...I downloaded the 30 day guide to paleo not because I couldnt create the recipes myself, but because they included handy shopping lists. and the recipes were yummy! It was $25 for 2 months worth of recipes (one a day.) The portion sizes are a little big, so I often cook one dish and can eat it for 3 or 4 meals.

    http://www.primalpalate.com/
    Ah, the old prove me a negative. You may as well ask for citations to pubmed for unicorns.

  • katiefox21
    katiefox21 Posts: 10 Member
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    cmazurek85 wrote: »
    I'm actually stuck on your claim that leaky gut syndrom isn't a scientifically proven diagnosis....Can you provide citations to back this up (from NIH, PubMed, Mayo clinic)? I've read numerous clinical studies about Chron's Disease that would say that leaky gut is a very real thing, at least, when it applies to autoimmune diseases.

    All truly scientific medical sources address leaky gut syndrome as a proposed diagnosis or alternative medicine theory. Just like many other facets of alternative medicine, there are people who swear by it, and if going on a leaky gut diet helps with their symptoms that's awesome, but it didn't for me personally (I was really, really hoping it would!). As for citations, there are no articles on NIH or Mayo Clinic's website (at least that I could find) on the topic, and it is not listed in the list of conditions and diagnoses. There were only 2 studies on Pubmed that I was able to find (I did a lot of research on the topic when I was "diagnosed"). Wikipedia and WebMD give a bit of an overview on the topic and where mainstream medicine stands on it... It's honestly the only place I could find relatively unbiased information. If you have the links to those clinical studies still I would love to take a look at them though. Like I said, I tried really hard back in July to find peer reviewed articles and clinical studies on the topic but didn't come up with much.
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
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    katiefox21 wrote: »
    So... in July I went to the doctor because I was having a lot of weird symptoms including my hair falling out, weight gain, acne, and constant upset stomach. She told me she thought I had leaky gut syndrome that was causing a systemic immune response, and told me I should go on a gluten free and dairy free diet. I am a nurse myself, so I took this with a grain of salt as leaky gut syndrome is not exactly a scientifically proven diagnosis, but I took her advice and gave it a shot.

    Fast forward 4 months later, and I really expected some small changes at the very least, but I haven't lost more than a pound or two and I don't really feel very different. My hair is growing back, but I think that is due to the steroid injections she gave me, not the diet. For the last few days I have been eating gluten and dairy again to see if I noticed any difference after adding it back in, but I really haven't at all. In my opinion, the symptoms I was having (expecially the GI symptoms, which have improved overall but not gotten worse again after adding gluten and dairy back in) were related to the extreme stress I was under from taking final exams, graduating college, moving across the country 3 days later, looking for a job in a new city, and barely sleeping for months.

    That being said, I still need some sort of eating plan because if I don't set rules for myself I will keep gaining weight. I just want to eat natural and healthy foods, because I think that is the real answer to weight loss and healthy living (and I miss my greek yogurt for breakfast!). I subscribed to the Emeals Paleo plan while I was GF/DF to make planning creative meals easier, but I am thinking of changing to the clean eating plan because I think that one probably is the most balanced and healthy overall, but there are so many other plan options. I am also hoping there are recipes that are a little less time consuming than the paleo plan (so much spaghetti squash- so much work!)

    Has anyone used the clean eating Emeals plan, and how is it?

    Also, what do you consider clean eating? What are your rules that you stick to?

    If anyone else has had any similiar experiences or advice I would love to hear your feedback!


    I don't see what spaghetti squash has to do with following your Paleo plan. You can follow any plan you like, including Paleo without using spaghetti squash as a staple. The key is to find something that works for you and stick to it. Think longterm, not just a diet for now. It is true what they say about CICO. I also agree that eating less processed food while incorporating more whole foods is a good plan. I still include my favorite treats now and again.
  • patrickAThowtoeatclean4life
    patrickAThowtoeatclean4life Posts: 1
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    Hi There,

    I am quite new to the forum, and I find this discussion very interesting.

    There are so many definitions out there on clean eating that its is indeed very difficult to understand what it really mean the eat clean, as mentioned by several of ye on the post, and I agree.

    My understanding of clean eating is to eat food that is as close as possible to its state when it has being harvested/bred (e.g., in terms of nutrients), with no additional or armful (or perceived armful)substances within as we eat these. Armful substances include toxic substances either introduced by humans (e.g., pesticides) but also those naturally produced by the plant as a defense mechanisms (e.g., this could be the case for potatoes with green spots or grains/nuts/etc). This definition would, in this case, also account for the environment where it was grown/fed (e.g., pesticides, anti-biotics). I guess it is about the composition of the food and its impact on our system on the long run. But again, this is just my understanding.

    I would also include cooking techniques and cookware as part of clean eating as some of these can significantly alter the quality of the food. For example if you boil food rich in water soluble Vitamins (e.g., Vitamin C) and dispose of the water, most of these vitamins may be lost. The same applies to food cooked at very high temperatures for too long.
    So yes, it seems that eating clean is rather complex, and may imply paying attention to many factors such as: the type of food we buy (e.g., processed/organic), and how we prepare (e.g., clean) and cook it.

    As to a diet plan, it is very difficult to find (and stick to) a diet plan for clean eating. We (my wife and I) have tried several recipes over the year, and have also used some condiments to jazz-up our dishes. I guess, it is often a matter of developing habits, the first one being to progressively include organic/clean foods in our fridge/presses. However, it takes time, like any other habits.

    Haven't tried the emeals system, but this sounds like a great idea (i.e., shopping list + recipes), as I find myself sometimes stuck for new recipe ideas.

    I agree with katiefox; if you can make a meal out of very simple foods/ingredients, it may be easier; we often have a few lentils/beans/carrots/potatoes/leeks/ in the fridge, along with fish (bought fresh and frozen) and coconut oil + bouillon, and we can make several dishes out of that (soup, pan-fried fish, boiled potatoes/carrots). Some condiments such as Turmeric/Bouillon/Black Pepper also help to make it less blend.

    As to Leaky guts; I have listened to several specialist in the field of nutrition and it seems to be a very serious/common problem [Will try and find some references for you and post them here] that really needs our attention;

    Hope this helps.

    Patrick

    http://www.howtoeatclean4life.com

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