"Clean" eating vs. Moderation- what works for you?
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Eating in Moderation has always been my go to. I have tried eating clean/paleo on and off but I have found for me it doesn't work so well. I also am a firm believer of "balance" and eating a good mix of foods that also can satiate cravings. Cheat day's become non-existent when you don't deny yourself food.0
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Moderation. It's taken years and many "diets" for me to realize that I do not succeed when I am cutting out entire food groups etc. So far it's working for me. I love to bake and haven't given that up, I just don't do it every week. I also love chocolate but don't eat it every day. I feel very empowered knowing that I can use moderation with food. Like I said though, it's taken years to realize this.0
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For me, most of my issues with food are mental. I haven't gotten to a point where I can have "treats" in moderation or without triggering some sort of emotional response. I stick to "clean" foods because it's benefited me to consider food fuel- anything with ingredients I cant pronounce, mystery ingredients, blah blah are triggers for me to the ED's I suffered from for years. Everyone will agree that whole foods are healthier, that's common sense. But we live in a world full of delicious "dirty" foods0
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mburgess458 wrote: »To me they are two completely different things that are only quasi-related.
Losing weight is about eating less. Eat only twinkies and never exercise and you can lose weight. You'll probably not be very healthy and you won't age that well, but you could be thin. Most people won't be, but it's possible.
Being healthy is about eating good, healthy food and exercising. I have been overweight while very healthy because I exercised and ate healthy food. I think when people say "eating clean" they just mean "eating healthy food".
If you do it all (eat mostly healthy/clean food, stay thin, and exercise) you will be the healthiest and look the best. Does anyone argue with that? Seems like most of the arguments are about how healthy/clean is good enough....or just arguing whether or not you can be thin eating crap while ignoring overall health.
This is what drives me crazy. No on advocating moderation in this thread said that you should only eat twinkies and never exercise in order to lose weight or suggested that the goal was to be thin while eating crap. The people advocating for moderation probably eat as many, if not more, fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins as the "clean eaters". Just at the end of the day after meeting nutritional goals, if there is room left they may have a bowl of ice cream or some cookies. Maybe even Oreos.
To all the people saying that you feel worse eating "unclean" or sugars/carbs, etc.... Can you honestly say that if you eat whole foods all day long and have 3 Oreos at the end of the day before bed, you will feel like crap? From 3 Oreos?
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mburgess458 wrote: »To me they are two completely different things that are only quasi-related.
Losing weight is about eating less. Eat only twinkies and never exercise and you can lose weight. You'll probably not be very healthy and you won't age that well, but you could be thin. Most people won't be, but it's possible.
Being healthy is about eating good, healthy food and exercising. I have been overweight while very healthy because I exercised and ate healthy food. I think when people say "eating clean" they just mean "eating healthy food".
If you do it all (eat mostly healthy/clean food, stay thin, and exercise) you will be the healthiest and look the best. Does anyone argue with that? Seems like most of the arguments are about how healthy/clean is good enough....or just arguing whether or not you can be thin eating crap while ignoring overall health.
This is what drives me crazy. No on advocating moderation in this thread said that you should only eat twinkies and never exercise in order to lose weight or suggested that the goal was to be thin while eating crap. The people advocating for moderation probably eat as many, if not more, fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins as the "clean eaters". Just at the end of the day after meeting nutritional goals, if there is room left they may have a bowl of ice cream or some cookies. Maybe even Oreos.
To all the people saying that you feel worse eating "unclean" or sugars/carbs, etc.... Can you honestly say that if you eat whole foods all day long and have 3 Oreos at the end of the day before bed, you will feel like crap? From 3 Oreos?
Yes. Never mind the fact that eating nothing but twinkies isn't moderation at all. It's the opposite of moderation really.0 -
... So much emphasis is now placed on eating only whole, unprocessed foods, no added sugar, nothing artificial, ditch "white" carbs, etc. Paleo this, Whole 30 that, don't eat gluten, don't eat bread, etc....What I am curious about is how are "real" people who are currently *successfully* losing weight actually eating? ...
I'm definitely in the moderation crowd. Food aversions make it really hard to find enough to eat, to get variety. I satisfy and mollify my cravings to prevent binges. I've had pizza three times past week, but each meal was thin crust, two slices at a time. I had a jumbo hot dog and movie popcorn last night. I continue to lose weight.
That being said, I love to experiment and I incorporate lots of "healthy" foods in my diet. Dragon's Blend cereal is so "clean" it squeaks. But it's calorie punch guarantees I will never eat more than a couple tablespoons at a time. I cook at home more often. I control salt intake, and there are few processed foods in my daily diet. Also as a long time diabetic (now in remission), I have little interest in sweets and have them rarely.0 -
mburgess458 wrote: »To me they are two completely different things that are only quasi-related.
Losing weight is about eating less. Eat only twinkies and never exercise and you can lose weight. You'll probably not be very healthy and you won't age that well, but you could be thin. Most people won't be, but it's possible.
Being healthy is about eating good, healthy food and exercising. I have been overweight while very healthy because I exercised and ate healthy food. I think when people say "eating clean" they just mean "eating healthy food".
If you do it all (eat mostly healthy/clean food, stay thin, and exercise) you will be the healthiest and look the best. Does anyone argue with that? Seems like most of the arguments are about how healthy/clean is good enough....or just arguing whether or not you can be thin eating crap while ignoring overall health.
que the strawman about eating only twinkies ....that train is never late...0 -
mburgess458 wrote: »To me they are two completely different things that are only quasi-related.
Losing weight is about eating less. Eat only twinkies and never exercise and you can lose weight. You'll probably not be very healthy and you won't age that well, but you could be thin. Most people won't be, but it's possible.
Being healthy is about eating good, healthy food and exercising. I have been overweight while very healthy because I exercised and ate healthy food. I think when people say "eating clean" they just mean "eating healthy food".
If you do it all (eat mostly healthy/clean food, stay thin, and exercise) you will be the healthiest and look the best. Does anyone argue with that? Seems like most of the arguments are about how healthy/clean is good enough....or just arguing whether or not you can be thin eating crap while ignoring overall health.
This is what drives me crazy. No on advocating moderation in this thread said that you should only eat twinkies and never exercise in order to lose weight or suggested that the goal was to be thin while eating crap. The people advocating for moderation probably eat as many, if not more, fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins as the "clean eaters". Just at the end of the day after meeting nutritional goals, if there is room left they may have a bowl of ice cream or some cookies. Maybe even Oreos.
To all the people saying that you feel worse eating "unclean" or sugars/carbs, etc.... Can you honestly say that if you eat whole foods all day long and have 3 Oreos at the end of the day before bed, you will feel like crap? From 3 Oreos?
I don't think this can be emphasized enough. It's always their go-to argument, and it's completely stupid and ridiculous. But they never listen or acknowledge when we say "I don't actually eat twinkies all day, but I do enjoy a twinkie every now and then as part of my overall healthy diet."
To them, we're all just eating Twinkies all day every day and nothing can convince them otherwise.
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Clean eating, definitely. Because I'm in a better mood and have more energy when I eat produce and meat as opposed to cake and cookies (maybe the two are synonymous, what use is living with no energy?). Besides, a reasonable portion of ice cream for my 'discretionary calories' is a sad couple of tablespoons, not worth my bother to try to fit in.
how would a slice of cake or two cookies affect energy levels in the context of an overall diet????0 -
que the strawman about eating only twinkies ....that train is never late...
strawman? just some messages above yours someone wrote:
"It's all about calorie deficit. Even if all you eat is cake - Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds: edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/ "
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avvgromano wrote: »que the strawman about eating only twinkies ....that train is never late...
strawman? just some messages above yours someone wrote:
"It's all about calorie deficit. Even if all you eat is cake - Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds: edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/ "
This is used as a means to show that weight loss in general has a positive impact on your health if you're overweight and that a calorie deficit is all it takes to achieve that.
No one is suggesting *actually* going on an all-twinkie diet.0 -
avvgromano wrote: »que the strawman about eating only twinkies ....that train is never late...
strawman? just some messages above yours someone wrote:
"It's all about calorie deficit. Even if all you eat is cake - Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds: edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/ "
I believe the point was that you COULD do it and lose weight, but no one was actually recommending it...0 -
herrspoons wrote: »avvgromano wrote: »que the strawman about eating only twinkies ....that train is never late...
strawman? just some messages above yours someone wrote:
"It's all about calorie deficit. Even if all you eat is cake - Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds: edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/ "
He did it to illustrate a point - that as far as weight loss is concerned, CICO is all that really matters.
No-one, and I mean no-one, is going to be eating an exclusive Twinkie diet as a matter of course.
Why is this so difficult to grasp?
because the clean eating mentality is to always fall back on the strawman that moderation = 100% twinkies all day.0 -
I am still very new here - 35 days I think, and I am eating what I like in moderation and within my calorie allowance. I have lost 6 pounds since joining MFP. I'm not going to try any diets or work-outs that I know I will not keep up with. That's just me - I know it will be sabotage if I do. I like candy, cake, etc - but within reason, and for me to say I am trying to get healthy, therefore I will never eat this again, well, that is a lie! I log every snack, soda, etc just so I can see where I stand throughout the day.
I didn't even know the details of what "eating clean" actually was until reading this thread. I had heard of it, but didn't know the specifics.0 -
They aren't mutually exclusive options. You can eat as clean as you want, using whatever definition of "clean" you want to use.. Unless you do that in moderation and stay in a deficit you're not going to lose any weight.0
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herrspoons wrote: »avvgromano wrote: »que the strawman about eating only twinkies ....that train is never late...
strawman? just some messages above yours someone wrote:
"It's all about calorie deficit. Even if all you eat is cake - Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds: edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/ "
He did it to illustrate a point - that as far as weight loss is concerned, CICO is all that really matters.
No-one, and I mean no-one, is going to be eating an exclusive Twinkie diet as a matter of course.
Why is this so difficult to grasp?
because the clean eating mentality is to always fall back on the strawman that moderation = 100% twinkies all day.
Exactly. And none of them reply or acknowledge when informed that their ridiculous idea of our moderation is not the case. They only hear what they want to hear and then go about their merry way, skipping into the sunset and spewing their misinformation all over the place.
It's frustrating.0 -
In the past 5 years or so, I have really noticed what seems to be an enormous shift in what is considered the "ideal" diet. So much emphasis is now placed on eating only whole, unprocessed foods, no added sugar, nothing artificial, ditch "white" carbs, etc. Paleo this, Whole 30 that, don't eat gluten, don't eat bread, etc. I totally get that nutrition and weight loss are two totally different things. What I am curious about is how are "real" people who are currently *successfully* losing weight actually eating? Do you have the occasional bowl of sugar cereal if it fits into your calorie allowance, or are your 1200 calories (or whatever your number is) strictly filled with vegetables, nuts, and organic chicken breasts? I want to know what REALLY works for you, not just what is "ideal".
On the bolded, I personally do not think nutrition and weight are two totally different things. I think one of the best things you can do for your health is maintain a healthy weight. So IMO they are interconnected. IMO, the individual needs to find what is sustainable for them for the long haul. For me it is moderation...0 -
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Just going to sit back and enjoy the dogpile on the "clean eating" camp while ignoring how many times people who mention giving up a single food (not an entire macro) are accused of using woo woo diets instead of it being acknowledged that they are moderating their own food. The defensiveness in the pro-moderation posts is quite entertaining viewing.0
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I don't eat 100% clean, but I do eat in moderation so if I want that candy bar, ice cream, or brownie I just work in my calorie goal.0
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