Moderation vs Clean Eating

I am more successful with moderation, although I do try to eat a lot of healthy foods too. I find that if I cut out all junk food (for lack of a better term) I cannot sustain it, and I end up binging and screwing up all my previous hard work. It's better for me if I go ahead and eat pizza or candy every now and then, and just watch my overall calorie intake.

I track my calories and eat a variety of foods. So if that's what you are using for "moderation", that's what I do. I'll have two slices of thin crust pizza tonight, a weekly ritual. This week also I've had a variety of home cooked meals that would do any clean eater proud.

The slippery slope of "clean eating" is demonising certain foods or even entire food groups/macros (i.e. carbs). It then becomes much harder to get the variety of foods the dieter needs to stay healthy while losing weight.

Not to mention that clean eating all by itself won't guarantee weight loss. Unless it's from the exercise running from store to store trying to find something clean enough to eat.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

FYI, most people who practice moderation eat primarily nutritious foods...they're just not afraid to have some desert or a slice or two of pizza every once in awhile.

"Clean" is a very ambiguous term and has about a zillion different meanings depending on the individual.

Do yourself a favor and just eat a well balanced and varied diet that is rich in whole food nutrition...and have some ice cream once in awhile.

What he said.

Also, just IN. These threads never end well. Too soon for gifs yet?

Isn't there another thread currently going on on this precise topic?

deannaxsmithx wrote: »

moderation in this case meaning eating whatever you'd like as long as it's within your calorie goal. following serving sizes. weighing your food.

This is not what I understand "moderation" to mean. In my understanding, "moderation" means including whatever foods you want (to the extent they fit your calories) after nutritional considerations are met, such as getting enough healthy fats and protein, fiber, carbs for your level of activity/what makes you feel good, micros, etc. In other words, focusing on having an overall healthy, balanced diet, but also recognizing that food can be about pleasure and enjoyment and not simply nutrition. I'd include as part of this approach making sure that even the nutrient-dense base of your diet is as tasty and enjoyable as possible and ideally as crave-worthy as the more calorie-dense or lower nutrient foods that are eaten primarily for the taste element.

This is how I like to think of food and what works for me, and I consider it moderation.

clean eating meaning eating only healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, organic products, etc

I don't think this is what "clean" eating means either. I think it has something to do with processed vs. unprocessed, but many unquestionably processed foods (like skinless boneless chicken breast or skim milk or frozen foods) are just as healthy as their less processed equivalents, and one could certainly make an argument for the merits of other processed foods like kimchi or vinegars or even protein bars and powders, pasta, bread, etc.

But I don't find that all or nothing approaches work for me, or dividing foods into "good" and "bad" or even "healthy" or "unhealthy." Whether a food is the best one to eat at a particular time depends on overall context (i.e., overall diet)--I just finished a biking trip and in that context ate more snack like things and dried fruit and the like (even including the occasional Clif bar) than I normally would, for, I think, health-related reasons, as one needed to fuel long bike rides. Also, I think it's normal for humans to enjoy good foods and wrong to convince yourself that there's something wrong or disgusting or bad about liking a piece of pie. Nor is it remotely true that a diet that contains no pie is healthier than one that includes the occasional piece, assuming both also include a good balance of nutrient-dense foods. That's the problem with the "clean" approach (as well as simply incoherence) IMO.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

FYI, most people who practice moderation eat primarily nutritious foods...they're just not afraid to have some desert or a slice or two of pizza every once in awhile.

"Clean" is a very ambiguous term and has about a zillion different meanings depending on the individual.

Do yourself a favor and just eat a well balanced and varied diet that is rich in whole food nutrition...and have some ice cream once in awhile.

Yes, this. I eat in moderation. I eat healthy, home-cooked meals the majority of the time but occasionally I'll have an ice-cream, or my husband will make pancakes, or I'll bake a cake/cookies (is a homemade cake considered 'clean'??).

DawnieB1977 wrote: »

(is a homemade cake considered 'clean'??).

I've always assumed no, at least not if it contains flour and sugar. But it is confusing!

lemurcat12 wrote: »

DawnieB1977 wrote: »

(is a homemade cake considered 'clean'??).

I've always assumed no, at least not if it contains flour and sugar. But it is confusing!

I started a list once of all the definitions of clean eating that we've seen on the boards. By some you can get away with homemade cake and by others it's a definite no-no.

If you're curious, they include:
Nothing but minimally processed foods.
Absolutely no processed foods.
Shop only the outside of the grocery store.
Nothing out of a box, jar, or can.
Only food that's not in a box or hermetically sealed bag, or from e.g. McDonald's.
Nothing at all with a barcode.
Nothing with more than 5 ingredients.
Nothing with more than 4 ingredients.
Nothing with more than 3 ingredients.
Nothing with more than 1 ingredient.
No added preservatives.
No added chemicals.
No chemicals, preservatives, etc. at all.
No ingredients that you can't pronounce.
No ingredients that sound like they came out of a chemistry book.
Don't eat products that have a TV commercial.
Don't eat products that have a longer shelf life than you do.
No added sugar.
No added refined sugar.
Swap white sugar for brown.
No "white" foods.
Nothing but lean meats, fruits, and vegetables.
Only meat from grass-fed animals and free-range chickens.
Only pesticide-free foods.