Anyone lose their weight eating clean

Not trying to be flippant, but it's always good to start these types of questions by giving your personal definition of what "eating clean" means. Since there is no "official" or actual definition for "eating clean" everyone seems to have a different definition. You can do a forum search and come up with a whole bunch of different answers and different definitions.

If you have a definition that you are using, it's best to start there so people can understand what you mean.

That said, weight loss is all about the calories and (barring some medical issue that needs to be considered) not about the types of food that you eat. Nutrition is a different story, but for weight loss purposes it does not really matter what you eat, only how much.

No matter what you are eating, do you weigh and accurately log your food intake?

Odds are, eating mostly non-processed foods will allow for a much easier time hitting nutrition goals while keeping things like sodium under control. It will also, potentially, allow for you to eat a larger quantity of food for fewer calories as most processed food is highly caloric where "natural" (quotes used again because there is no actual definition in the food industry for the word natural) foods like produce tend to be minimal on the calories and high in nutrition depending on how they are cooked/prepared. The food itself will most likely be more nutrient dense... bu that does not mean that were you to stop weighing and logging accurately it will help with weight loss (if that is your goal).

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

It won't slow down because your body gets used to it. It slows down because you have lost the water weight and expelled the extra matter from where you eating more.

It will now slow down to reflect the deficit amount you are eating at.
If you eat 250 calories less a day you will lose 1lb a week.
What foods you eat has little to no baring on it.

It's 500 less per day for 1 pound (3500 calories less per week).

titotito48 wrote: »

Then less salt IS probably why I've dropped 6 pounds in 6 days. That makes sense. Ok, so once the excess sodium is flushed out, then I should resume to calorie in/calorie out weight loss even if I continue eating "clean". I get it.

Bear in mind that your body actually does need sodium to function, especially if you exercise often or sweat often. Sodium helps hold onto water and keep you hydrated, that's why they add it to things like gatoraid or other fitness drinks.

Also keep in mind that it's normal and natural for your body weight to fluctuate over the day or even day to day as exercise will make your body hold onto water for the repair process. A little fluctuation is nothing to be concerned over as tracking your loss trends over a longer period of time such as a week or more will be a more accurate indicator of your loss. I can easily fluctuate 7 to 10 lbs in a day depending on time of day, what I've eaten, sodium intake, how much I've worked out, etc.

If you worry about CICO, log accurately, and pay attention to your weight loss trends you'll achieve your goals. I don't know what you have your mfp settings configured to, but one thing to bear in mind is that, as you get closer to your goal you should lower how aggressive the goal is, for example 2lbs a week to 1 or .5 as it will be a far slower loss as you near your goal. As you get close to your goal, you want to be more concerned about losing lean mass as opposed to fat. The best way to preserve lean mass is to eat a reasonable amount of protein throughout the day and do some kind of resistance training... any kind will work, whether it's lifting, bodyweight, fitness classes, dvds, whatever works for you and that you enjoy.

titotito48 wrote: »

I am trying to incorporate tasty meals not plain. I have looked on line and gotten quite a few recipes that were really good. Today is day 6 eating clean (non processed foods). My stomach has already gone down 2 inches. Yay! I had lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks doing this in the past but my meals were pretty plain then so I didn't stick with it. Anyone else have success with this? Oh, and 6 pounds so far this time. I know it will slow way down after my body gets used to this.

I suppose it would depend on your definition of "clean"...I eat what many would consider to be pretty "clean"...but that doesn't mean my food is boring and bland. I eat mostly whole foods and/or minimally processed foods and prepare meals using primarily scratch, whole ingredients...i know my way around the kitchen pretty well and make a lot of awesomeness.

keep in mind that eating "clean" doesn't mean squat if your taking in too many calories. weight management is about energy balance...consume more energy than your body requires then that surplus of energy is stored as body fat for later use...basically your backup generator. when you consume less energy than your body requires, that backup generator kicks on and you burn fat to make up for that deficiency.

i find weight management easier eating this way as i don't log or otherwise keep a diary and have more or less been maintaining for over 2.5 years this way save for a deliberate bulk last winter...for which I was still eating "clean"...you can still gain weight eating "clean".

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I try never to eat any processed or prepared foods (except the occasional spinach pizza), cook from fresh, without salt... But I have been doing that for years and it took mfp for me to get my portion sizes sorted so that I was not gaining weight. Now down from nealry 90 kg (198 lb) which was on the bring of obese, to ca. 72 kg (ca, 160 lb) which for me is BMI ca. 22 and seem to have cracked it. I have learned to be really careful of how much gluten (especially bread and pasta) I eat: I now eat my carbs via muesli, potatoes, rice, coucous as well as pasta. So it is not only about what you eat, but how much and how your body reacts to different sorts of foods.

I have in the past. I would advise you to look into spices. I have a spice mixture that really serves as an allspice. I put my favorite blend in a container and put it on whatever I eat. In addition, simple things like cream of mushroom or cream of chicken add some flavor. Pairing a little bit with a spice goes a long way. I hope this helps. I eventually want to get some flavor god seasonings. Heard they were the business!

How about just a WAY TO GO!!!!! I am a firm believer in non-processed/slightly processed food....but I am also a firm believer on the calories in/ calories out theory (doesn't mean I'm right lol) but I figure if you're going to put in the effort to losing weight..may as well go big and eat healthier food!! I am by no way a fanatic...nor do I believe anyone should NEVER eat "junk food" moderation is good.... I prefer to drink my greens rather than eat them....but that's just me. Keep up the good work and dedication..... I've made some really good food with out adding "junk" to it....I've also made some really BAD food lol

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

It won't slow down because your body gets used to it. It slows down because you have lost the water weight and expelled the extra matter from where you eating more.

It will now slow down to reflect the deficit amount you are eating at.
If you eat 250 calories less a day you will lose 1lb a week.
What foods you eat has little to no baring on it.

More like every two weeks. It's usually considered that a pound of fat lost = 3500 calorie deficit. At 250 calories a day, that will take 14 days.

If by "eating clean" and "non-processed" foods, yes. Hubby and I mostly eat at home but we often eat meals that are partly prepared at home and partly outside. For example, he came home for lunch today with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. The rest of lunch was rice made in our rice cooker and raw sliced yellow squash.

I don't eat "clean" but I try to make homemade meals as much as possible because it is easier to control my portions/calories. I also try to sub anything with a lot of calories with something veggie based like instead of eating two portions of rice to fill me up I mix one serving with frozen veggies to add bulk. As the above stated, the clean eating doesn't make you lose weight faster but you can eat more because most whole foods are not as calorie dense.