Eating clean
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natashab61
Posts: 103 Member
Hi all,
I am no perfect clean eater but as I enter my mid 20s I would really like to make my diet to be predominantly healthy. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I am aware sugar is an addiction. So any help or suggestions as to how to do this?
I am no perfect clean eater but as I enter my mid 20s I would really like to make my diet to be predominantly healthy. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I am aware sugar is an addiction. So any help or suggestions as to how to do this?
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Replies
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Some things that have helped me. Allow yourself one sweet treat per week. Plan your meals around clean foods and make your favorite foods healthier. For instance, I make veggie nachos by bulking up the veggies and minimizing the chips and cheese. I make veggie pizza by using a tortilla and pesto for the sauce. Any pasta dishes are prepared with spaghetti squash or zucchini. Small changes like that add up. You can do it. Good luck!1
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IMHO, I hate the term clean eating - everything is healthy in moderation. others will probably address the sugar is an addiction statement
if I want sweets I have them - but when I buy a bag of candy/chocolate/chips - I immediately pre-bag into the 1 serving size - so I just grab one of those and eat - and don't have a huge bag to tempt me12 -
"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"... OP, for overall health just make sure the majority of your food comes from nutrient dense sources such as fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed meats. The occasional treat is fine to keep your cravings away.6
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galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"... OP, for overall health just make sure the majority of your food comes from nutrient dense sources such as fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed meats. The occasional treat is fine to keep your cravings away.
This. Shoot for 80-90% of your calories from nutrient dense sources as mentioned. The other 10-20% being your "treats".
Best of luck.2 -
deannalfisher wrote: »IMHO, I hate the term clean eating - everything is healthy in moderation. others will probably address the sugar is an addiction statement
if I want sweets I have them - but when I buy a bag of candy/chocolate/chips - I immediately pre-bag into the 1 serving size - so I just grab one of those and eat - and don't have a huge bag to tempt me
This^
Losing weight AND keeping it off requires lifestyle changes. Losing weight is just the FIRST step.
Dieting on just "perfect" foods does not help you when you get to maintenance. Do you plan on giving up (I assume you mean) added sugar forever? If the answer is no - then you will need to learn portion control eventually.
Elimination diets have a poor track record for maintenance. Learning portion control for ALL foods will help you control your calories......before and after weight loss. Figure out strategies to help you....minimize not eliminate. I like individually wrapped ice cream bars, and dark chocolate squares.4 -
natashab61 wrote: »Hi all,
I am no perfect clean eater but as I enter my mid 20s I would really like to make my diet to be predominantly healthy. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I am aware sugar is an addiction. So any help or suggestions as to how to do this?
If you do a search here on the forums for 'clean eating' and 'sugar addiction,' you'll find many, many (many!) threads that are crammed full of great information.
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It is possible to train yourself off of calorie dense foods. I remember I was on a clean streak for a month; I went to the movies ,got popcorn and thought the amount of salt was utterly repulsive lol. You start tasting the natural flavors in foods.
Cut out oils. Limit meat to two pieces a week. Eat veggies with every meal ( I add spinach and cucumbers to my oatmeal and you can barely taste it. ) Eat your G-bombs daily. Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds. Avoid frying in favor of baking and boiling. Drink 8 cups of water a day.1 -
Rather than focus on giving things up (which is no guarantee of improving the healthiness of your overall diet, depending on whether and what you replace those foods with), I would recommend focusing on eating (or eating more) of things that would contribute the healthiness of your overall diet. Not getting enough fiber? Add more fiber (beans, veggies, whole grains, and fruits). Not getting enough protein? Add more protein (poultry, fish, shellfish, lean cuts of beef and pork, nonfat or lowfat milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, legumes, etc.).6
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galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.9 -
galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.
Eating anything in moderation is misleading and leads people to believe they can just forget about micronutrients as long as it fits their macros. You still need to eat primarily nutritionally dense foods in order to stay healthy. Most importantly, you can't quantify "moderation" so it's a pretty worthless term for trying to help people decide how to eat.4 -
illyasHodrick wrote: »
Cut out oils. Limit meat to two pieces a week. Eat veggies with every meal ( I add spinach and cucumbers to my oatmeal and you can barely taste it. ) Eat your G-bombs daily. Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds. Avoid frying in favor of baking and boiling. Drink 8 cups of water a day.
No to the cutting out oils. Oils are calorie dense but are needed for a balanced diet. Just manage amounts.
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I like to "eat clean," a d I found that my cravings reduced significantly after a few days of (c)lean eating. I still get a hankering, but unless I binge, the hankerings are less frequent and weaker.0
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Ha....I got up to 275lbs eating 'healthy' and 'clean'.
It means nothing to me.
Having a healthy attitude towards food is valuable to me. It is what my Dietitian taught me.
I eat nutritious foods as well as treats. I don't get cravings, and my Dietitian considers this healthy as I am not obsessing over 'good' or 'bad' foods. I've lost a lot of weight and have improved my health.
Not healthy. Fat is necessary for digestive health and for fat soluble vitamins.illyasHodrick wrote: »It is possible to train yourself off of calorie dense foods. I remember I was on a clean streak for a month; I went to the movies ,got popcorn and thought the amount of salt was utterly repulsive lol. You start tasting the natural flavors in foods.
Cut out oils. Limit meat to two pieces a week. Eat veggies with every meal ( I add spinach and cucumbers to my oatmeal and you can barely taste it. ) Eat your G-bombs daily. Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds. Avoid frying in favor of baking and boiling. Drink 8 cups of water a day.
And why limit meat to 2 portions a week? I strength train and find the proteins from meat valuable.
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natashab61 wrote: »Hi all,
I am no perfect clean eater but as I enter my mid 20s I would really like to make my diet to be predominantly healthy. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I am aware sugar is an addiction. So any help or suggestions as to how to do this?
I eat a very healthy diet, with all foods I love in moderation. Said foods include some sweet stuff, as well as lots of veggies, fruits, etc.
Clean eating and predominately healthy are within one's perception, so you really need to find a way of eating that is sustainable and what you feel is good for you. Really, there is no right or wrong way to eat. If you're trying to lose weight, food type has zero to do with this, it's all about eating less calorie than you burn. People who are successful in this area have found a way of eating that works specifically for them.
Also, whether or not sugar is an addiction is in the perception only, so if you believe for you it's an addiction, you might want to look at why you have the compulsion to overeat this one food type. I personally do not believe that sugar is addictive, but I do believe that the compulsion to overeat on certain foods types can be overpowering because of how good they are. However, years ago, I used to think I had a sugar addiction when, after much hard work, I discovered that I just did not know how to moderate my intake because sugary gooey foods taste so darned good! Now, I have learned, and am still learning, how to moderate.
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galgenstrick wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.
Eating anything in moderation is misleading and leads people to believe they can just forget about micronutrients as long as it fits their macros. You still need to eat primarily nutritionally dense foods in order to stay healthy. Most importantly, you can't quantify "moderation" so it's a pretty worthless term for trying to help people decide how to eat.
In the context of postings that promote cutting out certain foods to lose weight, moderation is not at all vague and/or misleading, and it does not imply that you don't pay attention to macros/micro nutrients.
How to eat has nothing to do with he actual loss of pounds, how much you eat does.
In other words, everything in moderation means to eat whatever you've been eating, just less of it.6 -
cerise_noir wrote: »Ha....I got up to 275lbs eating 'healthy' and 'clean'.
It means nothing to me.
I also gained a lot of weight eating healthy and clean. It means nothing to me either.
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galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"... OP, for overall health just make sure the majority of your food comes from nutrient dense sources such as fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed meats. The occasional treat is fine to keep your cravings away.
Oddly enough, this is "moderation" as I understand it. Remember it is usually combined with other advice, such as: "if you focus on getting a balanced diet primarily composed of a variety of nutrient dense foods, anything can be included in moderation."galgenstrick wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.
Eating anything in moderation is misleading and leads people to believe they can just forget about micronutrients as long as it fits their macros. You still need to eat primarily nutritionally dense foods in order to stay healthy. Most importantly, you can't quantify "moderation" so it's a pretty worthless term for trying to help people decide how to eat.
I think this is rather offensive, suggesting that people saying "moderation" are suggesting that nutrition does not matter.
How I would define moderation is "what fits into a diet that meets general nutritional needs." In other words, if you eat so much fruit that you lack micros mainly from vegetables, protein, or healthy fats, that's not moderation. That fruit is generally considered "healthy" and would be okay if one were "clean eating" doesn't make any amount within any diet healthful.
That's why I think moderation (combined with other advice) is far healthier than "clean eating," as well as not relying on pretty arbitrary claims (like that food that is "processed" -- such as greek yogurt and smoked salmon -- are "bad").
To apply this to OP's question, OP, if you do focus on what you want to eat for nutritional reasons in your day (for example, I focus on meals and make sure I get a decent amount of protein and lots of vegetables in all meals, and a variety of different kinds of vegetables, and I also make sure to include sources of healthy fats, like nuts, avocados, fatty fish, olives/olive oil, in my diet), then you can basically eat whatever else fits within a a reasonable calorie limit. You won't have too much of anything, or a disproportionate amount of sweet stuff or whatever.
Personally, for example, I don't have sweets for a meal, of course. What fits in, usually, beyond my healthful meals (that sometimes include more indulgent elements, like prime rib or pulled pork or a juicy burger with a bun plus roasted potatoes, or pizza), is a little something extra after dinner. I sometimes just have more fruit, but sometimes have good cheese, and sometimes have chocolate or ice cream.5 -
galgenstrick wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.
Eating anything in moderation is misleading and leads people to believe they can just forget about micronutrients as long as it fits their macros. You still need to eat primarily nutritionally dense foods in order to stay healthy. Most importantly, you can't quantify "moderation" so it's a pretty worthless term for trying to help people decide how to eat.
In the context of postings that promote cutting out certain foods to lose weight, moderation is not at all vague and/or misleading, and it does not imply that you don't pay attention to macros/micro nutrients.
How to eat has nothing to do with he actual loss of pounds, how much you eat does.
In other words, everything in moderation means to eat whatever you've been eating, just less of it.
Understood. I never advocate cutting out foods completely. However the term is still vague for someone that doesn't understand how weight loss works and how to stay healthy. Exactly how much chocolate cake is a moderate amount? How about carrots? I think telling someone to just eat exactly the same foods but less of them is bad advice. It will work for weight loss, no doubt -- but depending on what they're eating and what their background is it's probably not the healthiest lifestyle. People blow IIFYM way out of proportion. No, you shouldn't just eat whatever you want if it fits your macros and completely ignore the other nutritional aspects of your health. That's probably not what your advocating either, but that's what the term "moderation" implies which is why it's vague and misleading2 -
When you have been living on nothing but chocolate cake and ice cream, eating less and not making any other changes, is going to be difficult. Any change is going to be extremely difficult. We have met some of those people in here, but they are few and far between.galgenstrick wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.
Eating anything in moderation is misleading and leads people to believe they can just forget about micronutrients as long as it fits their macros. You still need to eat primarily nutritionally dense foods in order to stay healthy. Most importantly, you can't quantify "moderation" so it's a pretty worthless term for trying to help people decide how to eat.
In the context of postings that promote cutting out certain foods to lose weight, moderation is not at all vague and/or misleading, and it does not imply that you don't pay attention to macros/micro nutrients.
How to eat has nothing to do with he actual loss of pounds, how much you eat does.
In other words, everything in moderation means to eat whatever you've been eating, just less of it.
Understood. I never advocate cutting out foods completely. However the term is still vague for someone that doesn't understand how weight loss works and how to stay healthy. Exactly how much chocolate cake is a moderate amount? How about carrots? I think telling someone to just eat exactly the same foods but less of them is bad advice. It will work for weight loss, no doubt -- but depending on what they're eating and what their background is it's probably not the healthiest lifestyle. People blow IIFYM way out of proportion. No, you shouldn't just eat whatever you want if it fits your macros and completely ignore the other nutritional aspects of your health. That's probably not what your advocating either, but that's what the term "moderation" implies which is why it's vague and misleading
The idea of "moderation" - IMO - is the opposite of the strict, exact, restrictive mindset and the rigid rules that people struggle to live by, and feel so terrible when they "fail". So quantifying "moderate" beyond "enough, but not too much" becomes counterproductive. Most people do have some "real" food in their diet, or at least have some notion of what that constitutes, and can tweak their diets to achieve better nutrition.2 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"... OP, for overall health just make sure the majority of your food comes from nutrient dense sources such as fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed meats. The occasional treat is fine to keep your cravings away.
Oddly enough, this is "moderation" as I understand it. Remember it is usually combined with other advice, such as: "if you focus on getting a balanced diet primarily composed of a variety of nutrient dense foods, anything can be included in moderation."galgenstrick wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »"Everything in moderation" is just as vague as "clean eating"...
I don't feel everything in moderation is vague at all. Moderation is something most people here have yet to learn.
I also think it's an especially important idea for some people who seem to think just because they don't consume sweets or soda or "junk" food they are going to lose weight or become "healthier".
I can't tell you how many posts I've read in the couple months I've been here that say, "I cut out all soda, candy, etc. but still haven't lost any weight".
Because people just start overeating on other things.
Eating anything in moderation is misleading and leads people to believe they can just forget about micronutrients as long as it fits their macros. You still need to eat primarily nutritionally dense foods in order to stay healthy. Most importantly, you can't quantify "moderation" so it's a pretty worthless term for trying to help people decide how to eat.
I think this is rather offensive, suggesting that people saying "moderation" are suggesting that nutrition does not matter.
How I would define moderation is "what fits into a diet that meets general nutritional needs." In other words, if you eat so much fruit that you lack micros mainly from vegetables, protein, or healthy fats, that's not moderation. That fruit is generally considered "healthy" and would be okay if one were "clean eating" doesn't make any amount within any diet healthful.
That's why I think moderation (combined with other advice) is far healthier than "clean eating," as well as not relying on pretty arbitrary claims (like that food that is "processed" -- such as greek yogurt and smoked salmon -- are "bad").
To apply this to OP's question, OP, if you do focus on what you want to eat for nutritional reasons in your day (for example, I focus on meals and make sure I get a decent amount of protein and lots of vegetables in all meals, and a variety of different kinds of vegetables, and I also make sure to include sources of healthy fats, like nuts, avocados, fatty fish, olives/olive oil, in my diet), then you can basically eat whatever else fits within a a reasonable calorie limit. You won't have too much of anything, or a disproportionate amount of sweet stuff or whatever.
Personally, for example, I don't have sweets for a meal, of course. What fits in, usually, beyond my healthful meals (that sometimes include more indulgent elements, like prime rib or pulled pork or a juicy burger with a bun plus roasted potatoes, or pizza), is a little something extra after dinner. I sometimes just have more fruit, but sometimes have good cheese, and sometimes have chocolate or ice cream.
That's exactly why I'm saying it's vague. Without elaboration "moderation" or "iifym" can mean just about anything.1
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