Does anyone HAVE to eat clean to lose the weight?
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I did Weight Watchers for a while, and according to them, your body metabolizes calories from a carrot differently than calories from a Pop Tart. I don't buy it. I know that I can lose weight on 1,650 calories a week...and it doesn't matter where the calories come from. I am not a clean eater (and I am not a horrible eater). I eat what I want, only in smaller portions.
Technically no but the fiber in the carrot will likely slow the digestion of the carbs. The carbs in the pop tart will hit your bloodstream quicker. It is not a clean food/junk food thing, it is the macro and micro makeup that makes difference. BTW: it is a slight difference that mostly diabetics will notice2 -
Nope. I fluctuate between 116 and 118 now, and I lose just fine while still eating some kind of dessert every night. It does get more difficult as you get lighter, though -- the margin of error is much smaller, so you have to be much tighter with your logging. That's the first place I would look if I were you. It may be time to invest in a food scale, especially for things like avocado and cheese.3
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You have 18 consecutive days that look complete, averaging 1,167 calories a day of logged consumption. 41% carb, 36% fat, 23% protein.
My guess from looking over your diary is that you're actually eating a lot more. Eyeballing restaurant / takeout portions is enormously difficult. If you're eyeballing your apples as medium (at 80 calories per), I think you're eyeballing your chicken fried rice as half a cup (with fewer total calories per cup than I log for plain rice!) when it's actually a larger portion than the database item creator used. When you log 2 cups of coleslaw, do you actually have two cups of plain undressed raw cabbage and carrots? Because the item you're logging as coleslaw is plain undressed raw cabbage and carrots.
The coleslaw I eat is plain with salt heated up in the microwave (I know it is depressingly boring). The apples I eat are usually very small around 2- 2 1/2' inches in diameter which I would assume would be close to 80 calories. The chicken fried rice was most likely inaccurate but when serving I usually use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon and that day I didn't even eat a half a cup. Like I mentioned above, I usually log larger amounts to play it safe.
Either way, let's say that I am underlogging, I am still working out and not eating back my exercise calories. And I am logging my exercise calories with the use of an apple watch, which uses the active calories. So I would think over the 18 days I should have seen at least a small drop.
I really appreciate all the comments and feedback. It seems as though I really need to tighten up my logging and weigh everything... which I am sure you all can agree is pretty stressful. But clearly that is the only solution to this problem.
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I did Weight Watchers for a while, and according to them, your body metabolizes calories from a carrot differently than calories from a Pop Tart. I don't buy it. I know that I can lose weight on 1,650 calories a week...and it doesn't matter where the calories come from. I am not a clean eater (and I am not a horrible eater). I eat what I want, only in smaller portions.
Technically no but the fiber in the carrot will likely slow the digestion of the carbs. The carbs in the pop tart will hit your bloodstream quicker. It is not a clean food/junk food thing, it is the macro and micro makeup that makes difference. BTW: it is a slight difference that mostly diabetics will notice
It's a really different experience for me to eat a PopTart vs. eating carrots. I've been starving after eating 275 calories worth of PopTarts, and full after eating 10 baby carrots with a tablespoon of hummus. Which is why if you're closer to goal weight where every gram of food you eat counts, what the food does to your body.2 -
I lose weight weekly and eat McDonalds daily. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter what you eat.1
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Weighing food may come with a learning curve, but personally I don't find it stressful or complicated. I have a small dry erase board in my kitchen, attached to the side of the fridge by magnets. I make notes as I'm cooking sometimes, such as the weight of food that goes on my plate. Or the weights of items that go into a recipe. I tend to prelog, so this way I can go back later and adjust the actual weights.
If you've been at this 18 days, it could be a matter of you are losing weight but water weight is masking the results. Such as you could now be retaining water due to TOM/hormones/ovulation. It won't hurt to improve accuracy, and get comfortable with a food scale, but tracking for a few more weeks might give a better picture of what is happening.1 -
You have 18 consecutive days that look complete, averaging 1,167 calories a day of logged consumption. 41% carb, 36% fat, 23% protein.
My guess from looking over your diary is that you're actually eating a lot more. Eyeballing restaurant / takeout portions is enormously difficult. If you're eyeballing your apples as medium (at 80 calories per), I think you're eyeballing your chicken fried rice as half a cup (with fewer total calories per cup than I log for plain rice!) when it's actually a larger portion than the database item creator used. When you log 2 cups of coleslaw, do you actually have two cups of plain undressed raw cabbage and carrots? Because the item you're logging as coleslaw is plain undressed raw cabbage and carrots.
The coleslaw I eat is plain with salt heated up in the microwave (I know it is depressingly boring). The apples I eat are usually very small around 2- 2 1/2' inches in diameter which I would assume would be close to 80 calories. The chicken fried rice was most likely inaccurate but when serving I usually use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon and that day I didn't even eat a half a cup. Like I mentioned above, I usually log larger amounts to play it safe.
Either way, let's say that I am underlogging, I am still working out and not eating back my exercise calories. And I am logging my exercise calories with the use of an apple watch, which uses the active calories. So I would think over the 18 days I should have seen at least a small drop.
I really appreciate all the comments and feedback. It seems as though I really need to tighten up my logging and weigh everything... which I am sure you all can agree is pretty stressful. But clearly that is the only solution to this problem.
I doubt you are underlogging, an apple that size can range in calories,as for rice you are supposed to weigh the raw weight, using spoons and cups is going to result in eating more calories most of the time. rice is one of those foods that can be high in calories because a cup of raw will be around 2 cups when cooked. if you are suing measuring cups then that 2 cups could end up being more like 2.5-3 cups or more.trust me I learned this the hard way which is why I weigh all solids and semi solids on a scale and use cups for liquids only.
even with exercise if you are eating more than you think you wont lose unless you are creating a deficit and if you arent eating calories back which is how MFP is designed,then you are eating too much,or you arent burning as much as you think you are.Id say its a combo of the 23 -
StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Weighing food may come with a learning curve, but personally I don't find it stressful or complicated. I have a small dry erase board in my kitchen, attached to the side of the fridge by magnets. I make notes as I'm cooking sometimes, such as the weight of food that goes on my plate. Or the weights of items that go into a recipe. I tend to prelog, so this way I can go back later and adjust the actual weights.
If you've been at this 18 days, it could be a matter of you are losing weight but water weight is masking the results. Such as you could now be retaining water due to TOM/hormones/ovulation. It won't hurt to improve accuracy, and get comfortable with a food scale, but tracking for a few more weeks might give a better picture of what is happening.
Well I already weigh all my cheese and most of my meat. So it won't be that bad, just a hassle. I felt like I could trust my eyeballing but clearly not the case.
I'm just feeling very emotional about the whole thing because I really feel like I have been trying. I am always surrounded by junk food and yummy stuff... and I have turned down so much of it. I am trying to stay active. I am drinking water. I really felt like I was working so hard and it is just such a sad sad bummer when you come to the realization you aren't working hard enough. Even if this is what worked for me the first time.0 -
It definitely does matter what you eat. If you only want to lose weight you could eat toilet paper and do that. If you want to be healthy, then your salt and fat and carbs and protein and fiber all need to be balanced. It is really hard to do that with processed and convenience foods.
You will also notice over time your body responds better when you eat clean and your systems function more efficiently than before. Fiber and protein fill you up, and vitamins and minerals grease the wheels and make your body function how it should. Less hunger, less cravings. Salt, refined sugar and fat are essential, but not in the proportions that convenience foods offer usually.
You are more likely to see the results you are after, and it becomes easier to make food decisions if you stick to a cleaner, simplified, "closest to nature" diet. The closer something is to how it is found in nature, the better it is for your body and less thought needs to be put into ingredients and additives.6 -
well, refined sugar is not essential, but it's not a death sentence to have some for the most part.0
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StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Weighing food may come with a learning curve, but personally I don't find it stressful or complicated. I have a small dry erase board in my kitchen, attached to the side of the fridge by magnets. I make notes as I'm cooking sometimes, such as the weight of food that goes on my plate. Or the weights of items that go into a recipe. I tend to prelog, so this way I can go back later and adjust the actual weights.
If you've been at this 18 days, it could be a matter of you are losing weight but water weight is masking the results. Such as you could now be retaining water due to TOM/hormones/ovulation. It won't hurt to improve accuracy, and get comfortable with a food scale, but tracking for a few more weeks might give a better picture of what is happening.
Well I already weigh all my cheese and most of my meat. So it won't be that bad, just a hassle. I felt like I could trust my eyeballing but clearly not the case.
I'm just feeling very emotional about the whole thing because I really feel like I have been trying. I am always surrounded by junk food and yummy stuff... and I have turned down so much of it. I am trying to stay active. I am drinking water. I really felt like I was working so hard and it is just such a sad sad bummer when you come to the realization you aren't working hard enough. Even if this is what worked for me the first time.
Like we say in the business world, "work smarter not harder". Use the proper tools like a food scale and fitness tracker, set a
realistic deficit based on how much you have to lose, don't label food good or bad, eat what you enjoy in quantities that fit your calorie goal and learn to enjoy the process.3 -
been there... feel like sometimes i get to a certain weight and i'll be stuck there for a week and then that one day i lose a half a pound and rejoice (maybe too much) and then boom, i'm back up 2 lbs. the next day, and pretty much do that dance for like, ever. this usually happens to me when i'm cutting carbs or something and trying to "eat clean" and not really keep track of calories. i think your body prefers being at a certain weight, and you just gotta keep pushing through.
investing in a scale might sound obsessive and overwhelming, but they're nice to have around if you really want to be certain of what is going into your body. what you thought 4 oz of meat looked like might turn out to be 6 oz, and that could mean a huge difference in calories, as others have touched on.
maybe eating clean will help you out if you want to get health as well as weight loss out of your plan, just keep proper measurements. i personally feel i have the best progress losing weight doing strictly CICO and sticking to foods that are easily tracked, i.e. not the healthiest of choices, but i still see results, and still get to indulge in my guilty pleasures.0 -
court_alacarte wrote: »been there... feel like sometimes i get to a certain weight and i'll be stuck there for a week and then that one day i lose a half a pound and rejoice (maybe too much) and then boom, i'm back up 2 lbs. the next day, and pretty much do that dance for like, ever. this usually happens to me when i'm cutting carbs or something and trying to "eat clean" and not really keep track of calories. i think your body prefers being at a certain weight, and you just gotta keep pushing through.
investing in a scale might sound obsessive and overwhelming, but they're nice to have around if you really want to be certain of what is going into your body. what you thought 4 oz of meat looked like might turn out to be 6 oz, and that could mean a huge difference in calories, as others have touched on.
maybe eating clean will help you out if you want to get health as well as weight loss out of your plan. i personally feel i have the best progress losing weight doing strictly CICO and sticking to foods that are easily tracked, i.e. not the healthiest of choices, but i still see results, and still get to indulge in my guilty pleasures.
You can eat a balanced diet that promotes good health without adopting the arbitrary (and sometimes contradictory) rules of "clean eating."5 -
It definitely does matter what you eat. If you only want to lose weight you could eat toilet paper and do that. If you want to be healthy, then your salt and fat and carbs and protein and fiber all need to be balanced. It is really hard to do that with processed and convenience foods.
You will also notice over time your body responds better when you eat clean and your systems function more efficiently than before. Fiber and protein fill you up, and vitamins and minerals grease the wheels and make your body function how it should. Less hunger, less cravings. Salt, refined sugar and fat are essential, but not in the proportions that convenience foods offer usually.
You are more likely to see the results you are after, and it becomes easier to make food decisions if you stick to a cleaner, simplified, "closest to nature" diet. The closer something is to how it is found in nature, the better it is for your body and less thought needs to be put into ingredients and additives.
no it doesnt matter what you eat for weight loss. a calorie is a calorie, what you eat matters for health but not weight loss.there is no proof that your system works better on whole foods or more natural foods.for some it may,for others it may not.many have eaten nothing but processed foods but lost weight and improved health markers due to the weight loss.
some people cant eat certain processed foods,others cant eat certain fats or maybe even a lot of protein. everyone is different.fiber and protein will fill some people up while for others its fat or carbs.3 -
One thing about "eating clean," depending on how you define it, is that it can eliminate some easy sources of error. If I go out to eat, who knows how much that was. If I eat a friend's homemade coffee cake, same.
If you are feeling really exhausted and frustrated, one thing to try, if it interests you, is making it super simple and easy to log for a month and eliminating those kinds of things in part to try and figure out what your TDEE is.1 -
I was always of the impression that it was all math, calories in calories out. That's how I went from 240 to 160... just eating within my calories.
I'm almost 3 weeks into counting again and I haven't dropped a single lb. I'm starting to think that I need to eat clean to see progress, which really sucks because honestly I enjoy dark chocolate and junk within my calories.
Has anyone else been in this position?
Anyone who has lost weight has been in your position. Biological systems like status quo, but will be able to tolerate small changes rather easily. This is largely why drastic changes to diet ultimately fail. Fat is nothing more than an energy reserve, so the closer you get to lean, the more your body will maintain a reserve. This means you'll have to log with greater care and accuracy and ensure you are at maintenance/deficit.
I cringe when someone brings up "clean" as this is such a dirty term. There is no evidence supporting that fresh>processed food. Your body is a chemical processing plant and by the time you digest your food, it does not care if your chicken roamed free on pesticide free pillow grass fertilized with unicorn farts or if it was from a bucket of KFC. What you may find is that the choice of food has an impact on your satiety. Everyone has that food that makes them feel full to help them maintain their daily budget. You just need to find out what this is for you.6 -
One of the biggest problems I've seen with people that adopt a "clean" (or what they think is clean) diet is that they were not eating that way before, and don't intend to eat that way permanently. So once the diet is done they gain all the weight back, sometimes very very quickly. I think it's better to eat the way you want to eat the rest of your life, in moderation of course, and learn to incorporate ways to burn the extra calories which you can sustain long term. I started out working out in some form 7 days a week, then dropped to six days a week, and after I hit maintenance I dropped to five days a week. I'm currently going to keep up that schedule until likely the spring next year, then drop to 4 days a week and stay there for as long as my body will handle it (hopefully til retirement and beyond). Each time I drop a day of exercise off my schedule I adjust my calories and macros to sustain my weight. Each time it's a new learning curve but it's the only way I figure I'll be successful long term.
I tried Kale about 20 different ways (I was peeking at the OP's diary), and I'll be honest, if I had to eat Kale, I'd rather be fat. I love most veggies, and incorporate them whenever I can, but I don't try to eat "clean" I simply watch my calories and macros and eat normally if I can.1 -
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Absolutely not! I have lost 50 pounds eating the same thing I always did: just less of it. Yes I focus a bit more on veggies and fruits and lean meats and portion control the crap out of things because I like the healthier options but not the weight I was. It literally is a matter of consuming less than the body uses, getting the nutrition you need and watching the fat disappear.4
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