Starting clean eating

Not sure how you define clean eating, but I assume you mean fewer “processed” foods and more whole grains, fruits, veggies, etc. This is good for overall health,but keep in mind that if you are trying to lose weight, calories trump all. You can eat super healthy, but if you eat too many calories you will not lose weight (and might even gain). Also, I did a clean eating program a few years ago that advocated full-fat dairy and butter because they are less “processed.” Turns out to be very bad advice for me because I have high cholesterol and a family history of cancer. So “eating clean,” however you define that, is not a magic bullet in and of itself. You still have to count calories, be aware of your personal health indicators, and get enough exercise. Hopefully the increased energy you mentioned will help with that last one. Good luck!

I subscribe to an 80/20 philosophy which boils down to eating nutritionally dense food most of the time and the the dirtiest most fun treat food I can afford (calorie-wise) some of the time.

In the 80 part of my eating I do end up eating pretty simple and thus minimally touched (even by me) food when I can be home more. That is not because I feel it benefits me that much more it is just that is my preference. When I am away from home more I eat whatever fits in my calories and my basic macro mix for feeling full.

I try to eat a healthful diet based on mostly home cooked foods, lots of vegetables, some fruit. For me, what I do eat is more important than worrying about what I do not, as I think that's the way to make sure one gets sufficient nutrition -- other people have different ways to do this, but I tend to make sure all of my meals (with occasional exceptions, of course) have a decent amount of protein, fiber, and multiple servings of vegetables.

For me that's more helpful than worrying about processing, as many processed foods (like greek yogurt, cottage cheese, dried pasta, dried oats, frozen veg and berries, canned tomatoes, some sauces and spice mixes, occasional canned beans, tofu and tempeh, etc.) can not only be convenient, but are IMO quite healthful if you look at nutrient content and the overall meal in which they are used.

I get other people sometimes use processed to mean something else (like premade meals) that can also be decent nutritionally sometimes (those were never really my thing, so the word for me tends to refer to the examples I eat most often). In any event, I don't find it helpful to worry about processing or generalize about such foods vs. focusing on the specific foods chosen.

That said, I think anyone deciding to improve their diet is a great thing, and adding calorie counting will certainly help make sure it results in weight loss too.