Clean Eating (Experience?)

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Replies

  • NeahF
    NeahF Posts: 49 Member
    My personal take on this: giving it a name puts unnecessary restrictions on your diet because if it has a name it must have rules. I'm a big fan of "adding instead of removing". By adding a lot of vegetables and nutritious foods to your diet, you're basically set nutritionally, even if you eat some less nutritious foods. Clean eating, depending on how someone defines it, can actually result in removing nutrients. I track all of my nutrients consistently and my main source of vitamin E is sunflower oil, which is usually considered processed.

    That's a great thing to add, that limiting what you eat can actually REMOVE some essential nutrients. I also think it's smart to add the things we need instead of restricting ourselves from the "bad" stuff. Thanks for your input!!
  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,693 Member
    Clean Eating is basically an old term. It's what filtered out to the general public decades ago before better strategies were created. It describes a highly restrictive diet that places foods in good and bad categories based on inaccurate and sometimes arbitrarily criteria. It's largely unsustainable and causes people to burn out and give up because it is too hard. Or they add cheat days... which means they're actually not "clean eating".

    The newer thinking is that instead of focusing on foods being good or bad, focus how they contribute to your overall goals. Goals like macronutrients and micronutrients and your overall calorie goal. How much protein, fat, carbs, fiber, and vitamins you need per day. Your body can only absorb so many nutrients per day and you don't get extra points for more, your body just excretes them.

    The newer less restrictive strategy is called flexible dieting. Once you've met your daily macronutrient and micronutrient goals, if you have calories left, it's perfectly fine to use them however you want. As long as you don't go over your calories and you've already met your nutrition goals, it won't have any negative effects and can have huge positive benefits for your mental health. Food is no longer good or bad, it either fits in your day or it doesn't. With clean eating, if you have a treat it was bad and you're a failure. Which can lead to disordered thinking about food.

    When I first read about flexible dieting (it was called IIFYM or If It Fits Your Macros back then), years of hearing you had to eat clean made me think it sounded WAY to good to be true, so I tested it and it actually worked. 5 years later I'm still using it.

    There's lots of eating strategies: clean eating, Paleo, low carb, etc, but flexible dieting seems like the most balanced approach. It accounts for calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, mental health and sustainability. Which is why I think so many people find success with it.

    👏👏👏👏👏

    This ^^^. Pretty good. Realistic.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,341 Member
    It has no real meaning.

    As part of my “plan of attack” on my weight, I stopped eating most pre-made items. It seemed more nutritious and calorie aware to substitute fruit, cottage cheese, air-popped popcorn, homemade beef jerky in lieu of a box of Oreos, a carton of donuts, or a sack of candy. Instead of bottled sauces, I reach for spice mixes.

    If a product has a lot of unpronounceable chemicals or additives, I usually don’t put it in my shopping basket.

    I often used to punish myself with food, so by the same token, it feels like I’ve rewarded myself when I eat something simple.

    I’m beyond thrilled I’ve discovered a low calorie loaf bread that doesn’t have cellulose (? I get my ‘loses mixed up) in it. It’s 35 calories a slice and has ingredients I recognize. The calorie savings is because a slice is about 2/3 the weight of a regular loaf slice. I’m perfectly OK with that.

    Having said all that, my new vice is Jordan’s sugar free Salted Caramel syrup in my chai.

    Does feel like a snake biting its own tail sometimes, lol.