How clean was your diet while actively losing weight?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I don't view "clean" and "dirty" as useful categories. I do prepare a lot of my own food because I enjoy eating that way. I'll use some pre-made condiments, but most of my meals are made of fruit, vegetables, and beans along with some grains. But if I want some chips or french fries, I'll have them and I do regularly consume diet soda.

    My goal is to meet my nutritional needs, have fun cooking, and eat food that I enjoy. If I'm doing that, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding hunger, then I consider things to be going well.

    Here is today's menu, which is a pretty average day for me:

    Breakfast: Homemade trail mix, cold brew coffee with oat milk

    Lunch: Bulgur wheat with sriracha sauce and charred lemon olive oil, quick pickled cucumbers, onion, and jalapenos

    Snack: Tortilla chips

    Dinner: Chickpeas, roasted corn, potatoes, and carrots with ground almonds and nutritional yeast, a glass of red wine

    I ate pretty much like this when I was losing weight, I just made sure that the portions kept me in a deficit.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
    Like... 50% clean and 50% dirty.
  • zackpeters
    zackpeters Posts: 10 Member
    End of the day, it will be calories in calories out will be the greatest factor in weight loss. If we bring athletic performance and physique into the equation, food quality and macro nutrient profile can definitely make an impact.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    I lost all my weight just moving more and eliminating calorie bombs. Then my wife came down with Fibromyalgia and was told to not eat gluten or cow dairy. I do the cooking and we eat the same, so I relearned to cook using no gluten or dairy. Around a year later, we got glutened in Mexico and I broke out for a week in an autoimmune rash -- blisters on my bumb. So painful I couldn't sit for a few days. Turns out I'm celiac, so that changed everything pretty much permanent.

    We eat pretty clean now out of necessity, but there have been more and more processed snacks coming out, even for us. Most of them are geared toward the health conscious, but I still mostly stay away from them. But Peanut Butter is my crack. Lance's even has a GF Peanut Butter Cracker now, so there aren't a whole lot of things I can't find if I try. I can still easily gain weight on Peanut Butter alone. I've recently been trying to lose five to seven pounds again (I got up to my "red line" -- I'm around 9 years in maintenance). I was eating a few PB&Js on Gluten Free toast and started to gain weight. Now, I'm mostly eating either frozen grapes at night or PB on celery -- just one or two. Also, I'm just cutting down on alcohol as well. The scale is moving in the right direction again.

    We plan one decadent meal a week. Last night was it with a homemade Hawaiian Pizza with a homemade GF crust, pineapple, capicola ham, banana peppers, bacon and with goat mozz and sheep (pecorino) cheese for my wife. We've also been leaning more plant based, so this was like a dirty splurge for us. We balanced it out with an Italian Salad with a lot of nice greens (I realize that this is not plant based, we're work in progress).

    If I were back to having to lose 80 or 90 pounds again, knowing what I know now, I would likely eat a lot better with more balance. Eating more fiber now helps a lot with the hunger when I'm in a calorie deficit.
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    I eat the same stuff, just slightly less of it. I have a couple of "problem" foods/drinks that I've cut out owing to self-control issues.

    In total, as of today, I've lost about 45 lbs. without significant overhaul to my way of eating. And this is something I can continue for the rest of my days, which is the important bit.

    And like others say, the definition of "clean eating" is as nebulous as the morning fog I see out my office window.
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    An Irish court has just declared that Subway's bread cannot be classed as bread or as a staple food: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/irish-court-rules-subway-bread-is-not-bread. It's when I read stories like this that I start to understand what this clean food language is about.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    charmmeth wrote: »
    An Irish court has just declared that Subway's bread cannot be classed as bread or as a staple food: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/irish-court-rules-subway-bread-is-not-bread. It's when I read stories like this that I start to understand what this clean food language is about.

    I feel like this story reveals more about the nature of regulatory language than it does about the nature of "clean" or "dirty" food.
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I feel like this story reveals more about the nature of regulatory language than it does about the nature of "clean" or "dirty" food.

    Fair enough. What struck me from it was that different brands of the "same" food can be so different as to be practically unrecognisable, and (in this case) that if subway was my go to sandwich I might be getting levels of sugar from teh bread that I would not be expecting.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    charmmeth wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I feel like this story reveals more about the nature of regulatory language than it does about the nature of "clean" or "dirty" food.

    Fair enough. What struck me from it was that different brands of the "same" food can be so different as to be practically unrecognisable, and (in this case) that if subway was my go to sandwich I might be getting levels of sugar from teh bread that I would not be expecting.

    Fortunately, Subway publishes their nutritional information, so you can know to expect 3-5 grams of sugar in any bread you choose from them.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
    Really don't like the term eating "clean", like everyone has stated. Food is food. Some of it is healthier than others, and some of it will fit into my goals better than others, but I eat what I want. If I want beer and pizza, I fit it in. I don't drink ALL the beer and eat a WHOLE pizza, but I plan it out ahead of time so I can have what I want if I want it. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, beers... its all on the table. I just need to be thoughtful about it and not go hog wild like I did before which is what got me in trouble in the first place.

    And if I can't be thoughtful about it ahead of time and have to wing it, maybe go over my calorie goal for whatever reason, I just figure it out the next day and get back on track. Don't limit yourself to certain "kinds" of food. That's a recipe for falling off the wagon and plowing through a bunch of foods you'll regret...
  • ALZ14
    ALZ14 Posts: 202 Member
    100% clean as I don’t eat actual dirt. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 (sarcasm)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,014 Member
    charmmeth wrote: »
    An Irish court has just declared that Subway's bread cannot be classed as bread or as a staple food: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/irish-court-rules-subway-bread-is-not-bread. It's when I read stories like this that I start to understand what this clean food language is about.

    That's hilarious, bread as "confectionery"! Considering that USAians can now get sandwiches made with ultra-sweet waffles instead of bread, this isn't at all surprising.

    I'm with Jane, though: People who care should check, not assume. For the average American who doesn't care, doesn't check, that 3-5g is likely to be toward the lesser-impact end of their dietary issues. I won't speak for the Irish. Apparently the courts are looking out for them, anyway (or at least looking out for their tax revenue).

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