Eating Clean -- what does this mean for you?

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QuakerMom
QuakerMom Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I read lots of posts by people who talk about 'eating clean'.

What exactly does this mean if you follow it?

No sugar?
No processed foods? Does that include no cheese, e.g.?
What about dairy -- yogurt? milk?
Canned foods like garbanzo/black beans or canned tomatoes? Salsa?
What about processed meats -- e.g., ham?

Curious.

Replies

  • tootsiewootsie
    tootsiewootsie Posts: 12 Member
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    Thank you for asking, because I have been wondering that exact thing.

    To me, personally, it means no processed sugars and additives, but I don't know what it means to others.
  • lakersfan4life
    lakersfan4life Posts: 322 Member
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    remembering to run my dish washer once in a while so i have some clean dishes to eat off of......
  • chaitrex
    chaitrex Posts: 94 Member
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    I try not to eat so much processed food. I realize cheese and yogurt are processed, but they have been with us for thousands of years, so I can't be all bad. I try to buy organic dairy products and meat, and keep them to a minimum. I try to eat mostly whole grains, vegetables and fruit.
    As far as canned foods go, I don't know what I would do without canned black beans. Delicious with the salsa you also mentioned. Usually, I read the ingredients and make sure there's not too many weird additives. Canning is a pretty old, safe practice and doesn't need too many preservatives added. If you want fresh salsa though, I'm sure Whole foods or your local health food store makes a good one.
    Processed meats is tricky, though. When I eat meat, I usually just bake some chicken and am super happy about it. I do like turkey too though, so I'll buy the Applegate Organic sliced turkey.

    I'm trying to quit sugar now and it's really, really hard.
    Michael Pollan has been a huge inspiration to me. His books The Omnivore's Dilemma and Food Rules pretty much define clean, healthy, natural eating for me.
  • jgibson2
    jgibson2 Posts: 20 Member
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    I'm pretty sure it means different things to different people. Eating clean for me means cleaning up my diet from unneeded junk. Eating less processed and more whole foods. Definitely no added sugars....I honestly don't know what some people's big hang up is on dairy. So long you are within your calories and macronutrients for the day it is ok. I know some have allergies to lactose but those are in the minority for the most part. Women especially need calcium and dairy is a great source for this. Sources should, however, be as fat-free as possible.

    I do eat canned vegetables occasionally. They're convenient and cheap for the most part. My biggest hangup on canned items is the sodium content. If you are exercising regularly and drinking plenty of water this shouldn't cause problems in the short term.

    Hope this helps!
  • QuakerMom
    QuakerMom Posts: 56 Member
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    @chaitrex: This is my 3rd day completely off sugar, so I hear you. It's hard.
    I wasn't eating much sugar for the past month -- but pretty addicted to my daily snack bar (Cliff Kid Organic ZBar or Luna Bar), and a few other moderately low cal treats when I had the extra calories.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    It doesn't mean avoiding anything, it means having an overall healthy diet:

    -lots of veggies
    -at least a few servings of fruit daily
    -enough dietary fat, including adequate EFA's
    -enough protein
    -enough fiber
    -controlling calories

    ^^^I can do all these things and still eat pizza, ice cream, etc.
  • itsablondething
    itsablondething Posts: 28 Member
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    To me... no refined grains/flours, no refined sugar.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I try not to eat so much processed food. I realize cheese and yogurt are processed, but they have been with us for thousands of years, so I can't be all bad. I try to buy organic dairy products and meat, and keep them to a minimum. I try to eat mostly whole grains, vegetables and fruit

    This is how I define "clean" for myself. I will not eat artificial sweeteners, Skinny Cow ice cream, frozen dinners, or anything else with a mile long ingredient list. I cook most foods myself at home which makes eating this way pretty easy. I am not gluten intolerant and have no desire to go low carb, so all of the whole grains stay in my diet. Nothing unclean about them!

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