Will Clean Eating help my tummy shrink?

Improvised
Improvised Posts: 925 Member
edited December 17 in Food and Nutrition
I know I should be choosing to eat clean cause it's good for me, but at this point in my life I'm not overly concerned enough about it to really care (no haters, please!). However, I'd love for my tummy size to go down, and I have heard from someone that eating clean helps alot. Has anyone heard this?
Sorry if I sound ignorant on the subject; if I do, it's cause I am.
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Replies

  • Cindym82
    Cindym82 Posts: 1,245 Member
    You can not spot reduce any area. You need to eat clean to obtain overall good health and body fat reduction. Your body chooses where it wants to lose the weight first. Also, you do need to do HIIT training and lifting
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
    Eat Clean...Get Lean !!!!
  • mom2mozart
    mom2mozart Posts: 307 Member
    I'm eating a good variety, but I make sure I eat fresh fruits and vegetables and 2 servings of dairy each day. My tummy has shrunk considerably. (That is where I carried most of my weight though). I'm down several inches off my tummy. I've been at this for 66 days - and have lost 21 pounds. I'm now at the cusp of healthy BMI. I've been amazed at how my body has transformed. I'm still a work in progress and hope to lose 15 more pounds before I start to just pull everything back in place with intense work-outs.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
    What do you mean by eating clean? I would hope that you wash your fruit & veggies before eating them. Or are you talking about avoiding junk food, fast food, and over-processed food loaded with salt and fat and no nutrition and packs fat around your middle? IF so, why waste a good calorie?
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Lower calories make you lose. Clean eating makes you healthy.
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
    What do you mean by eating clean? I would hope that you wash your fruit & veggies before eating them. Or are you talking about avoiding junk food, fast food, and over-processed food loaded with salt and fat and no nutrition and packs fat around your middle? IF so, why waste a good calorie?

    Really????
  • yuliyax
    yuliyax Posts: 288
    I suppose junk food it makes you more bloated with fizzy drinks and such..
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
    Yes, many people will agree that the effort is 70% in the kitchen and 20% sleep and 10% gym. or whatever... most of it has to do with what happens in the kitchen. Avoid processed foods, drink plenty of water and schedule a prep day 1x a week to make all your meals for the rest of the week. Preparation is key. While my friend did her first body building competition she used diet soda as a crutch the entire time. Towards the end, her weight loss started slowing down as she was only losing ounces at this point. 2 weeks before the deadline she cut out diet soda and she lost 4lbs in one week. She said there was something in the soda that kept her body from losing, because that was the only junk that she was consuming.
  • lilojoke
    lilojoke Posts: 427 Member
    Clean eating has a different meaning to everyone.

    Eating kasha golean cereal to me is clean eating but to the next it may not be etc.
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
    there is losing weight and there is getting lean..to me these are 2 different things. You can put yourself into a calorie deficit and lose weight which will most likely include losing muscle mass. Just because the scale goes down does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing. To me, getting lean is lowering your body fat without much regard to a number on a scale. If your only goal is to have a lower number on the scale then by all means eat whatever you like as long as it is under your caloric intake goal. But to get lean you need to eat clean. i.e. whole foods, lean protein, cut way down on the processed foods, etc.
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    I know I should be choosing to eat clean cause it's good for me, but at this point in my life I'm not overly concerned enough about it to really care (no haters, please!). However, I'd love for my tummy size to go down, and I have heard from someone that eating clean helps alot. Has anyone heard this?
    Sorry if I sound ignorant on the subject; if I do, it's cause I am.
    no, staying under your daily calories will. Even if it's pizza all day.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Clean eating will help you lose weight simply because there is less enjoyable food to eat, or alternatively
    you'd have to make it all from scratch, which is such a pain.

    Basically it's a way to fool yourself into having calorie reduction.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    there is losing weight and there is getting lean..to me these are 2 different things. You can put yourself into a calorie deficit and lose weight which will most likely include losing muscle mass. Just because the scale goes down does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing. To me, getting lean is lowering your body fat without much regard to a number on a scale. If your only goal is to have a lower number on the scale then by all means eat whatever you like as long as it is under your caloric intake goal. But to get lean you need to eat clean. i.e. whole foods, lean protein, cut way down on the processed foods, etc.

    So if you had identical cals and macros, but one diet contained all clean and one contained both clean and "dirty" foods, you'd expect greater fat loss on the clean diet?
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I don't eat "clean" and have a pretty flat stomach.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Clean eating will help you lose weight simply because there is less enjoyable food to eat, or alternatively
    you'd have to make it all from scratch, which is such a pain.

    Basically it's a way to fool yourself into having calorie reduction.

    Maybe for you but as a chef, I can make plenty of clean meals that are awesome. Cooking from scratch is not a pain to me. It's my life! It's what I do. The best ingredients prepared with skill and love. I can eat tons of "clean food" calories!! LOL
  • myak623
    myak623 Posts: 615 Member
    there is losing weight and there is getting lean..to me these are 2 different things. You can put yourself into a calorie deficit and lose weight which will most likely include losing muscle mass. Just because the scale goes down does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing. To me, getting lean is lowering your body fat without much regard to a number on a scale. If your only goal is to have a lower number on the scale then by all means eat whatever you like as long as it is under your caloric intake goal. But to get lean you need to eat clean. i.e. whole foods, lean protein, cut way down on the processed foods, etc.

    And then there's the type of workout you choose. You missed the boat a little.
  • BiscuitsNDavy
    BiscuitsNDavy Posts: 212 Member
    The main difference between clean eating and dirty eating is VOLUME. You get/got fat because we overate. Clean eating helps reduce overeating, because there's only so many vegetables you can stuff down your pipe. At the end of the day, it's the reduction of calories, and clean eating helps aid that. What is more satiating? 5 cups of broccoli or a piece of chocolate? You decide.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I don't eat "clean" and have a pretty flat stomach.

    Ditto.

    I think I eat well, but not clean. I love pizza, bagels, pasta, garlic bread and burgers too much to go clean.
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    It helps you get healthy.... And I have lost a lot of wieght doing it - but from all over, not just on my stomach.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Assuming adequate macronutrient intake in both cases, eating clean won't give any body composition benefit.
  • pobski
    pobski Posts: 42 Member
    The main difference between clean eating and dirty eating is VOLUME. You get/got fat because we overate. Clean eating helps reduce overeating, because there's only so many vegetables you can stuff down your pipe. At the end of the day, it's the reduction of calories, and clean eating helps aid that. What is more satiating? 5 cups of broccoli or a piece of chocolate? You decide.

    and here's the only legit argument for clean eating in my opinion.

    I'm still trying to push the boundaries veggie stuffing.
  • AeolianHarp
    AeolianHarp Posts: 463 Member
    In this thread: almost no one has a damn clue what they're talking about.

    "Clean" eating (which is incredibly ambiguous, arbitrary, vague, and subjective) is not any better than non-clean eating for health or leanness or whatever.

    News flash: I'm getting the same results or better while eating non-clean foods on a daily basis. Hundreds and thousands of people are doing this. They're just as healthy (if not more healthy) than "clean eaters."
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    I don't eat "clean" and have a pretty flat stomach.

    Ditto.

    I think I eat well, but not clean. I love pizza, bagels, pasta, garlic bread and burgers too much to go clean.

    I'm joining in on this too! I eat good, but certainly not all "clean" I am getting leaner and leaner and still have my "dirty" foods
  • kylesmommy89
    kylesmommy89 Posts: 356 Member
    I don't "eat clean" by any means and I've had some success. I'm just not so freaking gluttonous anymore, and voila! My belly has come off :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    there is losing weight and there is getting lean..to me these are 2 different things. You can put yourself into a calorie deficit and lose weight which will most likely include losing muscle mass. Just because the scale goes down does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing. To me, getting lean is lowering your body fat without much regard to a number on a scale. If your only goal is to have a lower number on the scale then by all means eat whatever you like as long as it is under your caloric intake goal. But to get lean you need to eat clean. i.e. whole foods, lean protein, cut way down on the processed foods, etc.
    Untrue. Though I'm not "competition lean", I eat lots of variety of foods, whole and processed with occasional junk food thrown in.
    There are many athletes that do the same.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • WhitneyAnnabelle
    WhitneyAnnabelle Posts: 724 Member
    I eat mostly vegetables and grains because I like to (and I follow a plant-based lifestyle anyway). I do like the occasional cheeseless pizza, though. Or a piece of dark chocolate. It's all about moderation.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    All eating clean does is make you healthy, you can't just shrink your stomach by taking a magic pill.

    It takes dedication, exercise and watching your calorie intake. You have to lower body fat percentage to shrink your tummy and eating clean isn't the only factor in that.

    I don't have a flat tummy, nor do I eat completely clean but mine has been flattening over time thanks to watching my calorie intake, exercising and making better food choices. You have to watch your body fat percentage, not the number on the scale.
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
    there is losing weight and there is getting lean..to me these are 2 different things. You can put yourself into a calorie deficit and lose weight which will most likely include losing muscle mass. Just because the scale goes down does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing. To me, getting lean is lowering your body fat without much regard to a number on a scale. If your only goal is to have a lower number on the scale then by all means eat whatever you like as long as it is under your caloric intake goal. But to get lean you need to eat clean. i.e. whole foods, lean protein, cut way down on the processed foods, etc.

    Well said!!!!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    there is losing weight and there is getting lean..to me these are 2 different things. You can put yourself into a calorie deficit and lose weight which will most likely include losing muscle mass. Just because the scale goes down does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing. To me, getting lean is lowering your body fat without much regard to a number on a scale. If your only goal is to have a lower number on the scale then by all means eat whatever you like as long as it is under your caloric intake goal. But to get lean you need to eat clean. i.e. whole foods, lean protein, cut way down on the processed foods, etc.

    Well said!!!!

    ^^ uh no. This is not true at all.
    Processed foods break down muscle now? FFS.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    Notice the trend here: some of the leanest and best bodies on this site are advocates of moderate eating. Meaning we're smart enough to get in the daily essentials, exercise, rest, stay with calorie limits AND still eat "dirty food".
    What are you going to do once you get that flat stomach? Continue eating "clean" the rest of your entire life and NEVER eat a processed candy bar, pizza slice, cake, etc. for FEAR of losing your flat stomach?
    It can be attained with moderation. The "clean eaters" just don't want others to know it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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