have you lost weight *without* clean eating?
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Ok cutting out all the fads and bull****. Losing weight is a matter of simple maths. Consume less calories than you burn in energy consistently and you will lose weight, even if every calorie is pizza and chips...
This of course is not healthy but it is a fact. You may want to shake up your diet a bit with new foods and ideas to stop the boredom but honestly a slow down or plateau is more likely to be because you are not logging and weighing everything because you think you 'know' your cals and portion sizes.
I have lost 8 stones and kept it off for 4 years now, with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise but honestly it is just simple maths, eat less cals than you burn and you WILL lose weight. simple...
Jules xx
i appreciate your attempt at tough love, but i don't think that weight loss is simple math. bodies are organic matter, not computerized databases. sometimes you can input all the right things, but i think there are plently of people here that can attest that this doesn't guarantee the expected output.
but i'm glad you met your goal and have kept it off.0 -
There's no real agreement about what 'clean eating' is. I saw a thread here yesterday that demonstrated that fact so well.
Weight loss is all about calories in, calories out. I have lost weight eating 'clean', 'junkfood vegan' and everything in between. Now I do a combination. I try to avoid my personal trigger foods, which doom me to excess from that first bite, but I find that totally avoiding my cravings can get me into trouble because I find myself sometimes eating around the thing I really want.
Bottom line: There's no need to 'eat clean' to lose weight, but you might want to go more in that direction with time for health reasons.0 -
I do roughly 80/20. 80% healthy and 20% whatever I want. Working a lot better than hyper restrictive pass/fail clean/unclean rules that no one agrees on anyway. So far I'm down 11 lbs and 23.5 inches. Working fine for me so far.
One thing I would ask is what percentage off your TDEE are you consuming? Are you measuring your food correctly? It's easy to get quite a large deficit by accident when switching to 'clean' eating- this can prove detrimental to your goal by not fueling your workouts properly.
If you'd like I'd be happy to take a look at your diary and run some numbers for you- just let me know.0 -
I eat whatever I like, whenever I like it... maybe in smaller quantities.
At the beginning, I ate less than before, tried to keep within calorie goal. I reduced breakfast quantities but didn't change much for the rest, except for dessert (I loved and still love loads of chocolate, but I tried to not eat more than possible to not go over calories too much).
After 5 months on MFP and losing 18 lbs or so, I started working out with a personal trainer. My weight loss slowed down to 2 lbs per month, but my body changed a lot. I had to start eating more because I was constantly hungry with all the strength training he made me do.
So now, after almost 22 months, I lost a total of 55 lbs and I'm eating like mad, both in quantities and quality. I haven't missed one dessert, one portion of french fries, no pizza or pasta or BBQ, nor did I decline McDos or subway.
I could have lost faster I guess, but why should I?
I think one day I should try to eat healthier, but so far, it's working fine for me.
Check out my diary if you'd like to.0 -
I eat clean, gave up gluten 2 years ago and live off of fresh fruits and veggies with clean protein, quinoa, rice and potatoes. I feel like I am the healthiest I have ever been and I get all of my vitamins from my food
You can do it without eating clean but when I try and eat foods that I used to eat, my body tells me quickly that they are not good for me. By re-teaching myself to eat this way, I am almost guartenteeing that I am not going back to where I was before. I think in the long term this time around because there will not be a next time for me. 0 -
*Bump* I believe that its the old calories in calories out that works no matter where the calories in are coming from long as you're in a deficit.I have small treats throughout the on some days and big treats on a weekend day every week and have still managed to lose 2 or more lbs a week consistently since febuary,its like magic to me lol0
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I eat a lot of "clean" foods because I like the way they taste and I feel better when I do. But I believe in moderation, so I still eat "junk" on occasion, and I'm still losing weight.0
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Check the sodium content on the cans of veggies you eat. Some are high in sodium and will cause you to retain water. I am on a budget and clean eating can be more expensive if you shop at the grocery store. Try to find a farmers market or produce stand near you. I just spent 9.50 on a weeks worth of fresh veggies and fruit. Heads of lettuce were only $.59, corn was $.10 and berries were around $1.00. Hope this helps
:noway:
i will look into this!0 -
*Bump* I believe that its the old calories in calories out that works no matter where the calories in are coming from long as you're in a deficit.I have small treats throughout the on some days and big treats on a weekend day every week and have still managed to lose 2 or more lbs a week consistently since febuary,its like magic to me lol0
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Bump oops didnt know my post above was added,Sorry!0
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I've lost all of my weight eating the stuff that I love. Do I eat less of it? Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, there are foods I no longer eat but I don't eat them because they don't make me feel good when I do. I still eat stuff out of boxes, I eat stuff out of cans. I work full time, have two teenagers and a life... I don't want to work til 5 or 6pm and then have to come home and come up with some delicious homemade dinner. Add in that I am a sweet a holic who refuses to give up her daily cookies.
I am very healthy (my blood work and other tests are "excellent") AND I enjoy my life. That is what a "lifestyle change" is supposed to be about.. eating less, eating better but still enjoying life.
Do what works for YOU.
I agree!!!
I did the same thing lol.0 -
I did before when I did WW...in the basic sense the premise is calories in / calories out...It has been proven that one could eat twinkies or McDonalds every day and as long as you have a calorie deficit you will loose weight...I ate a lot processed and packaged crappy food on WW and lost weight...I gained most of it back...
That being said I do eat clean because it provides my body better access to what it NEEDS to properly function without the impediament of chemicals, dyes, frankenfood...not to say I don't occasionally partake in those things, but it is an abberation and not the norm. I have found FOR MYSELF that by eating clean, whole foods I get more food for my calorie bang so easy to fill up and not be hungry. I have found that FOR MYSELF in order to loose weight calories in - calories out is a small factor inthe bigger picture - I have to really watch my carbs and sugars to loose weight - so i would surmise I could eat anything as long as I stayed within my calorie goals and it was lower in carbs and sugars, but I choose to do all that and eat (fairly) clean
But like others said you can loose weight and not eat clean...hence why slimfast and "diet" foods are a multi-million $$$ business. Every person is going to be different - one person may thrive on eating one type of style and shed a bunch of weight, while another person doing the same thing barely budges...Do what works for you and what you are happy with....0 -
Try increasing your protien intake. That's what got me over my last Plateau.0
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I try to eat healthy most of the time, but I'd go bat *kitten* crazy trying to eat as "clean" as some advocate. Food is meant to be enjoyed *in moderation* and if practicing that moderation means I get to have a little fun with life, but take a little longer to reach my goal, then so be it.0
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Other than drastically reducing fried foods, I don't eat so-called "clean". I eat what I can get and monitor calories, get some exercise, and drink plenty of water. So far it's been working.0
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From ~290-250 was eating nothing but fast/junk food. No exercise. The only difference was switching from regular to diet soda.
Felt like crap all the time and had no energy. But I lost weight.0 -
This man did it...caused a HUGE uproar in the Dieting community. Truth be told he made a wonderful point about portion control.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
I have lost weight eating crap...I have lost weight not eating crap. I have gained eating both LOL.
Denise0 -
Check the sodium content on the cans of veggies you eat. Some are high in sodium and will cause you to retain water. I am on a budget and clean eating can be more expensive if you shop at the grocery store. Try to find a farmers market or produce stand near you. I just spent 9.50 on a weeks worth of fresh veggies and fruit. Heads of lettuce were only $.59, corn was $.10 and berries were around $1.00. Hope this helps
Wow, that's impressive. In the UK Farmers' Markets are synonymous with ruinously expensive.
Fortunately my local street market has great fruit and veg at a very cheap price.0 -
Other than drastically reducing fried foods, I don't eat so-called "clean". I eat what I can get and monitor calories, get some exercise, and drink plenty of water. So far it's been working.
I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm trying to eat "cleaner" but I don't have the time or money to eat completely "clean." My main goal is to eat healthier- cutting out fried foods and foods high in "bad fat." And of course- drink lots of water and exercise! A lot of people just cut back on what they're eating- still eating fatty, fried food- just in smaller portions. Trust me, I tried this...because who wouldn't want to diet like that? But I didn't like the results. I was always very hungry and lost (maybe) a few lbs, but I was "skinny fat." Only like 113lbs, but flabby.0 -
down 20# as of today, and our kitchen is being rebuilt, the stove just got plugged in last night, for the first time in 2+ months, and the microwave is still not got a plug yet, and since there is no sink yet anyways, can't cook if we can't clean up after, soooooooo, for the last 2+ months, virtually every meal has been fast food.0
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Eating clean really comes into play when you're trying to tone. I didn't eat very clean in the beginning and lost close to 20lbs. After that, when I got to the point of just really needing to tone, I couldn't do anything. Once I switched to clean eating I saw a HUGE difference.. that and now I feel a whole lot better.
Make sure you're eating enough. That was the issue with me at first. When you switch to mostly veggies/fruits/nuts/seeds/beans, etc. it's a lot harder to get up to the caloric rate you should be. Maybe log for a bit while you eat clean to make sure you're taking in enough to support your body. That, and it's good to log your protein (but make sure it's not too much!)
Good luck!!0 -
I eat whatever I feel like....I just eat less of it.
I eat in moderation.0 -
My usual daily diet (or close to it)
Breakfast:
2 boiled eggs with Frank's Red Hot sauce
Medium ice latte with skim milk and 2 sugars
Lunch:
Campbell's tomato soup at hand (25% less sodium)
Cucumbers
Snacks:
Chili & Lime blue diamond almonds
Special K Fruit Crisps
Fruit (watermelon lately)
Yo crunch strawberry with granola
Cracker chips with frank's red hot sauce
Dinner:
Chicken breast (or some other lean meat) with BBQ sauce, A1 sauce, or some other flavoring
Vegetable
Starch (brown rice, wheat pasta, potato, etc.)
Snack:
Skinny Cow milk chocolate bar
Fruit (strawberries lately, or mango)
Cracker chips
If I have extra calories, I'll have another treat or 2
This has been pretty much my diet for the past 5 months, and in those five months I have steadily lost 45 lbs. I don't believe all the hub ub about you can't lose without clean eating, because that just was not true for me!!0 -
I've lost 18 lbs in the last two months and I've been eating the same foods I always have. I'm just eating less of them and trying to keep my caloric intake below 1600 per day. So far so good.0
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It's not easy to eat clean, I try to eat cleanER but I don't deprive myself! Love my sweets
Good luck!0 -
definitely. that's me. I try to make healthy choices, but many things I eat are downright dirty, ha.0
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I try to eat cleaner, but eating NO processed foods whatsoever is difficult for me. I lost 70 lbs in 7 months eating what I did at my heaviest, just working out and consuming a lot less. That being said, I do eat a LOT more fruits and veggies these days (3-5 servings).0
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My eating wasn't necessarily the 'cleanest'...but I still managed to lose weight by counting calories.
I could definitely clean up a lot more...0 -
I eat everything that I feel like eating. Sometimes I eat very clean, other times not. I've lost 34 lbs and kept it off for 3 years now. That said, right now I'm not that focused, so weight loss has stalled.
There's another way of looking at your weight loss...that you've successfully maintained for a year. I read recently (wish I could find the research) that weight loss is not a linear thing -- I'll try to find the article and post here.
Keep at it. I have about 100 lbs to go (even 50 would be excellent), so I hear you!0
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