"Clean Eating"?

Hi!

As a lurker in the "Weight Gainers: What did YOU eat today?" thread, I have noticed that some people are really religious in their nutrition. I know - KNOW - I need to rid myself of my sweet tooth. I began indulging in baked goods a few months back because I had "deprived" myself for so long and figured "oh, you can afford it." But I know it isn't what is best for my body.

So... I've read about some people and "clean eating." What is "clean eating" exactly? Is it just organic, or is it avoidance of all processed foods?

Jesus.... please stop trying to constantly control food. if you switch to this clean eating thing you are well on your way to another disorder. i know you want to do right by your body, but i think if you look deeply at your reasons, eating disordered thinking is behind it. if you start restricting on baked goods r things you like then it is a short step back to restriction completely.

any inpatient programme - which is what a recovering ed'er needs.. not a clean eating programme - any program will have deserts and such on it. you refused to give up activity during your weight gain endeavour, and though you u claim it was for a half marathon, i think you still harbour big control issues.

what you're doing is working and i think you should stick with it. i think that person who was doing much of the healthy eating still has alot goin on - though unwilling to admit it

a little bit of what you fancy does you good

everything i n moderation

i dont think here is a right way to eat , the media tells you this is good for you this is bad for you . i think its all about balance no food is bad food. its when we deprive ourselfs we are led to binge. hope your ok bsh h x

Clean eating is GREAT if you don't take it to the extreme.

By the extreme, I mean:

-refusing to eat out because you don't know if it's organic

-depriving yourself of a food

To me, clean eating means to limit the number of processed foods I eat (store-bought cookies, hams with preservatives in them). I still eat sweets, they're just home-made (with love!) and have butter in them instead of trans-fat margarine. Or, I just make sure that most of the time (not all of the time... sometimes -like eating out- it can't be helped) my meats aren't hormone injective and soaked in unpronouncable preservatives.

Just limiting the processed foods also helps the $$ too.

Fidget for pete's sake I was asking about clean eating I wasn't suggesting I eliminate food groups. I ALWAYS associated clean eating with something extreme until people in the forums here started talking about it. I eat all different kinds of food except cheese and I don't "CONTROL" it. I was looking for information, not even necessarily a lifestyle.

Tryatri - ok so what my mother said IS true, things made with butter ARE better than margarine?

I'm a huge fan of Greek food and it seems to be pretty healthy - olive oils, lots of veggies and good meats, is that something that's an example? I ask this because people talk a lot about hummus and I love hummus... I honestly just don't always feel like cooking especially if I'm the only one in my house who's going to eat it.

tessa - I thought maybe people would have input on things that are more unprocessed? if someone wants to tell me cake is clean I'll keep eating it!

See, I knew a girl who did "clean" eating but would binge sometimes and later I found out "eating clean" was like zero sized portions of "health" food. I just thought it meant something more. People talk a lot about baked oatmeal, recipes with hummus and beans, other things... it all sounds interesting.

My big problem is that my husband and kids won't eat the things I like so I eat a lot of packaged items because I don't like the PA Dutch style of cooking (lots of stewed animal parts) and that's what my husband likes. I guess I was hoping input might make it easier to shop for that kind of thing. I've become quite lax with it lately.

Butter has saturated fats, the margarine I was referring to was Crisco and other trans-fat margarines... Saturated fats are necessary to an extent, while trans-fat have no benefit.

I consider cake "clean eating" if it doesn't have trans-fat, high-fructose corn syrup, or any aftificial ingredients. So basically, I make all my own cake ('cause I can make freakin' delicious blueberry cake) and consider it clean, 'cause I don't add in the artificial ingredients.

Baked oatmeal and hummus and beans are all good, but sausage can be good too... Whole foods carries sausages that don't have any preservatives. I consider them clean because they're all natural. 

Original Post by tryatri:

Butter has saturated fats, the margarine I was referring to was Crisco and other trans-fat margarines... Saturated fats are necessary to an extent, while trans-fat have no benefit.

I consider cake "clean eating" if it doesn't have trans-fat, high-fructose corn syrup, or any aftificial ingredients. So basically, I make all my own cake ('cause I can make freakin' delicious blueberry cake) and consider it clean, 'cause I don't add in the artificial ingredients.

Baked oatmeal and hummus and beans are all good, but sausage can be good too... Whole foods carries sausages that don't have any preservatives. I consider them clean because they're all natural. 

about the fats: usually true, but while you can do a lot better than trans fats most of the time, they DO benefit your body if you are fat-deprived. trans fats are better than no fats, i just thought i'd point out. like everything else, they are not only okay but good in moderation. deprivation is what gives no benefits. :)

clean eating means nothing processed. basically if something has more than a couple of ingredients in it when you buy it

its not clean

(i say a couple because cheese and yogurt etc)

Original Post by bsh0611:

tessa - I thought maybe people would have input on things that are more unprocessed? if someone wants to tell me cake is clean I'll keep eating it!

See, I knew a girl who did "clean" eating but would binge sometimes and later I found out "eating clean" was like zero sized portions of "health" food. I just thought it meant something more. People talk a lot about baked oatmeal, recipes with hummus and beans, other things... it all sounds interesting.

My big problem is that my husband and kids won't eat the things I like so I eat a lot of packaged items because I don't like the PA Dutch style of cooking (lots of stewed animal parts) and that's what my husband likes. I guess I was hoping input might make it easier to shop for that kind of thing. I've become quite lax with it lately.

dont give them the option to not eat it.

if they try it enough times and see you and your husband eating it, they will learn to enjoy it

I always thought someone who practised clean eating was someone who didnt eat anything unprocessed and made their own sauces etc. To me it sounded a bit like it would take a lot of effort to keep up.

Maybe just try healthy eating instead, a little of everything in moderation. I dont see anything wrong with coating your chicken in bbq sauce out of a bottle, I do it, I like it so why not.

Hmm I love hummus, I`m the only one in my house as well that eats it but sometimes in the shops you can buy a set of tubs just enough for one person, or else get a regular tub and just try to be creative with its uses! Its great with pitta bread as snack, mixed in with pasta, dolloped on your dinner.

Ok sorry to vere off the topic, basically I think clean eating is avoiding highly processed foods with lots of additives etc, Id just be careful though its easy to start getting obsessive about that sort of stuff

I think that clean eating is great to do at home just to help you feel better and "cleanse?" your body, but when it gets to the point that you avoid restaurants and eating at other people's houses, that's way too far. That's back to an eating disorder. So it sounds okay, just not taken to extremes.

Mmm, hummus. :) I like it on baby carrots best, I think. Also WW sandwiches with sprouts and cucumber and tomato and avocado. I'm a big sprouts fan, lol.

they say you learn something new everyday ive learnt alot from y guys , i havnt ventured out much with the eating ted to sick to meat or fish and two veg never had hummus or torfu or avacado

Original Post by blueberry_lips:

I think that clean eating is great to do at home just to help you feel better and "cleanse?" your body, but when it gets to the point that you avoid restaurants and eating at other people's houses, that's way too far. That's back to an eating disorder. So it sounds okay, just not taken to extremes.

I agree. I also think there's a risk it could be rather consuming, as clean eating appears to take a lot of effort to me! You can be healthy without eating clean (or at least I hope so...).

Wow, thanks for the input!

I'm glad I posted this here and not in the weight loss community because I imagine if you're trying to lose weight it can be very tempting to be all-consumed by a diet to make it work.

I thought perhaps there was an approach that was somehow different, that people were gaining weight doing "clean" eating but it sounds more like a diet fad for the most part.

The things I like to eat are mostly healthy, the only fried food I like is french fries. I CANNOT get myself off of diet soda and artificial sweeteners. That would be where I'd "work" on it. But I think if I can find a good Greek grocer that delivers I'll be eating tzatziki, souvlaki, hummus and pitas all day.

I attempt to eat mostly unprocessed foods, but I'm not religious about it. I'm not really sold on the phrase "Clean Eating" because it implies other foods are somehow unclean... and that reminds me of how some people separate foods into "good" and "bad" categories. No thanks.

I also diverge from the Clean Eating ideals in that clean eaters often try to eat low fat, whilst I am striving to increase the fats in my diet. And that includes saturated fats - yes, they are good for you too. Butter, animal fats, eggs, cheese, olive oil, nuts, seeds, rice bran oil, avocado and whole milk are all part of my diet. For me it's about picking what's natural over diet foods.

With that said, I do like the clean eating philosophy of trying to eat foods as close to their natural state as possible; unprocessed and without colourings, flavourings or additives. I probably eat this way about 80% of the time. But I also go out to restaurants and cafes a lot, and I order from the menu - no special requests. I eat chocolate and bought cake every now and then, don't often make my own bread, and while I make my own pasta sauces I can't yet be bothered to make my own ketchup or Thai sweet chilli sauce. And so on.

It's a good philosophy to aim for so long as it doesn't turn you into a food nazi.

im not sure im real good at this clean eating i do eat lots of fruit and fresh veg, but i eat alot of tinned beans , ketchup and supermarket bread, i also eat biscuits is this ok ?

im not sure im real good at this clean eating i do eat lots of fruit and fresh veg, but i eat alot of tinned beans , ketchup and supermarket bread, i also eat biscuits is this ok ?

Helen I've seen what you've written about what you eat and you eat a lot of really healthy things.

Now that I think about it, my most unhealthy breakfast is a bagel with light cream cheese. I think that I probably have a tendency toward more healthy things - like you, with the fruits and veggies, and when I can eat beans I will because I love them.

So maybe this post was stupid. Maybe I should just keep eating my boca burgers and my cake. Made with butter, not partially hydrogenated oils.

seeeeee!  i wasnt trying to irk you. but i felt that id seen some of your meal plans and thought they were supremely healthy. i really did. and i become concerned when, as a true anorexic, you try to perfect something which is already not too bad at all.

i see some of zebulancherry's posts. she's a nice gal genuinely.but i think she has big fear/control issues still. and when i see just how healthy she aims to be it frightens me - because i feel i am not eating good enough. or i am in some way a failure because i like a bit of sugar, or a slice of pizza. jus regular take away pizza made with white flour and mozorella cheese from a pack. not from a cow who has grazed on organic grass seeds harvested by organic worms and processed by a farmer who then hand delivers it to the pizza store.

its ok to eat normally. its ok to have food you fancy. you take care of your body. of course you do.... but its a stones throw to getting stuck in that bizzare and rather terrifying (and expensive) orthorexic world....

i really wasnt trying to hurt you. sorry

HI Everyone. 

There is actually a medical term for people who are obsessed with healthy eating...and they ARE considered to have a clinical eating disorder.  It is called orthorexia. Google this term and you will find lots of info...one guy wrote a book about his struggle to overcome this condition.   I wrote an article about this for a magazine here in Canada.   I try to eat as healthy as possible..i eat lots of organic, fresh food..no red meat...but i love a good dish of ice cream now and then too....the kind with loads of sugar and other various, so called nefarious things.  Life's too short to skip dessert...that is my motto.  And if you read Zebulan's posts by the way i think she is just fond of good, fresh food...i've seen her have some sweets now and then too...so i think she's doing ok.