Women interested in clean eating for fat loss--
ok, so I know i know i know- i post about the benefits of clean eating & how I do it daily & my incredible outcomes with great fat and muscle maintenance-
i guess i have posted enough to get quite a zillion emails on it that at this point I can't possibly answer them all!-- and there are other posts out there where people still have questions I really want to answer!
i feel bad- and I have spoken to melkor about this-- if we have a good thread w/valuable info, he'd post it in the fitness forum guide-- which i like-- if we can keep the topic on hand & NOT knock each other's ideas & interpretations - but it's ok to ask for clarification!
i don't want to seem pretentious at all- i seriously don't-- but as a woman, one who lifts, does cardio endurance, and eats squeaky clean (following the basic principles & tweaking to my body's insulin responses) I've had results that are astounding from Sept 07 to now-- I have revolutionized my body- and I had the greatest impact on my body fat loss & muscle gains thru EATING clean & lifting correctly!
I would be more than happy to start a new thread to share info on how I've done it-- but more importantly, to share others experiences & outcomes as well- bc there are plenty of men & women on here who've done as well & better than I!
i think i'm intimidated to start a thread "eating clean w/iamme for fat loss" or "getting buff w/iamme- how to lift better than just a girl" or something like that-
i know EVERYONE has their success stories- and I am just one-- but I am very excited & happy to share what I do & hear what others do in the realms of clean eating & weight training & cardio wise to increase their feminine mystique- in whatever size, shape or form that lies in, as long as it's healthy--
so, yay or nay? and what do we call it? remember- the thread will be an informational/educational thread to be used for reference- no bashing, etc--
comments appreciated bc I really want to respond to everyone-- and other's say things better & in less words than i do! I would appreciate the help & input!
Here's my beef with clean eating: I feel like when I eat "clean" (or even mostly clean) for a while, and then I have one meal with dessert, I blow up immediately. I don't know if it's because I don't usually have as many carbs in my system and so I retain water? But seriously, within hours my pants don't fit the same. And I feel like if I were eating less clean, maybe I wouldn't have the perfect body, but maybe I'd have a body that could tolerate these kinds of meals.
And these kinds of meals WILL happen, at least in my life!
Anyone else notice this or is it just me?
Flowerbud, I'm glad you raised this point. Eating clean is actually not something that everyone should try. It was designed as a fat loss tool for professional fitness models and body builders who are trying to lose fat for a competition. If you've ever seen a fitness model a few weeks after a competition, you'll know what Flowerbud is talking about. For most people, eating completely clean is just not sustainable. Of course, limiting your intake of processed foods, especially processed carbohydrates, can be a really great tool for weight/fat loss. But there are gradations of this that are more or less feasible depending on your goals for fitness. If you're just trying to lose weight and gain some muscle, I might be careful about making drastic changes to your diet. Drastic changes will lead to results that are strikingly similar to any other trend diet: weight GAIN. So, although I think this thread is really helpful in terms of educating about nutrition geared towards fat loss, I would caution people from jumping on the bandwagon too quickly.
Iamme has had some tremendous success in terms of her strength gains and fat loss. But she also has the capacity to sustain a diet of 300 calories for several months, which most of us cannot do. She also does an uncanny amount of training, which most of cannot do. So eating squeaky clean may not be a healthy suggestion for everyone.
iamme,
Just title it "eating clean" and let those who think they have something to offer add to it.
laura916 :What makes you think she only eats 300 calories?????? 
well it feels weird to be talking about "her" when she is here to speak for herself, but she has been open that PREVIOUSLY (i.e., before she started her new eating routine), she was only eating about 300-600 calories per day. she is very open that this didn't get her the results she was looking for and was really brave to realize that and make some really big changes. still, the point remains that she has the capacity to eat very restrictively which, from a genetic and biological standpoint, not everyone has. so, the logic can extend to eating clean. it may work for people who can treat food as purely functional. but it's not quite as easy for many others, including those who really love food. my comment was not a criticism of iamme by any means; it was just to point out that eating clean may not work in the same way for others, mostly because it's pretty dang hard to sustain.
Original Post by laura916:
RFlowerbud, I'm glad you raised this point. Eating clean is actually not something that everyone should try. It was designed as a fat loss tool for professional fitness models and body builders who are trying to lose fat for a competition. If you've ever seen a fitness model a few weeks after a competition, you'll know what Flowerbud is talking about. For most people, eating completely clean is just not sustainable. Of course, limiting your intake of processed foods, especially processed carbohydrates, can be a really great tool for weight/fat loss. But there are gradations of this that are more or less feasible depending on your goals for fitness. If you're just trying to lose weight and gain some muscle, I might be careful about making drastic changes to your diet. Drastic changes will lead to results that are strikingly similar to any other trend diet: weight GAIN. So, although I think this thread is really helpful in terms of educating about nutrition geared towards fat loss, I would caution people from jumping on the bandwagon too quickly.
Iamme has had some tremendous success in terms of her strength gains and fat loss. But she also has the capacity to sustain a diet of 300 calories for several months, which most of us cannot do. She also does an uncanny amount of training, which most of cannot do. So eating squeaky clean may not be a healthy suggestion for everyone.
I don't agree that eating clean is not for everyone. Eating clean is simply not eating any processed foods and extra sugar and eating a good balance of healthy protein/carbs/fats. What you are describing is when a body builder cuts their calories and usually their starchy carbohydrate intake in order to get super lean before a competition. That is different then just eating clean. I eat clean and don't limit my starchy carbohydrates in the same way the Iamme does but I am still eating a totally clean diet and I plan to eat this way indefinitely.
To the person who asked about bloating after they eat a cheat meal, it is most likely due to water retention from the additional carbohydrate intake. Your muscles store carbs w/ water so the more carbs you eat the more water you retain. It should go away though once you go back to eating clean again.
This is exactly what I am looking for!! Iamme, and everyone else, you are awesome!! Looking forward to reading lots more!
I'm not trying to be contentious at all here. In fact, I'm pretty sure there is nothing controversial about suggesting that any one diet is not right for everyone. And I'm quite sure I said "But there are gradations of [eating clean] that are more or less feasible depending on your goals for fitness," which means I don't think we're disagreeing at all.
That being said, I think you're raising a really important issue regarding definining "clean eating." The way this forum has described it thus far is quite different from the definition you provide, Kashicat. So that may be one thing that would be helpful to clear up. But even if we use the looser definition of "clean" here, I maintain that there will be some people who will experience a lot of difficulty sticking to the diet. I'm only being pragmatic here. For some people, limiting processed foods will feel a lot like restriction in general. And, because restriction generally breeds binging, this might set people up for the development of some unhealthy behaviors. I'm simply trying to point out that "eating clean" is a lot like other kinds of diets that entail pretty drastic changes to someone's typical eating patterns. Can some people do it? Obviously. But it might not be for everyone, and I think it would be wise to really consider your own eating style and relationship with food before making any drastic changes. I'm not intending to rain on the parade--just trying to keep this chain grounded.
And congrats to you, Kashicat, on your success.
Laura, thanks for the clarification and just for the record I did not start eating clean as my first attempt at weight loss. This is probably my 1000th attempt...lol. It has been a process for me. Overall, I have always been a fairly healthy eater mostly because my body puts on weight easily so I have always been aware that I can't go eat everything I want. But it was a gradual process from losing baby weight from my pregnancies, to getting seriously into fitness, to realizing that I couldn't achieve the result I wanted to achieve unless I went to clean eating. This whole process has taken approximately 5 years.
I do realize that it may be a shock to some people, especially those who are used to eating quite a bit of processed and fast food to eating a diet that does not allow for that. On the other hand, I wish that I had been ready and had the knowledge to eat this way sooner. It would have saved me a lot of wasted time and energy. So perhaps you are right in that we need to make a broader definition of "clean eating" and also perhaps suggest gradual ways for people to transition from their current way of eating into a healthier "cleaner" approach. I think that would have helped me along the way so I imagine it would be helpful to others too.
Kashicat- I agree- I've had a similiar experience with healthy or "clean" eating- it has been a process and not something I just jumped into. It is still a work in progress, as I can't say that I'm quite where I'd like to be yet but I'm getting there. I think we'll all find that we are in different places along the clean eating continuum- we have to find what works for us. I would also recommend this book for anyone interested in eating the foods your body needs:
14 Superfoods that will change your life by Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=sear ch-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=supe rfoods
bump
awesome idea! i want in! i can't let go of cheese. =(
tagging this thread.
Personally i've just started eating a "cleaner" diet ... i think thats the great thing about it .. it is something you can do in degree's while alot of us don't have the shear dedication to diet for sure a drastic diet as iamme we can all benifit from eating cleaner.
For me i was told about 18 months ago that i needed to cut out processed food by my "women's doctor" i suffer with VERY VERY extreme PMT so bad that i could quite easily kill someone at that time of the month.
for years i was bounced from doctor to doctor being treated for anger managment and deppression because everyone thought i was depressed.. whatever.
A fluke lead us to the real problem and a random blood test showed i had Waaaay too many hormones racing around my body... we'd never put it down to "that" time of the month because quite frankly they where so high they where there at every time of the month.
Having stuck me on all sorts of hormones my doctor finnally sugested a change in eating habits could also help my hormone levels ... and the diet she put me on is essentially clean eating in that she wanted me to cut out all processed foods.
I've been eating cleaner for about 18 months .. we cut back on processed foods and it has helped so much my mood is better, my health everything.
I'll grant you i have started slipping in the last 6 months, with no real direction other thant cut back on processed foods it was hard to know what i should and shouldn't be eating and old habits are hard to curb and fast food, tins and jars can sometimes be so appealing.
However a few weeks ago i decided i needed to lose a few pounds, and having read more on the "clean eating" thing i now have a structured plan... my diet is no-where near as strict as some ... but i now have goals and a plan of how to achive them, and ive found eating clean and cutting back on the bad carbs isn't that hard.
I have family and thier diet is cleaner too without being stupidly so, while i don't want my kids to feel restricted, i think everyone in the house can benifit from less processed food, my family only eat one meal together as im out at work for most of the day and its easy to pick clean foods for just myself.
The family meal isn't that hard either we've cut out processed foods (for the most part), and i just eat the same as them generally my portion composition is slightly different (less carbs more veg )but thats easy its all about what you stick on the plate and quanity's are cooked with my ratio's in mind.
The hardest thing about eating clean is losing the dependance we've got on jars and tin's we live in a processed world and old habits die hard... but it is doable and it is achivable for everyone.
Depends on the cereal. A whole grain cereal without added sugar or other weird stuff should be ok. I know that oatmeal is recommended.
I haven't had internet for two weeks and now I do and this thread is dead. Stand back, I'll revive it.
But seriously...did I miss anything? I need more of this thread...
perhaps focusing on a specific meal or snacks each day would be the easiest way to start.
like i know that for me dinner is the big meal. so i would try to focus on just eating unprocessed foods at dinner time (although i feel that whole wheat or spelt pasta is clean for me). i do most of my exercising around 8pm. i just cannot eat big meals during the day, i can barely eat anything for breakfast. i have been trying for the last couple of months. so i tend to really eat well in the day anyway.
the only thing i can stomach for breakfast has been whey powder. i am some what lactose intolerant but for some reason Promax doesn't upset my stomach. i've even had it on a morning when I had a hangover & it didn't upset my stomach. i walk to & fro work everyday (50 mins each way), but having the powder seems to get me through the walk to work ok. i too don't really like supplements but since i can't eat during the mornings its better than nothing. also i would take the powder right away after a hard workout.
Would be very interested in joining this thread. I think its a great idea!!
iamme, how many grams of carbs do you eat? How many calories do you try to eat?
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