Eating Clean - Do you do it?

[practicallyperfect77]

I use a napkin and put my dishes in the dishwasher immediately after. Does that count as clean eating???

Haha! I love this!

 

[SamRoc]

I started in February and lost 30 lbs. My trainer at the gym gave me a book by Tosca Reno and i followed it. It brought down my blood pressure and cholesterol.

 

[Dancind]

Sorry but you are misinformed. Vegan food has absolutely no cholesterol since cholesterol only comes from animal products. Yet I would argue that vegans in general are healthier than most other people. Your body produces all the cholesterol it needs on it's own, there is no necessary reason to get it from animal products. While I also use small amounts of coconut oil I wouldn't consider it a health food by any means, it contains significant amounts of saturated fats.

Sorry, but YOU are misinformed. I'll see you your studies and raise you one:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

There are many others. Weston Price foundation is an excellent resource, among many.

 

[Silock]

Eating clean is a bit overrated. While it's a good idea to try to eat in a healthy manner, to a very large extent, eating "healthy" is simply a matter of controlling total calories ingested. That's certainly easier to do with foods you prepare yourself, but it's not impossible to be healthy and eat "dirty" foods.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Eating clean is a bit overrated. While it's a good idea to try to eat in a healthy manner, to a very large extent, eating "healthy" is simply a matter of controlling total calories ingested. That's certainly easier to do with foods you prepare yourself, but it's not impossible to be healthy and eat "dirty" foods.

I would agree with this to some point. However numerous times I was on a strict 1200 or 1500 calorie.diet. I was following the recommended low fat, many whole grains, and lots of fruit n veggies. I did this while exercising at least 4 hrs a week on elliptical. I lost a pound in one month. At the time I was my highest weight and needed to lose at least 100 pounds. It didn't work for me. Nothing worked until I took out gluten. I dropped 20 pounds. Stayed there for a year or so and then this past sept I did an elimination diet. I didn't count calories, carbs, protein or fat and I dropped 20 pounds in 6 weeks. Eating clean did for me what no amount of calorie or point counting could do. I agree it may not work for everyone. But it sure as heck has done wonders for me. I personally believe there isn't 1 diet that works for everyone. Luckily I found one that works for me.

 

[mombrontrent]

Sorry, but YOU are misinformed. I'll see you your studies and raise you one:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

There are many others. Weston Price foundation is an excellent resource, among many.

But all that article goes on about is how lowering your cholesterol with drugs is horrible. I don't agree or disagree with that. All I was saying is that your body produces all the cholesterol it needs in it's own. You don't need to be ingesting cholesterol to be healthy. By not eating animal products I am not ingesting cholesterol but mu body is making all it needs on it's own, I am not actively trying to lower my cholesterol with drugs

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Understanding_Cholesterol.htm

 

[Piper]

My daughter has been a vegetarian for 20 years and she has high cholesterol. So evidently this isn't dependent on animal fat! She has recently had to go on medication because they couldn't regulate it.

 

[LSmith]

.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Sorry, but YOU are misinformed. I'll see you your studies and raise you one:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

There are many others. Weston Price foundation is an excellent resource, among many.

Like.

Sent from me.

 

[Silock]

I would agree with this to some point. However numerous times I was on a strict 1200 or 1500 calorie.diet. I was following the recommended low fat, many whole grains, and lots of fruit n veggies. I did this while exercising at least 4 hrs a week on elliptical. I lost a pound in one month. At the time I was my highest weight and needed to lose at least 100 pounds. It didn't work for me. Nothing worked until I took out gluten. I dropped 20 pounds. Stayed there for a year or so and then this past sept I did an elimination diet. I didn't count calories, carbs, protein or fat and I dropped 20 pounds in 6 weeks. Eating clean did for me what no amount of calorie or point counting could do. I agree it may not work for everyone. But it sure as heck has done wonders for me. I personally believe there isn't 1 diet that works for everyone. Luckily I found one that works for me.

There could be a number of reasons for that, but the immediate one that pops into mind is that weight loss is not the same thing as fat loss. Weight can fluctuate by a huge amount just with water retention and bladder and bowel movements. Carbohydrates, especially, bond with water, so eating a large amount of whole grains and fruits will cause you to keep more water in your body, potentially offsetting an amount of fat loss. The other possibility is that 1500 calories just wasn't enough of a deficit for you to see a substantial weight drop in one month, especially if you were retaining water from the other foods you were eating.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad you found something that works for you and that you can stick with. That is BY FAR the most important thing. But the deficit method always works. It's just a matter of setting the correct deficit (and knowing that BMR changes with weight changes, and extended times in a deficit without a refeed).

 

[practicallyperfect77]

There could be a number of reasons for that, but the immediate one that pops into mind is that weight loss is not the same thing as fat loss. Weight can fluctuate by a huge amount just with water retention and bladder and bowel movements. Carbohydrates, especially, bond with water, so eating a large amount of whole grains and fruits will cause you to keep more water in your body, potentially offsetting an amount of fat loss. The other possibility is that 1500 calories just wasn't enough of a deficit for you to see a substantial weight drop in one month, especially if you were retaining water from the other foods you were eating.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad you found something that works for you and that you can stick with. That is BY FAR the most important thing. But the deficit method always works. It's just a matter of setting the correct deficit (and knowing that BMR changes with weight changes, and extended times in a deficit without a refeed).

Agree that deficit method works when a person has a normal metabolism. I did not due to thyroid problems. And totally agree that weight loss is not the same as.fat loss. My current scale is a.weight watcher one that reads body fat too. During the 6 weeks In dropped 20lbs 15 were fat according to the scale. I'll take that any day over having to count calories or points. If a person likes counting that's fine. I deal with numbers all day in my.job so Unlike the flexibility of not having to do it with my diet. Granted I give up some flexibility in what I eat but I can honestly say I've never felt better than when eating paleo. I do believe it's how my body was made to eat.

 

[Silock]

Even if you don't have a "normal" metabolism, it's still impossible to not lose weight on a deficit. You just have to find the right deficit. There's simply no way to eat less than you burn and not burn fat at some rate. Metabolisms can certainly vary, but if you have a slower metabolism, that simply means setting a deficit even lower. However, that's not very realistic for many people because they don't feel like they can eat less than 800 calories a day for very long, and they end up crashing out of their diets.

But I can guarantee you that even if you're not counting calories, if you're losing weight, it's because you're in a deficit. I'm envious of your ability to not have to count!

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Even if you don't have a "normal" metabolism, it's still impossible to not lose weight on a deficit. You just have to find the right deficit. There's simply no way to eat less than you burn and not burn fat at some rate. Metabolisms can certainly vary, but if you have a slower metabolism, that simply means setting a deficit even lower. However, that's not very realistic for many people because they don't feel like they can eat less than 800 calories a day for very long, and they end up crashing out of their diets.

But I can guarantee you that even if you're not counting calories, if you're losing weight, it's because you're in a deficit. I'm envious of your ability to not have to count!

I get you know. Misunderstood at first. Totally agree I must be eating at a deficit to lose. Thing is I have know clue what it is b/c I don't count. And best part I'm not hungry all the time and don't have energy crashes. For my body, fat is not evil. I eat tons of eggs, coconut oil, grass fed beef, nuts, avocados, and even bacon now and then. I also eat loads of veggies and a do not eat any grains. Staying away from sugar even supposedly good for you whole grains has been the key to my success. I do believe that what works for one may not work for all. Pretty sure I'm going to throw away my.scale too. I don't need it to tell me how I'm.doing.

 

[bellanapoli]

My daughter has been a vegetarian for 20 years and she has high cholesterol. So evidently this isn't dependent on animal fat! She has recently had to go on medication because they couldn't regulate it.

This doesn't surprise me. I was vegetarian for about 10 years and had to be put on statins.

I eat strict paleo now and my cholesterol is much lower. Even had a doctor tell me that whatever I was doing to keep doing it because my numbers were great. Had another tell me that my triglyceride number was the lowest he'd ever seen.

Didn't tell them I eat eggs and bacon almost every day for breakfast.

 

[Dancind]

This doesn't surprise me. I was vegetarian for about 10 years and had to be put on statins.

I eat strict paleo now and my cholesterol is much lower. Even had a doctor tell me that whatever I was doing to keep doing it because my numbers were great. Had another tell me that my triglyceride number was the lowest he'd ever seen.

Didn't tell them I eat eggs and bacon almost every day for breakfast.

I think you should tell them! If they hear it often enough, they might believe it.

 

[WDWBarb]

This doesn't surprise me. I was vegetarian for about 10 years and had to be put on statins.

I eat strict paleo now and my cholesterol is much lower. Even had a doctor tell me that whatever I was doing to keep doing it because my numbers were great. Had another tell me that my triglyceride number was the lowest he'd ever seen.

Didn't tell them I eat eggs and bacon almost every day for breakfast.

Your body produces cholesterol - you don't just ingest it. I've been a vegetarian for 25 years and mine is on the high end of the scale. However, my mother's is over 400 (not a vegetarian) and she's never been able to get any control over it with diet. She's not on meds because the side effects were terrible and she chose not to deal with them.

So there's a genetic component to your cholesterol level that is much harder to control. My dr reminds me of this every time he tries to suggest I start on medication.

When I eat vegan (which I try to do, but work and travel make that very difficult) I can usually get my cholesterol down a bit - much more toward the healthy range. I can also see an impact when I exercise regularly. Unfortunately, I've not been sticking to either lately.

 

[Chelley00]

I have a lot of food allergies so we have to eat "clean" by default. I have a job and 4 active kids so it takes a lot of planning. I do a lot of prep after the grocery store trips. I wash, cut and package fruits and veggies as soon as I get home from the store so I'm not running around trying to prep and cook before swim meets or soccer games. I try to package up crock pot meals or casserole type things and freeze them every couple of months.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Clean eating is more then just about weight loss. The idea is you are eliminating chemicals an additives that are bad for you and your body does not need. Clean eating does not mean giving up grains although Paleo people do eat clean. Everybody needs to make the choice as to what is good for their body. I'm not perfect with my clean eating. However, if you don't see what you are eating in nature you might want to avoid it. Food companies pay large amounts of money to discover exactly the right amount of what chemicals, salt and sugar to add to foods to get people to crave eating it.

 

[Chikabowa]

Clean eating is more then just about weight loss. The idea is you are eliminating chemicals an additives that are bad for you and your body does not need. Clean eating does not mean giving up grains although Paleo people do eat clean. Everybody needs to make the choice as to what is good for their body. I'm not perfect with my clean eating. However, if you don't see what you are eating in nature you might want to avoid it. Food companies pay large amounts of money to discover exactly the right amount of what chemicals, salt and sugar to add to foods to get people to crave eating it.

I want to "like" this post a million times over.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Clean eating is more then just about weight loss. The idea is you are eliminating chemicals an additives that are bad for you and your body does not need. Clean eating does not mean giving up grains although Paleo people do eat clean. Everybody needs to make the choice as to what is good for their body. I'm not perfect with my clean eating. However, if you don't see what you are eating in nature you might want to avoid it. Food companies pay large amounts of money to discover exactly the right amount of what chemicals, salt and sugar to add to foods to get people to crave eating it.

"Everyone needs to make the choice as to what is good for their body" - AMEN! What is clean for me may not work for someone else. A year before going gluten free, I gave up my diet coke habit. I honestly am not sure which had a better impact on my health. I try my hardest to rid my life of chemicals. Didn't happen overnight but slowly changed out personal.hygiene products and cleaning supplies. It amazes me now how awful some of my old favorite cleaning supplies smell now....instant headache.