Photo Credit: epSos.de
Clean eating – it’s a term we’ve all used and have surely heard a million times. We’ve stumbled upon it in the magazines, seen it in our favorite diet books and have probably even heard it on TV. Heck there’s even a magazine titled Clean Eating.
Now I have no problem with the magazine – the recipes are really good and the pictures are something I often lust after. I do, however, have a problem with the negative connotation it presents to the minds of many health and fitness enthusiasts and even some professionals unwilling to consider other ideas.
For many who adhere strictly to the clean-eating principles, it cripples our relationship with food and often affects our social lives. For some, it has much steeper consequences. An obsession with clean eating and meal timing can be the cause for dysfunctional eating down the road for a few.
I cannot say that clean eating is the cause of any particular eating disorder, but my hunch tells me ideas behind the concept are partly responsible for many health and fitness folk developing a tragic relationship with their cheesecake.
An Obsession in the Making
In my first year of college, I was very fortunate to get involved with a great group of people the opening weeks of class. Most of these people also happened to be very physically active like myself and enjoyed competition as much as I did.
It turned out that every year a little contest was held during a student conference over Christmas break. It was secret and non-commercial. They labelled it the “best-body competition” although it had no formal name. Yea, I was invited to compete.
The cost was $60 to enter and there were about 15-20 participants. There was first, second and third place prize money to be had and I made up my mind to be a placing contestant.
At the time of my joining, I was pretty chunky. I was still athletic as I continued the resistance training I participated in for football but I really needed to lose about 35+ pounds to have a shot at this thing.
So what did I do? Just like most everyone does, I scoured the internet and every magazine for all the info on clean eating and losing body fat that I could find. My of my sleepless nights spent searching were successful; well at least I thought so anyway.
So for about 3 months straight, I put my newfound knowledge to good use. I ate 6-7 small meals daily, all of which contained about 30-40g of protein, fiber, healthy fat and some form of clean carbohydrate. I trained on the weights about 4-5 times all the while doing 20+ miles on the elliptical or treadmill every 7 days. Smell a disaster?
Weekly schedule
Up at 7 to do my cardio.
Breakfast right after.
Class.
Weights after class.
In all reality, the only reason I believe I didn’t burn out had to be a result of my previous athletic conditioning and from the sheer amount of food I was eating.
I had an unlimited meal pass to the cafeteria, therefore in between classes, I used to roll in and grab some lean protein and a few pieces of fruit for a snack. All my meals were deemed clean as I ate lots of egg whites (cholesterol is bad, you know?), bland brown rice (no MSG from seasoning), oatmeal (not the packets either), cottage cheese, steamed broccoli (no butter), the occasional spoon of natural peanut butter and dry chicken breast. The diet was miserable as I watched all of my friends eat greasy pasta, ribs and ice cream cones – they were as active as I was and in fairly decent condition, too.
While I never counted calories (I didn’t know how at the time), I’d guess I was eating between 2500 and3000 calories on most days. Some days were well above 4000 calories (unintended binge cheat days). Keep in mind I was walking everywhere, training twice daily and always atended social functions (standing, dancing, and trying not to pass out).
To cut myself short, the moral of the story is this. I lost a good 35-40 pounds in both fat and muscle and got the 2nd place prize money. This was also the very first time in my life that I’d ever seen a full row of abs when gazing into the mirror.
And here is where it gets dark.
One word: OBSESSION
But before we get into what I went through, let’s first establish what clean eating really entails and why it makes no sense – no matter how you look at it.
Clean Eating Exposed
While there is no real basis as to what constitutes a clean and a dirty source of food, the idea is still prevalent to this day. Allow me to educate you on why this faulty type of thinking stands firm.
I have no clue where the concepts came about or who originally coined these terms but I think they’re awful and here’s why.
Typically, clean foods are considered to be whole, unprocessed, low-calorie choices and dirty foods tend to be higher in calories, full of flavor, the occasional man-made compounds such as artificial sweeteners or trans-fats, and they’re only acceptable every once in a while (and for some – NEVER).
It’s common knowledge that clean eating will produce the muscle gain and fat loss results you want, while a diet full of dirty food will give you subpar results at best. However, this makes no sense when looking at the macro composition of foods that are often referred to as clean or dirty.
If I were to sit the stereotypical, fitness junkie down for a flash card test, in which he/she labelled foods as dirty or clean based upon a picture, this is likely how I imagine it would go.
Flash Card: Pizza
Fitness Junkie: Dirty
Flash Card: Tomatoes, olives, shredded cheese, onions, beef
Fitness Junkie: Clean, bro!
Flash Card: Stir fry with white rice
Fitness Junkie: Dirty
Flash Card: Brown rice, broccoli, asparagus, chicken
Fitness Junkie: Clean
Flash Card: White bread
Fitness Junkie: Dirty
Flash Card: Whole grain, wheat bread
Fitness Junkie: Clean
Without further ado, I’m certain you get the point. And here’s why it makes no sense.
Let’s take a pizza pie for example. I love pizza and I love even more so to make my own at home. I eat the same foods day in and day out so spicing up my diet with something like a fresh pizza is always a treat.
The typical ingredients for a pizza are dough, crushed tomatoes, cheese, meat (beef, pork, chicken), olive oil, lots of veggies and sometimes fruit like pineapple. All of these foods by themselves are typically deemed clean by the informed fitness fanatic.
Combine them for an awesome pizza pie and you can’t bust their mouths open with a baseball bat.
We’ve garnered some sort of negative connotation with these foods that are traditionally higher in calories mainly because of the fast-food way of preparing them (lots of oil and other high fat items) but in reality, there is nothing different about the macro composition.
And this is why many people will allow their social lives to take a nosedive – all because of some false belief that a slice or two of pizza will make their waistline expand but an equal caloric amount of brown rice and chicken won’t.
Now let’s take a look at how this myth began to cripple me.
How a Newfound Hobby Turned into Mental Chaos
After the competition was finished, we headed over to the local 24-hour diner. I ordered the fattest plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, hash browns and cheesy grits you’ve ever seen. It would’ve made Adam Richman (man vs. food) very proud. If I had the money, I would’ve gotten the entire dessert menu for my appetizer.
You see, after long periods of clean eating, it’s common knowledge to have a cheat meal. Mine was epic. The mental anguish I experienced a few days later was more than I could bear. After seeing a full row of abs completely blurred out as a result of the sheer amount of food and sodium I inhaled – I was in shock. It was traumatizing to witness all of my hard work completely undone. Little did I know that it was only water retention and I would return to normal a few days later.
Now, when this happens I just brush it off because I know in a few days the water will flush out and I’ll return to previous sexification. Then, however, I had no such clue.
And this is where a bad cycle began. All because of clean eating.
You see, at this point, the only smart thing to do would’ve been to cut back on the cardio, tone down the weight training for a few weeks and take a well-deserved break but I didn’t.
I fully believed in the go-hard-or-go-home approach, so I kept everything up. Except this time, I was more devoted than ever. I even started separating my meals into protein/carb and protein/fat portions for fear of fat storage.
What did this mean exactly?
It meant I was the only one abstaining from pizza during social outings. It meant omitting the bun from my hamburgers during our Sunday evening cookouts. It also meant I ordered the naked chicken tenders with water instead of enjoying the wings and beer with all my buddies at the bar.
It was all because of my obsession with the clean and unclean myth that plagues many fitness enthusiasts’ psyche even to this very hour.
Someone out there right now is worrying incessantly about whether or not to have some melted cheese on their chicken and rice. No joke – it’s happening.
This went on for a period of time. I wasn’t making progress and was tired of spinning my wheels. Luckily, I found a coach who pointed me in the right direction.
The truth is, people like me, and many others have been on both sides of the fence and not just the clean eating side. I’ve went through periods of time where all I ate was sugary cereal, and white bread for my carbohydrate sources with no ill-effect. Nothing. I didn’t magically gain any fat or lose any muscle. I’d say the only real difference I noticed was a slight increase in hunger just because there’s very little fiber in those food choices and they’re easier (for me) to overeat, etc.
So yes, I know what it’s truly like to be married to a false concept. I also know what it’s like to break that bond. The grass really is greener over here, by the way. Read my meal frequency article to understand what I mean.
Clean Eating and Cheat Meals – Don’t Get Caught Up
Finally, the last concept I want to mention is the cheat meal situation. As Homo sapiens, it’s coded into our being to give into do something we ought not to do. Yea, it’s the rebellious gene and we all have it.
But here’s the problem, a cheat meal is lame, and when you think about it, what are you accomplishing as a result?
Since most cheat meals, by nature, consist of a boatload of calories you’ve been depriving yourself of for weeks and even months, it does nothing for your long-term strategy. The reason is because for many, the few days after a cheat meal (sometimes resulting in a binge) usually consist of excess exercise and a lack of nutrients. After a few days of deprivation, you have the urge to cheat yet again. I’m sure you can see where this might lead.
So, ideally, you will abandon the notion of clean eating altogether and adopt a mindset of food being energy and nothing else. Say it out loud with me.
“Food is neither clean nor unclean, but merely energy my body needs to function and survive.”
That’s it. If you look at it this way, there’s no reason you can’t fit a brownie in for dessert a few times per week. By going about it this way, you eliminate the desire for a full-on cheat meal and you’ll prove to yourself that the clean eating concept is nothing but horsefeathers.
It doesn’t exist.
Your turn. What do you think?
Very interesting read! I guess Clean Eating has a different definition for everyone. SHoudl anyone really be in such a regimented “program” unless you are suffering from an actual condition such as diabetes, etc? I defintely don’t buy into ones “labeled”, be it Clean Eating, Atkins, Zone…everything in moderation…including moderation! I guess that could be a label.
There are those that follow clean eating “rules” and say “X” is allowed and “Y” is not – why does anything (in terms of food) not have to be allowed at all? After reading and researching and evaluating my own lifestyle, I have cut down on what I deem to be “processed” food (mostly pre-packaged foods with loads of sodium and/or added sugars, etc…) I have certainly seen a difference in weight and energy but to me, it just simply means by making it at home with “fresh” ingredients it tastes better to us and I can control what goes in it and the effects on my (and my family’s) body. I can’t always do it, I am a full-time working mom and sometimes even with planning, I need to reach for the mac and cheese and hot dogs and I;m OK with that. I don’t do it 7 days a week – I am talking once or twice a month – and that’s what works for us and doesn’t seem to impact our bodies and having it once in a while even tastes GOOD. I don’t need it everyday, I don’t crave it – I just am reasonable about it. By pure economics, fast food and restaurant chains are simply not going to be able to provide the quality you can have at home AND sustain profitability to thier standards – I hope that changes some day by a shift in supply and demand but for now, with a handful of exceptions, it seems like that is a ways off. I am also willing to bet that not every “processed” ingredient is bad for you and there is probably some “natural” stuff out there that is! That being said, you do yourself no justice by “depriving” yourself of foods you enjoy. Mental health has just as much of an impact on your ability to stay fit as diet and exercise! Humans need healthy socialization as much as they need anything else to stay mentally and physically “fit”! If you go out with friends – share the nachos with them! You just have to figure out what is reasonable for you – you might be able to do that once a week with no consequence in energy or on the scale, maybe its only once a month and the other times you hang out with your salad and water…but…if you are depressed about missing out or having gained some weight because you are doing it too much – woudln’t it make sense to keep trying through trial and error to find a balance that works for you? WITHOUT worrying about some book or group saying “you have sinned!”?? I like the magazines and websites because it does contain alot of good information but it is not my entire world and I do have to weed out what makes sense and what does not make sense to me (and seems over the top!) I am pretty sure if I became obsessed with it, my hubby would ban me from the forums and probably grocery shopping and the kitchen as well, – it wouldn’t do anybody including myself any good! Just my two cents…
I agree I like to calorie cycle and I mostly eat clean but in the past I would have nothing deemed junky now I’m not so extreme sometimes I’ll add a half cup of lucky charms to my cottage cheese or have a couple slices a pizza in a week or a cookie. My diet is still one most make eyes at me when then see my tupper wear of foods but I give myself some slack compared to years past and I have gotten my best results. Most likely it’s better to eat 85% of the right foods year round then eat 100% of the right foods for 3 months and gve up,
I suppose like most things. To each their own!
Very interesting point of view. I believe we definitely give food too much power whether we indulge or restrict it. Either way, we focus too much on food, and not enough on the things that really matter in life. I agree that food should be treated as fuel, because that’s pretty much all it is. Once we starting doing that, we won’t want to fill our bodies with foods that make us feel/perform badly–whatever that food may be.
I am a 32 year old mother of one. I lift weights, do cardio six days a week and I used to count calories. Before I started eating clean I was eating 1200-1400 calories and day and not losing any weight or inches. I weighed and measured myself daily. Since eating clean, the pounds and inches have been melting off and I feel better than ever. I am no longer tired or hungry all the time. I get to eat way more than I was before and don’t feel the need to binge or cheat because I am never hungry anymore. I don’t feel obsessed about food anymore and I still go out to eat with friends. There are lots of healthy choices at almost every restaurant now. Eating clean does allow for those unclean foods, just in moderation. I also eat pizza, baked ziti, lasagna, spaghetti, cake and ice cream. I use clean ingredients and it tastes delicious!
Clean eating is a scam??? Well, you have fun stuffing your face with junk food, I’ll stick with a clean way of eating. Clean eating will affect your social life? I’d rather focus on my health than eating cake with friends, they don’t hold it against me. I don’t understand why you would think it would lead to eating disorders. It’s about taking responsibility for your life and choosing a healthy lifestyle. I find this article pretty ridiculous.
He’s not saying to binge out on cake and ice-cream or to go to fast food places for lunch every day…
I think the takeaway message here is “everything in moderation”. If your kcal count is in the right range, don’t stress too hard about *what* you’re eating and just enjoy it. On the same note, don’t eat McDonald’s three meals a day either.
Wow! I wish I had found this article before I announced on Facebook that I would be eating clean foods- just yesterday. I have never been into diets and have always been thin by genetics but since turning 30 and the birth of my second child who is now 10 months old I have been very frustrated with my stomach and thighs. Just after one day of attemtpting this diet, I have seen the difficulty and have already considered the fact that I can no longer go out to eat. I also have started a list of foods that I want to eat on my cheat day- because of course now that i cannot have it, I crave it!
I know myself and I know that I will never follow any diet exactly so I don’t anticipate that I would have lasted long eating clean simply because it is so difficult and time consuming. Not to mention I was starving all day
! I appreciate your article because now I will be able to illiminate the guilt. I have never eaten well, never had to. But I want to be healthy and what I will take away from researching clean eating is buying more fruits and vegetables. And I do have to reduce my candy and pastry eating. I think the key for me is eating what I know to be healthy and stop when i feel full.
Again, thank you for saving me from being another “victim”
wow – thanks for reading. Let me know if I can help in any way.
So an idiot posts a stupid article, and you say “thanks for the validity”?.
I have to say this posting is right on point as far as my situation is concerned. I too have a tendency to become obsessive and took clean eating to the same extremes. I was experiencing daily headaches (probably due to extremely low blood sugar levels) and isolating myself socially. I also found myself as far from friendly/likeable during these periods. I would beat myself up about everything I ate depending on how “clean” I rated it in my mind and found it hard to be happy if my meals weren’t perfectly clean. I am so glad to know you have overcome this without gaining a ton of weight. I would like to enjoy food again.
Wow, reading this thread has been quite entertaining!
As someone who had anorexia and bulimia for years, I totally understand your point as far as the obsession goes. Regardless of what anyone’s version of “clean eating” is I get that your point was to explain how it can become obsessive and interfere with quality of life. Maybe some people are perfectly happy and never crave “dirty” food, but other people are restrictive, obsessive, and unhappy.
Debating the NUTRIENTS is one thing and debating the psychological effect is another. I can’t say I agree with every word of the post but I’m not even going to comment defending (or bashing) eating “clean” food because I know your point was more about the detrimental effects it had on you mentally/socially. I think it’s funny how upset some people are getting over all this… ha.
yeah, nutrient quality if different, but there’s no harm in covering your bases first and then having some other foods as long as they junk doesn’t make up a majority of your diet…
I still get the lolz rereading all the commentary!
Great article. I think it’s really all about “Knowledge”. At the time, you didn’t know that the pizza had virtually the same ingredients as the “clean” food you were eating. And it was when you decided to separate your Protein, Carbs and Fat meals that your social life started to suffer. I have actually never done this, but I do tend to eat natural sugars instead of processed sugars whenever possible – and always eaten whole foods and natural foods (well, try to anyway). I think that when it comes to nutrition, the most unhelpful health obsession has to be Counting Calories. People have obsessed so much over this, and as a result don’t think about “What” they are eating. After all, the number of calories in a meal is only a measurement of “Energy”, and nothing more.
I think that when it comes to nutrition, the most unhelpful health obsession has to be NOT Counting Calories. People have obsessed so much over “healthy/clean foods”, and as a result don’t think about “HOW MUCH” they are eating. After all, the number of calories in a meal is only a measurement of “Energy”, and nothing more.
I see what you’re saying, and for the most part I agree. counting and obsessing over kcals can become pretty problematic, too.
Thank you for your feedback.
I suppose that some people find that their body “tells” them “how much” they need to eat, so they tend not to overeat or eat too little. You could call it “eating intuitively”. I think over time, a person can become more able to be in tune with their body, if they found that they weren’t before taking up physical exercise. Unfortunately, some folks might find that they are not able to just eat intuitively. One well documented example of this, is the case of people who are very overweight. This now widespread problem has augmented an area of the mental self-help industry, known as NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) which is a kind of hypnosis. In this industry NLP Practitioners (who might not know an awful lot about nutrition or sports science) are able to change their (obese) client’s unhelpful eating habits, thus improving their physical health. I must confess that I have no idea what determines a persons ability to eat intuitively. I guess the answer must exist in the study of the mind… ?
the area of NLP and self-help psychology is definitely very interesting and I do not doubt there are ways to help people with their obesity through manipulation of the psyche. However, I am not well-versed in the studies to make any remarks further than that…
I agree with you on some points – but the ambiguity of the phrase “clean eating” creates some problems in calling the phrase a false belief.
“Clean eating” for me has always been to take advantage of food with higher nutritional content, and to eat processed food as well as food that makes me feel like shit in moderation. However, I definitely agree that obsessing over the food, as well as cheat meals (binging) isn’t advisable. I like the guidelines sort of approach.
I think my point is proven – clean eating is undefinable and always built around a personal belief/opinion. it’s different for everyone…
I just stumbled on this and wanted to throw in my two sense about clean eating. As a lifestyle that I just stumbled upon I think its important for me to distinguish the why. In my case its not about weightloss as a primary goal nor is it about achieving a fitness model physique. A healthy weight comes from eating the proper foods and the proper amount of them. So clean eating for me is getting rid of all those things that do not contribute to or detract from overall health and wellness. Sugar and preservatives aren’t necessary. Sure we enjoy them and sure its much easier not to avoid them but the damage to wellbeing in the long run isn’t worth it in my opinion. Bottom line is that the term isn’t meant to have one definition and people can accomodate the principles in their own way but at the end of the day the direction to a healthier self has to be the most imporant part.
there is no reason why you cannot enjoy some processed, refined foods every once in a while.
Why would you suggest (as I interpret from your comment) that these foods are damaging to well being in the long run and that you should give them up entirely? That’s not very practical.
As long as your diet is not entirely comprised of processed food (hello obesity), and you enjoy it in moderation, there is no real issue.
read this: http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
The “problem” with clean eating or any healthy eating is the notion that it can’t taste good. The point of clean eating is that you can eat anything you ever ate before, made from scratch with natural ingredients. When is the last time anyone had high fructose corn syrup in their kitchen pantry? I know I never have.
Your eating habits were certainly extreme and bland, and you really were missing out. I still eat pizza, ice cream, and all kinds of deliciousness, but I make it myself with minimal ingredients. Sure, it may not be as convenient as calling Pizza Hut, or stopping at Taco Bueno, but there was a time when those places didn’t exist, and home cooking wasn’t a convenience but a necessity.
The reason “bad” foods are bad is because they include unnatural ingredients to improve shelf life, color, and texture to keep their appeal after months or even years after production. Or the fact that sugar is added to nearly EVERYTHING. All of those prepackaged and fast foods can be cooked at home, with fewer, natural ingredients and eaten fresh, or frozen for later enjoyment. And if you don’t care about calories or fat, you could still add all the sugar you could dream of. I love that I can eat all the same things I used to, but don’t feel like crap after and feel even better about it because I made it with my own two hands. However, I am no 100% clean eater. I still love my beer, and therefore, I have no problem eating out on special occasions. I’m certainly not going to alienate myself at family gatherings and such. However, on a regular basis I feel much better eating “clean.”
Eventually the tables will turn and stricter food regulations will make “clean eating,” not some weird fad, but the norm, as it was for past generations.
clean eating is merely a belief that is justified depending on the individual. believe what you want, but food is merely energy, regardless of the source. sure, some choices are more nutritious and filling than others but in terms of energy balance, it doesn’t make a difference and that was a main point I was making.
I’ll give you the energy balance thing [kind of]. When I was eating processed sugar, I required the same carbo intake as I get now from fruit for daily function and satiety. The difference is… my body was so inflamed on the junk food that I could barely function. It’s not really a “scam”, but being orthorexic to the point of destroying yourself mentally isn’t good either.
the idea of saying you have to eat “clean” every second of every day is indeed a lie and causes a lot of unnecessary emotional distress for many.
long time, no see. how are ya buddy?
You’re a good writer. But to me your rationale and belief systems are a bit off.
What it comes down to is this:
- the more “real foods” you eat, the less “fake foods” you desire.
- the more your diet is based totally off “real foods”, the less likely following your natural hunger cues are to lead you towards overeating and hence being fat.
You can make pizza out of real foods. “Clean eating,” I don’t think, doesn’t mean you can’t eat a good pizza. The rules at Precision Nutrition make pretty good sense to me: if you just lifted some heavy shit, its cool if you wanna make yourself a pizza on some sprouted-grain (or just regular whole grain flour, more processed, but easier) dough, with some sauce, cheese, a nice selection of spices (especially if they’re fresh!), some chopped up chicken, chopped up veggies, and pineapple. That sounds like awesome. But I dunno, I don’t live by “Clean Eating,” but I’d call that “pretty damn clean.”
The point is you know what’s up with your food, so its all good. Yeah, eat some McDonald’s once in a while, but turn it into a habit and its gonna show.
How is my rationale and belief system off?
I wrote this because there is no such thing as clean eating. It’s a made-up idea that has a different meaning for everyone. To some, clean eating means no processed foods. To another, it means processed foods are okay as long as it contains whole grains. For yet another, it means no fast food. It’s basically just a way that people can justify whatever they’re putting in their mouths. And many actually judge others because of their decisions around what they eat. It’s quite silly.
Lots of people will overeat, regardless of what kind of food they eat. Studies show people suck at reporting their intake. it’s why people can “eat clean” and not lose any weight.
To me, taking the time to make a pizza with a bunch of fancy ingredients is not worth the trouble when I can go down the street and pick it up at the local pizzeria (who can likely make a much tastier pizza than I ever could). And this is mainly because I don’t eat pizza every single day. If I did, I might find a way to make it “more clean” than take-out.
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Wow, so much of your articles are all SO TRUE to how I have been over the last year or two! Passing on family dinners at home, skipping out on going out to eat with friends, and never touching a cookie, candy, chips, shoot not even an m&m etc if it was outside of that ONE cheat meal I had per week, whether I was dieting, maintenance etc. I guess it always stayed in the back of my mind (since I grew up quite chunky and got picked on for it) that if I ate outside of my realm of clean eating foods that I was just gonna revert right back to how I grew up my whole life. Bout time I start adding in a bit more variety on days I feel, and lose the rigidness with food.
I agree with you that healthy eating can turn into an obsession. I also agree with many of the commenters even though they often contradict each other. I think it all boils down to eating healthier, but using moderation, variety, and common sense so you don’t burn out.
well sure. I’m a devout evangelist for moderation – I was merely making a point that clean eating is nothing more than a false belief.
I appreciate what you’re saying JC. This way of eating became an obsession for you. I don’t have anything against carbs, I just know they fuck with my stomach something awful. See, that’s my problem. I have a stomach thing. And this clean eating method has changed my life. Once I cut out fatty, salty, sugary foods, I didn’t have to lay down all the time w/ a fat bloated stomach. It’s not about fat loss for me b/c I’ve never had a weight problem. But truthfully I love hearing different viewpoints and am going on to your next two posts now.
i guess you can sum this up into: there’s no magical foods that can make you lose fat, fat storage is caused by the overconsumption of calories.
Not all calories are created equal when it comes to nutrition. A great deal of research has shown that processed foods and saturated fats alter your hormones and the parts of your brain that make you feel full. Sugar has been shown to stimulate the reward centres in the brain in a similar way to cocaine, and there has been a great indication that some individuals can be prone to addiction to sugar (I would put myself in this category).
I understand the idea behind moderation, but not all people can handle moderation. I find that it is easier for me to cut out sugar entirely than to try and moderate my eating of it. True cleaning eating doesn’t mean giving up things that you love but finding healthy ways to eat them (for example, I have found a recipe for clean ice cream sandwiches).
I’m not sure why we have this idea that we should be able to eat whatever we want. Sugar isn’t good for us, period. Trying to push people into believing that not having moderation is somehow wrong (which many people do, ie. those saboteurs) is no different than trying to argue that things like smoking, drinking or drugs are good in moderation. It’s not everyone’s thing, and all of the above cause some harm to the body. I guess it just depends on whether we feel the short-term experience is worth more than the long-term wellness factor. And yes, it needs to be about wellness, not weight loss
it depends on what you mean by sugar. Sugar can be in the form of bread, candy, cupcakes, oatmeal, fruit, etc. I never tried to say that not being able to practice moderation is wrong. I merely want people think about what clean eating really means.
And the fact is that it means different things to different people. To you, it’s finding an alternative way to eat an ice cream sandwich. To others, it’s cutting out all trans fats. To someone else, it may be not eating carbs and fat in the same meal. All it comes down to is a belief system, whether it be serving us or not.
Moderation can be learned and it needs to be within the fitness community. And just because I decide to have pizza or ice cream a few times per week doesn’t mean I’ll be paying for it later on in my lifetime. Now for those who eat it on the regular and who are obese as a result – that’s a different story.
I just hate it when fitness folks shove BS down others throats due to their insecurities or false beliefs about how their methods are better or more righteous than others. Who really cares?
There’s a lot more to be worried about than if your diet was absolutely perfect for the day.
Maybe you haven’t found a way to incorporate a small amount of candy or whatever else you crave into your diet. Maybe a permanent solution for you is to cut it out in its entirety. I’ve just found that’s not the case for the majority. Life is too short to worry about minutiae.
I choose to focus on the big picture and that’s the aim of my work. Focus on the stuff that matters and not obsess over the cupcake you have at your random company luncheon.
Hi JC.
I like your style of writing and don’t disagree with the “you don’t have to eat clean” mantra, although I don’t know whether that is because I don’t want to eat clean but I digress.
The only problem I have with your post is that you started it by saying how you were chunky but got a full rack of abs by eating boiled chicken, broccoli (no butter) and brown rice. Now that surely proves that eating clean isn’t bad, in fact, the results sound fantastic. I was blinded by that so much that, for me, the rest of the article just paled into insignificance which is unfortunate as I still believe the message is right.
Maybe it is easier to let go when you’ve achieved such a difficult goal.
well, letting go is what it’s all about, really. The whole premise of the article was not to bash clean eating, but the negative relationship the whole idea can create for a person. More on this in a week or so.
I don’t think you can title an article “Why Clean Eating is a Scam and Why You Should Avoid It” and then say you’re not bashing clean eating.
The thread that never dies!
Why label it as “cheats” anyway? Why not just call them treats, that’s basically what they are.
There’s no reason why people who eat basically “clean”, (or healthfully, really, for those of us “clean” eaters who aren’t obsessive) can’t have treats on occasion. Or “normal” food. You don’t need to go crazy either way.
I think that’s really what JC is advocating. He just likes to do it in a provocative manner, n’est ce pas?
Needless to say it’s been QUITE enlightening.
When I decided to eat better (which I didn’t do in one obsessive leap), I learned that there are a lot of foods that taste really good that aren’t fried or made of bread. I learned that I feel a lot better physically and have more energy when I eat well than when I don’t. I eat out with friends. If we’re at a pizza joint and I’m craving vegetables, I’ll see what I can find that will suit what I want. If we’re at a pizza joint and I’m not craving vegetables, I’ll have a slice. But if I eat two or three slices, I don’t feel well. I can eat a small serving of ice cream (or other sweet) and be fine and enjoy it, but if I eat a restaurant-sized portion, it physically makes me sick and I will be spending a good portion of the evening on the toilet.
I eat well because it tastes good and because I feel good, not because I should. I don’t need cheat meals because I don’t feel deprived.
Just because you are a double-or-nothing person doesn’t mean that everyone is. The clean eating wasn’t the problem…
love your POV, and love your closing point that food = energy. anyone who disagrees needs to look up ‘calorie’ in the dictionary. and i also love that you point out that the mindset (cognitive) theoretically attributable to ‘clean eating’ is the problem, notsomuch the food choices (behavior) themselves.
keep it up! i’m coming back for more of these pieces.
p.s. as a female, i’m chuckling over the observation that most of the fired-up, offended commenters are also females. females are more socially pressured to be a certain body type, they are also more likely to seek out weight loss, and they don’t like it when more than one answer can be correct. an unfortunate trifecta, no?
Oh voice of reason, where hast thou been all of my 24 years?
However, with that said, I agree with your point about being happy about what you eat. Ultimately, if you feel miserable following a particular diet, or feel like you’re “restricting” or “limiting” yourself or “sacrificing” anything, then in the long run, it’s likely that you’ll fall off the bandwagon of that diet. Satisfaction and the lack of guilt about what you’re eating means a happy eater, and a happy person is always healthier than a “clean-eating” but unhappy eater…. I think.
You might wanna check out Thrive by Brendan Brazier. It’s a fantastic book that’ll change your perspective on food, calories, energy, nutritional stress, recovery, and training.
Again, I respect your opinion but I am in no way interested in becoming vegan. I don’t see any advantages to that lifestyle and to be completely honest, I really enjoy beef, pork and poultry.
And I’ll leave you with a quote I once came across (all in good humor, of course).
Hey buddy,
I’m a eating raw veg style now. I love this shit! I eat 6,000 calories a day completely guilt free
Eat like 10lbs of food per sitting, Now that’s life!
I’m all about the meat, but I have to admit… Eating all I want and knowing there’s little or no consequence for doing so is a pretty rockin way to live.
dude, c’mon! that’s what I do everyday anyway! just kidding. Good to see you around. So why the idea of nothing but raw veggies? Glad I ain’t frontin’ yo grocery bill!
Screw the all raw veggies. That’s for those wimpy gaunt vegans. I’m an FFB… I go almost exclusively sweet fruit. Pack that stuff in like crazy. Have energy like a crackhead.
Once I figured out how to buy, it’s not so bad. I’ll spend about $100 this week. My unclean diet was way more expensive than that.
Actually, food is not just mere food that gives you energy. Not all calories are the same. If that were true, all the overweight, junk-eating Mac-donald fans would have the most energy since they consume the most calories. Energy is a complicated process. Our body uses up energy everyday in doing simple things such as digesting our food, rebuilding cells, clearing out toxins, and even more energy is used up in exercise, etc.
Not all food requires the same amount of energy to be digested. Things such as fruit and raw vegetables are digested very easily, and thus place very little nutritional stress on the body. Hence, when eaten, they spare our body more energy left over to focus on healing and recovering from workouts, etc.
Animal protein and grains are very difficult for our body to digest and assimilate, so more energy is required to break them down. Food therefore is not just pure energy.
You said you were “eating clean”, but in reality, your diet is not really “clean”, since animal protein often comes with megadoses of antibiotics and pesticides, growth hormones and other chemicals that farmers pump into meat. Too much animal protein also leads to a variety of illnesses such as colon cancer, gout, kidney failure, etc.
Clean eating is not a scam. DO eat whole, unprocessed, unseasoned foods. Fruits are our best fuel, and so are raw veggies! Meat is NOT clean. Meat is dirty and toxic, from all the shit that farmers feed their animals!
Alright, well we do all have the right to form our own opinion and I respect yours.
However, I disagree wholeheartedly and without explaining myself in dire detail here, I’ll just link you over to the piece I published yesterday… Perhaps you hadn’t gotten to that one yet.
Clean Eating – Why I Still Call it a Scam
This particular exchange has me roaring hahaha
I would be very interested in reading the research you have here. I use to eat clean and saw no improvement in my blood profile so I did not see the benefits others claim.
Since eating moderately everything has improved. I highly doubt the extra clean eating did much for me. Still maybe I’m an outlier so is still be interested in reading the research
“saw no improvement in my blood profile”
This doesn’t surprise me. I was on the verge of death at age 26. Barely looked forward to waking up in the morning. Got blood work done. “Healthy as a horse!” said the Doc. Then why do I feel like walking death?
Now I eat cleaner than just about anyone. I doubt there’s much difference in my blood profile these days (even my body comp), but my life has completely changed. Running a half marathon takes about as much energy as walking to the bathroom to drop off a shit used to.
Just sayin….
I went years without starch and added sugar in my diet and feared the pairing of fats with carbs, but of course I didn’t realize I had to count my calories. I finally released my stubborn clean-eating mentality a year ago after reading various fitness blogs citing legit studies debunking all that nonsense.
I have a much happier relationship with food now, and am finally back to eating things I love in moderation (even adding back the most basic of things like potatoes and carrots. God, how I missed potatoes), as well as adding a little sugar to my home-cooked meals. Freedom, I feel it.
So, thank you for writing these types of articles.
Ladies and gentleman, this is why I write.
thanks for sharing Andrea.
I got caught up in clean eating obsession for a while myself, lately I’ve loosened up my diet, I enjoy ice cream,chocolate, pizza even pierogies most of the days and I’m still losing fat. Great article JC!
Don’t know how I missed this but it’s great news!
I hope all you clean-eating preachers are following along here:
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/the-twinkie-diet-nutrition-professor-goes-on-month-long-junk-fo/19617804
His bad cholesterol is DOWN and his good cholesterol is UP. He’s also lost 10 lbs…what does all this mean? Regardless of the foods you eat, leaner individuals are healthier. There’s many ways to skin a cat, have an open mind.
here’s the follow-up article
http://www.thestar.com/article/861244–losing-weight-in-the-twinkie-of-an-eye
Haha, wow. Great article, haters gonna hate.
I actually tested out “clean eating” the same way as you. After reaching my goal weight/bf% and a month of keeping it there, I cared only about reaching my calories and protein every day. Then I filled in my left over calories with ice cream, 100 cal packs of chocolate covered pretzels and the occasional big mac.
I found myself being even more satisfied from the peace of mind it brings, and kept my abs. The only downfall is wishing I had known this 2 years ago.
Awe Hell naw! Anybody knows that if you get to your freakin goal you can pretty much cheat here and there and watch your calorie intake and you won’t gain a whole bunch of unnecessary weight.
Do this for me, gain 20 pounds back. Stay there for a month and then try eating like that and tell me if you either just get to your goal slower or don’t get to your goal at all?
To get to the goal you have to eat a certain way for a period of time whether its clean or whatever then you can have you little cheats.
There’s no reason you cannot fit foods into your diet that are deemed unclean or whatever. No reason at all. In fact, just read this piece I wrote for Bodybuilding.com. Your ‘Healthy’ Diet: It Doesn’t Have to be Boring.
Let me share something Alan just wrote on a forum thread where this article was shared:
Very good attitude.
I’m confused. Exactly how is clean eating a scam? You ate clean and you became healthier so clean eating apparently works. It’s not a scam just because you personally felt deprived.
Alright, so did you get past my headline? I understand that I did mention clean eating being a scam there but I fully elaborate in the body. Did you read that part?
I’m just saying that your headline is extremely misleading. The definition of “scam” is a fraudulent theme so I’m just wondering how you came to the conclusion that clean eating is a fraud. You clearly obtained the benefits of this type of diet and yet bash it and call it a scam. Again, just because you were obsessed, felt the need to binge, and have the mindset that any type of food is energy no matter what, does not mean clean eating doesn’t work.
It’s funny how a few emotionally-charged words slammed together in a headline can create such a response.
Clean eating, in the way we keep referring to the term, doesn’t really exist. I mean, what exactly is clean eating? As I alluded to in the article – it’s nothing but a belief or a mindset, but guess what? Everyone’s ideas and beliefs around this concept are a bit different.
For example, in some extreme cases, some only feel that organic and raw foods are deemed clean while everything else has been “contaminated” by pesticides, cooking methods, cross-contamination, etc.
Then you have others who feel non-organic foods are okay under certain circumstances. Then, you have others like me who don’t really care if my apples, bananas or brownie mies are organic or not. I simply try to eat a well-balanced diet and never deprive myself when I want a burger or some beer and pizza. if I want to eat pizza for one meal everyday each week, fine. I just work it into my diet.
I suppose my biggest problem with the term is how many people become self-righteous and some even develop an elitist attitude (not saying anyone here is doing that – just making a point). It’s funny how others, as we can all see in that long thread on bbcom and even in some of the comments here, project their personal beliefs without considering other viewpoints or ideals.
Alright then, why not title your article “How Clean Eating can lead some people into obsessive unhealthy dieting practises and why you should lighten up and take it with a grain of salt”?
HONESTLY! You knew you were going to get a rise out of people. And how productive is it to point out that yes, some people can surive on twinkies for a month? Some people can also drink a fiver of scotch and smoke two packs of cigarettes everyday until they’re 80 and still be ok. Most people can’t though.
So, the moral of the story should be do what works for you. If that’s clean eating as a particular person defines it that’s okay. Don’t ram your clean eating down the throats of others who have no stomach for it. And don’t ram your “IF” down the throats of people who feel ravenous enough to chew off their own leg first thing in the morning because it worked for you.
Use common sense folks. If anyone should preach anything it should be that. And no, I don’t have any scientific data to support that statement.
JC has written me back with his thoughts and I accept what he is going to be coming out with next week but I have to say……. my sentiments exactly to your post. I thought the EXACT same thing I just didn’t write it. Anyway, it’s the ideas or thinking surrounding “clean” that the problem. Not the acutal eating style.
JC:
*Not sure why you are getting harsh comments. After reading the article, seems to me its more about behavior than a particularized diet. Maybe the title was a bit polarizing…
*Meanwhile, eating the one true way is a quest akin to the search for the Holy Grail. Too many factors are in play for anything but opinions. It’s an interesting bit of irrational behavior that allows people to become dogmatic about things that they can’t prove one way or the other (you crazy iconoclast).
*Doubt yourself, experiment, keep what works, discard the rest, and recognize that, at best, this is a poor approximation of a solution.
thanks for your input. Part 2 is coming to a town near you.
JC,
Now to comment on this “problem” you have with Clean Eating. I am very saddened to hear you bring this in the light this way. Many have adopted this because is the most sensible adaptable nutrition plan that they have heard of to date that they can actually stick to. Have you read the Clean eating Magazine? I just picked up a copy three days ago and for those who have a hard time (like some of my kin folk) getting on any kind of plan the two week menu actually sounded doable to some of them. I do agree, and we even laughed, that some of the go OVERBOARD with the CLEAN verses UNCLEAN thing. They even bring in herbs and veggies I have never heard of and etc.
This is my take on it. I believe in moderation of my favorite foods every now and then and I even agree with something I read on your fasting. I fast for religious reasons periodically therefore I know about it. I eat my food clean 80% of the time because it’s the easiest term to use since its become some coined phrase. If I deviate I will not die! I am eating what I know to be healthy to get the results I want and to have the healthiest human body I need. That’s it! I wouldn’t slam Clean Eating though to promote my own thing. People will listen to you without doing that.
okay, did you read the article? How do I not take a moderate stance? How am I slamming clean eating to promote my own thing? What am I selling?
I’m merely slamming the mindset and the false beliefs that clean eating has sprung from. It’s just a belief system that one food is deemed clean or unclean. That’s it.
Again, I will cover this in my follow-up coming out next week but I just don’t get how there are people on both extremes. It’s either I’m completely bashing “clean eating” or I’m preaching moderation. Which one is it?
If you read anything else on my site, you know I take a moderate stance on just about everything regarding fitness and the lifestyle accompanied with such an endeavor. I also took a moderate stance with this one, too.
In fact, my good friend RogLaw did a great job explaining the scope of my article here.
JC, its a fresh & common sense approach to eating & i am sure i have seen and done my share of clean vs unclean eating. the only thing which ever bothers me is i can’t eat certain foods my friends eat at certain times of the day. it just could be that their bodies handle these foods more efficiently than mine. i have truly tried it. Non veg early in the morning doesn’t sound attractive to me at all where as my friends relish it. i feel sleepy if i just overdo a little at whatever time of the day. i do sound like a sissy but i am not. i can operate on empty, go hardcore kickboxing just by drinking a coffee & few nuts. my wife will get headaches. but overall what you said about some of us going anal with regards to food combining/separating/clean eating etc is serious overkill.
Damn JC, didn’t know you could send people into a fury of rage with a well thought article from PERSONAL experience. This is a blog after all right?
A couple things I doubt the women are doing is heavy resistance training and counting calories.
You write for bodybuilding dot com, a site these two little ladies probably aren’t frequenting often. You also deadlift and squat more than twice your body weight, respectable numbers for anyone.
She gained weight by eating ‘unclean’ foods but who (aside from us OCD fitness freaks) counts the calories in the fun sized Butterfingers their shoving down their throat while watching TV?
Resistance training and adequate protein of ~1.5 kg/lb LBM (the former more important when dieting IMO) will yield good results whether you’re eating ice cream + protein power or an isocaloric diet of clean foods.
I realize this is tough for some people to grasp but it really takes personal experience. Thinking outside the box isn’t easy for a lot of people…I like it much better out here *munches on homemade toffee cookies* nom nom nom.
Clement, eloquently written response. JC love your blog dude, you’re definitely going places.
Thanks Ace for the support. I think I just caught some people off guard. It’s clear many who came in bashing either did not read the actual article OR they know nothing about me. I’m perfectly fine with it and I always encourage others to seek out the truth for themselves. So, if you doubt my ideas or philosophy – that’s fine. Go find what works for you!
oh and have a beer and some pizza every now and then – you know; practice some moderation. (had to say it)
As we all know, our body composition directly reflects our eating habits.
Upon comparison of availiable pics, JC strikes me as much more impressive.
Therefore, he and his flexible dieting tactics are clearly the victor, here.
When I was growing up, my mom was a big fan of clean eating. For me, at least, not for her (she was skinny). Trying to live on fruits, veggies, brown rice, cause huge weight gain due to bingeing. Now I eat lots of veggies, good fats, healthyish carbs, etc. When I make pizza at home, I do make it with whole wheat pitas, add lots of veggies, but I won’t turn down a standard piece with pepperoni and mushrooms occasionally. And yes, even one slice makes me very full. I am chemist, not biologist, but it seems that those who make all these claims about insulin are missing something, or missing a lot of the story, or have minimal understanding of physiology, or are trying to sell something.
Eat your fruits and veggies, don’t smoke, minimize stress. I think the rest is mostly just pissing in the wind.
Thanks for your input Julie. What you said in the last part is key – mainly the pissing in the wind portion…
nice article, i was wondering what food would you suggest when you really want to cheat, something that will stop that craving, and what a balanced “clean” diet would be, I mean if you eat normally and you had a brownie here and there wouldn’t that set of a chain reaction, to have another one and another one since you are eating cleaning after all (i guess until you get used to that kind of eating you would have that effect).
well, not so much. I mean for me, if I want to have a brownie and and some ice cream, I just replace some of my other energy carbs/fats with it instead. I also practice Intermittent Fasting most of the time, so this helps as well.
In your article you say (paraphrasing) that fitness junkie consider pizza as considered dirty but individual ingredients used as clean, and you think thats wrong.
But here is what its all about – when you make pizza, 90% of pizza is “pasta”, white bread which will spike your blood sugar and than you will have energy drain and feel weak few hours later, healthy stuff in pizza is meat but its not really too much of it in there and many “creams” and other stuff that goes in pizza is also not really good, + most of healthy ingredients that are actualy there are DESTROYED with fried food
so when you eat it you eat pure simple carbs that will spike your insulin and give it no good
you should eat complex carbs that will release your insulin slowly through day
so i dont say you should not eat pizza but its just not same eating pizza vs eating ingredients from pizza
Are you basing this on the GI index because if so it would be incorrect. GI is blunted when eating it with protein and fat. GI I believe is not relavent to the gen pop, its.mostly for people with insulin problems and diabetes.
All I can do at this point is throw my hands up and walk away from the conversation.
I think the difference in our approach to food is staggering.
I think Heather makes a valid point in her rebuttal by stating that clean eating is not all about weight loss or about extremes. It’s about general health as well.
If you and your readers do not agree that clean eating leads to better overall health, there is just nothing I can do or say.
I agree that somebody could lose weight by cutting calories alone. That’s undisputed. However, if two people lose the same amount of weight, one eating clean foods and one eating many processed foods, guess which person will actually look and BE healthier at the end of their weight loss?
I guess my main concern is the fact that you equate clean eating with a scam and with fanaticism. This is so far from the truth for so, so, so many people.
I will leave this conversation now, as I’m getting a little to worked up by it to respond with clarity and fairness. However, as a registered dietitian in training, I will simply say that I whole heartedly disagree with most of what you’ve said. I’ll leave it at that.
Thanks for the discussion. It’s been eye-opening to say the least.
Err… that should have said, “I whole heartedly DISagree with most of what you’ve said.
fixed
@Tiffany:
Hi. I think you’re misunderstanding JC’s point here. He’s trying to make it known that you don’t have to force-feed yourself clean food and torture yourself by only consuming steamed chicken breasts and broccoli 3 times a day. You can lose weight as long as you keep track of your calories.
In my opinion, 500kcal of vegetables does make a difference in the long term because it provides satiety and roughage. But chocolate bars are also a source of energy. People talk about needing to eat more fruits and vegetables and more whole grains and more anti-oxidant food… But NO, you just need to eat LESS in general! The reality is that only if you’re overeating will such benefits be felt. If you’re eating less than maintenance, I assure you that inflammation will be non-existent. Caloric restriction and fasting are proven to reduce inflammation. If you eat 300kcal of vegetables above maintenance, I assure you that you will gain weight still!
In fact, if you talk about fat storage, James Keiger at http://www.weightology.net has done plenty of research and concluded that whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats do cause insulin spikes and have a large increase in blood sugar as well. Insulin increases lead to fat partitioning as well as protein synthesis and minimize protein breakdown. So there really is no other benefit to eating “clean” unless you want to feel more satiated than food that digest faster! Other people would feel satisfied just consuming their favorite cheesecake.
I do agree that at a lower body fat percentage and if you’re looking to get shredded at 3% body fat, then you need to reduce your processed food intake, because carbohydrates and sodium increase water retention. But to just get ripped, caloric intake and adequate protein is all that matters. Also, you lose a lot of weight by cutting carbohydrate sources and starches as a lot of glycogen and water is lost. These can blur your abs and cause you to lose muscle definition – the bane of every bodybuilder. But body fat loss is mediated by a negative caloric balance. You cannot burn body fat by eating more fruits, more vegetables, more healthy fats… You can only burn it by creating a metabolic deficit!
I am positive that JC would also strongly encourage anyone who loves and enjoys eating clean food to continue doing so. The reality, however, is that most people can’t. Nowadays, food is so much more than just plain fuel, as it satisfies emotional needs as well. The point he is making is that people should relax around food. Also, he does not warn people off jumping on the “clean” bandwagon. He just provides his perspective and I respect and agree with him for that. We respect your opinion, but if you read the whole research paper and not just the abstract, like i do as a graduate student and like many other experts like Brad Pilon, Craig Ballantyne, Martin Berkhan, Tom Venuto, Jon Alvino, JC and James Keiger – proven fat loss experts – do, you will find something that studies that spawned the popular Atkins, Zone, Mediterranean and South Beach diets have in common – people in the studies ate less! Many experts encourage you to eat whole, natural food because they do satisfy you more and can actually be delicious, but there’s really no need for anyone to get uptight about it.
I disagree. My response: http://www.wellnesswithoutpity.com
Heathery – Well said.
I made a comment there.
Clean eating is not meant to be a punishing form of eating and of total denial. Clean eating can be just eating healthier food, more the way nature intended it to be and before corporations decided to add all kinds of chemicals and garbage to our food. When did we become a society where eating food in it’s natural form is wrong?
If a person has an eating disorder, they will take everything to the extreme, whether it is clean eating, Weight Watchers, or any other eating plan.
Eating clean doesn’t mean eating like you are prepping for a body building competition either. To me, the chicken, egg whites, brown rice, cottage cheese, veggie diet is too extreme.
For me at least clean eating is just eating more healthy, natural and less processed foods.
I will probably follow a clean diet all my life because it truthfully costs less. It’s much less to buy two bags of 26 8oz chicken breasts each for $16, cheap 50 lb white rice bags, big bags of oats at Costco, gallons of milkand recession whey from true protein. I can imagine this comes out to less than $60 per month. I’m not trying to prove anything but if you can come up with a shopping list which comes out to the same amount of money and still allows me to get 180 g of protein per day,(sorry can’t go the higher range I’m poor), 400 g of carbs(if I ever I need to eat that many), 70 g of fats(easily gotten from olive oil, peanut butter, milk, and butter, I’m all ears(:
did you read the article? When did I ever say you have to eat this stuff all the time? I was merely making a point that there’s no real difference in the foods labeled clean and unclean – it’s just a mindset.
I feel i have to eat that way because it’s the cheapest. If u can find a way for me to get my macros in just as cheap with “dirty” lol foods, I’m all ears.
so go to McDonald’s 3x per week and eat off the dollar menu.
But there IS a difference. The way that foods are prepared are part of what makes them healthy or unhealthy. For example, grilling meats substantially raises the level of carcinogens in them. Deep frying is way different than stir frying. And if I was going to eat some tomatoes and cheese, the proportions would very likely be different than the proportions of tomato to cheese on a slice of pizza.
and here is the deal. When did I ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever state our diets should be full of this stuff? I mean really? When did I EVER state it the way you are suggesting? He wanted to know how he could get extra kcals on the cheap.
I’m perfectly content with having my animal prepared on the grill and I do enjoy the deep-fried tempura on my sushi when I go out for all-you-can-eat with all my friends. This is a perfect example of worrying about the small stuff and I choose not to waste my time being concerned with minutiae when the rest of my diet is in check.
But you’re changing your argument. In your post, you argued that crap food and good food are the same:
“Let’s take a pizza pie for example. I love pizza and I love even more so to make my own at home. I eat the same foods day in and day out so spicing up my diet with something like a fresh pizza is always a treat.
“The typical ingredients for a pizza are dough, crushed tomatoes, cheese, meat (beef, pork, chicken), olive oil, lots of veggies and sometimes fruit like pineapple. All of these foods by themselves are typically deemed clean by the informed fitness fanatic.
“Combine them for an awesome pizza pie and you can’t bust their mouths open with a baseball bat.”
I don’t disagree that indulging in crap food on occasion is a problem. But pizza is not the same as the list of ingredients (mainly because of proportions and preparation), and “the informed fitness fanatic” would know better than to call dough a health food.
(And in this thread of comments, you suggested the Dollar Menu at McDonald’s, which surely you don’t believe is healthy food?)
When did I ever say that it’s okay to eat junk food in place of more nutrient-dense, healthier food on a consistent basis? I’m merely making an argument that we don’t have to be obsessive-compulsive about this so-called clean eating. Eating some fast food now and then is not what causes problems.
It’s when we do it day in and day out ALL THE WHILE BEING SEDENTARY. Look at many active athletes who regularly consume a diet full of health food and who also have their fair share of junk food. What do you think is more important in this regard? What has the biggest effect on their health and body composition? It’s because they’re so active. If they were sedentary, it would be a different story. But I’m rambling here…
Proportions have nothing to do with it. Proportions are based on expenditure, personal macro goals, other variables, and are irrelevant to the discussion.
Bread is usually made of dough. Umm, when is it bad to eat bread?
Right; but it’s in context. Words: they mean things. I don’t mean to sound rude or pompous but seriously… I never called it health food. He wanted to know a way he could cheaply eat calorie dense food (call it dirty if it makes you feel better) and fit it into his diet. I gave him a solution. A buck for a burger sounds pretty cheap to me, no?
So I gave him an example. Much like I talk about eating McDonalds hamburgers in this article I wrote for Bodybuilding.com
I’ll even quote myself.
Wow.
I tried to read your article with an open mind. But as the author of a clean eating recipe blog and somebody who has been eating clean for over 3 years now, I have to strongly disagree with you on just about every level.
The way you write about clean eating makes it sound like it’s a fad diet similar to the grapefruit diet or cabbage soup diet. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The simple fact of the matter is that the QUALITY of calories you put in your body matters just as much as the quantity. You can eat 500 calories in veggies or 500 calories in candy bars. Guess which one will give you the best nutrition?
You say: “The typical ingredients for a pizza are dough, crushed tomatoes, cheese, meat (beef, pork, chicken), olive oil, lots of veggies and sometimes fruit like pineapple. All of these foods by themselves are typically deemed clean by the informed fitness fanatic. Combine them for an awesome pizza pie and you can’t bust their mouths open with a baseball bat.”
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Every clean eater I know enjoys a regular slice of pizza. It’s pizza. It should be its own food group! The only difference is, we make our own using whole grain flour instead of white flour which is processed and turned into sugar by the body much much faster than whole grain flour. This is why you can eat 5 slices of pizza, and then be hungry again a short time later.
I can also tell you that the ingredients you mentioned there, are indeed clean. I could take them and turn them into a FABULOUS pizza for dinner and still have it fall into the clean eating category. I eat pizza all the time and I enjoy every bite. (Case in point, I just posted a recipe for BBQ Pizza on my blog).
You also state, ““Food is neither clean nor unclean, but merely energy my body needs to function and survive.”
NOT true! The body processes different foods very differently. The more refined and processed a food is, the worse it is for your body. The body processes refined foods very quickly and dumps the glucose into the blood stream. The pancreas than has to kick into overdrive to make up for the excess. Do this often enough, and you end up with diabetes.
There is no denying the correlation between the rise in processed foods and the rise in diabetes. Just look at the statistics. Unhealthy, processed foods DO have a negative effect on the body and on our overall health.
As a person who is working on weight loss, I can tell you that I did not gain the extra weight by eating clean foods. I gained it by eating the very foods you are calling “mere energy”.
While I understand you are preaching moderation here, that’s not really what comes across in your article.
I certainly treat myself on occasion to something that is, as you call it, “unclean”. But that isn’t going to lead me to a full binge. I simply include it in my eating plan and make adjustments to be sure I’m still getting good nutrition elsewhere in my day.
Personally, I feel your assessment of clean eating is narrow and unfair.
What’s up Tiffany? Thanks for stopping by.
I appreciate your input and value your opinion as a fellow writer and blogger. My response below.
well sure. How can I disagree with you here? But where did I ever say one should remove all of the nutritious foods from their diet and replace them with junk? I don’t believe I ever did. If you find a place in the article that suggests this idea – then I’ll gladly amend it to make it clear. However, I’ve received quite a few emails and lots of confirmation on the bodybuilding dot com forums that my point was well understood by those who read the article and didn’t feel the need to project their preconceived thoughts about the issue.
Would you mind providing a reference for the bold statement? If you’re referring to the way the body uses the carbohydrates based on the glycemic index, this is old news. The pizza contains enough dairy, protein and fat that the glycemic impact is nullified.
Would you mind providing a reference for these statements as well? The processing you speak of dependent on a multitude of factors.
word. I agree with this BUT these people are eating junk for every meal and most are overweight. I never said one should do this, ever.
by the way – did you ever see this link?
http://chazzweaver.com/site/projects/down-size-me/
Okay, I can buy that but only because eating clean foods typically helps one eat less due to the satiety factor. Regardless of how you look at it, it’s only a matter of energy balance.
And this was the point of the entire article. Many others understood this as well. I smell a part two coming on.
Woot! Part 2.
do you want to fund it?
Great response. Although I do not know her qualificaition, Tiffany seems to be pretty knowledgable, but throwing out random scientific facts with no numbers, tests, or data to supplement what she is saying makes the argument vague. While I do believe she was giving you your credit I think she missed the entire point of the article and felt compelled to back up clean eating because thats what she practices. JC never stated that a person should binge on junk food all day and night and consequently will never see any negative health benefits. He simply stated that losing your mind over determining if every bite of food you take is unprocessed or not is not worth it.
It’s the whole clean-eating conundrum, isn’t it? That’s where orthorexics and bulimics and the like are formed.
For me personally, short periods of all-out dieting are really no problem. I go extremely draconian, then relax and ease off. The moment I feel unsatisfied, I start the extreme diets again. However, I make sure that I don’t fall off the wagon so much that I have to diet for more than 1 month. I also am aiming to gain muscle, so I believe that by focusing on muscle gain and periodically losing any excess fat, I won’t look too shabby at any one time. So it’s not bulk and then cut, but micro intervals of them.
However, I know people who can’t handle “crash diets”. My friend would purge whatever “dirty” food he consumed. I was shocked when I caught him at it one day. But what could I do? I introduced him to leangains.com, of course. He’s now leaner than I am!
I love that you used Draconian in your response!
I like this article because, just like everything else in life, moderation is key. I don’t think someone who is on a quest to look good naked can eat fastfood a couple times a day and get to the point they want. But on the other hand I don’t believe putting some BBQ sauce on your chicken breast or some cheese on your burger is going to be the difference in your physique, comment not intended for bodybuilders. Although, I do belive eating unprocessed foods, most of the time, does have its benefits in everyday life. More energy during the day, less dragging after big fastfood meals, feeling full but not “stuffed”.
one word and you said it: MODERATION
thanks for chiming in buddy.
If I were to eat “clean” I’d do it for health reasons and not because I worry about calories. For example, avoiding deep fried food (acrylamides) and hyrdogenated oil (trans-fat), the stuff you can’t burn off.
Could you please link me to the article that states that info? I’d be very curious to see how the study was conducted. I did not know fats behaved differently. serious question.
http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/526-skinny-on-fats.html
Great post as ever. I’ve still yet to see an explanation of how ingesting 2500 calories a day of crap carbs/fats and 2500 of good carbs/fats will result in any difference in body composition. As long as your protein intake is in line, you’re taking enough healthy fats enjoy food!
well sure. And I’m stating this because of those who might get the wrong assumption based on my writing.
I am not advocating one should consume a diet full of crap. I’m just saying we get caught up in a BS belief system and worry about the small stuff. Why not just enjoy your food, and live a normal life?
Couple of questions. How much weight did you gain from your binge after the contest? Must have been a pretty decent rebound.
I have friends who like to look lean all year round, where I don’t. So, when I’m on the quest for size they laugh and call it “That dirty bulk.” It’s pretty funny, but, like you said, a lot of the food is pretty much the same as their clean food, just presented differently.
I think for the average person trying to lose a little weight and get in shape, this concept can be mentally draining and force them to quit. When the slip up, and have a “dirty food,” they get down on themselves, and reinforces old negative mental patterns.
PS. With all that sodium in you, you should have headed to the gym and maxed out on bench press. I guarantee you would have set a new PR by at least 10lbs.!
I have no clue how much I regained, honestly…
The concept is mentally draining and often makes a fun and healthy hobby become a nightmare.
In answer to your request for “references” for Tiffany’s response, watch the video “Sugar – The Bitter Truth” and you will see all sorts of lovely scientific, technical explanations using basic chemistry which explains EXACTLY why one form of energy is better and the other is detrimental to our health. It also explains how processed foods containing preservatives and hfcs are the downfall of the health of our society.
Having said that, I fully see your point about the “all or nothing” struggle as I struggle myself at times with such a mentality. It is not, however, a byproduct of clean eating and people who are true clean eating enthusiasts learn how to incorporate it into their lives without feeling deprived. Those others are indeed the “fanatics” of which you speak.
Marlena — If you can sit through 90 minutes of Robert Lustig smugly pontificating without providing the proper context or dosage specifics in his lecture, then I’m sure you have 15 minutes to spare reading this summary of how he got smacked down in this debate:
http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/02/19/a-retrospective-of-the-fructose-alarmism-debate/
JC — Great article, man. I like how you put things in such a clear/straight-forward way. I like how you gave your personal account as an example to help illustrate the folly of “clean eating” & how it’s a completely subjective term. The fitness realm is such a strong attractor of obsessives who have zero concept of moderation. No one’s immune to that; we’ve all been through it. Some of us are past it, and that’s good to see.
Great article JC……You are on point with this article…. I was exactly where you were in my ” eating clean phase” at one point in my life…I adopted my own Leangains program using Brad Pilons techniques and Martin B’s……. Now I eat as much as I want and whatever I want on the weekends while I “Stop Eating” at times during the week. It has worked wonders for me. You should also mention the whole protein “myth”…As I have found muscle building and strength results off no food at times and very little protein…Clean food is a joke, the only satiety you can achieve in life is to never worry about what you are eating all the time.
I’m sincerely glad you’ve found a method that works well for you.
Good stuff man! I love it
Are squats good or bad? Depends! Depends on YOUR body and HOW you squat.
As mentioned, is a pizza good or bad? Depends on how YOUR body processes it.
Carbs for people who are diabetic are bad. I view them as very metabolically INflexibile–their body can’t switch to process carbs very well without side effects (high TGs in the blood, etc).
Carbs for most hard training athletes are fine. I view these people as very metabolically flexible–they can process carbs (and also fats too) just fine.
I agree that the terms “good” and “bad” need to go away as they are completely subjective and relative. In general, food is good.
Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
“It’s common knowledge that clean eating will produce the muscle gain and fat loss results you want, while a diet full of dirty food will give you subpar results at best.” Sadly, many fitness professionals believe this unfounded claim. When evaluating evidence that paints a different picture, they often cannot avoid critical thinking deficits- one side bias, natural myside bias, misunderstandings of basic logic and so on.
Clean and dirty dieting are relative terms. I don’t think either term has much value.
Loved your book Should I Eat the Yolk – Passed it around to family and friends who weren’t sold on the necessity to count calories as long as they ate clean and low carbs.
Knowledge and Nonsense…WIN. Except that kettlebell shit.
JC you’re turning heads with this article dood…*cough* book idea.
Yup KnN rocks. I think I remember him saying a 2.0 version is coming out. Eagerly awaiting.