Most people have heard the term “clean eating,” and many use it to describe how they eat or how they aspire to eat.
“Clean eating” conjures up images of fresh fruit, heads of broccoli and grilled lean meat, with nary a refined item in sight. When people eat “clean,” the general idea is that packaged foods are absent from a grocery cart that’s full of organic produce and foods free of chemicals, pesticides and toxins.
This approach to nutrition is flawed for a number of reasons.
Eating clean just isn’t as healthy as it sounds, and, more often than not, this plan fails to help people reach their goals.
I went down this path, and here’s what I learned.
Lesson 1: Quantity and Quality Matter
Emphasizing food quality without factoring in food quantity did not change my body composition or improve my performance.
“Too much of a good thing” is in play here. “Clean foods” still have calories, and while it might be tough to overeat cauliflower, things get dicey when we start looking at healthy sources of fat. A great example of this is pouring butter or oils into your coffee or slathering nut butter onto gluten-free bread.
All of sudden, your clean-eating plan is packing a serious energy punch.
Clean calories are still calories!
Lesson 2: “Clean” Is Vague
Things can get complicated because—let’s face it—we can’t really define what “clean” is. It’s just a vague way of trying to describe and then manage your nutrition, and it often leads to a lot of frustration.
Instead of unrestricted snacking on clean foods you might not actually want, why not learn to read labels and create a balance of foods you enjoy and foods you need?
Somewhere in there, you might have an Oreo cookie. And that is absolutely OK. The cookie doesn’t fit most people’s definition of clean eating, but it can easily fit into a healthy diet that’s designed to support body composition and performance goals.
Lesson 3: All Foods Fit
When I started my macro-tracking journey, everything about nutrition changed for me.
Learning to read labels and spending time looking up nutrition values for food items took time and effort. There was a learning curve, and sometimes I found it daunting. But the more I worked at it, the easier it became. And the best part: I saw massive improvement in my body composition, my performance and even my relationship with food.
I was no longer scared to eat “bad” or “dirty” food because I understood how to make all foods fit into my diet. I wasn’t limiting myself to specific foods or and creating long lists of foods I wasn’t allowed to eat.
I became much happier around food and found that with a more inclusive approach I didn’t obsess over food and binge when I finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
This approach made me much less vulnerable to weird diet scams and the influence of personal anecdotes. I had the knowledge I needed to create a well-rounded diet that helped me feel, perform and look my best!
Lesson 4: Become an Empowered Consumer
When I let go of clean/dirty labels, I became a more empowered consumer.
I wasn’t interested in buying “superfoods” that “burned fat” or “melted off the pounds.” I knew these were just silly marketing terms, and eating these items wasn’t an effective nutrition strategy.
I could just look at the nutrition labels and make my own decisions. I didn’t need an ad agency to tell me a certain food was “part of a healthy lifestyle.”
I still get frustrated when I see marketing ploys designed to prey on confused, vulnerable customers who just want to make better nutrition choices!
When you start to understand labels and how foods fit into your life, you’re far less likely to fall victim to marketing tactics. That means you can make informed decisions about what you buy and choose items that support your goals.
Eat Well, Live Well
Are there certain foods we should eat more often and some we should eat more sparingly? Yes, I absolutely believe that.
But are there “clean” and “dirty” foods? Unless it has mud on it, I don’t consider any food dirty. Certain items might just fall into this category for me: “Eat a little less of this overall.”
Whenever we talk about food, we need to look at how each item fits into a complete diet. A healthy, balanced diet has room for all different foods if you manage the quantities carefully.
Instead of trying to “eat clean,” try to eat intentionally, mindfully and in a way that supports your goals and improves your quality of life.
