"Clean" Eating

[JeffyDOS]

So to keep it short, I see that many of you here endorse "clean" eating.

However, at the Nutrition section on another website, many people say all that really matters for your goals is either a calorie deficit or calorie surplus, of course with adequate protein.

I have seen results by just counting my calories and not worrying about the "quality" of the food I'm eating.

I want to hear why you guys think eating "clean" is the only way to gain/lose.

[baseline_9]

TBH I think it is pretty self explanitory...

If you eat shit your going to look shit...

Can you loose weight eating shit... YES

Can you gain weight eating shit ..... YES

Will you minimize LBM loss while maximising Fat loss if you eat shit..... NO

Will you gain good lean quality mass if you eat shit..... NO


Does that close this thread.......

[JeffyDOS]

I'm not trying to say one way is right or the other, but I'd like to see some scientific reasoning other than eating shit won't work.
I am also not advocating eating "shit" all day; rather, fitting the foods you enjoy into your calories and macros.

[gbrice75]

I'm not trying to say one way is right or the other, but I'd like to see some scientific reasoning other than eating shit won't work.
I am also not advocating eating "shit" all day; rather, fitting the foods you enjoy into your calories and macros.

Why don't you provide some examples of these 'foods you enjoy'? For me, the old 'you are what you eat' says it all. If you're talking about pizza, chinese food, chips, etc... I have no idea how those foods could ever fit into the caloric/macro goals of a person with health in mind, forget about bodybuilding.

[Damienm05]

I'm not trying to say one way is right or the other, but I'd like to see some scientific reasoning other than eating shit won't work.
I am also not advocating eating "shit" all day; rather, fitting the foods you enjoy into your calories and macros.

You may not be saying one way is right over the other but I will.

Eating clean is exponentially better than not. Can you walk out of the house wearing a blanket and dirty pajamas and still stay warm and be covered up? Sure. Will you look like a clown? Yes. So therefore, you buy decent clothes.

Same goes for food. You can gain muscle and lose body fat eating badly provided the calories/macros are where they need to be but your results won't be nearly as good as if you kept your foods as nutrient-dense as possible.

Let's take one example for each, protein and carbs - clean/dirty.

Protein - pro/carb/fat/cals per serving:

Chicken breast - 23/0/2/110 Fast food burger patty: 21/0/20/260

That's 150 more calories for less protein. Not to mention all the salt and nitrates. You'd have to eat 2600 calories in burger patties alone to yield 200g of protein. No room for anything else really for an average-size guy

Carbs (~50g worth) - pro/carb/fat/cals per serving:

Brown rice - 5/2/45/216 Potato chips -7/50/37/550

The same serving of carbohydrates is a 350 calorie difference. Getting 300g carbs/pro/day would entail a 5000 calorie diet with the examples above. The differentiating factor, beyond the fact that you'll feel and look like shit from the salt/processed filth - is THE FAT.

When you eat dirty, you take in empty calories. A massive surplus of said empty calories will do less to create an anabolic environment than a 500 calorie surplus when everything is accounted for based on its purpose and you can actually supplement with proper fats.

[Sgt. Hartman]

IMO eating clean cals vs eating whatever you enjoy and just monitoring total # of cals depends on your personal goals.

Most people can achieve what is considered a normal or average physique by eating at their caloric maintenance level for an extended period of time. They will have the same type of look whether they eat at a deficit or a surplus - still average or normal, just a little bigger or smaller.

But who the fvck wants to look normal or average? Certainly not me. I want to look like a fvcking freak. That's why I'll continue to eat eggs, chicken, flank steak, oats, sweet potato, and brown rice.

If you want to be average or normal then follow the advise on the other forums. If normal/average isn't good enough for you then stick around here and learn from the best diet forum on the web.

[Windex]

Everyone pretty much said it but I just have another example to illustrate Damien's point.

Let assume 1 snickers bar contains 10g of fat and 50g of carbs
1 Scoop of the most delicious protein powder that tickles your taste buds has 25g of Protein per scoop.

Lets say your macros are going to be 300/200/40.

Do you think you will look the same eating 12 scoops of protein powder and 4 snicker bars a day as someone who eats the same macros with the same calories but eats only whole foods and maybe 3 scoops of protein powder a day ?

[Damienm05]

^^^ that's an even better point actually because I chose "dirty" foods that were high in fat, so it wasn't a relevant example for those cutting on a half-assed diet which is very often, carb bars and protein powder.

[gbrice75]

stick around here and learn from the best diet forum on the web.

Amen!!!

[InfiniteMuscle]

I think I eat fairly clean when Im just trying to maintain.. I NEVER drink cokes. Very seldom do I have simple sugars at all really, other than my dextrose post workout and sometimes a gatorade during. Rarely eat out, try to cook as much of my food as I can.