Clean Eating Is Awful for Fat Loss
Language matters.
How we talk about fitness and nutrition matters. Why do you think there’s so much confusion about what the “best” diet or training program is? We haven’t even defined what we mean by half the stuff we say.
“Clean eating” is a perfect example of a popular term that is minimally useful at best, and harmful at worst. Here’s why.
Clean eating doesn’t mean anything
My quick Google search while I’m writing has not clarified what “clean eating” actually means. The only common denominator I see is that most definitions focus on how much a food is “processed,” also a vague term. Some define it as 100% unprocessed food (so…raw food and rainwater?), while others say “minimal processing,” with the caveat that “convenience foods” are fine. Some definitions even mention meal frequency. What?
Good lord, people. Make up your mind.
My definition of “clean eating” will be obviously different from yours. If you’re following a stricter diet, it gets even more murky. If you eat paleo, clean eating might exclude grains. If you eat keto, clean eating necessarily excludes ALL carbs. Rinse and repeat for every diet out there.
Now we’re all just making up our own way of eating and calling it clean. So what’s the point of even using the term? Just say you’re eating.
Some people take it a step further and try to a live a “clean lifestyle.” Don’t get me started.
Clean eating can create guilt
We’re bombarded by social media every day. #fitspo has 60.5 MILLION tags on Instagram. #cleaneating has 41.4 million. Scroll through and you’ll see professional photos of all kinds of food. I can’t find a common denominator between them; there’s the usual chicken and broccoli, but also waffles, cakes, etc. This goes to my first point. But there are also tons of professional photos of ripped, half-naked men and women (don’t leave this post for Instagram just yet).
What’s the long-term effect of seeing these images associated with “clean eating?” What if you don’t “eat clean” like these posts suggest? Does that mean you’ll never be able to lose fat? Do those models have the type of physique we should aspire to in the first place?
I hope you know my answer is NO to those questions. If you want to look like an Instagram model, that’s great! Just understand that they look like that a couple days out of the year. You might be surprised at how normal they look most of the time.
Let’s look at guilt from another angle. If I use the term “clean eating” to refer to my diet, what does that imply about other foods that I don’t eat?
That they’re “dirty” somehow.
Foods aren’t “dirty.” Food is food. Some foods are better for your body long-term than others. But no food needs to be classified as dirty, especially when we don’t have even a definition for “clean.”
Stop labeling your food.
Clean eating doesn’t even mean you’re in a caloric deficit
Let’s take a best-case scenario here. Let’s say we’re all able to come to a concrete definition of what clean eating is. We’re able to do it without posting it all over social media and guilt-tripping people who don’t eat like we do. We have a healthy relationship with food and understand that food isn’t “clean” or “dirty.”
We still haven’t even addressed the most important quality that a fat loss diet needs: we don’t know whether or not we’re eating fewer calories than we’re burning. You can’t get around physics. This is the ONLY thing that ultimately matters when you’re trying to lose fat. All the debates about food quality, hormones, sleep, and even exercise all lead to this. If we aren’t in a caloric deficit, no fat loss. Sorry.
The only reason any diet works is that it complies with this rule.
Some people have success with paleo, others with keto, others with just eliminating soda. All diets work. The key to success is finding a diet that is sustainable, palatable, and gets you into a caloric deficit. It isn’t complicated to understand. It’s harder to do.
No food is clean or dirty. Don’t worry about vague terms defining how you eat. Develop a plan that works for you and stick to it. You can do it.
For tips on getting started on your fitness journey, click here. And if your fat loss attempts have failed in the past, here’s what to do.
If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me