Since recovering I’ve found a love for nutrition, training, and leaning about everything far and in between in regards to health and wellbeing. Going so far as to taking nutrition classes at the University of Alabama, prior to me transferring to New York City to attend the following years of college. I’ve had quite the experience in these ranges of topics, so just like you wouldn’t want to listen to a person in a topic where their opinion and experiences are not valid, I just wanted to provide some insight as to why mine might be held to a higher account in terms of actual first hand experience.
Had enough?... I sure have. Don’t get me wrong, I was once a “clean” eater myself, and I sure have had my share of “clean foods”. Usually when you try to ask a clean eater what exactly “clean” eating means, the definition kind of rolls back and starts becoming counter productive to the overall argument. The truth is there is no such thing as “clean eating”. Like I said before, I was once a “clean” eater, and that led to a very unhealthy relationship with food. This article I’m writing is in no way hating on or bashing “clean eaters”, and to each there own, but I’m giving my outlook on why it’s a very single minded process of thinking that the industry has put in your mind, that’s factually backed up with zero actual evidence or scientific research.
One thing all clean eaters seem to believe is that certain types, kinds, or varieties of foods have somewhat magical or mythical properties that impact health. That’s 150% false. Certain types of foods don’t get you more fit or in shape to achieve optimal body composition than another food. The majority of people also think as long as you eat the “right foods” or cut out certain foods it will get you the body you want. Insert all the diets you’ve seen on “Super foods”, and your typical “cookie cutter” diets here. Truth of the matter is, your body processes fat from pizza the exact same manner it processes fat from nut butter. When you ingest fat there is no trigger or reader in the body that says, “Because this was pizza I will store this as fat, and since this was nut butter its healthy, so I’m storing it different then the pizza.” Your body is your body. Fat is fat, protein is protein, and carbs are carbs. So essentially a calorie is a calorie depending on what it’s made of (protein, carb, fat). Your body does not recognize the type of food. If you have found yourself thinking or saying, “This chicken, rice, and broccoli I am currently eating is going to turn into muscle because it’s all clean food!” or adversely, “If I eat ice cream it will turn into fat because it’s a unclean or bad food!” you do not have a firm grasp on what nutrition entails. This is where eating disorders can come into play. When you label a food as “good” or “bad” you are making a massive mistake in your thinking and physiology. When you start restricting these foods that you and the majority of society have labeled as unclean, unhealthy, and bad for you - it can start effecting everyday social situations, relationships, friendships that can eventually skyrocket into a full blown eating disorder. Trust me on this one. You don’t want that. Restricting certain foods based on nutrition profiles and believing types/categories of foods are better than others, i.e. an obsession with only eating “clean” is titled as orthorexia nervosa.
When you are eating foods titled as “clean”, indirectly you are eating foods that are quite high in volume, fiber, fill you up, and are low in fat. This is something most “clean” foods subsequently have in common. Sweet potatoes, brown rice, chicken, asparagus, oatmeal, egg whites, vegetables, turkey, spinach, quinoa, fruits, tilapia, whole wheat breads, broccoli, green beans. Indirectly you are affecting your overall calorie intake when eating these without even really thinking twice about it because they are all very low in that category. That is how the word “clean” when referring to food came to be. Some of the biggest mistakes when it comes to “clean eating”, are people thinking you have to suffer on a diet to see the results you want, and also becoming obsessive with clean food. The number one mistake is not addressing the underlying factor to achieving the body composition you want that even “clean” and “bad” foods all have in common. Let me introduce you to macronutrients.
By default if your using IIFYM/Flexible Dieting to achieve your goals, you do end up eating these labeled “clean” foods, but they are tracked and accounted for to help meet your goals because most of them are nutrient dense and when trying to hit fiber/micro goals they do play a role in having a balanced diet. Your looking for a diet of about 80% whole food sources while having the other 20% to be more “flexible” when dealing with. When you have room for certain amounts of carbs, fat, and protein is it ok to fill up some of them with a pop tart? Or cereal? Or a cookie? Yes. It absolutely is. The luxury of being able to exercise flexible dieting is being able to treat yourself with out feeling guilty like you did something wrong or ate a “bad” food. No food is “bad” they all just have different nutrient profiles that are suitable to meet macro-orientated goals. It’s not essentially the kinds of foods that matter, but it’s the calorie intake and also the macro composition of your total diet.
One thing that social media has effect is the overall outlook of Flexible dieters compared to that of clean eaters. If you follow me, or any other IIFYM Instagram account you know exactly what I mean. You go through their social feed to see dozens of pictures of good-looking food that is “off limits” or “bad” too most in the fitness world. Poptarts, candy, ice cream, pancakes, protein powders, eggs, cinnamon rolls, muffins, bread, cereal, cookies and the list can go on for quite a while. The issue with this is that people think, “Well, this is all this person eats.” No. They do eat their fair share of fruits, veggies, and other foods to reach macro/micro goals if they are truly following flexible dieting. They just don’t post a picture of their chicken and sweet potatoes because what sounds more aesthetically pleasing to look at or a better conversation starter to you? A stack of buttermilk banana nut pancakes? Or chicken and broccoli?... Poptarts and protein powders will not make you hit your macros/micros, but the incorporation of a variety of foods and key nutrients along with it will.
I bet your wondering what the steps are to calculating your macros and start tracking your progress. There are calculators out there than can give you a starting point, but its up to you to weigh yourself and track progress according to the goals your trying to achieve (building muscle mass, losing fat). Below are some of the links I like and that will help you get going and figure out the right starting point for you.
· http://iifym.com/category/faq/
· http://macrofit.com/macros-micros/
· http://macrofit.com/flexible-dieting-iifym/
· http://macrofit.com/macro-calculator/
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H2edyPLU8
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4MzG66X__Y
If you read my whole article, have any questions, want to debate a point, or want more information I’d love to talk. You can write me back here and comment below or on my Instagram! Thank you guys for the support and for reading!
-Ian Moses
1/17/15