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Is “Eating Clean” Going Too Far?

I listened to a really interesting podcast recently called “How We Learn to Eat” on NPR. It was recommended to me by a friend because the main topic of conversation is how our children learn to eat (fun fact: what you eat during pregnancy and while breastfeeding helps your baby’s taste buds get ready to eat those same foods later in life).

Toward the end of the podcast, the guest speaker discussed how she raises her teenage daughter to think about food. As someone who has suffered with borderline eating disorders and had a sister with an eating disorder, the guest speaker was rightfully concerned with how she should approach this sensitive topic when raising her children. As someone who has also had a disordered relationship with food at times, I was intrigued. She said that she tells her daughter in all aspects of life that “nothing is perfect” and hopes that her daughter will also translate that into her diet and self-confidence. She then related this concept of the absence of perfection to the recent fad of “clean eating,” indicating that even the phrase itself lends to an unhealthy focus on perfect eating.

Those words struck a cord with me, as I have tended to use the phrase “clean eating” to describe the foods I strive to consume. I never really thought about what exactly those words imply. They imply perfection – as if anything besides these “clean” foods are dirty. Even the diet that I’m following for P90X – “100 Days of Real Food” implies that anything that isn’t on the author’s list of foods isn’t REAL and therefore is wrong. Perfection in anything is unachievable, and I think it’s important to recognize that perfection in our food choices is literally impossible. There is no perfect diet – even if you were to follow the “100 Days of Real Food” without exception, you’ll find another person who thinks your diet is wrong because it contains gluten, meat, or dairy, and by their standards, those foods are “bad.”

I used to use the term vegan or vegetarian to describe my diet but I’ve tried to limit it. I don’t want titles anymore – I try to explain that I eat “on a spectrum.” I don’t eat a lot of meat, but I enjoy a good burger sometimes. I don’t eat dessert every night (anymore), but I ate Girl Scout cookies last night. I don’t buy milk but I’ll drink a latte at a coffee shop. There are no off limits foods. We aren’t perfect and when we eat something that has more than one ingredient, it’s not “dirty.” It’s food.

I think we all strive to eat more healthfully and it’s easier to wrap our minds around certain titles – vegan, clean, paleo, gluten-free…. but are these titles creating more issues than they are solving? (Don’t get me wrong, a lot of people are vegan for moral reasons or gluten free for serious health reasons and I respect that those titles are necessary). I don’t know the answer to all the questions I’ve posed here but sometimes it’s important to take a step back and ask these questions. And to remember that in the end, food serves so many roles – physically, emotionally, spiritually – and we have no right to say that any one food is “good” or “bad” (Sorry Tony Horton, sometimes french fries ARE good!).

Do you put a title on your dietary preferences? Do you think we should call certain foods good or bad? 

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February 8, 2016 By fitnessfatale 18 Comments

Filed Under: Nutrition, Uncategorized Tagged With: eating clean

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tamsyn

    February 8, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    Great post, Nicole! Many people who have an all or nothing approach to eating fall into disordered eating or bingeing because they cannot live up to their own high expectations. I now try to stick to what I think is healthy food 80% of the time and then allow treats or less healthy foods the other 20% of the time. (When I used to strive for perfection, I’d fall off the wagon and binge on the bad stuff!) I do label my dietary preferences because I’m vegetarian, but I’m not a picky vegetarian and will grateful eat anything plant-based (or eggs/dairy) that I am served!

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 8, 2016 at 10:12 pm

      Thanks! So true about the “all or nothing” thing. I’ve definitely been caught up in that before!

      Reply
  2. Kate @ SoCal Runner Gal

    February 8, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    I love this! The more podcasts I listen to and the more books I read about diet, the more freaked out I get when I eat something that isn’t considered “clean.” It makes me feel guilt and shame – which is exactly the opposite of what I am striving for when it comes to my eating. I had a really unhealthy relationship with food for years and I can sometimes feel that mindset coming back due to this recent OBSESSION with clean, whole, REAL, true foods. We all know real food is the way to go — but that doesn’t mean we will die if we decide to eat a Girl Scout cookie or even a snack bag of Cheetos. But sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Sometimes eating something that doesn’t fall into the WHOLE FOOD category feels so dirty and shameful and I just don’t think that mindset is healthy. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and I’m glad you addressed it. I will have to listen to that podcast!

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 8, 2016 at 10:14 pm

      You should definitely listen to it! It was really interesting. I agree, the more I research healthful eating the more conflicting information I find and the more pressure I feel to eat a certain way. In the end, it’s about balance! We shouldn’t feel guilty if we have a cookie, but we also shouldn’t feel like we need to eat the whole box because we never know when we’ll have another one. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

      Reply
  3. Jen @ Pretty Little Grub

    February 8, 2016 at 9:38 pm

    Great post. I have a definite all food fits philosophy. The term clean eating grinds my gears! And I think especially parents need to be mindful of this and conscious of how they want to talk about and eat food with their kids so they develop healthy food relationships.

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 8, 2016 at 10:15 pm

      Thanks! I honestly never really thought too much about the term clean eating until now – light bulb moment! I really want to raise Siena to have a healthy relationship with food – hopefully avoiding any of these terms or fad diets will help.

      Reply
  4. Lindsey aka Freckles

    February 9, 2016 at 1:13 am

    I understand where you are coming from, but I chose clean eating only because I have formed really unhealthy habits. Sure, I may be fit, but I was absolutely addicted to sugar. Eventually it came to a point where any sweets or foods with any added sugar began to make my heart race. It scared me! So I decided to revamp my diet and go clean. I also decided to kick all sugar added foods. It has been the best decision I made. No more scary heart races.

    Yes, I too have had harmful relationships with food in the past. I went from anorexic to bulimic and back again, but even when I was able to control that, I still had a weird relationship with food. Now that I cleaned up, I feel that I have had the best relationship with food that I ever had. No regrets.

    Now, I am not saying this because I think you are wrong. No…I do agree that this may affect some in the ways you have described. It can lead to guilt if you expose yourself to “dirty” food. But again, I think it varies from person to person and their present relationship with food and how it also affects their health.

    Good entry! 🙂

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 9, 2016 at 3:09 pm

      Thanks Lindsey! I’m glad you’ve found a good balance with a clean diet! I agree that cutting out sugar from my diet for P90X has really helped me cut my addiction – I agree there is a time and a place for complete elimination.

      Reply
  5. Allie

    February 9, 2016 at 11:05 am

    I have heard this before and I could not agree more! We have made, what should be the simple task of eating, into a confused and fearful confusion of choices and tag lines like “clean eating.” It’s definitely good to be aware of what we’re telling ourselves as well as our kids!
    And, I ate so well with my twin pregnancy and all they seem to eat are chicken, pasta and pizza!! 🙂 I guess at least those are REAL foods – hahaha.

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 9, 2016 at 3:07 pm

      Haha sounds like a pretty typical kids diet. I have all these ideas of how Siena will eat but honestly I just need to let her figure it out! All I can do is provide healthy food and hope she enjoys it as much as I do.

      Reply
  6. Sun

    February 9, 2016 at 6:19 pm

    Lots of great points! I feel that putting labels on food is kind of a slippery slope and I don’t think cutting out entire food groups is ever a good idea (although I also understand cutting out meat for ethical reasons!). Food is meant to nourish and enjoy – and I think our bodies tell us what they need if we listen. It might be grilled fish and veggies one day but perhaps a cheese pizza the next day. Moderation is key! 🙂

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 9, 2016 at 6:25 pm

      So true Sun. I’ve noticed that you seem to have a healthy relationship with food and great recipes for both healthy and more indulgent finds!!

      Reply
  7. Sheena @ Paws and Pavement

    February 9, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    Interesting points for sure. I feel like I get more judgement from people when I give things a diet name like paleo. I can be over critical too when I try to adhere to those rules. Now I just try to eat the healthiest I can based on my running schedule. Bring on the carbs for long runs!

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 10, 2016 at 4:01 pm

      Oh yes, carbs for sure while training!!!

      Reply
  8. Erin

    February 10, 2016 at 1:37 am

    This is a great article. I struggle all the time with clean eating and I get so upset when I make a mistake, even though I shouldn’t! I try to live by the 80/20 rule so 80% of my eating is healthy and 20% are treats that I enjoy. It seems to be a good balance for me!

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 10, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      I agree, that is a good balance! Over the years I’ve started to prefer healthy foods more and more which makes the balance easier as well.

      Reply
  9. Laura

    February 10, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    I really enjoyed this and agree with you wholeheartedly. Yes, there are some that have the “labels” for a reason such as people with Celiac who need to be Gluten free. But for the most part- the labels don’t do anything but separate people. Why do we need to do that? Am I worse person because sometimes I eat meat, I eat TONS of cheese, but I also LOVE vegetables and sometimes replace my pasta with spaghetti squash or Zuchini noodles? Idk, it’s like high school cliques- the jocks, the nerds, the popular crowd—the paleos’, the vegetarians, the anti-carb…whatever, most people in my opinion don’t fall into any category 100% which makes the labels even more useless. It just seems so unnecessary to me- I don’t classify people in my head by what they eat because that doesn’t define who they are.

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 10, 2016 at 5:28 pm

      So true about the high school labels! Great analogy.

      Reply

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