I've been wondering this for a few weeks, & really haven't come up with a good answer so I'll as you all.

Once upon a time, it was calories in, calories out. Clean eating wasn't a thing, & now everyone says the only way to lose weight is to eat clean. I don't understand if this is a new fad or what. I realize all the good that eating clean does for you, but let's be honest, it's pretty frickin' expensive to do all day, everyday. From August to October, I lost 15lbs eating Lean Cuisines all day. You can't tell me that calories don't make the difference.

I'm down to the last 7 or so pounds that I'd like to lose, & I'm just not sure what to do about them. I sat staring at my grocery list the other day, stumped about what to get. Do I eat as clean as I can afford or do I just count my calories like I have for the last SEVENTY pounds that I lost? I mean, there's got to be some truth to the calorie theory or I'd still be in the 200s. Can you only have a flat belly if you only consume quinoa & carrots & chicken? Regardless of how you bust your balls to tone & tighten?

I have lost lots of weight lots of times and I'm about to do it again for the LAST time I do sincerely hope. I have been dieting since I was six and I'm now 40. I've read everything there is to read, quizzed every doctor, tried everything. IMO, the diet that "works" is the one you can stick to and do for the rest of your life. Surely being 70 pounds thinner (congrats, btw!) via portion control is a **** of a lot healthier than being 70 pounds thinner for two weeks via some method you can't possibly embrace for life.

The people I know who have kept their weight off are people who embraced their weight loss method FOR LIFE. It might be clean eating, portion control, vegetarianism, raw foods - whatever suits YOU forever is the right thing.

And yes, I do think it pretty much comes down to calories in/calories out - choose the way YOU can keep the calories in check.

Last year there was some guy who lost weight on a junk food diet, to make a point. He ate snack cakes every day, for goodness sake but he counted the calories. He lost weight and his blood work improved dramatically in a MONTH. Just losing weight is a huge benefit.

You're doing great! Don't get bogged down in information that confuses or does not help you!

I don't think EVERYONE says eating clean is the only way to lose weight. I agree with 98DaysOFSummer, the diet that works is the one you can stick to I have found that calorie counting works best for me
Congratulations on losing 70 pounds that is a great accomplishment.

Calories matter. There are plenty of skinny people who eat hot dogs and chips.

Calories in and out are THE most important thing in my opinion.

But...it depends on your goals. If you just want to lose weight, I think that is the best approach. If you want to lose bodyfat, I think clean eating along with weight training are the way to go.

I am proof that clean eating has really helped my belly bulge and muffin top. I am skinny, but I consider myself "skinny fat". I'm an apple shape and the belly has been the last to go. I look fantastic in clothes but not so much in a bikini I constantly watched my calories and did tons of bootcamps, pilates and cardio exercises, but it wasn't until I started kettlebell that I saw some changes along with clean eating. I stepped it up to weight workouts and I am finally feeling like it's been the belly blaster I've needed to make a difference.

The number on the scale is still important to me (because I have this unhealthy addiction to the scale), but now I am more concerned with my bodyfat number. I've seen so many transformations where the weight is the same and bodyfat is lower and they look like they've lost tons of pounds. They are leaner and more "shredded".

I do not find "eating clean" more expensive. In fact, I save money. I eat out less and I don't buy expensive packaged foods. I plan and prep my meals for a few days at a time and I save time in the kitchen in the long run. I rarely get that "overate bloat" anymore.

I do think it's important to enjoy a good meal once a week without worrying if it's clean or not. Life is short and you should enjoy some great food and wine A good balance is what is needed for long term success.

Clean eating doesn't have to be expensive. My brother lived on boneless, skinless frozen chicken breast and veggies when he was broke and it was cheap. He didn't buy all organic or anything. I lost weight the way you did, calories in, calories out, and also did a lot of conveinence type food like Lean Cuisines, protein bars, protein shakes. I couldn't stick to something where I could never eat the foods that I want to, or give up anything forever.

My biggest thing with getting rid of the body fat has been lifting heavy weights in addition to the cardio I was already doing. I started noticing a difference when I was doing Insanity because of all the push ups, and then I switched to Chalene Extreme and really started to get the definition. I do think there is something to the whole belly fat/carbs thing. Belly fat is the last to go on me and I have to be eating really healthy, working out hard, and also diligent about counting calories in order to see any sort of a 6 pack. You can definitely lose weight without weight lifting or clean eating though. I was skinny as a teen and didn't eat healthy or excersize, I just didn't eat much.

They are two separate concepts that work together.

Quantity... calories in/calories out will bring weight loss.
Quality... "Clean eating" will bring proper nutrients, steadier blood sugar, better energy.
Quantity plus Quality concepts will bring optimum nutrition for one's body.

In other words, its about getting the correct quantity of quality goods.

I could go to costco and get one 200 calorie donut, or 20lbs turkey and broccoli.
When uniting the quantity and quality concepts, I would chose 200 calories worth of turkey and broccoli.

This is an article I refer back to often when I'm feeling lost or confused by the latest fad diet or fad terminology:
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

While calories in and calories out are the key it also pays to keep in mind how you can stay satisfied within that calorie allotment. Junk food is calorie dense so you get less actual food for the same calories than you would from say, some fruit or vegetables so you may not feel satisfied from the standpoint of "fullness". As stated in the article, you could fill your calorie quota with Twinkies but you will get a lot less Twinkies than you would "clean food" for the same amount of calories. You also have to consider how you really want to fuel your body and what your overall health goals are: Do you want to be "skinny" or are you trying to achieve a level of health and fitness?

It really all depends on your body and your metabolism. Eating clean ultimately is eating fewer calories, and also eating foods that are nutritious and good for your health which is great for your energy level and can help boost your activity level as a nice side effect. And yes, eating the right balance of foods can make a difference in your stomach and other problem areas.

But you can lose weight with shear calories in, calories out. I've lost around 10 pounds so far on a diet that consists of things like...mcdonalds, mozz sticks, etc and absolutely not a bit of vegetables. Are the clean eaters healthier and likely to live longer? Sure. It all depends on personal goals and priorities.

And even women who eat clean may never have a completely flat belly. It's part of our biology.

~Katy

I agree with everyone else, calories are the most important thing when it comes to losing weight. I tend to veer toward a calorie counting diet, but lately I have been doing low-carb which allows for a bit higher calorie diet, but still lets you lose pretty quickly (as well as helps burn fat, revealing muscle, instead of burning glucose, like other diets do--creating the skinny-fat or the skinny-except-for-a-belly-pooch)

I eat a lot of protein and healthy fats (olive oil, fish, avocado, coconut oil, etc.) and for my carbs, I eat leafy greens and fiber based vegetables. I went from 1200 cals a day to 1500-1600 and I am losing weight just as fast, but I feel like my body looks better and more toned (and I feel better).

^ This is the key.

I agree that its all about the calories, but there are different ways to keep on track with calorie restrictions. You just have to find the methods that work for you so that you can stick with it. And the method doesn't have to be the same for the rest of your life. But since you will have to go through this for the rest of your life, you'll always have to find some plan that works.

The pitfall that so many have fallen into in the past after we have lost weight is thinking that we can go back to our previous way of eating after we reached our goal. I don't know what we're thinking when we've done that. Perhaps the problem is that we were not thinking.

Hey MaddieB! Congrats on losing a whopping 70 pounds! Good Lord child.

I agree with folks here that cals in/cals out is pretty standard and reliable. It seems like it's worked for you in the past - and if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? In my experience, though, I think it's also dependent on how foods effect the individual body. For instance, if I were to try to lose weight by eating Lean Cuisines every day for several months I would GAIN weight because my body is really sensitive to sodium. I've noticed that the cleaner I eat, the better my body feels and the faster my weight loss progresses. It could be different for you though!

Keep up the great work. You're doing amazingly well!

Calories in calories out was the key for me to lose. Overtime I've cleaned up my diet and try to eat clean about 75% of the time but regardless the actual losing, gaining or maintaining of weight comes down to calories. Whatever works for you!

If you're only interested in weight control, calories are the bottom line, with a few caveats. Some folks (I'm one of them) find that they can eat more calories, yet lose weight as well or faster when the calories come from whole food, lower glycemic, or lower carb foods.

When I was much younger, I lost weight about as well on 1500 calories of garbage as on 1500 calories of low carb (except for the first week or so when eating high carb would cause a several pound water weight gain, and on low carb would cause several pounds of water weight loss).

Clean, lower carb paleo is a no-brainer for me now (or should be, I find it hard to eat as cleanly as I should). Not only can I eat about 300 more calories (I lose about the same on 1800 calories of lower carb as on 1500 calories of high carb), but I also am far less hungry and get to eat a much higher volume of food. The hunger differential is so great that I'm actually hungrier on 3000 calories of high carb than on 1000 calories of low carb.

Even so, my most important reason for eating low glycemic, whole foods has very little to do with weight. When I eat crap, I feel like crap, and when I feel like crap, I crave even more crap, and end up eating more crap, because when I feel like crap, I act like a spouled brat, thinking I deserve to eat what I want when I feel crappy, even if what I want is only going to make me feel even crappier.

The longer I eat clean, the crappier I feel when I do eat even small amounts of crap. Yeah, I could lose weight on 1000 calories of Twinkies, but I would feel miserable, and spread that misery to others, because I'd be a major B-witch.

Every "diet" guru and many of the diet's followers will claim that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is by following their diet (often demanding rigid perfection in following the plan - often demanding "starting over" if it's a stage-based plan following even the smallest slip).

The way we traditionally in our culture reinforces the idea that there is only one path, or at least one must choose only one path and woe be to anyone who steps even one toe off that path). Even though we say otherwise, we act as though perfection is more important than anything else. If you cant be perfect, don't bother!

I say, if you can't be perfect, do what you can, even if it's half-arsed pitiful. It has to result in better outcomes than "tradition" which is to eat perfectly on plan, or to shovel junk in til we decide to start over. I really think the secret to permanent weight loss, and even good health isn't eating perfectly at all times, it's focusing on damage control - doing the best you can in the context of the bigger picture - not using off-plan eating as an excuse to eat more and more and further and further off-plan.

I feel theses statements are both correct I am in my 60's and have lost weight every way......
Eating clean to me is plain no sauce,I avoid cheeses bread.
I quantity and quality for my calories it works for me,you need to find something you can live with for life.