Eating clean is a way of eating in which the food consumed is as close to its natural state as possible. That means no processed foods, nothing that comes in a box – basically if it’s man-made, chances are it shouldn’t be eaten. To give you an idea of eating clean, bodybuilders tend to eat this way. However, most people who are trying to eat healthier and lose weight find it difficult to follow.

I run another blog about clean eating and many times, depending on the topic, people will leave comments like “that isn’t clean eating.” I have even received emails about the links I point to for recipes stating that I need to learn what clean eating is. I totally think it’s fine since I started the blog in the hopes to get better at eating clean.

Yet, lately I have been less and less interested because I feel like I have fallen into the category of those who just want to eat healthier without having labels applied to my meals. Just recently, someone left a comment that resonated with me:

Please just stop. Stop with the “clean” and “dirty” eating or “clean” and “dirty” foods. Food is food. A meal is a meal. You do not “cheat” when you eat “dirty” food. The moral attachment that occurs when labeling foods in this way serves to generate guilt and is counterproductive to the goal of fat loss. Eliminate these words from your vocabulary and you’ll be happier and less neurotic. [view the comment in full here]

That comment made a lot of sense to me which is probably why I haven’t been able to really get into writing much on that blog. I still like the idea of eating clean. It makes sense and I believe people who do it are very satisfied with their results.

Are you a clean eater? Do you feel like there is a moral attachment to eating that way?