would you?

TNH · Dec 6, 2010

I wouldn't, but only because I wouldn't want to negatively affect my health.
Staying lean is nice, but it's only half the reason I eat clean. In fact, the main reason I started eating clean was for overall feelings of well being, stronger immune system, and better athletic performance.

I bought a book called the 150 healthiest foods in the world. For two weeks I only ate things in that book....which was not very conducive to bodybuilding, but I wanted to try it anyway. For those two weeks, every single little ache and pain I had was gone, energy was WAY up, sleep improved, sex drive went up, etc. I was sold on proper nutrition after that. What I did was add meats and protein powders back into the healthy veggies and things that were in the book.... and while I lost a little bit of the positive feelings, I was still able to put on/hold mass while getting a lot of the health benefits.

I still love the taste of junky foods though.
So to stay sane, I will sometimes take a Saturday to eat whatever I want... including ice cream, fried food, whatever. I follow it with a day of fasting, just BCAA's/EAA's. I don't gain any extra fat from doing it this way, and it allows me to eat some fun foods once in a while. The day of fasting gives my digestive system a rest and I am ready to go back to pounding the healthy food on Monday.

weltweite -
My immune system was crappy my entire life. I quit drinking alcohol, and began taking tons of anti-oxidants as well as drinking 5-10 cups of green tea a day. My immune system really came back strong since doing all this.

Olive leaf extract helps too.

mffdvr · Dec 6, 2010

TNH said:
I wouldn't, but only because I wouldn't want to negatively affect my health.
Staying lean is nice, but it's only half the reason I eat clean. In fact, the main reason I started eating clean was for overall feelings of well being, stronger immune system, and better athletic performance.

I bought a book called the 150 healthiest foods in the world. For two weeks I only ate things in that book....which was not very conducive to bodybuilding, but I wanted to try it anyway. For those two weeks, every single little ache and pain I had was gone, energy was WAY up, sleep improved, sex drive went up, etc. I was sold on proper nutrition after that. What I did was add meats and protein powders back into the healthy veggies and things that were in the book.... and while I lost a little bit of the positive feelings, I was still able to put on/hold mass while getting a lot of the health benefits.

I still love the taste of junky foods though.
So to stay sane, I will sometimes take a Saturday to eat whatever I want... including ice cream, fried food, whatever. I follow it with a day of fasting, just BCAA's/EAA's. I don't gain any extra fat from doing it this way, and it allows me to eat some fun foods once in a while. The day of fasting gives my digestive system a rest and I am ready to go back to pounding the healthy food on Monday.

weltweite -
My immune system was crappy my entire life. I quit drinking alcohol, and began taking tons of anti-oxidants as well as drinking 5-10 cups of green tea a day. My immune system really came back strong since doing all this.

Olive leaf extract helps too.

Was this book authored by Johnny Bowden Phd. ?

dancinfool · Dec 6, 2010

I am by no means a bodybuilder, but I do try and eat healthy the majority of the time. If I had access to everything the OP mentioned and could eat whatever I wanted and stay the same, I can honestly say I don't think I would. There were a few nights over the summer where I indulged in ice cream, or birthday cake, or something of the sort at night before bed, and let me tell you, I always feel like absolute shit in the morning.

For me, it comes down to booze. I'm 25 years old and all of my friends are into the whole bar scene. I could honestly live without it, but find myself indulging due to the fact that they are. Peer pressure is a lame excuse for a lack of discipline I know, but I'm a very social person and need interaction. This past month, I haven't been out once and I feel great and am making strides in the gym and with my physique. I feel like a hermit and sometimes question why I even bother to work so hard.

So, I guess to sum it up, if I could DRINK whatever I wanted and stay the same, I would probably do that more so than eat what I wanted.

TNH · Dec 6, 2010

mffdvr said:
Was this book authored by Johnny Bowden Phd. ?

Yes

Dado5 · Dec 6, 2010

I have a hard time beeing on diet. As i come from a country where we eat everything ,home cooking meals with most fatty stuff you ca find. Honestly if i have endless supply of drugs i would use them and eat crappy food.
Hell my favorite snack as as a kid was homemade lard spreaded on the bread and sprinkled with red paprika...

jt7 · Dec 6, 2010

if i could look the same no matter what or how much i ate i would most likely eat a whole lot less and a much wider variety of foods. who on here isnt tired of chicken and hot sauce?

RINO · Dec 7, 2010

I really don't like what most would consider junk food...it makes me ill....seriously.

VTliftVT · Dec 7, 2010

For the past 4-5 years, 99% of my meals were exactly what my trainer told me to have...that being chicken, tuna, ground beef, ground turkey, eggs, an occasional filet mignon, oats, ezekiel bread, yams, veggies...so basically the same bland shit day after day after day.

During my prep I was able to have a cheat meal here and there but it was normally eggs and a buckwheat pancake with organic jam that I made myself.

After my contest I had a couple of cheat meals the following day but that was it...I went directly back to my offseason diet and it was easy.

Now, after the same foods for so long it just has became harder to eat the same foods. I have days that I would almost gag at the site of chicken. I've had to find ways to enjoy meals as I'm not prepping for a contest and suffering through 5-7 meals per day isn't something I was willing to do.

I am dieting currently but I've been able to find ways to enjoy more of my meals and still make the progress that I want. I've used more egg meals and implemented shrimp. I've bought the pre-cooked and seasoned chicken containers from Tyson. I've even had a 6" sweet onion chicken teryaki sub from subway here and there and guess what, I'm still losing weight.

Buselmo is right on with many of his points. I still eat for health and most of my meals are "by the book" but I can still enjoy a meal here and there and not suffer and make the progress that I want to make.

So to answer the question, hell no I wouldn't eat 100% clean 24/7, 365 days per year if I could make the same progress using more "enhancements" and actually enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, if I was competing I'd be dead on with every meal bc that's how my head works...I get OCD...but not when I'm just trying to look good and enjoy life and reduce my stress levels.