Can you really eat whatever you want?
Replies
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It IS hard to believe that weight loss is so simple, we have been brainwashed to think that we have to eat in a special way, and exercise, and that certain foods are fattening, and that eating at the wrong times makes it impossible to lose weight, and so on. There's a nugget of truth in most things - so yes, some foods are easier than others to overeat, and yes, being more active overall makes us burn more calories, and yes, bored and mindless eating is more common at night - but if you log your food intake correctly, and stick to your calorie target, you WILL lose weight, as long as you have weight to lose. It will be slow if you have little fat on your body, but your body doesn't have a will of its own, or any such nonsense. Weight management is actually pretty straightforward and logical, almost boring. You can't speed it up, but you can decide if it's going to be torture, or fun, or at least not be constant torture.19
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Thank you all for the advice so far! Just to clarify - I really do enjoy the "healthy" foods I cook. And I've stuck to low carbs so far mainly because I find it easier to stay under 1,200 that way.
I genuinely want to be healthier but I'm talking about the few times a week I get cravings for stuff. It's currently popcorn, it's literally all I can think about haha.
I was looking at the calories on things like donuts, granola bars or even crisps and because my lunch&dinners are usually so low calorie, I could fit in some other stuff on some days....I was just worried that the fact they are "unhealthy" would hinder my progress.
I know CICO, but it's sometimes hard to believe that any calories that are less than what you expend will lead to a loss. I guess, I just wanted some clarification...
I sometimes had foods like donuts, granola bars, and potato chips when I was losing weight. It never hindered my progress.
One thing I will note is that if you're eating generally lower carbohydrate, increasing your carbohydrates on a given day can lead to a temporary jump in water weight because going lower carbohydrate tends to result in less water in your body and increasing the carbs will result in more. But this isn't the same thing as actually gaining fat. So you might see a temporary increase on the scale for a day or two, but it doesn't mean that your plan isn't working.5 -
kommodevaran wrote: »It IS hard to believe that weight loss is so simple, we have been brainwashed to think that we have to eat in a special way, and exercise, and that certain foods are fattening, and that eating at the wrong times makes it impossible to lose weight, and so on. There's a nugget of truth in most things - so yes, some foods are easier than others to overeat, and yes, being more active overall makes us burn more calories, and yes, bored and mindless eating is more common at night - but if you log your food intake correctly, and stick to your calorie target, you WILL lose weight, as long as you have weight to lose. It will be slow if you have little fat on your body, but your body doesn't have a will of its own, or any such nonsense. Weight management is actually pretty straightforward and logical, almost boring. You can't speed it up, but you can decide if it's going to be torture, or fun, or at least not be constant torture.
Yes yes yes!!!2 -
Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.4
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85Cardinals wrote: »You can't eat a wrench! But if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
Can you eat a ball?1 -
I've lost over 20 kilos so far and I've eaten chocolate/cake/ice cream etc. every day. No it doesn't matter at all.3
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estherdragonbat wrote: »Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.
I'm eating roughly 1,200 calories a day, this is the figure MFP generated for me based on my height and weight loss goals2 -
For weight loss sure, as long as you're burning more calories than you consume. For health? probably shouldn't lol0
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janejellyroll wrote: »Thank you all for the advice so far! Just to clarify - I really do enjoy the "healthy" foods I cook. And I've stuck to low carbs so far mainly because I find it easier to stay under 1,200 that way.
I genuinely want to be healthier but I'm talking about the few times a week I get cravings for stuff. It's currently popcorn, it's literally all I can think about haha.
I was looking at the calories on things like donuts, granola bars or even crisps and because my lunch&dinners are usually so low calorie, I could fit in some other stuff on some days....I was just worried that the fact they are "unhealthy" would hinder my progress.
I know CICO, but it's sometimes hard to believe that any calories that are less than what you expend will lead to a loss. I guess, I just wanted some clarification...
I sometimes had foods like donuts, granola bars, and potato chips when I was losing weight. It never hindered my progress.
One thing I will note is that if you're eating generally lower carbohydrate, increasing your carbohydrates on a given day can lead to a temporary jump in water weight because going lower carbohydrate tends to result in less water in your body and increasing the carbs will result in more. But this isn't the same thing as actually gaining fat. So you might see a temporary increase on the scale for a day or two, but it doesn't mean that your plan isn't working.
Oh, interesting, I did not know this. I'm not too caught up in daily fluctuations on the scale but thanks for the heads up!0 -
But is your weight loss goal realistic? No more than 1% of your body weight per week, on average, is realistic. A bigger deficit than that, is pointless.estherdragonbat wrote: »Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.
I'm eating roughly 1,200 calories a day, this is the figure MFP generated for me based on my height and weight loss goals2 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
But is your weight loss goal realistic? No more than 1% of your body weight per week, on average, is realistic. A bigger deficit than that, is pointless.
I'm eating roughly 1,200 calories a day, this is the figure MFP generated for me based on my height and weight loss goalsestherdragonbat wrote: »Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.
actually 0.5 to 1%. and I still think it would be better expressed as a % of TDEE. As in a deficit equal to up to 20% of TDEE (25% while having sufficient fat available to lose; usually people who do are classified as obese)1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Thank you all for the advice so far! Just to clarify - I really do enjoy the "healthy" foods I cook. And I've stuck to low carbs so far mainly because I find it easier to stay under 1,200 that way.
I genuinely want to be healthier but I'm talking about the few times a week I get cravings for stuff. It's currently popcorn, it's literally all I can think about haha.
I was looking at the calories on things like donuts, granola bars or even crisps and because my lunch&dinners are usually so low calorie, I could fit in some other stuff on some days....I was just worried that the fact they are "unhealthy" would hinder my progress.
I know CICO, but it's sometimes hard to believe that any calories that are less than what you expend will lead to a loss. I guess, I just wanted some clarification...
I sometimes had foods like donuts, granola bars, and potato chips when I was losing weight. It never hindered my progress.
One thing I will note is that if you're eating generally lower carbohydrate, increasing your carbohydrates on a given day can lead to a temporary jump in water weight because going lower carbohydrate tends to result in less water in your body and increasing the carbs will result in more. But this isn't the same thing as actually gaining fat. So you might see a temporary increase on the scale for a day or two, but it doesn't mean that your plan isn't working.
Oh, interesting, I did not know this. I'm not too caught up in daily fluctuations on the scale but thanks for the heads up!
Then you should be fine. I'm in your camp -- I don't pay attention to daily fluctuations, but it sure helps to know what might be happening when you see one!0 -
I can (and do) eat what I want. But I can't eat as much of it as I'd want.8
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kommodevaran wrote: »
But is your weight loss goal realistic? No more than 1% of your body weight per week, on average, is realistic. A bigger deficit than that, is pointless.
I'm eating roughly 1,200 calories a day, this is the figure MFP generated for me based on my height and weight loss goalsestherdragonbat wrote: »Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.
actually 0.5 to 1%. and I still think it would be better expressed as a % of TDEE. As in a deficit equal to up to 20% of TDEE (25% while having sufficient fat available to lose; usually people who do are classified as obese)
This is so wise ... and, as far as I believe, it is true. For example, an obese individual weighing, say, 230 pounds, would need to cut about 1150 calories a day from their maintenance calories to target a 1% weight loss goal ... that's an awful lot of calories to cut if the person is not heavily engaged in hard aerobic exercise and has, let's say, a 2000 calorie maintenance TDEE .... But that same person can opt to cut calories by 25% and consume 1500 calories a day instead ... and be on target to lose about 1 pound a week. ... And I am speaking of hard losses here, not water retention weight loss.
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I took my husband out and had a great big bowl of pho tonight. We even split a fried chicken wing appetizer (3 each). I'm still under my calories for the day.1
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I was looking at the calories on things like donuts, granola bars or even crisps and because my lunch&dinners are usually so low calorie, I could fit in some other stuff on some days....I was just worried that the fact they are "unhealthy" would hinder my progress.
I know CICO, but it's sometimes hard to believe that any calories that are less than what you expend will lead to a loss. I guess, I just wanted some clarification...
I ate a large meal of Mexican food, complete with appetiser (nachos and guac) and a dessert (tiramisu) and then half a chocolate cheesecake the next day for lunch on my birthday weekend a few weeks after starting with MFP ... still lost weight because they fit within my calorie limit.
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Jackibrazil wrote: »For weight loss sure, as long as you're burning more calories than you consume. For health? probably shouldn't lol
How healthy it is depends pretty greatly on what one wants to eat. I'm a pretty firm believer that as long as you eat a good variety of different foods and you don't have any specific health issues causing you to need to pay particular attention to some aspect of your diet, nutrition tends to largely work itself out.12 -
As long as you're covering your nutritional bases, not starving yourself, and not sensitive or allergic, and it fits in your calorie budget, yes eat what you want.1
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rankinsect wrote: »Jackibrazil wrote: »For weight loss sure, as long as you're burning more calories than you consume. For health? probably shouldn't lol
How healthy it is depends pretty greatly on what one wants to eat. I'm a pretty firm believer that as long as you eat a good variety of different foods and you don't have any specific health issues causing you to need to pay particular attention to some aspect of your diet, nutrition tends to largely work itself out.
Well duh. But for the vast majority of people "whatever I want" isn't going to be healthy. Especially if they have to ask that question. Hello, context.16
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