Fat/sugar calories vs. "good" calories
Replies
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I'm a good calorie / bad calorie person. Good fat / bad fat. Good carb / bad carb.
I don't care how much others rant against the good/bad. Thinking of food as good / bad has kept me healthy for over half a century so I'm not changing now.
More of the good and less of the bad works for me.
I agree with this too. I think many on MFP go waaaay too far on the whole demonizing of food. If you're prone to or have issues with disordered eating, yeah, maybe you need to think of food differently. But, if you don't have any issues, thinking of food as good/bad for your specific goals is just an easy shorthand for discussion purposed. The big caveat being that what may be good/bad for your goals or body may not necessarily be true for someone else.
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OP, you may find this link, and others in the top of the various forum sections, helpful.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
Bottom line, as others have said, what matters for weight loss is to create a calorie deficit. There are many different ways to do that - WW, Low Carb, Paleo, IIFYM, more exercise, etc. But at the end of the day, in order to lose weight, you need to consume less calories than you expend. You need to find the way of creating that calorie deficit that is effective, sustainable, and even enjoyable, for you.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I'm a good calorie / bad calorie person. Good fat / bad fat. Good carb / bad carb.
I don't care how much others rant against the good/bad. Thinking of food as good / bad has kept me healthy for over half a century so I'm not changing now.
More of the good and less of the bad works for me.
Ditto.
It doesn't mean I won't eat cookies or ice cream when I want some, but I'm not going to lie to myself and pretend that 3 cookies is as healthy as a serving of Greek yogurt or nuts... even though I believe that everything is fine in moderation.0 -
I don't agree with thinking of foods as "good" or "bad" -- for me it makes more sense to focus on context and whether they further my goals. Eating a moderate portion of steak (or cheese) fits, eating a huge amount does not, but the steak (or cheese) doesn't start as a "good food" and become a "bad food." It's a good or neutral food I can easily overeat. Same with so much else that I eat.
However, if that works for others, that's fine with me.
My problem with the "good calories vs. bad calories" thing is actually somewhat different. FOODS are different, but calories are not -- they are just units of measurement. When someone says "a calorie is a calorie," they aren't at all suggesting that it doesn't matter what you eat or that foods don't differ, but that calories are what matter for weight loss. You can gain weight eating over maintenance from all foods you and I might agree are "good" (as in nice things to include in a healthy diet if you like them).
Since on the whole I think most knowledgeable people agree on this, the occasional effort to misrepresent the statement "a calorie is a calorie" into a claim that food choice does not matter is annoying.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't agree with thinking of foods as "good" or "bad" -- for me it makes more sense to focus on context and whether they further my goals. Eating a moderate portion of steak (or cheese) fits, eating a huge amount does not, but the steak (or cheese) doesn't start as a "good food" and become a "bad food." It's a good or neutral food I can easily overeat. Same with so much else that I eat.
However, if that works for others, that's fine with me.
My problem with the "good calories vs. bad calories" thing is actually somewhat different. FOODS are different, but calories are not -- they are just units of measurement. When someone says "a calorie is a calorie," they aren't at all suggesting that it doesn't matter what you eat or that foods don't differ, but that calories are what matter for weight loss. You can gain weight eating over maintenance from all foods you and I might agree are "good" (as in nice things to include in a healthy diet if you like them).
Since on the whole I think most knowledgeable people agree on this, the occasional effort to misrepresent the statement "a calorie is a calorie" into a claim that food choice does not matter is annoying.
I don't even buy the 'a calorie is a calorie' thing when it comes to diet. IMO a calorie that is swallowed and absorbed slowly or not fully absorbed (smiling at you fiber), is a good calorie.0 -
To me, good and bad are meaningless qualifiers. Not to restate the obvious, but they're just ways of saying that "I should eat this, or not that." But without knowing why I shouldn't eat something, it doesn't really help me to know that "shouldn't eat it." And the "why" of that is where anyone with a search engine can think they have the 1 true answer.
I find it better to disregard concepts of good and bad entirely for food. There is only cause and effect, and those can vary from person to person (e.g. someone with a strawberry allergy will have a reaction to strawberries that I won't have).
Ultimately, people should follow a plan that helps them achieve and maintain their goals in a healthy way. Of course, people will debate what constitutes "healthy." Personally, I think if the check ups with my doctor go well and I can't complain about illness, I'm pretty healthy.
If thinking of food as good and bad helps someone adjust their behavior in the long term, and they're satisfied with the results, it's no skin off my nose even if I find that line of thinking inadequate.0 -
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't agree with thinking of foods as "good" or "bad" -- for me it makes more sense to focus on context and whether they further my goals. Eating a moderate portion of steak (or cheese) fits, eating a huge amount does not, but the steak (or cheese) doesn't start as a "good food" and become a "bad food." It's a good or neutral food I can easily overeat. Same with so much else that I eat.
However, if that works for others, that's fine with me.
My problem with the "good calories vs. bad calories" thing is actually somewhat different. FOODS are different, but calories are not -- they are just units of measurement. When someone says "a calorie is a calorie," they aren't at all suggesting that it doesn't matter what you eat or that foods don't differ, but that calories are what matter for weight loss. You can gain weight eating over maintenance from all foods you and I might agree are "good" (as in nice things to include in a healthy diet if you like them).
Since on the whole I think most knowledgeable people agree on this, the occasional effort to misrepresent the statement "a calorie is a calorie" into a claim that food choice does not matter is annoying.
I don't even buy the 'a calorie is a calorie' thing when it comes to diet. IMO a calorie that is swallowed and absorbed slowly or not fully absorbed (smiling at you fiber), is a good calorie.
Some calories aren't absorbed, but then they aren't properly part of the count, IMO.
I find it a little perverted (although understandable) to think of calories that aren't absorbed as good calories -- it's like saying if we could alter food so we could eat it without absorbing an energy from it (like diet coke!) that would be ideal. But the purpose of food most basically is sustenance through calories.
Fiber is good too, of course, but not because you can eat without gaining weight, but because it benefits your body to a point.0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »No. That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works.
Who said that? Isn't that in a commercial?
If I never believed that a calorie is a calorie, I certainly do now. This is my first time on MFP and it's only been 30 days,but I've lost 3 lbs of the last 10 lbs.
For the last 2 years I've been 10-13 lbs over my ideal weight and I keep losing and gaining the same 3 lbs and could not for the life of me get below 150. Today I hit 148.
I tried every diet that told me what, when & how much to eat, and couldn't get results.
Now on MFP if I want an ice cream at midnight I have it, as long as I've allowed myself the calorie space. Not only am I losing weight but for the first time in forever I actually have faith that it will continue to work. And, I'm not grouchy or starving...the not grouchy part came from my husbands mouth.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't agree with thinking of foods as "good" or "bad" -- for me it makes more sense to focus on context and whether they further my goals. Eating a moderate portion of steak (or cheese) fits, eating a huge amount does not, but the steak (or cheese) doesn't start as a "good food" and become a "bad food." It's a good or neutral food I can easily overeat. Same with so much else that I eat.
However, if that works for others, that's fine with me.
My problem with the "good calories vs. bad calories" thing is actually somewhat different. FOODS are different, but calories are not -- they are just units of measurement. When someone says "a calorie is a calorie," they aren't at all suggesting that it doesn't matter what you eat or that foods don't differ, but that calories are what matter for weight loss. You can gain weight eating over maintenance from all foods you and I might agree are "good" (as in nice things to include in a healthy diet if you like them).
Since on the whole I think most knowledgeable people agree on this, the occasional effort to misrepresent the statement "a calorie is a calorie" into a claim that food choice does not matter is annoying.
I don't even buy the 'a calorie is a calorie' thing when it comes to diet. IMO a calorie that is swallowed and absorbed slowly or not fully absorbed (smiling at you fiber), is a good calorie.
Some calories aren't absorbed, but then they aren't properly part of the count, IMO.
I find it a little perverted (although understandable) to think of calories that aren't absorbed as good calories -- it's like saying if we could alter food so we could eat it without absorbing an energy from it (like diet coke!) that would be ideal. But the purpose of food most basically is sustenance through calories.
Fiber is good too, of course, but not because you can eat without gaining weight, but because it benefits your body to a point.
It doesn't seem like saying that at all to me. Different strokes.0 -
lindsey1979 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I'm a good calorie / bad calorie person. Good fat / bad fat. Good carb / bad carb.
I don't care how much others rant against the good/bad. Thinking of food as good / bad has kept me healthy for over half a century so I'm not changing now.
More of the good and less of the bad works for me.
I agree with this too. I think many on MFP go waaaay too far on the whole demonizing of food. If you're prone to or have issues with disordered eating, yeah, maybe you need to think of food differently. But, if you don't have any issues, thinking of food as good/bad for your specific goals is just an easy shorthand for discussion purposed. The big caveat being that what may be good/bad for your goals or body may not necessarily be true for someone else.
This. So much this.0
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