What we eat

ariannfa583

Hi. I have a question. Alright im supposed to eat 1400 calories per day. Does it matter what I eat ? Or as long as I eat that number of calories it's alright if I have cookies n hotchocolate n stuff everyday. Caz almost 400 calories of what I eat are unhealthy stuff? N plz I need female friends who go through the same stuff like suger craving n struggling to lose weight

janejellyroll

For weight loss -- it doesn't matter what you eat.

For your health and energy? Nutrition does matter. You want to make sure you're getting sufficient protein, fat, and fiber (as well as other vitamins).

Hot chocolate is delicious, but it isn't that filling. That doesn't mean you can't have it, it just means you might feel better (and feel fuller) if you balance it with foods that help you feel fuller.

That said, many people find a way to have stuff like cookies or hot chocolate every day -- the trick is looking at your overall diet and making sure it isn't keeping you from meeting your nutritional goals.

cityruss

Your answer is dependent on a more specific question.

If it's fat loss in isolation then yes, you can eat what you want, as calories are king.

For health, nutrition, adherence, athletic performance, then what you eat comes in to play.

The holy grail is to create a balanced dietary intake that meets your specific needs. Both hot chocolate and cookies can be eaten in a balanced and nutritionally sound dietary intake that promotes fat loss.

TeaBea

ariannfa583 wrote: »

Hi. I have a question. Alright im supposed to eat 1400 calories per day. Does it matter what I eat ? Or as long as I eat that number of calories it's alright if I have cookies n hotchocolate n stuff everyday. Caz almost 400 calories of what I eat are unhealthy stuff? N plz I need female friends who go through the same stuff like suger craving n struggling to lose weight

Yes - and no.

You only need a calorie deficit to lose weight. So technically you can eat "whatever."

However, you now have fewer calories to work with & for health reasons you want to meet nutritional guidelines. This means getting the most bang for your calorie buck (more often). You want foods that are filling, foods that help you meet protein goals, and foods that help keep you on track.

I eat "mostly" healthy foods, but I do leave some room for treats. After all, I need to learn portion sizes for ALL foods, not just diet ones.

lienko

It doesn't matter since you can eat anything and still lose weight as long as you keep to your goal.

If you're trying to be healthier as a whole though, then improving and changing your diet will make you less prone to binges, help you feel full and overall improve how you feel at the end of the day.

malibu927

For weight loss, no it doesn't matter. For nutrition, it absolutely matters.

meritage4

Be kind to your body limit your empty calories.

Lounmoun

As others have posted, for weight loss calories matter not type of food.
For health the nutrition content of food matters.
For feeling satisfied getting enough protein, fats and fiber help.
If you experience a lot of cravings you might be better off if you used more calories to meet your body's nutritional needs first and less calories on low nutrition foods. Maybe give yourself 100-200 calories to use on cookies or hot chocolate instead of 400 and see if the cravings are better.

Need2Exerc1se

400 calories of stuff like cookies and hot chocolate and 1000 calories of nutrition foods sounds like a decent diet to me.

melonaulait

If you don't want to crave that 400 or more calories' worth of sugary sweets, you might want to try having stuff like fresh fruit for 400 calories. Fresh fruit works great, or carbs like sweet potato, potatoes, rice, noodles. I'm only saying this because since I started eating more carbs (...especially fruit!) my cravings for stuff like chocolate and candy has diminished.

But -- if you don't mind indulging in your sweets of choice, that's ok too! It's completely possible to lead a healthy lifestyle and lose weight while eating your favorite sweets as often as you like, as long as it fits your calories/goals.

kshama2001

ariannfa583 wrote: »

Hi. I have a question. Alright im supposed to eat 1400 calories per day. Does it matter what I eat ? Or as long as I eat that number of calories it's alright if I have cookies n hotchocolate n stuff everyday. Caz almost 400 calories of what I eat are unhealthy stuff? N plz I need female friends who go through the same stuff like suger craving n struggling to lose weight

I would have a really difficult time staying in my calorie budget if 29% of my food came from foods like cookies and hot chocolate.

Understanding satiety: feeling full after a meal

...Tips on how to feel fuller

So how can we best try to enhance these feelings of fullness to help us control how much we eat? Here are some top tips for helping you feel fuller:

1. Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.
2. If you are watching your weight, opt for lower fat versions, using leaner cuts of meat, cutting off visible fat and avoiding the skin on poultry as this will help reduce the energy density of the diet, which can help to enhance satiety (see below).
3. Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.
4. Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.
5. The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods. Click here for more information on energy density.

Read more: http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html