Does it really matter what you eat?
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I'm just beginning my journey. I was curious, does it really matter what kinds of foods you eat? Is weight lost sustained or easier when you eat certain types of food? I've heard it's only about calories in vs. Calories out. I've also heard eating clean (whatever that means) is best. Those that have reached success, can you share how you ate with me?
"Clean" foods have calories too...and calories are what counts. You can still overeat whilst eating "clean"...weight management is simply energy (calorie) management regardless of the source...a calorie is a calorie is a calorie...it's a unit of energy.
That said, weight management is much easier IMO when your diet consists largely of whole foods and meals prepared using scratch, whole ingredients and minimally processed foods (things like canned tomatoes and whatnot for sauces, etc). I mean really, it would be pretty easy for me to scarf down a couple thousand calories worth of potato chips...I'd be hard pressed to do the same with an actual baked potato or something.
Also, certain foods are going to have a higher thermal effect than others...meaning you actually burn more calories consuming them...your body has to work harder to break down fibrous foods and protein and thus you burn a handful more calories eating these things. These same types of food also tend to be more satiating...again, a bunch of potato chips isn't going to keep me full very long...a nice baked potato with the skin is going to keep me satiated much longer for less calories.
Beyond that, you obviously have to consider the nutritional aspect of things.
Personally, I eat a diet consisting largely of lots of veg, a couple servings of fruit, plenty of whole grains and legumes, lean sourced protein, and healthy fats from things like avocados and nuts and good cooking oils...my diet consists largely of whole foods and meals prepared with scratch, whole ingredients...but I also enjoy taking my kids and wife out to eat once in awhile...I enjoy having pizza now and then...sometimes I just like a good deli sandwich, etc. You don't need to get all wrapped up in everything being "clean" and not every morsel that goes into your mouth has to be the epitome of healthy...having a little ice cream for desert tonight isn't going to undo all of the awesome nutrition I otherwise took in today.
Look at the bigger picture and look at your diet as a whole rather than the individual parts...if your diet on the whole is good, you are good.6 -
Depends on what your goal is. If its only to loose weight you can eat Mc Donalds everyday at a deficit, if its to get healthy along with losing weight then you are better off with fruits and veggies.
What if I eat fruits, veggies, lean protein, whole grains, dairy AND McDonalds and still stay in my deficit...
Why does everything always have to be extremes one way or another?6 -
Yes and no. You could lose weight eating nothing but donuts and fritos, so long as you ate fewer total calories. You would ultimately get skinnier. However, you'd feel like crap and the damage you would do to your body with a terrible diet would counter many, if not all, of the benefits of weight loss.
I don't 'eat clean,' but I eat healthy most of the time. And a side bonus of eating more fruits and veggies is that you can eat more food, period. Once you make a habit of it, it's not difficult to sustain. It is a little spendier in the short term, but you'll thank yourself in the long term.
Did the OP say she was considering a diet of nothing but donuts and fritos? I'm not sure why people always bring up these extreme examples.5 -
Your overall diet matters for nutrition & health of course. Individual items within your overall diet have minimal impact. Satiety, happiness, adherence are all big success factors that are impacted by the choices you make.
But those choices are very personal.
Exclusion or moderation of foods you have self-control problems with is also very personal but I believe moderation is a better long term approach for the majority. In the end weight loss or maintenance comes down to calories but the tools you use to control your calories are many and varied.
Eating clean seems to have a million and one definitions some of which are comical, scientifically or logically unsound and/or puritanical. I don't believe something that can't be defined can be best!
The "best" diets (i.e. healthiest populations) from around the world are incredibly varied.
My experience - I found an eating pattern (5:2 diet) that suited my high determination / low boredom threshold personality. I found it easy to adhere to and allowed me to eat the foods I like in the correct quantities over the course of a week. I also include a very high exercise routine as I enjoy both food and exercise, a marriage made in heaven. Overall it's probably not a method that would suit most people.
cosign ...1 -
happygalah wrote: »It's all about the cico but for me I could spend my entire days calories on one fast food meal so not much fun there. Junk food is full of chemicals and not much nutrition so to get the vitamins and minerals you need fresh fruits and vegetables etc are going to fill you up with more nutrition and less calories.
all food is "full of chemicals"...2 -
I just had a McDonald's cheeseburger and Medium Fries, and I'm losing, soo.......3
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WinoGelato wrote: »Depends on what your goal is. If its only to loose weight you can eat Mc Donalds everyday at a deficit, if its to get healthy along with losing weight then you are better off with fruits and veggies.
What if I eat fruits, veggies, lean protein, whole grains, dairy AND McDonalds and still stay in my deficit...
Why does everything always have to be extremes one way or another?
^^I agree wholeheartedly. My experience, I have been on MFP for over 4 years, over 2-1/2 on maintenance, is, that to have the best chance of maintaining for a lifetime is to make it as sustainable as possible. Limiting yourself to only certain foods increases your chance of giving up over time. The statistics are that over 80% of the people that lose weight, gain it all back within 5 years. Some gaining even more weight than they lost. Just my opinion for what it is worth, probably not much to most here, but I intend to keep the weight off. For me, that means sensible choices with nothing really off limits. So far it is working for me.
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Crap already commented. Sorry!0
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This is the hardest part about fitness. We are all our own highschool science project. Each person's body is different and wired different. What works for me, does work for the next guy, but works for him.
The biggest thing is try things out for at least 3-4 weeks. Take a step back and evaluate. BE SELF-AWARE AND DON'T BULLS*** yourself!
I learned that the hard way. I started fitness with the whole, eat clean and F*** you bad foods. Well this lead to some massive binge eating problems for 3-4 years, with little to no results in the gym. However, the problem was I told myself eating clean was sustainable, blah, blah.
Truth is, I hated it! I hate meal prepping, I hate cooking, I hate not having freedom to enjoy food, etc.
Thus I picked up IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros). For me it works. I enjoy it. I haven't binged in a year.
Try new things and learn:) If something isn't working or you hate it. Stop doing it. Life is too short to do crap you hate!4 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Depends on what your goal is. If its only to loose weight you can eat Mc Donalds everyday at a deficit, if its to get healthy along with losing weight then you are better off with fruits and veggies.
What if I eat fruits, veggies, lean protein, whole grains, dairy AND McDonalds and still stay in my deficit...
Why does everything always have to be extremes one way or another?
I was giving an example of specifically extreme points to explain it to OP. Obviously.
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KetoneKaren wrote: »For weight loss, burning more calories than you consume will cause weight loss. For optimal health, most people would suggest a diet that provides the essentials.
Okay so I've been hearing CICO is the way to go. So let me better understand this; if my calorie goal everyday is 1200 calories, I have to burn more than 1200 calories in order to lose weight???? That is a bit silly. I see that most people don't really burn more than 700 calories on a regular basis when they log in their exercises for the day, even the most fit people who are "exercise crazy". So how can someone burn more than they consume everyday?0 -
Yes and no I was able to lose 20 pounds by portion control, not everything I ate was considered "healthy" but I still managed to lose the weight (with no exercise). I wouldn't recommend it, now that I lost the weight I am leaning more toward eating the proper foods with exercise. I want to be healthy inside and out and not eating the proper foods comes with it's own consequences. Hope this helps1
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Rebekah_Washington wrote: »KetoneKaren wrote: »For weight loss, burning more calories than you consume will cause weight loss. For optimal health, most people would suggest a diet that provides the essentials.
Okay so I've been hearing CICO is the way to go. So let me better understand this; if my calorie goal everyday is 1200 calories, I have to burn more than 1200 calories in order to lose weight???? That is a bit silly. I see that most people don't really burn more than 700 calories on a regular basis when they log in their exercises for the day, even the most fit people who are "exercise crazy". So how can someone burn more than they consume everyday?
You could not exercise at all and still lose weight on 1200 calories. Your body is burning calories all the time just doing the things it needs to do to stay alive. This is your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Then it burns more calories digesting food (TEF) and it burns calories when you're walking from your car to your office, cooking dinner, cleaning house (NEAT). Total all of these things up, THEN add exercise for your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). You have to be eat below your TDEE to lose weight.
When you set up MFP, it estimates how many calories you burn before exercise based of your height, weight, and age. Then you tell it how much you want to lose; if you pick 1 lb per week, it will subtract 500 calories from your daily total. If it told you to eat 1300, your energy expenditure before exercise (BMR + TEF + NEAT) would be 1800. Then when you exercise, you eat those calories back because your deficit is already accounted for.
1200 is the lowest MFP will give you because it's extremely hard to get adequate nutrition on lower calories. Your BMR + TEF + NEAT might be lower than 1700 if MFP gives you 1200 calories for 1lb/week loss. But unless you're an outlier due to size or a medical condition, you will burn more than 1200 calories just living, and you will lose weight eating 1200 calories a day.5 -
Rebekah_Washington wrote: »KetoneKaren wrote: »For weight loss, burning more calories than you consume will cause weight loss. For optimal health, most people would suggest a diet that provides the essentials.
Okay so I've been hearing CICO is the way to go. So let me better understand this; if my calorie goal everyday is 1200 calories, I have to burn more than 1200 calories in order to lose weight???? That is a bit silly. I see that most people don't really burn more than 700 calories on a regular basis when they log in their exercises for the day, even the most fit people who are "exercise crazy". So how can someone burn more than they consume everyday?
That isn't how it works. At all.
You burn calories just by being alive. Your heart is pumping, your muscles are repairing themselves, cells are regenerating, your stomach is digesting, your intestines are absorbing... Your body is a workhorse. Do you think it can do all of those things without any energy? Of course not.
Depending on your age, gender, size, and several other factors EXCLUDING exercise... You will burn a set number of calories in a day. This is called your BMR, or your basal metabolic rate. Added to this base number is your activity level, which comes from both purposeful exercise and just regular everyday movement (NEAT) and also a small extra called TEF, which refers to the amount of energy used in digesting the food you eat. The total is your TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure. MOST of the calories that the average person will burn in a day comes from their BMR, not from that thirty minutes on the stationary bike or so on.0 -
mskessler89 wrote: »Rebekah_Washington wrote: »KetoneKaren wrote: »For weight loss, burning more calories than you consume will cause weight loss. For optimal health, most people would suggest a diet that provides the essentials.
Okay so I've been hearing CICO is the way to go. So let me better understand this; if my calorie goal everyday is 1200 calories, I have to burn more than 1200 calories in order to lose weight???? That is a bit silly. I see that most people don't really burn more than 700 calories on a regular basis when they log in their exercises for the day, even the most fit people who are "exercise crazy". So how can someone burn more than they consume everyday?
You could not exercise at all and still lose weight on 1200 calories. Your body is burning calories all the time just doing the things it needs to do to stay alive. This is your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Then it burns more calories digesting food (TEF) and it burns calories when you're walking from your car to your office, cooking dinner, cleaning house (NEAT). Total all of these things up, THEN add exercise for your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). You have to be eat below your TDEE to lose weight.
When you set up MFP, it estimates how many calories you burn before exercise based of your height, weight, and age. Then you tell it how much you want to lose; if you pick 1 lb per week, it will subtract 500 calories from your daily total. If it told you to eat 1300, your energy expenditure before exercise (BMR + TEF + NEAT) would be 1800. Then when you exercise, you eat those calories back because your deficit is already accounted for.
1200 is the lowest MFP will give you because it's extremely hard to get adequate nutrition on lower calories. Your BMR + TEF + NEAT might be lower than 1700 if MFP gives you 1200 calories for 1lb/week loss. But unless you're an outlier due to size or a medical condition, you will burn more than 1200 calories just living, and you will lose weight eating 1200 calories a day.
Oops. You beat me.
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mskessler89 wrote: »Rebekah_Washington wrote: »KetoneKaren wrote: »For weight loss, burning more calories than you consume will cause weight loss. For optimal health, most people would suggest a diet that provides the essentials.
Okay so I've been hearing CICO is the way to go. So let me better understand this; if my calorie goal everyday is 1200 calories, I have to burn more than 1200 calories in order to lose weight???? That is a bit silly. I see that most people don't really burn more than 700 calories on a regular basis when they log in their exercises for the day, even the most fit people who are "exercise crazy". So how can someone burn more than they consume everyday?
You could not exercise at all and still lose weight on 1200 calories. Your body is burning calories all the time just doing the things it needs to do to stay alive. This is your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Then it burns more calories digesting food (TEF) and it burns calories when you're walking from your car to your office, cooking dinner, cleaning house (NEAT). Total all of these things up, THEN add exercise for your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). You have to be eat below your TDEE to lose weight.
When you set up MFP, it estimates how many calories you burn before exercise based of your height, weight, and age. Then you tell it how much you want to lose; if you pick 1 lb per week, it will subtract 500 calories from your daily total. If it told you to eat 1300, your energy expenditure before exercise (BMR + TEF + NEAT) would be 1800. Then when you exercise, you eat those calories back because your deficit is already accounted for.
1200 is the lowest MFP will give you because it's extremely hard to get adequate nutrition on lower calories. Your BMR + TEF + NEAT might be lower than 1700 if MFP gives you 1200 calories for 1lb/week loss. But unless you're an outlier due to size or a medical condition, you will burn more than 1200 calories just living, and you will lose weight eating 1200 calories a day.
Thank you so very much for that description/advice. That really helped me! And thank you for taking the time out to write all that! You're so nice :-)1 -
Ndj1979 probably means that 500 calories of vegetables would be better for you than 500 calories of french fries, and have more nutritional value. Both would lead to losing weight if you eat them and maintain a deficit. Both would not be good for you, even with a calorie being a calorie. I'm the same way, i have been in a deficit eating both healthy food and junk, and physically feel better on healthy food, or at least a combination of both.0 -
Losing weight is just about calorie deficit. Body composition is about what you're eating. You'll look better after the weight loss if you eat a healthier diet. If your not eating clean but your in a deficit you will lose weight, but your look will be what I would refer to as skinny fat. Depends on your goals. I started losing weight 2 months ago (April 16th) because I wanted to be healthier. I decided to eat better foods and be in deficit. I have lost 45-50 lbs since then and my body looks completely different. Last time I saw my abs before now I was probably 18 years old. I'm 38 now and look better than most of my daughters friends who are almost half my age. Two months ago I just had a bloated dad body. What you eat matters depending on whether your goal is a number on a scale, being more fit, or attaining a certain physique. You should adjust your macros depending on your personal goals.0
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keithahayes78 wrote: »Losing weight is just about calorie deficit. Body composition is about what you're eating. You'll look better after the weight loss if you eat a healthier diet. If your not eating clean but your in a deficit you will lose weight, but your look will be what I would refer to as skinny fat. Depends on your goals. I started losing weight 2 months ago (April 16th) because I wanted to be healthier. I decided to eat better foods and be in deficit. I have lost 45-50 lbs since then and my body looks completely different. Last time I saw my abs before now I was probably 18 years old. I'm 38 now and look better than most of my daughters friends who are almost half my age. Two months ago I just had a bloated dad body. What you eat matters depending on whether your goal is a number on a scale, being more fit, or attaining a certain physique. You should adjust your macros depending on your personal goals.
Eating "clean" is subjective as it means something different to everyone. It is by no means required to achieve a particular body aesthetic, just ask @hornsby or @ndj1979 .
That's not to say that what you eat doesn't matter at all, eating a variety of nutrient dense foods is good, but not eating clean doesn't doom a person to being "skinny fat".1 -
They used gloves to make my Reuben sandwich and curly fries at Arby's for lunch yesterday. Clean enough for me 9
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keithahayes78 wrote: »Losing weight is just about calorie deficit. Body composition is about what you're eating. You'll look better after the weight loss if you eat a healthier diet. If your not eating clean but your in a deficit you will lose weight, but your look will be what I would refer to as skinny fat. Depends on your goals. I started losing weight 2 months ago (April 16th) because I wanted to be healthier. I decided to eat better foods and be in deficit. I have lost 45-50 lbs since then and my body looks completely different. Last time I saw my abs before now I was probably 18 years old. I'm 38 now and look better than most of my daughters friends who are almost half my age. Two months ago I just had a bloated dad body. What you eat matters depending on whether your goal is a number on a scale, being more fit, or attaining a certain physique. You should adjust your macros depending on your personal goals.
You lost 45-50lbs in just 2 months??? WOW!!! What did you do?? lol0 -
Hi!
Calories are important, but what u eat will make the differences for having a healthy lifestyle. I think is 50% carbs, 30% fats and 20% of protein. In MFP u can see approximately the percentage of nutrition of every food. Good luck!
I'm looking for active people, feel free to add me
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Ndj1979 probably means that 500 calories of vegetables would be better for you than 500 calories of french fries, and have more nutritional value. Both would lead to losing weight if you eat them and maintain a deficit. Both would not be good for you, even with a calorie being a calorie. I'm the same way, i have been in a deficit eating both healthy food and junk, and physically feel better on healthy food, or at least a combination of both.
no, I mean a calorie is a unit of energy, not a unit of nutrition.
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Annahbananas wrote: »Yes CICO works every time but eating the right kinds of food is still important. You can still lose all the weight in the world and be horribly malnourished because you are focusing 100% on calories and not on what you're eating.
CICO contributes to weightloss only....not other factors
Agreed 100%. Think about empty calories. You could even lose weight eating nothing but chocolate if you keep your calories under your goals. But you'd be hungry all the time and your internal organs and natural digestive processes would suffer terribly. Do you have to eat vegetables and drink water? Nope. But you should. Keep your daily carb/protein/fat/etc. within your macros and you'll not only lose weight but you'll do so in a healthy manner. If you want to have a day where you eat some ice cream or pie or some other food then so be it.. adjust everything else to make room, just don't do it every single day at the expense of nutrition.0 -
Spliner1969 wrote: »Annahbananas wrote: »Yes CICO works every time but eating the right kinds of food is still important. You can still lose all the weight in the world and be horribly malnourished because you are focusing 100% on calories and not on what you're eating.
CICO contributes to weightloss only....not other factors
Agreed 100%. Think about empty calories. You could even lose weight eating nothing but chocolate if you keep your calories under your goals. But you'd be hungry all the time and your internal organs and natural digestive processes would suffer terribly. Do you have to eat vegetables and drink water? Nope. But you should. Keep your daily carb/protein/fat/etc. within your macros and you'll not only lose weight but you'll do so in a healthy manner. If you want to have a day where you eat some ice cream or pie or some other food then so be it.. adjust everything else to make room, just don't do it every single day at the expense of nutrition.
who is this mythical person recommending a diet of 100% chocolate?1 -
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Ndj1979 probably means that 500 calories of vegetables would be better for you than 500 calories of french fries, and have more nutritional value. Both would lead to losing weight if you eat them and maintain a deficit. Both would not be good for you, even with a calorie being a calorie. I'm the same way, i have been in a deficit eating both healthy food and junk, and physically feel better on healthy food, or at least a combination of both.
no, I mean a calorie is a unit of energy, not a unit of nutrition.
Right. I'm with you. But we can get our fill of those units of energy from foods that are good for us, or from foods that are bad for us. I can run a calorie deficit eating nothing but McNuggets, but I won't look or feel as good as I would if I hit the same deficit from healthier foods like lean meats and vegetables. Obviously, the calories themselves aren't more or less nutritious - but the foods that deliver them to us certainly are. I believe that is the point that ndj1979 was going for.
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Ndj1979 probably means that 500 calories of vegetables would be better for you than 500 calories of french fries, and have more nutritional value. Both would lead to losing weight if you eat them and maintain a deficit. Both would not be good for you, even with a calorie being a calorie. I'm the same way, i have been in a deficit eating both healthy food and junk, and physically feel better on healthy food, or at least a combination of both.
no, I mean a calorie is a unit of energy, not a unit of nutrition.
Right. I'm with you. But we can get our fill of those units of energy from foods that are good for us, or from foods that are bad for us. I can run a calorie deficit eating nothing but McNuggets, but I won't look or feel as good as I would if I hit the same deficit from healthier foods like lean meats and vegetables. Obviously, the calories themselves aren't more or less nutritious - but the foods that deliver them to us certainly are. I believe that is the point that ndj1979 was going for.
Please note that in the one example, you give one food - McNuggets.
In your comparative example, you used two groups of foods - lean meats and vegetables.
Change your second example to one particular food. Both diets - being exclusive - will lack nutrients.0 -
Nuggets aren't bad for you.2
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