All calories may not be equal

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Replies

  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
    daniip_la wrote: »
    missh1967 wrote: »
    Has anyone else read the book "Always Hungry"? It really explains everything that I have always felt intuitively. What if he is right about not all calories being equal? That different foods (and therefore calories) biologically impact us in different ways?
    I highly recommend the book, here is the website: http://drdavidludwig.com
    No counting calories, eat until satisfied, cut way down on refined carbohydrates and eat plenty of fat. Countless health benefits including weight loss and best of all, no hunger.

    Anyone want to join me on a 6 month experiment? Send a friend request.

    What if eating until satisfied entails eating in a 2000 calorie surplus?

    I call BS

    Yes!! Thank you! Some people (ME!!!) do not have an off switch. If I don't pay attention to my caloric intake, I will eat far beyond maintenance. And then some.

    Same for me. I eat until the calories are gone. If I wasn't counting, I could probably eat double my current intake in a day.

    Same. That's why I'm here. My intuition when it comes to food is more wishful thinking than intuition and every time I think I can stop counting, I end up back here.
  • Isabelle_1929
    Isabelle_1929 Posts: 233 Member
    edited August 2016
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Actually we aren't talking about Dr. Lustig, but Dr. Ludwig.
    I am going to go ahead and cut sugar, potatoes and processed foods out of my diet for 6 months anyway. I know a lot of you don't agree and to that I say- don't do it then! I spent two years off of sugar and flour and lost 79 pounds. So many people were bothered by this and convinced me that I should be able to eat anything I wanted in moderation. Of course I love sugar and flour and so I gave it a try- and gained back 50 pounds in the process. I am driven to overeat these things. Those of you who can't relate to this don't have that problem and I am happy for you because it really sucks. I know that I was more energetic and overall healthier when I wasn't consuming sugar and flour. Did I insist that everyone else did it? No! I didn't even make my children do that because everyone is allowed to make their own choices.
    I posted this morning looking for likeminded individuals, not looking for reasons not to cut out refined sugars and flour. I found a couple, so thanks to them.
    I'm not a newbie in any sense. I need support to go down the abstinence road because people are constantly telling me how stupid it is. It isn't easy but I know that it is right for me. And yes, eating 4000 calories a day won't end in weight loss.

    You know, maybe if you didn't cut them out entirely and instead tried to get a healthy relationship with it you wouldn't have binged on it and wouldn't need a second try at losing weight.
    Just a thought.

    Last time I checked, there is not one method - NONE - including CICO, that will make people lose weight once and for good. How many people are (re-re-re-) re-starters, on this thread alone ?
    I'm all for CICO, but gimme a break. I've lost weight, and gained back, and lost again.

    Open mind and curiosity has never killed anyone. If OP want to try out something, why not? Good lord, he did not say he's going to eat cucumber and vinegar for 6 months straight !

    I read the whole thread, and I find it extremely strange that people get borderline angry and aggressive about the way someone they don't even know decides to eat. No really.

    Have a doughnut and chill a bit.

    - A CICO-fan.

    Wrong. CICO works for everyone. If you regained wait, that's on you, not on CICO.

    My point exactly. So if OP regained, it's not necessarily because at some point he decided to eat this, or not to eat that.

    And my second point is that there are very few persons here who can afford looking down on anyone, as regards weight and diet, and related psychology. And typically, those people won't have to resort to using a frigging app to monitor what they eat, so they would not be here, debating over CICO or no sugar or high protein or clean food and whatnot.
  • brooke88z
    brooke88z Posts: 23 Member
    edited August 2016
    The moral is that it works if it works for you. If you are meeting your weight and health goals by not counting calories and consuming lots of fat, than that works for you.

    For me, it depends on the food. For a long time I had not been counting calories, and stuck mainly to a natural and somewhat high fat diet. My weight was fairly stable, but at some point I started gaining a lot. I think one culprit was adding whole cream to my coffee in the morning. I re-evaluated my diet and counted the calories I was consuming on a normal day. I was consuming way more calories than I expected.

    I have since been logging my food and aiming for an overall daily calorie count. I still favor natural over overly-processed foods. I still have a high-fat breakfast in the form of scrambled eggs in butter. But I keep track of it and I avoid most liquid calories. In fact, on the days I have scrambled eggs, I end up consuming fewer calories overall (I'm guessing it's more the protein in the eggs). I'm not on a low carb diet- I do usually end my day with whole wheat pasta that I measure out on a scale. I have lost all my initial weight gain and have been steadily losing more.

    My personal philosophy is count calories and stick to foods with high satiety per calorie. And you mostly learn that through experience (logging tools like MFP help).
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    edited August 2016





    Because so very many of us were just like you when it comes to trying to lose weight. Looking for that magical answer that's out there, reading a book and saying "Aha! So that's what is wrong with me, that's why I can't lose weight. This is what I need to do! I need to eat low carb or low fat, I need to eat healthy, I need to cut out refined sugars, or processed foods. I need some raspberry keytones, or I'll do the military diet. The problem is I have to calm down my fat cells, I need to jump start my metabolism.
    I tried it all for twenty years. So did a lot of people on here. I tried Atkins, South Beach, Phen Phen, over the counter pills, I read books and magazine articles, some written by scientists and Dr's.
    Please listen to the people on here, Calories in/ Calories out. That's what causes weight loss.
    [/quote]

    Oh my gosh, you look incredible! [/quote]

    Thank you!!
  • Rhumax67
    Rhumax67 Posts: 162 Member
    Earth, thanks for the link. I'm familiar with Dr Ludwig's books but not this one, I'm going to read it. This link gives
    his explanation:

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/rethinking-weight-loss-and-the-reasons-were-always-hungry/
  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,575 Member
    As a newbie, I find the process of measuring and weighing everything to be tedious and very nearly overwhelming. IMO it's more important to make a habit of keeping track of what you eat. If measuring and weighing helps me to be more accurate when I keep track, that will be a good thing. But if it lengthens my prep time significantly, I'm probably not going to keep doing it. I'm not going to risk being late to work in the morning or play practice in the evening. I'm not willing to cut back on sleep, and I would certainly prefer not to cut back on what little exercise time I have.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    As a newbie, I find the process of measuring and weighing everything to be tedious and very nearly overwhelming. IMO it's more important to make a habit of keeping track of what you eat. If measuring and weighing helps me to be more accurate when I keep track, that will be a good thing. But if it lengthens my prep time significantly, I'm probably not going to keep doing it. I'm not going to risk being late to work in the morning or play practice in the evening. I'm not willing to cut back on sleep, and I would certainly prefer not to cut back on what little exercise time I have.

    You don't have to weigh and measure food, especially as long as you keep seeing progress, but I'll tell you now that weighing food doesn't take much time at all. Certainly not so much time that you'd have to be late to work, sacrifice sleep, or cut back on exercise. LOL.
  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,575 Member
    Well, I don't know if it's the weighing or the logging, but my previous post was just before I started making lunch for tomorrow, and I just finished logging it. So ~ 40 min, which is 2-3 times what it would take to just put things together.

    Now, in fairness, next time I make those particular recipes I won't have to type them in. We'll see how it goes.
  • Isabelle_1929
    Isabelle_1929 Posts: 233 Member
    edited August 2016
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Actually we aren't talking about Dr. Lustig, but Dr. Ludwig.
    I am going to go ahead and cut sugar, potatoes and processed foods out of my diet for 6 months anyway. I know a lot of you don't agree and to that I say- don't do it then! I spent two years off of sugar and flour and lost 79 pounds. So many people were bothered by this and convinced me that I should be able to eat anything I wanted in moderation. Of course I love sugar and flour and so I gave it a try- and gained back 50 pounds in the process. I am driven to overeat these things. Those of you who can't relate to this don't have that problem and I am happy for you because it really sucks. I know that I was more energetic and overall healthier when I wasn't consuming sugar and flour. Did I insist that everyone else did it? No! I didn't even make my children do that because everyone is allowed to make their own choices.
    I posted this morning looking for likeminded individuals, not looking for reasons not to cut out refined sugars and flour. I found a couple, so thanks to them.
    I'm not a newbie in any sense. I need support to go down the abstinence road because people are constantly telling me how stupid it is. It isn't easy but I know that it is right for me. And yes, eating 4000 calories a day won't end in weight loss.

    You know, maybe if you didn't cut them out entirely and instead tried to get a healthy relationship with it you wouldn't have binged on it and wouldn't need a second try at losing weight.
    Just a thought.

    Last time I checked, there is not one method - NONE - including CICO, that will make people lose weight once and for good. How many people are (re-re-re-) re-starters, on this thread alone ?
    I'm all for CICO, but gimme a break. I've lost weight, and gained back, and lost again.

    Open mind and curiosity has never killed anyone. If OP want to try out something, why not? Good lord, he did not say he's going to eat cucumber and vinegar for 6 months straight !

    I read the whole thread, and I find it extremely strange that people get borderline angry and aggressive about the way someone they don't even know decides to eat. No really.

    Have a doughnut and chill a bit.

    - A CICO-fan.

    Wrong. CICO works for everyone. If you regained wait, that's on you, not on CICO.

    My point exactly. So if OP regained, it's not necessarily because at some point he decided to eat this, or not to eat that.

    And my second point is that there are very few persons here who can afford looking down on anyone, as regards weight and diet, and related psychology. And typically, those people won't have to resort to using a frigging app to monitor what they eat, so they would not be here, debating over CICO or no sugar or high protein or clean food and whatnot.

    To be fair, there are plenty of people who use MFP because they are training and need to make sure their macros on point, or are dealing with a health issue and need to keep track of specific nutrients or macros. There are also many users on the forum who are trainers or dietitians, as well as people who successfully lost weight by keeping the food log and now that they are maintaining (and sometimes not even counting anymore) they stick around the forums to help people find success like they did.

    Possibly true. But in such case Psychology 101 was obviously not part of their curriculum.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Actually we aren't talking about Dr. Lustig, but Dr. Ludwig.
    I am going to go ahead and cut sugar, potatoes and processed foods out of my diet for 6 months anyway. I know a lot of you don't agree and to that I say- don't do it then! I spent two years off of sugar and flour and lost 79 pounds. So many people were bothered by this and convinced me that I should be able to eat anything I wanted in moderation. Of course I love sugar and flour and so I gave it a try- and gained back 50 pounds in the process. I am driven to overeat these things. Those of you who can't relate to this don't have that problem and I am happy for you because it really sucks. I know that I was more energetic and overall healthier when I wasn't consuming sugar and flour. Did I insist that everyone else did it? No! I didn't even make my children do that because everyone is allowed to make their own choices.
    I posted this morning looking for likeminded individuals, not looking for reasons not to cut out refined sugars and flour. I found a couple, so thanks to them.
    I'm not a newbie in any sense. I need support to go down the abstinence road because people are constantly telling me how stupid it is. It isn't easy but I know that it is right for me. And yes, eating 4000 calories a day won't end in weight loss.

    You know, maybe if you didn't cut them out entirely and instead tried to get a healthy relationship with it you wouldn't have binged on it and wouldn't need a second try at losing weight.
    Just a thought.

    Last time I checked, there is not one method - NONE - including CICO, that will make people lose weight once and for good. How many people are (re-re-re-) re-starters, on this thread alone ?
    I'm all for CICO, but gimme a break. I've lost weight, and gained back, and lost again.

    Open mind and curiosity has never killed anyone. If OP want to try out something, why not? Good lord, he did not say he's going to eat cucumber and vinegar for 6 months straight !

    I read the whole thread, and I find it extremely strange that people get borderline angry and aggressive about the way someone they don't even know decides to eat. No really.

    Have a doughnut and chill a bit.

    - A CICO-fan.

    Wrong. CICO works for everyone. If you regained wait, that's on you, not on CICO.

    My point exactly. So if OP regained, it's not necessarily because at some point he decided to eat this, or not to eat that.

    And my second point is that there are very few persons here who can afford looking down on anyone, as regards weight and diet, and related psychology. And typically, those people won't have to resort to using a frigging app to monitor what they eat, so they would not be here, debating over CICO or no sugar or high protein or clean food and whatnot.

    To be fair, there are plenty of people who use MFP because they are training and need to make sure their macros on point, or are dealing with a health issue and need to keep track of specific nutrients or macros. There are also many users on the forum who are trainers or dietitians, as well as people who successfully lost weight by keeping the food log and now that they are maintaining (and sometimes not even counting anymore) they stick around the forums to help people find success like they did.

    Possibly true. But in such case Psychology 101 was obviously not part of their curriculum.

    What does Psych 101 have do with this thread?
  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
    i guess im a special snowflake then.

    to think ive lost 80 some pounds in the past 2 years (and really, most of that was within the first year, this year ive not been focusing on it as much) all while eating the same things i always have, simply much LESS of it.

    i still get drunk with my boyfriend (yup - definitely gotta make room for those cals), still eat chocolate, still eat out - and what i want to eat, not necessarily off the 'light' menu, still eat burgers and pizza and bread.

    im special.

    yup.

    all that said, yes, in terms of weight loss, a calorie IS a calorie. In terms of nutrition, and satiety, they can definitely differ. I can eat 1400cals in chocolate and beer or 1400 cals in protein, veg, some fat and carbs, and one definitely is BETTER for me nutritionally, as well as keeping me fuller, longer.

    You do realize that, irregardless of OP's point, nobody is suggesting that NOBODY can lose weight counting calories, right?
  • FitnessGirl11mfp
    FitnessGirl11mfp Posts: 232 Member
    As a newbie, I find the process of measuring and weighing everything to be tedious and very nearly overwhelming. IMO it's more important to make a habit of keeping track of what you eat. If measuring and weighing helps me to be more accurate when I keep track, that will be a good thing. But if it lengthens my prep time significantly, I'm probably not going to keep doing it. I'm not going to risk being late to work in the morning or play practice in the evening. I'm not willing to cut back on sleep, and I would certainly prefer not to cut back on what little exercise time I have.

    LOL it is not that time consuming to weigh your food.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Did we already discuss TEF? Not much of a big deal when it comes to weight loss, but the thermic effect of food is a real thing.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Actually we aren't talking about Dr. Lustig, but Dr. Ludwig.
    I am going to go ahead and cut sugar, potatoes and processed foods out of my diet for 6 months anyway. I know a lot of you don't agree and to that I say- don't do it then! I spent two years off of sugar and flour and lost 79 pounds. So many people were bothered by this and convinced me that I should be able to eat anything I wanted in moderation. Of course I love sugar and flour and so I gave it a try- and gained back 50 pounds in the process. I am driven to overeat these things. Those of you who can't relate to this don't have that problem and I am happy for you because it really sucks. I know that I was more energetic and overall healthier when I wasn't consuming sugar and flour. Did I insist that everyone else did it? No! I didn't even make my children do that because everyone is allowed to make their own choices.
    I posted this morning looking for likeminded individuals, not looking for reasons not to cut out refined sugars and flour. I found a couple, so thanks to them.
    I'm not a newbie in any sense. I need support to go down the abstinence road because people are constantly telling me how stupid it is. It isn't easy but I know that it is right for me. And yes, eating 4000 calories a day won't end in weight loss.

    You know, maybe if you didn't cut them out entirely and instead tried to get a healthy relationship with it you wouldn't have binged on it and wouldn't need a second try at losing weight.
    Just a thought.

    Last time I checked, there is not one method - NONE - including CICO, that will make people lose weight once and for good. How many people are (re-re-re-) re-starters, on this thread alone ?
    I'm all for CICO, but gimme a break. I've lost weight, and gained back, and lost again.

    Open mind and curiosity has never killed anyone. If OP want to try out something, why not? Good lord, he did not say he's going to eat cucumber and vinegar for 6 months straight !

    I read the whole thread, and I find it extremely strange that people get borderline angry and aggressive about the way someone they don't even know decides to eat. No really.

    Have a doughnut and chill a bit.

    - A CICO-fan.

    Wrong. CICO works for everyone. If you regained wait, that's on you, not on CICO.

    My point exactly. So if OP regained, it's not necessarily because at some point he decided to eat this, or not to eat that.

    And my second point is that there are very few persons here who can afford looking down on anyone, as regards weight and diet, and related psychology. And typically, those people won't have to resort to using a frigging app to monitor what they eat, so they would not be here, debating over CICO or no sugar or high protein or clean food and whatnot.

    To be fair, there are plenty of people who use MFP because they are training and need to make sure their macros on point, or are dealing with a health issue and need to keep track of specific nutrients or macros. There are also many users on the forum who are trainers or dietitians, as well as people who successfully lost weight by keeping the food log and now that they are maintaining (and sometimes not even counting anymore) they stick around the forums to help people find success like they did.

    Possibly true. But in such case Psychology 101 was obviously not part of their curriculum.

    What do you mean? :smile:
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    As a newbie, I find the process of measuring and weighing everything to be tedious and very nearly overwhelming. IMO it's more important to make a habit of keeping track of what you eat. If measuring and weighing helps me to be more accurate when I keep track, that will be a good thing. But if it lengthens my prep time significantly, I'm probably not going to keep doing it. I'm not going to risk being late to work in the morning or play practice in the evening. I'm not willing to cut back on sleep, and I would certainly prefer not to cut back on what little exercise time I have.

    Well, it for sure gets quicker and easier with practice.
    Pre-prepping is a lifesaver. I try to batch prepare my breakfasts and lunches for the workweek on Sundays.
    And you don't HAVE to use the food scale all the time. One great benefit is that over time you learn what a portion of your fave foods looks like. For some people that's all they need! But for people who think they are eating the right calories, but aren't losing, weighing out the portions is the way to fix it. Stick with it for a little while, it will probably get easier :)
  • lisabridwell
    lisabridwell Posts: 31 Member
    It's true that a calorie is a calorie, just like one pound of muscle and one pound of fat are still each equal to one pound. One calorie of high fructose corn syrup and one calorie of blueberries are both still one calorie each. But there's also no doubt that different foods are metabolized and processed differently by our bodies and affect not only our satiety and weight but also our energy, sleep and mental clarity, to name a few. It's not the same to eat 1,200 calories of junk food a day, versus 1,200 calories of healthy, low-glycemic food a day. It may be possible to lose weight eating junk, but it's still a bit of a struggle that includes feelings of hunger and deprivation. In contrast, eating 1,200 calories of healthy foods is easy and satisfying!!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,961 Member
    As a newbie, I find the process of measuring and weighing everything to be tedious and very nearly overwhelming. IMO it's more important to make a habit of keeping track of what you eat. If measuring and weighing helps me to be more accurate when I keep track, that will be a good thing. But if it lengthens my prep time significantly, I'm probably not going to keep doing it. I'm not going to risk being late to work in the morning or play practice in the evening. I'm not willing to cut back on sleep, and I would certainly prefer not to cut back on what little exercise time I have.
    Well there's always "pre measuring" so that all you have to do is huck into the oven, stove, etc. Do this on an off day. It shouldn't take more than 30-40 min to do IF measuring and weighing are important to you. If not, then carry on.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • Unknown
    edited August 2016
    This content has been removed.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,961 Member
    It's true that a calorie is a calorie, just like one pound of muscle and one pound of fat are still each equal to one pound. One calorie of high fructose corn syrup and one calorie of blueberries are both still one calorie each. But there's also no doubt that different foods are metabolized and processed differently by our bodies and affect not only our satiety and weight but also our energy, sleep and mental clarity, to name a few. It's not the same to eat 1,200 calories of junk food a day, versus 1,200 calories of healthy, low-glycemic food a day. It may be possible to lose weight eating junk, but it's still a bit of a struggle that includes feelings of hunger and deprivation. In contrast, eating 1,200 calories of healthy foods is easy and satisfying!!
    Subjective. I've competed several times and every time I had to eat "clean", I was never satisfied even if I ate more volume of "clean" food. There are some things you can't substitute (suguary/fat ice cream) to fulfill that urge.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png