Calories in v. Calories out

Sharisunshine

I know this is a very ignorant sounding question (so please be gentle

quiksylver296

I think your post got cut short.

rileysowner

So what is the question?

TeaBea

Calories in - your food intake

Calories out - the number of calories your body uses. Our bodies use calories 24/7. The bigger we are the more we use; the more active we are the more we use.

The easiest thing to control, the thing we NEED to control (or maintenance won't happen) is calories in. Controlling our portions is key. Exercise doesn't burn as many calories as most people think it does. Plus as we get smaller...smaller calorie burns.

Eat less than you burn. If you want a daily burn estimate google your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

Sharisunshine

Sorry yes most of my message was missing. I was saying most of what you read on weight loss says weight loss happens when you have less going in than going out essentially. I know that we need to eat healthy for an overall healthier lifestyle, but if it's simply in v. Out why does it matter WHAT kind of calories? I'm not talking about eating cheeseburgers and fries every day, but just not everything completely healthy.

My fitness pal tells me every night when I finish out my log that I should weight so much less in 5 weeks when in reality if it'd really in v..out , yes I should because I don't go over my calories and i don't eat back my exercise. Just looking for some insight. Like I said I know this sounds ignorant but I'm trying to help myself.

crzycatlady1

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Sorry yes most of my message was missing. I was saying most of what you read on weight loss says weight loss happens when you have less going in than going out essentially. I know that we need to eat healthy for an overall healthier lifestyle, but if it's simply in v. Out why does it matter WHAT kind of calories? I'm not talking about eating cheeseburgers and fries every day, but just not everything completely healthy.

My fitness pal tells me every night when I finish out my log that I should weight so much less in 5 weeks when in reality if it'd really in v..out , yes I should because I don't go over my calories and i don't eat back my exercise. Just looking for some insight. Like I said I know this sounds ignorant but I'm trying to help myself.

In terms of weight loss it doesn't matter.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

For weight loss, a calorie deficit is the only thing that matters. For nutrition, the bulk of your diet would need to consist of nutrient-dense foods.

Most of the successful people on these boards have had the best luck with a varied diet that contains veggies, fruits, healthy fats, protein, and a mixture of everything that they like to eat as well. As long as nutrient goals are being met, it's all good.

I make room in my diary for something sweet, a beer or two, or a glass of wine every day. I still meet most of my nutrient goals daily.

It's personal preference, but the best diet is the one that you can stick to. If you're not eating in a sustainable way for you, it's going to be much more difficult and you will be much less likely to successfully lose weight and maintain that loss long term.

Chadxx

What kind of calories matter for nutrition, overall health, and satiety which are all important. For strictly losing weight, they really don't.

cwolfman13

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Sorry yes most of my message was missing. I was saying most of what you read on weight loss says weight loss happens when you have less going in than going out essentially. I know that we need to eat healthy for an overall healthier lifestyle, but if it's simply in v. Out why does it matter WHAT kind of calories? I'm not talking about eating cheeseburgers and fries every day, but just not everything completely healthy.

My fitness pal tells me every night when I finish out my log that I should weight so much less in 5 weeks when in reality if it'd really in v..out , yes I should because I don't go over my calories and i don't eat back my exercise. Just looking for some insight. Like I said I know this sounds ignorant but I'm trying to help myself.

Yes, weight management is about energy balance...a calorie is a unit of energy...if you consume a balance of energy, you maintain...when you consume a surplus of energy, that excess energy is stored as body fat for later use...kind of like a backup generator. When you consume less energy than you expend, that back up generator kicks on to make up the difference and you burn body fat.

Weight management has nothing to do with a particular food...there's no food that in and of itself is "fattening".

Also, while it is calorie in v calories out, the algorithm for you to weight XXX in 5 weeks is overly simplistic...for one thing, it assumes every day will be exactly like today...and that's pretty much impossible. It also assumes that weight loss is linear...it is not...it's trends and averages over time.

rileysowner

It doesn't matter why kind of calories for weight loss, just how much. Ignore the 5 week thing because it is basically a something that cannot predict what it claims it can. Maybe, if every single day for those 5 weeks was exactly the same it might be close, but that is not how people live life.

If your weight loss is slower than your calorie goal would seem to predict, then the issues are either your logging is off so you are eating more than your think you are, or your activity is less than you think it is. The most likely culprit is the Calories in part as there are a whole host of places where logging, especially if a person is new to it, can go wrong.

Tacklewasher

My goal has been to eat like I think I will forever. So I've not intentionally cut out anything (but haven't had a full sugar soda/pop in months), but overall to eat "better", focusing on eating less. So when I do reach my goal, I'm already eating the way I will to maintain. It does mean some pizza (this crust, not deep dish meat lovers) chips (28g bag instead of a family sized bag), steak, potatoes as well as chicken, rice etc. It also means I eat out sometimes. But I log everything (and I may have to keep logging for years to come, who knows).

I'm not a big fan of most vegetables, so I eat the ones I like and don't fuss about it. I also don't like eggs (I wish I did) so they are not part of my food choice.

So have a cheeseburger and fries once in a while. Focus on your weekly calorie goals and fit them in. Just make sure to log everything that goes in (no unlogged grazing), get a food scale so you are sure of what you are logging and see what the results are and keep your macros (protein, fats, carbs) in mind. It is pretty simple in theory, just not easy.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Sorry yes most of my message was missing. I was saying most of what you read on weight loss says weight loss happens when you have less going in than going out essentially. I know that we need to eat healthy for an overall healthier lifestyle, but if it's simply in v. Out why does it matter WHAT kind of calories? I'm not talking about eating cheeseburgers and fries every day, but just not everything completely healthy.

My fitness pal tells me every night when I finish out my log that I should weight so much less in 5 weeks when in reality if it'd really in v..out , yes I should because I don't go over my calories and i don't eat back my exercise. Just looking for some insight. Like I said I know this sounds ignorant but I'm trying to help myself.

No, you don't have to eat "everything completely healthy".

What does completely healthy mean anyway? The over all health of one's diet takes into account ALL of the food you eat, not each individual food. Are you getting enough nutrients (protein, fiber, vitamins, etc)? After you get all your nutrients (especially if you get them from whole foods), there's usually room for a little bit of "treats", (foods with lower nutritional value).

quiksylver296

I make room in my diet for chocolate and ice cream every night. Literally every night. If I tried to cut those things out forever, I would freak out and binge at some point.

My goal is to eat within my calories - the end. I have my calories set higher. I'm almost 42 years old, 5'9", 177 pounds, and my calories are set at 1960 per day for a .5 pound a week loss. I usually make "healthy" choices, but sometimes I have a cheeseburger, or whatever. And my ice cream/chocolate. I'm losing slowly, but steadily, and most importantly, I don't feel deprived, which keeps me on track for the long term.

Sharisunshine

Thank you all for the replies! I know my food is right because I either eat prepackaged meals or I'm measuring (using scale and grams). I don't usually pay attention to the exercise calories and never eat those back. I'm wondering if it's something else metabolic (I am a type 1 diabetic)...sometimes too much insulin can make it hard to lose weight so I think I'm just fighting a losing battle. It's very frustrating! Thank you again for all of your advice and input you answered my overall question.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

rileysowner

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies! I know my food is right because I either eat prepackaged meals or I'm measuring (using scale and grams). I don't usually pay attention to the exercise calories and never eat those back. I'm wondering if it's something else metabolic (I am a type 1 diabetic)...sometimes too much insulin can make it hard to lose weight so I think I'm just fighting a losing battle. It's very frustrating! Thank you again for all of your advice and input you answered my overall question.

I'm sure someone else will or may have said this, but prepacked does not mean accurate in terms of portion size. If whatever it is is calorie dense, what is in the package could have far more calories than the label states as the portion may be far bigger.

Type 1 diabetes may complicate things in terms of metabolism, basically confounding the calories out part of the equation, but it doesn't change the basic CICO.

NorthCascades

Sharisunshine wrote: »

I know that we need to eat healthy for an overall healthier lifestyle, but if it's simply in v. Out why does it matter WHAT kind of calories? I'm not talking about eating cheeseburgers and fries every day, but just not everything completely healthy.

This guy lost 56 pounds eating nothing but McDonalds for 6 months: http://www.today.com/health/man-loses-56-pounds-after-eating-only-mcdonalds-six-months-2D79329158

You're exactly right, for weight loss (or gain) the only thing that matters is how many calories. What kind isn't important for weight loss. It's still important for health and nutrition. But not weight loss. And MFP isn't a health site or a nutrition site, it's a weight control site. So the emphasis here is usually on weight loss, not on healthy bones.

rileysowner

Follow up post, how long have you been counting calories? How much have you lost?

Sharisunshine

Off and on a couple of years. The longest consistent time I did this was 2015-beginnung of 2016 and I lost 15 pounds However I was going through a marriage crisis and honestly not eating. I injured my back in April Last year and herniated some discs and had to have some injections and therapy. Since August, I've been back to walking daily (I average 15-20K steps a day) and have been just recently tracking consistently my food. When I injured my back and was literally laying in bed for months I gained 30+ pounds so now I'm trying to get tha back off plus everything else.

I will have my MD DO some labs and just keep trying hard and harder than ever to track and exercise and see where it leads me.

rileysowner

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Off and on a couple of years. The longest consistent time I did this was 2015-beginnung of 2016 and I lost 15 pounds However I was going through a marriage crisis and honestly not eating. I injured my back in April Last year and herniated some discs and had to have some injections and therapy. Since August, I've been back to walking daily (I average 15-20K steps a day) and have been just recently tracking consistently my food. When I injured my back and was literally laying in bed for months I gained 30+ pounds so now I'm trying to get tha back off plus everything else.

I will have my MD DO some labs and just keep trying hard and harder than ever to track and exercise and see where it leads me.

Ok, so how long have you been tracking with Myfitnesspal and have you lost anything that way?

Need2Exerc1se

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Sorry yes most of my message was missing. I was saying most of what you read on weight loss says weight loss happens when you have less going in than going out essentially. I know that we need to eat healthy for an overall healthier lifestyle, but if it's simply in v. Out why does it matter WHAT kind of calories? I'm not talking about eating cheeseburgers and fries every day, but just not everything completely healthy.

My fitness pal tells me every night when I finish out my log that I should weight so much less in 5 weeks when in reality if it'd really in v..out , yes I should because I don't go over my calories and i don't eat back my exercise. Just looking for some insight. Like I said I know this sounds ignorant but I'm trying to help myself.

Yes, for weight loss calories are what matters most.

But even for health you don't have to eat 100% healthy foods. A healthy diet can include both 'healthy foods" (nutrient dense foods that help you meet your micronutrient goals and foods that aren't considered "healthy foods" (foods eaten mostly for taste that may be lacking in micronutrients). Balance is the key.

lorrpb

WHAT you eat usually does matter for managing diabetes. It also matters to many people in terms of satiety, which is key to keeping within your calorie goal. If you eat junk and are always hungry because of the sugar highs and lows it tends to induce, you will tend to eat over your calorie goal. I know that some people on here have wonder-bodies that can eat an cr4p and still lose a million pounds, but it doesn't work that way for most of us! 80/20 or 90/10 is a good guideline for many people.

Sharisunshine

Can you tell me what the 80/20 90/10 is?

rileysowner

Sharisunshine wrote: »

Can you tell me what the 80/20 90/10 is?

80 or 90 percent of your food being nutrient rich (veggies, fruits, meat, etc) and 20 or 10 percent being whatever you want no matter how nutritious it is (potato chips, chocolate, cookies, etc)

Sharisunshine

Thank you for that information!!!