Calories from...?

BEEUK

I have tried many 'healthy eating plans' and found that my own experience is calories derived from protein/good fats and calories derived from incomplex carbs/refined sugar has a completely different affect on my body. My body composition was almost 30% bf on a calorie controlled diet, where i was wrongly believing I could eat cake, biscuits, etc so long as it 'factored in'.

A calorie is not just a calorie in terms of what it does to you. I'm shocked some posts seem to advocate eating whatever you want providing it fits in your mfp calorie total.

plantboy2

Hey!

A calorie is a calorie, but a gram of fat has 9Kcals compared to a gram of protein having 3Kcals. There is therefore no such thing as "bad food" as all food (apart from alcohol) has nutritional value, but it just depends on how much you choose to eat of what.

- A bit of a big mac is full of lots of the things you need and is great!
- 3 big macs mean you won't be able to see your toes soon.

I think a lot of the confusion with this comes from us eating more bad foods than we actually think we are. Someone hands you a piece of cake: do you weigh it before you eat it? Nah, you can roughly guess that. But because it is higher in calories, small inaccuracies can make big differences. Check out this post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

There are a lot of studies on how the body reacts to foods (and that it does really add up to calories in vs calories out), but for some good summaries I would advise you visit:

http://impruvism.com/about/

BEEUK

Invaluable, thanks!

nomeejerome

I have tried many 'healthy eating plans' and found that my own experience is calories derived from protein/good fats and calories derived from incomplex carbs/refined sugar has a completely different affect on my body. My body composition was almost 30% bf on a calorie controlled diet, where i was wrongly believing I could eat cake, biscuits, etc so long as it 'factored in'.

A calorie is not just a calorie in terms of what it does to you. I'm shocked some posts seem to advocate eating whatever you want providing it fits in your mfp calorie total.

It seems there is confusion when people get in a tizzy over people advocating "eating whatever you want." It is not about going out and pigging out on buffets everyday and having the expectation of losing weight and being healthy. However, it is the expectation to receive proper nutrition and leaving room for the items you enjoy.

MzManiak

I'm at 18% bf and eat cake and ice cream and mcdonalds and whatever I want. I just don't do it for every meal and I make sure I'm still meeting my macros & micros.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

When people say you can still eat _______, they mean in moderation, of course. Most people do not succeed if they think they have to cut out every single piece of yummy food and eat only raw vegetables and grilled chicken. It's better if they know, yes, I can still eat this piece of cake... I just need to work it in and not go overboard.