is caloric deficit all u need to lose weight?

linalovekitty

is it really as simple as calories in calories out for weight loss?

***Im not talking about nutrition/health/ etc, solely fat loss- can u really eat fast food, chips, processed garbage aka "convenience store diet" and lose as long as you burn more cals than you consume?

can I really eat doritos and burger king and taco bell as long and lose?

and if that is the case, what is the point of these diet industries telling people to eat "healthfoods" to lose FAT when it could be as simple as "eat whatever you want as long as you r in caloric deficit"?

gmallan

Yes, it really is

skadoosh33

No it is not that easy. Yes you will lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn but if you eat crap, your lean body mass will decrease and end up skinny fat (lighter with higher body fat%).

j6o4

For fat loss you need to eat at a calorie deficit but still eat enough to maintain your lean body mass. Eating what ever you want may lead you to not getting enough of the right macros or micros to help to retain muscle.

Mr_Knight

and if that is the case, what is the point of these diet industries telling people to eat "healthfoods" to lose FAT when it could be as simple as "eat whatever you want as long as you r in caloric deficit"?

Because eating at a deficit consistently for an extended period of time is hard work, and a lot of people are willing to pay for the hope of a miracle pill.

Alehmer

Generally - yes

Within eating at a caloric deficit, there are very good and bad ways to do it. IE you can lose significantly faster and healthier with the same amount of calories if you do it right.

BigGuy47

Yes, a calorie deficit is all that matters if you're not concerned about BF%.

linalovekitty

my only interest is fat loss

MeanderingMammal

my only interest is fat loss

Weight loss, or fat loss?

For weight loss, yes it is that simple but that weight will me a combination of fat and lean mass.

For reducing your percentage of body fat you need to complement your energy deficit with some form of training.

l911jnt

it is correct but this is what happens. on these healthier foods you eat much more for less calories and you stay full longer. Sugar and carb filled food tend to make you want MORE and you will stay hungrier. I keep a calorie deficit and if I really want something I do try to stay within my calories but I eat it. I try to eat healthier as much as I can but sometimes u just want a cheeseburger lol. that's how I look at it and its working so far.

lauren3101

can I really eat doritos and burger king and taco bell as long and lose?

and if that is the case, what is the point of these diet industries telling people to eat "healthfoods" to lose FAT when it could be as simple as "eat whatever you want as long as you r in caloric deficit"?

1. Yes you can.

2. They are a diet industry, as you say, normally with their own products to sell. The government, for example, focuses more on an overall healthy lifestyle rather than just weight loss.

hookilau

Yes, it really is

Yep. As long as all else is equal. That's all that is necessary, however, for some folks it's easier said than done.

As long as there are no underlying medical issues or *subclinical* medical issues standing in the way of how things work, then absolutely, caloric deficit is all that is necessary.

A bit over simplified though, which is why some people so vehemently deny this, I was one of those people who fell victim to trolls on MFP, getting into long drawn out and unproductive arguments about this very issue.

As someone who has had an undiagnosed medical issue that has now been managed, I am having no problem losing with a modest deficit :drinker:

edited for grammar, cause that sorta thing bugs me :blushing:

gabbygirl78

Yep ... you will loose weight... may not be that healthy loading up on all junk food but you will loose weight non the less .

jacksonpt

is it really as simple as calories in calories out for weight loss?

Health issues aside, yes it is.

***Im not talking about nutrition/health/ etc, solely fat loss- can u really eat fast food, chips, processed garbage aka "convenience store diet" and lose as long as you burn more cals than you consume?

can I really eat doritos and burger king and taco bell as long and lose?

Yep.

and if that is the case, what is the point of these diet industries telling people to eat "healthfoods" to lose FAT when it could be as simple as "eat whatever you want as long as you r in caloric deficit"?

2 things... 1) because no one would buy their book/magazine/DVD if they just told people to eat less and be patient. People want to think it's complicated, then buy things that offer quick solutions. and 2) because losing fat is different than losing weight. Losing fat is not as simple as cals in vs cals out. Losing weight is, but losing fat (i.e. focusing on body composition) isn't.

eric_sg61

and if that is the case, what is the point of these diet industries telling people to eat "healthfoods" to lose FAT when it could be as simple as "eat whatever you want as long as you r in caloric deficit"?

Capitalism
Do you want to hire a diet "coach" at 250 per month to pull out a calculator and tell you how many calories to eat and then they just make small adjustment to it. That can be done all by yourself for free.

elsdonward

You can lose by eating junk. Anorexia is similar You can lose by starving yourself. But if you want your body to heal and recover whilst you are losing then you also have to really focus upon what you are eating - and choose real foods, real drinks and real places to go instead of taco bell of burger king - come on now - get down to the vegetable aisle and start to live once more

jeffpettis

is it really as simple as calories in calories out for weight loss?

***Im not talking about nutrition/health/ etc, solely fat loss- can u really eat fast food, chips, processed garbage aka "convenience store diet" and lose as long as you burn more cals than you consume?

can I really eat doritos and burger king and taco bell as long and lose?

and if that is the case, what is the point of these diet industries telling people to eat "healthfoods" to lose FAT when it could be as simple as "eat whatever you want as long as you r in caloric deficit"?

First: Yes. For weight loss it is that simple. As long as you are in a deficit you will lose weight. Nutrition is another thing all together, but to answer your question yes.

Second: The diet industry is a billion dollar a year industry, if they told you it was that simple they couldn't get your money by selling you CRAP. Any Fad Diet, or weight loss plan whether it cuts fats, carbs, or is "clean" or whatever else is the Latest and Greatest thing this week, only works because a "side effect" of that plan puts you in a calorie deficit.

bacitracin

To burn fat, start resistance training. Squats, lunges, deadlifts, benchpresses, pull-ups... And keep a slight caloric deficit.

yusineddy

Yes, it can be done, however, with the amount of calories a typical fast food meal has, you would probably be able to eat just once a day since all your daily calories allowed would be consumed in that one meal.

QuilterInVA

Absolutely not. If you don't give the body the nutrition it needs - and you won't eating fast food and junk - you won't lose as much. You also need to exercise. If it was just calories in, calories out, 3500 calories equals a pound we'd all be skinny.

southerndream24

For weight loss, yes it's that simple. Eat whatever you want at a deficit and you'll lose weight and lean muscle mass. For a lot of people on here that is their only goal.

If you're focused on fat loss, then that requires being much more mindful of what goes into your body. You'll need to keep your macros in check so that your body is getting what it needs to maintain lean muscle mass while eating at a deficit. You can eat bad things to fill your macros, but they'll fill up your macros much faster than healthier foods.

You want this to be a lifestyle so why not find a balance. You can still enjoy things that are unhealthy but balance it out.

jongskinner

If you are really interested in pure fat loss as opposed to weight loss there are somethings you can do that make you lose more fat and lose less muscle. A caloric deficit will make the body lose both fat and muscle. Sad but true about half the weight lost is likely to be muscle.

How do you minimize muscle loss? By doing 20-25 minutes of strength training 3x per week whilst maintaining a calorie deficit. Full disclosure - I am a man not a women! I do know that many women baulk at strength training for fear of becoming muscular. A couple of the websites at the bottom of this post argue that this is largely a fallacy. In any case, if you are maintaining a calorie deficit, you won't grow muscles significantly just tone up and retain more of what you already have.

What strength exercises? Body weight strength exercises are ok (pushups, bicycle crunches, pull ups, squats, lunges). Dumbbells are better. If you use weights focus on compound exercises with free weights like dumbbell or barbell squats, lunges, shoulder press, chest press, single arm bent over dumbbell raise. These use more of your muscles per exercise. Isolation exercises i.e. weights machines at the gym, bicep curls, etc. may be useful for bodybuilders but just take a lot of time to get around the full body for the rest of us. If you want to do this in gym fine but you can do this perfectly well with dumbbells and an exercise ball substituting for a weight bench at home without a gym membership. (You also save the travel time and changing time if you do it before going into the shower at home).

Anything else? I believe eating a higher proportion of lean protein in the diet to promote muscle retention can help.

What can you expect as a result? Doing this you can expect to lose maybe 6.5 pounds of fat for each 10 pounds of weight lost rather than about 5. Why is this important? Muscle is about 20% denser than fat so the above numbers translate to 70% fat volume of total volume loss with strength training instead of 55% without. Also note that each pound of muscle you retain instead of fat burns calories when you are sitting in a chair whereas fat doesn't burn anything ever. This should help with the calorie deficit...

Useful websites:

Builtlean.com - lots of free help building a dumbbell circuit, form of the moves, nutrition etc. Women can use this too.

Stumptuous.com - irreverant website on strength training for women

Erinsimmonsfitness.me/2012/09/14/embracing-female-strength/ - article arguing the case for strength training for women specifically

auntiebabs

Yes and No...
Sugar and Artificial sweeteners increase your appetite.
If I eat too many sweets. I feel hungry and cranky all the time.
If I eat good solid nutrition, I have less cravings and am more satisfied.
My brain works better and my body too.

I have a horrible sweet tooth... And slip up regularly... the trick is not to give up after a slip up.

I almost did give up a couple of times in my first few weeks here, until I realized that a bad day on MFP was still much better than a good day before MFP... (I wasn't hitting the 1200 cal, 1400 calories was still a deficit and much easier to achieve... 15 months at 1/2 lb /week was so doable... This isn't a race... this is for the long haul. So not about how fast I can lose, but how long I can maintain. I've been maintaining my goal +/– 3 lbs for almost 3 years now... still tweaking my strategies.... Hoping to come up with some guidelines that will help me maintain without tracking.)

jongskinner

One more thing: if you eat "bad stuff" it's often less likely to make you feel full e.g. a pack of doritos hardly fills you up at all. The calorie equivalent of steamed rice fills you up a lot more. Definitely agree that the amount of calories is the first thing to worry about but I have found that keeping the amount down whilst eating a high proportion of junk is hard to do in practice.