Eating whatever you want but staying under calorie limit

loneaffliction

Thank you all for your input. I like the 80% good 20% maybe not so good. I was setting myself up for failure thinking I couldn't have alittle something good that I wanted everyday.

You will find there is a laaaaaaaarge number of people on this site that advocate for that "little something good," usually ice cream, pizza, bacon, fast food, etc. There is absolutely no reason you can't still have those things. They may be more "costly" calorie wise, but if you've eaten "healthy" nutrient dense foods the rest of the day, why can't you allow yourself to have what you may consider "treats" with what you have leftover? Or save up your calories to allow you to have something a little more indulgent?

That pizza, that cheeseburger, that ice cream, still has protein, iron, calcium, etc. The fact that they're higher in calories does not negate their nutritional benefit.

lmd_1979

As long as you are in a deficit then you can eat what you want. Fast food, processed, packaged, whatever as long as you are in a deficit.

susalia1

I eat whatever I want I just stay on my calories and I exercise and drink 115 and sometimes more ounces of water a day and I still lost 15 pounds my first week

sarahford09

If all that matters is weight loss, then yes, calorie deficit will get you there. Healthy nutrition is another issue.

This! 100%

I find it really odd that people don't value the vitamins and minerals of proper food.

Strive to be healthy! Not just thin

Harry_jazzhands

Strive to be healthy! Not just thin

I feel that while this is true, its not always realistic, a lot of us start in places where at the time, excersize isnt an option (mostly due to an " i cant do it" mental block) for me, i couldnt ride 700m without vomiting from exertion, fast forward 3 months, i just rode my first 49km (on a MTB!) in one ride, 6 months ago, i was entirely too obese to even comprehend even getting on the bike, i had the same mental attitude to food, and thats how i spend 10 years of my life morbidly obese, life is a bunch of little steps, so if eating 1200 calories of cheeseburgers gets you to a place you can adopt a healthier lifestyle, and you find once you start doing any form of exersize your body wants the good stuff too, and yeh moving your *kitten* is critical for a healthy body

Jkn921

Yup, I was eating kievs and pies when I first started losing weight but the pounds rolled off when I added exercise (10-20 minutes a few days per week) but it gets a lot harder as you go on. However, healthy eating has been part of my lifestyle now as I find junk food in general making me feel sluggish so I try to keep it to a minimum, I still love chocolate though

Lives2Travel

IMO, the most important aspect of any "diet" is sustainability. People can do anything for a short period of time, but what counts is what you can do forever. Eating "clean" 100% of the time is not sustainable for the majority of people. Most of us think cookies taste better than broccoli. Eat the "dirty" cookie, log the calories and don't worry about it.

arrseegee

Yes. But calories aren't the most important thing for health, you need vitamins and minerals (NOT just from supplements) to be as healthy inside as you look out, so keep an eye on what you are eating and over time make healthier changes that you can maintain.

mamadon

I try to throw a few fruits and veggies in daily, but am often not sucessful lol. I don't worry about eating "clean" I pretty much eat whatever I want as long at I am within my calorie range.

joyfuljoy65

Most importantly, don't feel like you're going to fail if you don't stick to a rigid plan of eating only what's "healthy" and exercising x days a week. If you stick around, you'll hear time and time again, this isn't a diet; it's a lifestyle change. You should be focusing on forming habits that you can sustain for the rest of your life. Don't swear off foods that you don't intend to give up for life. Don't beat yourself up if you don't have the time or motivation to work out as often as you set out to. Don't panic if you're going out with friends or celebrating a holiday. Some days you're going to go over. Some days you're not going to want to get out of bed to squeeze in that workout. ENJOY yourself. But be conscious of what and how much you eat and set attainable goals for yourself. You can lose weight, eating at a deficit, without exercise, though doing so will allow you to eat more and you'll be much happier with your final result, both in your appearance and your abilities.

Also, be patient. It sounds like you're already making progress, but don't be discouraged if you don't see results as quickly as you'd like. Don't let your success be determined by the number on the scale. That number's going to fluctuate. Often. Sometimes several pounds in a day. Measure your results over several weeks or months and pay attention to the trend. If you're accurate in your logging and maintain a deficit, you'll lose weight.

This x 10000000 - this is not a diet

PRMinx

It all comes down to calorie deficit. "Clean eaters" and paleo dieters are all in a deficit because they are eating low calorie foods. That is it. The only thing I worry about is getting my protein quota in. After that I eat whatever the heck I want.

Eating clean has nothing to do with eating low calorie foods. I can have a glass of whole milk straight from the farm and I would still be eating whole, natural foods.

To the OP, if your main goal is to lose weight then all you need is a deficit. When I'm at home cooking for myself, I try to eat non-packaged foods mainly for the health benefits (nutrients, fiber) that they bring. I've noticed that when I eat a lot of certain vegetables (kale, red cabbage, garlic), lean proteins and full fat products like butter/olive oil, I feel better, my skin is better and my hair seems healthier. But, don't get me wrong, I can attack some Buffalo Wild Wings like no one's business. :laugh:

tubaman58

As long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're eating, you're going to lose weight.
It's good to try to get the nice nutrients like protein, fats, etc. and too much sodium will often make you retain water, but strictly speaking... Yep. Calorie deficit is king.

I don't eat clean.

Welcome to the awesomeness of MFP.

What she said!
Over time you will find that eating healthy makes it easier to hit your calorie goals - Fresh veggies are a good example, you can eat as many green beans as you want . But if you are losing weight, keep going!

somefitsomefat

Eat whatever you want just not as much of it as you want unless you work out a ton. Usually when you check the diaries of the people who swear they eat pizza and ice cream daily one of two things is going on. Either they're eating super small portions (sorry, 1/4 cup of ice cream doesn't satisfy me) or they work out ALOT and have super high TDEEs (yeah, I'd be able to eat a pint of ice cream a day too if I had 3500 calories to play with).

steffipaulina

I think you are setting yourself up for some neurosis.

1. You don't need to eat "clean". You can eat what you like, within reason. A good idea is 80% "clean" and 20% whatever you like.
2. You will adapt to the exercise and you'll have to do more just to get your "fix"

Yes.

twixlepennie

Here's my dilemma. For my entire life, I've always eaten whatever I wanted, and never worked out. 4 weeks ago I started FocusT25. The 2nd week, I lost 4lbs and and inch in my waist. The 3rd week I missed my double day workout, and went out for dinner and drinks. I measured myself, and I hadn't gained or lost anything. This week will be my 4th week, I am finding it's super easy for me to workout, and I love to do it, and I hate that I missed my workouts last week. I always stay under or at my calorie limit. The big dilemma for me is eating healthy 100% of the time. So my question is, as long as I'm staying under or at my calorie limit, and workout 5 times a week, can I eat whatever i like and can I still lose weight and have good results as long as I work out and stay within my calories?

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lost the weight eating food I liked (fast food, deep fried food, cookies, chips etc etc), and I didn't do any exercise during that time either. Calories, calories, calories.

jabarih

I am a stickler for good habits. You sound like you may be young and you have young metabolism that can handle anything right now. I was the same way when I was in high school and college. But as I got older, my metabolism started to slow down and I started packing on pounds. It was very, very difficulty for me to change my eating habits to adjust to my new metabolism. I thought I could just workout and eat whatever I wanted, but I realized that I could not reach my target weight if I did that. I was on the roller coaster plan. My weight would go up and and down all the time. But I eventually decided that I would put all of my attention to changing my eating habits. Once I did that, I started losing weight. They say it takes 21 days to a month to develop a habit. From my experience, the first week is the hardest when it comes to developing a habit. So my advice to you is develop the habit now so when you get older and your metabolism starts slowing, you will already have a good foundation. But realize, you don't have to eat clean every day all the time. You can have a couple of "splurge" days each week. Allow yourself these fun days, don't get down on yourself for these. But ultimately, strive to eat healthy and you will be better off. Hope I helped...:)

WendyTerry420

Tons of people on MFP have had success that way. I follow IIFYM.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym

WendyTerry420

As long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're eating, you're going to lose weight.
It's good to try to get the nice nutrients like protein, fats, etc. and too much sodium will often make you retain water, but strictly speaking... Yep. Calorie deficit is king.

I don't eat clean.

Welcome to the awesomeness of MFP.

I always see people talking about how if you don't eat clean you wont get good results, so that always freaked me out. So as long as I only eat the calories I'm allowed to have in a day, I'll still lose weight? That's like music to my ears, I hardly ever go over and never feel starving so thats great to hear

You will also find that many of those people are not actually successful. Many have made up this thing called "clean eating" and given it a personal definition that they can't stick with. Then they made up this metaphor of a wagon that they continue to fall from.
Meh

Just eat. And don't eat more than you need on a regular basis.

feltlikesound

I eat whatever I want. McDonalds (and not on cheat day), pasta, white bread, chocolate bars, salt salt salt. Over time, what I want has shifted to something much healthier and cleaner, but it isn't a nutritionist's dream. I keep my diary closed for a reason -- I got tired of people judging my choices when they don't live my life and I wasn't ASKING for advice about it (which is another kettle of fish entirely).

My results are hand in hand with people making different choices: eating clean, vegans, cardio only, etc. I think winning the war against bad habits and an unhealthy lifestyle is hugely built on finding something that works for you, not what other people WANT to work for you. Pick your battles, if battle #1 is "keep below your calorie limit" -- then win it! The next battle might be macros, healthier choices, a new workout plan, whatever. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

That's my inspirational lecture for today.

Always_Smiling_D

Absolutely. My diet consist of staying away from fast food - other than that I eat what I want of course in moderation and make sure everything is portion size, I log it all

6lbs lost since January 1st... oh and my first time in the gym, after a long 2 mos of only maybe onece a week, was yesterday

fairygirlpie9

I eat what I want when I want and stay under my calorie limit pretty much every day. Feel free to check my diary - it isn't the healthiest but I do try to mix it up and strive to hit my protein macros - which is great for me as I love chicken/fish and ham. Deficit = weight loss and absolutely nothing else although you may want to do some exercise to get you there that bit quicker - I workout 6 days a week now.

thesimsisters

Another "non-clean" eater here. I have over time substituted healthier options for certain things in recipes and etc. But I have not given up anything that I love. Just better portioned and follow my calorie deficit. I eat some packaged food, some totally not healthy snack foods etc. But hey, what's life without the stuff you enjoy now and then. If I thought I could never eat something blah blah, then man I'd be preparing myself for failure. I don't worry much about processed foods, packaged foods vs "healthy foods," I just mainly try get more protein (one of things I'm guilty of) and watch the sodium some so it's not outrageous.

And can I say, love you other "non-clean" eaters! I get tired of reading the responses to everyone about what they are eating (non-clean) is the reason they are not losing. Our big numbers in this thread alone show this is not the case.

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thesimsisters

I eat whatever I want. McDonalds (and not on cheat day), pasta, white bread, chocolate bars, salt salt salt. Over time, what I want has shifted to something much healthier and cleaner, but it isn't a nutritionist's dream. I keep my diary closed for a reason -- I got tired of people judging my choices when they don't live my life and I wasn't ASKING for advice about it (which is another kettle of fish entirely).

My results are hand in hand with people making different choices: eating clean, vegans, cardio only, etc. I think winning the war against bad habits and an unhealthy lifestyle is hugely built on finding something that works for you, not what other people WANT to work for you. Pick your battles, if battle #1 is "keep below your calorie limit" -- then win it! The next battle might be macros, healthier choices, a new workout plan, whatever. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

That's my inspirational lecture for today.

This is also why my diary is closed. You hit that right on the head.

mochamommy

I am eating healthier just trying to choose lower calorie foods, but I'm not a great eater. I hate to cook, so it's always going to be a bagged salad or can of soup for me versus a 2 hour meal prep. I do cook meals, but they aren't the healthiest because my husband will not eat anything of nutritional value...deep fried and sugar coated with butter on top for him...