experimenting foods for weight loss? please help

happyandhealthy2598

Hello!
I'm currently on the journey to lose about 20lbs before summer. So lately I have been changing my diet up every few days to see what works best for weight loss. trying different foods, macros.. etc.. is this good? Or should I just chose my style of weight loss and stick with it? I wanna see what makes me feel my best and lose weight the easiest. Is this a good idea?


Thanks so much for reading!!

editorgrrl

You lose weight by eating at a deficit. Period. It doesn't matter what you eat (or when you eat it). Eat "good" or "clean" or "healthy" (whatever those words mean to you) 80% of the time. Fit yummy, portion-controlled treats into your macros.

Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. Log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories. If you're not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

Francl27

Just eat what you like at a deficit, just try to eat enough protein.

Ainar

Generally it's about total calories. So if you ate at deficit you will lose weight. That being said our bodies are different and some people might do a little better with one type of foods that other. This is true for me and a few people I know and I'm sure it is for everybody. Not to say that you will not get results by just following calorie rule, you will for sure cos that is the foundation of weight loss/gain. But it's a good idea to figure out how your body responds to different foods physically and mentally, that might help you do even better. ^^

elyelyse

So lately I have been changing my diet up every few days to see what works best for weight loss.

a few days isn't enough to determine anything. You need to give changes a few weeks, at least, to see what works or doesn't.

However, as others have said, just eating at a deficit will result in weight loss (but I agree that people respond differently to various foods, and experimenting to see what works for you is a good idea. ex: some people prefer large volumes of low calorie foods, some prefer small portions of higher calorie foods. some people like large breakfasts, some people prefer to save the majority of their calories for the latter part of the day. some people eat one piece of chocolate and are out of control for the rest of the day on a sugar binge so they need to avoid it, some people can have one small piece and be happy. etc)

flumi_f

Basically the long term downward trend is about the deficit. I watch my deficit more on a weekly than on a daily basis. But I weigh daily.

What I notice, is that my body retains water on some foods. White flour products (bread / pasta) combined with sodium are the worst for me. Small doses are OK, but if I eat pizza for example, even if it's in my cals for the day, I'm up 2-3lbs the next morning. I don't completely avoid these foods. But I do know what to expect the next morning.

Potato and veggie carbs don't do that to me. It's just the grain carbs. I can eat potato and cheese -rather high in carbs, sodium and fat - and I even see unexpected losses.

People react differently to different foods. By weighing daily and logging my food, I figured out, what causes most of my fluctuations - grain, sodium, hormones, strenuous exercise. Normally it's just water and disappears after a few days.

By analyzing your fluctuations you may be able to make some correlations too.