Good Calories Vs Bad Calories. Does the number matter?

hannah1011z

Okay, So today as you can see in my food diary for the day, it is almost 6pm and I have already eaten almost 1500 calories and a ton of sodium! I know that my dinner was not very healthy but I didnt eat too much of it and I tried to do the healthier alternatives: wheat pasta, shrimp ect. Im curious as too if you guys worry much about your calorie count if its mostly healthy? Like today i had only 1/2 cup of grape juice mixed with 1.1/2 cup water, and a light yogurt for breakfast, an apple for first snack, a wheat pita bread sandwhich for lunch, a tangerine for second snack, and then shrimp alfredo with brussel sprouts for dinner. Personally I think that sounds like an amazing day lol but what im not thrilled about is the fact that im already at 1500 calories
(was shooting for 1200 a day), i havent drinken anything but water and that little bit of juice, and still havent had a snack in the evening. So what im woundering is is it essential to stick to 1200 calories ideally even when its mostly healthy food?

chezjuan

From a strictly weight-loss point of view, it doesn't matter what kind of food you eat. If you are at a calorie deficit, you lose, and if you are at a surplus, you gain.

You probably don't have to eat 1200 calories to lose... most likely you are still at a deficit at 1500... just a smaller one. Without seeing your stats (height, weight) it's hard to say for sure. Also, not knowing how much weight you have to lose, it's hard to recommend a good deficit. If you have more than 75-100 lbs, then a 2 lb a week loss is OK, but if you have less than that, you probably want to do more like 1 lb a week lose weight in a healthy manner.

Also, to retain as much muscle as possible, you probably want to add in some resistance training. You can also do cardio exercises to allow yourself to eat more calories while maintaining a good net deficit.

fast_eddie_72

Good answer above. From a purely weight loss point of view, maintain a deficit and you'll lose weight. And eating some of the things you like from time to time makes it a lot easier to stick with it. Just record them, watch your calorie goal and your macros, enjoy them and don't feel guilty.

ndj1979

where did you get 1200 calories a day from?

Secondly, if you ate over maintenance, which it sounds like you did then you are in a surplus and will gain.

It does not matter the type of food, it just matters how much of said food you ate.

Eat less = calorie deficit = lose weight
eat more = calorie surplus = gain

concordancia

Why are you eating 1200 calories a day? I am pretty sure that if you have over 200 lbs. to lose MFP didn't set you that low! 1500 would probably be a minimum for you, not something to stress about.

But no matter how healthy your food is, yes, you do need to be aware of how many calories are in it. If you eat 5000 calories of veggies and nuts you will gain weight.

nutmegoreo

If your ticker is accurate and you have 225 lbs to lose (from your start), I highly doubt that you are in a surplus at 1500 calories. I am losing at 1700/day and I am 41 y/o at 5'2". Read through this:

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

There is a lot of helpful information in there. You may find that you can consume many more calories, reduce as you lose, and not feel so 1) deprived and 2) so anxious when you have a difficult day. This doesn't have to be as hard as you are making it :flowerforyou:

elyelyse

Im curious as too if you guys worry much about your calorie count if its mostly healthy?

I could totally get fat on healthy food. eat more calories that you expend = gain weight, no matter what the food is.

So what im woundering is is it essential to stick to 1200 calories ideally even when its mostly healthy food?

as a 19 year old woman, unless you are very short and already very thin..you can likely eat more than 1200, possibly more than 1500, and still lose weight, whether you are eating apples and yogurt, or ice cream.
here's a good reference for helping you figure out how many calories you should be eating.:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

mzhokie

I try to stick to the calorie total and not go over. It has taught me to eat more low calorie foods like veggies! The other thing is exercise. If I want a dinner that I know is a little rich in calories, I will go do 30 mins on the treadmill or walk a mile or two in the neighborhood. I want to bank the extra calories so I don't have to worry. That's the nice thing about eating your exercise calories back.

Just plan ahead.... sometimes you can look at the week and eat 100 calories less for a couple of days so you can have 200 more on another day. But for me the thing that works the best is I at least have a NET of 1200 calories a day. My metabolism works best when I don't go below 1200. It's just one of the things I noticed in the past about dieting. Just like I know I can't have sugar and caffeine at breakfast or my blood sugar will crash 2 hours later.

edit... I have to add, my daily calorie total is 1410 a day without exercise. I'm just trying to lose 1 lb a week. So sticking to my calorie total works for me. I'm not eating just 1200 a day.

Natmarie73

So what im woundering is is it essential to stick to 1200 calories ideally even when its mostly healthy food?

Depends on your metabolism I suppose. I never count calories and eat healthy and don't put on weight but I also excersise quite a bit. I have no idea how many calories I eat in a day but probably too many. 1200 calories doesn't sound like much though.

jayjay12345654321

Only if you want to lose weight. Healthy food in excess of calories burned is still stored as fat.

fast_eddie_72

Only if you want to lose weight. Healthy food in excess of calories burned is still stored as fat.

This will sound snarkey and I don't mean it to.

Fat or muscle, depending on what you do, right? Not being a smart *kitten*. Once I get skinny I intend to build some muscle. And from what I've read, mostly on here, I'll have to eat a surplus to do that.