Is this a bad way to lose weight?

leahxxoo

I'm 21 now and I've tried all kinds of different diets over the past 5/6 years... I've tried low fat, low GI, low carb, and many more which I couldn't stick to, no matter how hard I tried. About 3 months ago I figured out that I could eat whatever I wanted and still lose weight.. it doesn't even feel like a diet, it's so simple. I eat 1400 calories everyday.. of whatever I want. I don't pay any attention to fat, carbs, ect and I'm losing 1-2 pounds per week. I eat crisps, pasta, rice, biscuits, veg and lots of cheese.. (I'm a veggie) Is this bad???

silken555

Nope.

If you ever decide you want to start working your body though you will have to start paying attention to your macros.

Alyssawinter1221

I'm 20 and this is like exactly my story. I don't know if it is good, or bad, or whatever... But it is working for me so far. I eat the occasional healthy meal when someone else makes it... I'm a rubbish cook. Lol. Good luck to you

HawkeyeTy

Nope.

Your doing it in a way that you will be able to sustain it for the rest of your life...

Congrats!

SharonNehring

I say if you are otherwise healthy, then it's okay to do this for a while. It's not the healthiest way to go about it but reducing calories by managing portion sizes is the key component to any weight loss program.

If you decide to start seriously working out, then you'll need to revisit this and make some changes to ensure you are getting the proper nutrient fuel for your body.

trogalicious

Nope.

Your doing it in a way that you will be able to sustain it for the rest of your life...

Congrats!

agreed.

except if you're consistently losing between 1 and 2 pounds per week, you could probably get by with more calories.

Your approach is one that many of us are doing. It's often referred to as IIFYM. If it fits your macros. Basically, eat what you want so long as it fits within your goals.

LoveAthena

For right now, I think it's best to just get the weight loss out of the way and worry about perfect nutrition during maintenance. So I think you're on the right path.

You take it one goal at a time. You've got your calories in a good range and you're not starving, that's an awesome first step. When you've mastered this, you might decide to eat what you want for breakfast and dinner but always have a balanced lunch, and just continue cleaning your diet up from there. Whatever you decide, getting your calories in check is the best foundation IMO.

Showcase_Brodown

Calories are the key of weight management, that is what you are realizing. While it does do some good to pay attention to what you are eating beyond just the caloric value, that is basically the first thing to start paying attention to.

In order to meet your goals (whatever they may be), there is probably an ideal combination of macros to try to meet. For instance, I like getting about 30% of my calories from protein.

After that, what is "healthy" is really what helps you meet that ideal macro combination and helps you achieve your goals. Don't stress about what is usually considered healthy or unhealthy.

Sunshine2plus2

Nope! That is exactly how I have lost all my weight!

emzyloo88

deffo my kinda girl lol..... im the same i love my sweets and pizzas ha x

usmcmp

Nope.

Your doing it in a way that you will be able to sustain it for the rest of your life...

Congrats!

agreed.

except if you're consistently losing between 1 and 2 pounds per week, you could probably get by with more calories.

Your approach is one that many of us are doing. It's often referred to as IIFYM. If it fits your macros. Basically, eat what you want so long as it fits within your goals.

Except that she isn't even looking at her macros. She stated that she doesn't look at her fat, carbs or protein. She's doing if it fits your calories. It's working well to get the weight off and is obviously a sustainable way for her for now. Eventually maybe she'll consider body composition and start thinking about how the macros impact the way she feels and functions. Don't get me wrong, I eat plenty of "junk" food. I just know for my goals it's a good idea to make sure I get adequate amounts of protein.

trogalicious

Nope.

Your doing it in a way that you will be able to sustain it for the rest of your life...

Congrats!

agreed.

except if you're consistently losing between 1 and 2 pounds per week, you could probably get by with more calories.

Your approach is one that many of us are doing. It's often referred to as IIFYM. If it fits your macros. Basically, eat what you want so long as it fits within your goals.

Except that she isn't even looking at her macros. She stated that she doesn't look at her fat, carbs or protein. She's doing if it fits your calories. It's working well to get the weight off and is obviously a sustainable way for her for now. Eventually maybe she'll consider body composition and start thinking about how the macros impact the way she feels and functions. Don't get me wrong, I eat plenty of "junk" food. I just know for my goals it's a good idea to make sure I get adequate amounts of protein.

good point and you're right.

jofjltncb6

Depends.

How many grams of protein and fat are you getting on average each day?

lauren3101

It's definitely not a bad way to lose weight, especially if you are finding it sustainable. But I will say it would be a good idea to try and pay attention to your macros. Fats and protein are important to health, and you will look better for it in the long run.

fushigi1988

That is a great way, you might want to add a bit more calories though, 1400 seems quite low for an active young woman, my BMR is already 1800.
Just eat whatever you want that fits in your calorie goal, after a while you will get bored with chips and cookies (because you can always have them) and will probably gravitate more towards more protein and veggies.
That's what happened to me.

Just eat how you want now, but try to see how certain foods make you feel. I noticed I feel dizzy when I'm low on carbs, and get sore longer when I'm low on protein, so I started to add more of those. Slowly change macros around a bit, see how you feel, and leave room in for your cookies/icecream

jenilla1

Sounds like a winning strategy to start with as you develop healthier habits! :drinker:

For weight loss in a normal individual, the only thing that really matters is calories. But from a general health perspective, over time, you might want to start adding more and more healthy habits - for example, make healthy substitutions more often, add in more vegetables and fiber when you can, get your protein, and drink more water. You got this!

I wouldn't worry about the people who say 1400 is too low and unsustainable. I lost weight just fine at about 1350 PLUS exercise cals myself. My maintenance is 1700 PLUS exercise calories and I've been sustaining it for almost 3 years now. As long as you have plenty of energy and feel you can keep it up, you're fine. Just remember that as you get closer to goal, weight loss tends to slow down. Be patient! Remember, you don't have to sustain 1400 calories forever. Once you get to goal you get to bump your calories back up quite a bit for maintenance. :flowerforyou:

leahxxoo

Wow thanks everyone I can't believe it took me 5 or 6 years to realise that you don't have to eat low fat to lose weight... that's what everyone was telling me. I don't understand how people last eating low fat all the time, it's so boring!! Most of these 'low fat' branded foods are unhealthy anyway, it's like eating a chemical ****storm...I do need to eat healthier though I think.. I eat alot of crisps. But I've started eating alot of brocolli At least I've stopped ordering take away pizza, that's what made me gain most of my weight, but I went cold turkey a few months back

dustymccardle

Yes this is bad, you are fixing the outside and destroying the inside. You are what you eat is what they say. Eating healthy is key to fitness goals, and life. Studies show that getting healthy is 80% diet, and 20% exersize. What we eat is important.

trogalicious

Yes this is bad, you are fixing the outside and destroying the inside. You are what you eat is what they say. Eating healthy is key to fitness goals, and life. Studies show that getting healthy is 80% diet, and 20% exersize. What we eat is important.

her diet and approach isn't nearly as bad as food shaming. She's doing it right.

jofjltncb6

Yes this is bad, you are fixing the outside and destroying the inside. You are what you eat is what they say. Eating healthy is key to fitness goals, and life. Studies show that getting healthy is 80% diet, and 20% exersize. What we eat is important.

I clicked through to take a look at your food diary to see your "eating healthy" example, but your diary is closed.

Interesting, no?

defauIt

It's not optimal, but it's a method to start with and *far* from bad.

The *best* way to lose weight is to count calories while hitting all your macros and micros perfectly. However, it can be quite a shock going from "eat as much as you want of whatever you want" to "eat very little of things you don't necessarily want" and it might be too hard to stick to.

The first step is finding a way, any way, to start reducing calories. This is all that's needed for weight loss. After you find a sustainable way to reduce your calories, you can start looking at kicking it up a notch and taking your diet to the next level by hitting certain macro levels. After you find a way to do that, you can also start trying to manage your micros as well, but even that level of dedication is beyond what many people are willing to do.

Look at it this way: right now, you're standing still. Just counting calories is like going for a walk. Counting calories and macros is like going for a run. There's no shame in mastering how to walk before you try running.

cebreisch

If it's working for you, why is this a problem?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

What are your goals?

shinkalork

well it's not a bad way to lose weight...but not necessary the healthiest way...
What I mean is..depending on what you're eating..yes you will lose weight but you could lack some major vitamins and essential stuff your body needs in the long run. Not saying you are but...There's some important stuff .... like having some basic fruits and veggies,fiber,calcium etc... they are very important.

If what you eat includes all these thing etc... well yea! all good

Just saying...

Sreneesa

I just try to hit or come near my proteins. No way Ill be able to hit my macros for life so protein is what I try and hit for muscle sake and its working just fine for me and my body composition.

Edit. Then again I naturally eat pretty good and not into junk food so in my case I do not really indulge too much what people consider "bad foods" or foods with little nutrient value.

CiCi924

This is basically how I do it; as a busy college student with limited cooking facilities it's hard to find the time/tools to always cook healthy meals. We eat out a lot, but my boyfriend and I are both using MFP and if we splurge a little on lunch we make sure and log it and don't eat as much the rest of the day. As long as we log everything, are aware of what we eat, and don't go over, we usually don't care too much what it is. We usually at least pay attention to how much of what we eat is fat, carbs, protein etc and try and stay under, but if we go over on those, it's not the end of the world.

So far, it's worked for both of us, and we'll definitely pay more attention as we get closer to our goals but for now, just do what works for you!

action_figure

That's a great beginning! I did that at first. I've had kind of a three step process evolve since I started. At first I just counted calories. After three months of that, I added exercise. After three months of calorie counting with exercise, I started paying attention to how much fat and protein and carbohydrates I was getting. After doing that for three months, I started trying to improve the quality of my food choices. It's a process. I think you're doing wonderfully.