do calories matter?

Otterluv

To each their own. Remember what works for one person doesn't always work for somebody else and the leaner you are the more carbs you need. I'm about 40 pounds from my goal and seem to do better without them. Believe me I've tried almost everything to keep the carbs in my diet but this seems to be the only thing that keeps things moving.

By that logic, keeping track of calories and eating carbs wouldn't work for everyone in terms of weight loss?? Please don't make me post peer-reviewed studies to back my claims lol. And I doubt a site like "dietdoctor.com" is trustworthy. At all.

Think of it what you want but how about some credibility here? As one that use to weigh 415 pounds and is now around 240. Don't believe me, look at the before and after in my profile.

If we are playing at that game; look at ihad's ticker, hell, look at mine. Carbs are in my diet. Lots of them. I am a runner and I lift, I would not fare nearly as well without them.

LolBroScience

To each their own. Remember what works for one person doesn't always work for somebody else and the leaner you are the more carbs you need. I'm about 40 pounds from my goal and seem to do better without them. Believe me I've tried almost everything to keep the carbs in my diet but this seems to be the only thing that keeps things moving.

By that logic, keeping track of calories and eating carbs wouldn't work for everyone in terms of weight loss?? Please don't make me post peer-reviewed studies to back my claims lol. And I doubt a site like "dietdoctor.com" is trustworthy. At all.

Think of it what you want but how about some credibility here? As one that use to weigh 415 pounds and is now around 240. Don't believe me, look at the before and after in my profile.

Stop while you're ahead....

jbaker1663

I've seen thermodynamics mentioned before and I'm wondering if you can help me understand. I have always believed that CICO is the only rule of weight loss/gain. However, I've been going through menopause for several years and I have gained 30 lbs over the last 2 years. I'm 5'4 and have weighed between 120-125 lbs. my entire adult life. I exercise and eat healthy foods-because for me that's the easiest way to maintain my weight. Now, nothing I do will result in weight loss and I have a steady weight gain. If all I need is a simple calorie deficit, why am I still gaining? I just joined 3 days ago, but my diary is public. I am logging everything I eat, and the only thing that's different from what I usually do is that I have eaten a little more each day because my calorie intake was so far below 1200. All the conventional wisdom says don't go below 1200, but if I'm gaining weight wouldn't that meant that I'm burning below 1200? I broke my foot recently and I can't go back to boot camp yet, but I am walking 30 minutes every day. I put I was mostly sedentary because it's hard for me to get around. How is it possible that I'm eating less than 1200 calories and still gaining weight? I can't reconcile the CICO with not going below 1200, because if I'm below 1200 and still gaining, then I must be burning less than that, right? It is so frustrating and I appreciate any advice I can get. I confess I don't understand thermodynamics. Thank you.

MistyMtnMan

Short answer. No.

CyanideVii

I read a study thats a little similar, but calories are calories. The study said that the source of the calories affect you different. we are not talking about health, we are still talking about the energy from it and what not.
Honestly I believe it. I measure myself a little too much and count and chart my water intake ect. I find that i put on weight or struggle maintaining it when most of my calories are from carbs, and I find that I can still drop weight from eating high calorie salads(cranberries, dressings, nuts and meat) even if i go over my limit.
ofc these studies are new and calories are still calories but how your body processes it is probably different for everyone.

aarondnguyen

I've seen thermodynamics mentioned before and I'm wondering if you can help me understand. I have always believed that CICO is the only rule of weight loss/gain. However, I've been going through menopause for several years and I have gained 30 lbs over the last 2 years. I'm 5'4 and have weighed between 120-125 lbs. my entire adult life. I exercise and eat healthy foods-because for me that's the easiest way to maintain my weight. Now, nothing I do will result in weight loss and I have a steady weight gain. If all I need is a simple calorie deficit, why am I still gaining? I just joined 3 days ago, but my diary is public. I am logging everything I eat, and the only thing that's different from what I usually do is that I have eaten a little more each day because my calorie intake was so far below 1200. All the conventional wisdom says don't go below 1200, but if I'm gaining weight wouldn't that meant that I'm burning below 1200? I broke my foot recently and I can't go back to boot camp yet, but I am walking 30 minutes every day. I put I was mostly sedentary because it's hard for me to get around. How is it possible that I'm eating less than 1200 calories and still gaining weight? I can't reconcile the CICO with not going below 1200, because if I'm below 1200 and still gaining, then I must be burning less than that, right? It is so frustrating and I appreciate any advice I can get. I confess I don't understand thermodynamics. Thank you.

I need more context. Being able to view the calories you've logged for the past few days isn't enough. I don't know what your diet was like before you joined this community, nor do I know how long you had been doing it. Although very rare, metabolic damage can occur... (if your BMR is less than 1200). From what I can tell after looking at your diary, your fats seem a little low. Aim for 0.4-0.5g per lb. body weight. Prolonged low-fat diets can mess with hormones, which will lead to a host of problems. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you drinking plenty of water? How accurate are you when you log your food? Do you use a scale? Are you weighing yourself consistently every day or week (i.e. every morning)?

^Context.

jbaker1663

I haven't changed my eating at all-this is how I have eaten for 25 years-but I know it's hard to tell from 3 days. I don't have a food scale, but I've measured using a measuring cup. Because I've never had an issue with my weight before, it really wasn't a big deal. I knew how much I could eat and maintain my weight. I will definitely get one this weekend. As far as my fats, the reason I eat less is because I've found a higher fat diet has always made it harder for me to maintain my weight. Clearly all bets are off now, so if more fat will help, I will definitely try that. Hormones-well, that is of course the whole issue with menopause. I had blood work done and had no measurable levels of estrogen, progesterone or testosterone. I have been on bio identical hormones for over a year, which definitely helps with the symptoms, but not the weight gain. I see a hormone specialist and had a saliva test last week-waiting for those results to see if she can adjust the hormone levels. For a long time I didn't sleep well at all-it's impossible with hot flashes-but the hormones help with that. I honestly am exhausted all the time now, even when I sleep for 10 hours. The doctor told me that when you go through menopause, it can decrease your metabolism to the point that you just can't lose weight (and that the decreased metabolism was the reason for my tiredness). I keep thinking that there must be a calorie level I am using every day, and I just need to be below that. But if it's below 1200-which seems apparent-then is it safe to eat that? I thought when I started logging my foods I'd find I was eating way too many calories, but I was actually not. The first 2 days I went back and added food because I was only around 1000 calories. Today, I treated myself to a drink to make up the difference, but I rarely drink alcohol. My carbs are always over the limit. Maybe that's the problem. What I don't understand is this: why isn't creating a calorie deficit enough? Why isn't it resulting in weight loss? I will say I am very accurate when I log my food. I logged the salt and spices I used-nothing has gone in my mouth that I didn't log, except that I drank more water than I put. I'm not unrealistic-I don't expect to have the same body I had when I was 25 because that is not going to happen. I just don't want to give in to the weight gain and end up with a real problem. Plus, it drives me crazy because I don't get it-if I reduce my calories, why don't I lose weight? Thanks for taking the time to help.

Chris_Pierce

300 calories are in a mcdonalds cheeseburger. i can eat a 5-6 cup salad with grilled chicken... thats a lot of salad. anyway i joke that the cheeseburger calories go straight to your back boobs and the salad goes to the right places. the body knows how to handle real food but processed food not so much. so its where the calories come from that does the body good. in the end tho its still 300 calories.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html

I think this kills the "study"

" The study only looked at a single meal. It’s entirely possible that a diet based completely around fast food would show different effects.
The sample size was small: 6 overweight men and two women. It’s possible that differences would have shown up with more subjects. A related question is whether lean individuals would respond differently. Perhaps but I doubt it. As I discussed in The Influence of the Subjects’ Training State on the Glycemic Index, GI and insulin response are even less relevant in trained individuals."


Ever seen "super size me" ?

jbaker1663

PS I weigh myself at the same time every morning, with the scale in the exact same place. Same scale

Sinisterly

Calories don't really matter if you're bulking, so you can nom all you want >.>
" Technically "

snazzyjazzy21

300 calories are in a mcdonalds cheeseburger. i can eat a 5-6 cup salad with grilled chicken... thats a lot of salad. anyway i joke that the cheeseburger calories go straight to your back boobs and the salad goes to the right places. the body knows how to handle real food but processed food not so much. so its where the calories come from that does the body good. in the end tho its still 300 calories.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html

I think this kills the "study"

" The study only looked at a single meal. It’s entirely possible that a diet based completely around fast food would show different effects.
The sample size was small: 6 overweight men and two women. It’s possible that differences would have shown up with more subjects. A related question is whether lean individuals would respond differently. Perhaps but I doubt it. As I discussed in The Influence of the Subjects’ Training State on the Glycemic Index, GI and insulin response are even less relevant in trained individuals."


Ever seen "super size me" ?

Mentioning supersize me just blew your argument out of the water....

einzweidrei

I love carbs. And junk food. And things people would consider "awful" and "unclean" and "fatty mcfatterson" foods. And lots of salt.

My BMI is <19, just to give you an idea. Jumps between 18.6-18.9. Eating a roast beef sandwich with a B&W milkshake and side of corn fritters at 1 AM---guess what? My body isn't going to start just piling the pounds right back on because of all the carbs, the time I'm eating, etc. And actually, it was delicious and filling. Too bad I can't do it everyday. ;-) (I would if I worked out but I don't.)

I think low carb might be a good start for people who need the motivation but I don't think it's a good long term fix. My husband lost a bunch of weight when he was pushing/over 300 pounds before I knew him. Then he just completely stopped losing weight. Started to integrate carbs again and the weight went back into the 250s. Now we just calorie count to keep the weight down 230ish, hopefully he'll break that again soon.