Why you SHOULDN'T count calories

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Sugar alcohol is nasty stuff and makes me sick as well. Aspartame and Splenda are my friends.

brianpperkins

Let's be real honest here, the folks who begged for links wanted to see her fall. You did not politely and genuinely want to learn from her source, you wanted blood. Stop kidding around. If she provided you with a link, you would have told her that she doesn't have a credible source. How are you so sure that you're source is providing the full truth? They're probably funded by diet soda companies and sugar-free gum companies attempting to prove it's OK and will not kill you right away.

The EU studies couldn't find a causal link between aspartame and illness at any level a person could realistically ingest. Your telling people that it is bad and not to listen to anyone who says otherwise only illustrates that the position is based on rants rather than science. Her posts are just as ignorance based.

EvanKeel

Let's be real honest here, the folks who begged for links wanted to see her fall. You did not politely and genuinely want to learn from her source, you wanted blood. Stop kidding around. If she provided you with a link, you would have told her that she doesn't have a credible source. How are you so sure that you're source is providing the full truth? They're probably funded by diet soda companies and sugar-free gum companies attempting to prove it's OK and will not kill you right away.

Do you think this topic hasn't been done...repeatedly in these forums? We're sure. Again, go to the aspartame sticky in the other sub forum for a long discussion.

And I love that you look for conspiracy theories with companies that produce diet soda while citing a non-open source book as evidence. Surely the author couldn't possibly have their own bias, nor could they possibly be looking to capitalize on the fear market. No, that can't be. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

BombshellPhoenix

Let's be real honest here, the folks who begged for links wanted to see her fall. You did not politely and genuinely want to learn from her source, you wanted blood. Stop kidding around. If she provided you with a link, you would have told her that she doesn't have a credible source. How are you so sure that you're source is providing the full truth? They're probably funded by diet soda companies and sugar-free gum companies attempting to prove it's OK and will not kill you right away.

And here it is............oh noes its a conspiracy

stumblinthrulife

lol people are very defensive of their diet sodas lmao no ones taking them away just pointing out how unhealthy they are you are still free to drink them calm your hormones

Please back this statement up with peer reviewed evidence.
Links...

What's wrong with you people?! Read a health book, please! I'm randomly jumping in here to stop the slaughter of the person who mentioned that diet soda is bad. My explanation will come from memory of books I have read that have, yes, cited their sources. Why is a cup of regular coke better than diet coke? It's better because it does not contain harmful sugar substitutes that is in it's zero calorie counterpart. Example of a harmful sugar substitute, you ask? Sure! ASPARTAME.

Aspartame is bad for you and don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise and hell yes, it is bad for you in any quantity. I don't even chew the bull sugar-free gum anymore and guess what?! Less gas, bloating, brain fog, diarrhea and all gone by eliminating gum with sorbitol and aspartame. How much you drink or chew will just slow down or speed up the "harmful" process. Aspartame, like MSG (everyone is afraid of MSG but not aspartame I see), is an exotoxin. Exotoxins cause degenerative effects on the brain and nervous system. It's effects are cumulative. You may feel fine at first, but will then notice neurological issues such as headaches, brain fog and early signs of dementia. Do you really want to suffer through that (if you aren't already) just because you want to save a few cals. How about don't drink it at all.. or save it for a special occasion to indulge in junk. Hey, we're human.. we like junk sometimes.. just throw away the "diet junk."

For the person who mentioned diet stuff is bad, it is helpful to know why before mentioning it on a controversial thread such as this one because there are jerks out there that will try to stomp on you and make you feel stupid. By yelling show a link blah blah blah.. they are trying to bury you. Just try to know at least some of the facts first. Diet soda is harmful towards your overall health.. I don't see how exactly it may hinder weight loss though. Just because you lose weight though, doesn't mean it's healthy.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1308408-why-aspartame-isn-t-scary

The reason people ask for links is to prove what you're spewing

mentioned that diet soda is bad. My explanation will

hasn't been proven. Can you provide one of the sources, I mean it is pertinent to the conversation.

One of my favorite books is the Truth About Beauty by Kat James. She cites all of her sources in that book (which include case studies not articles written by people with no credibility). It's a great read and you are free to purchase on amazon, if you like. There are also a ton of other books out there.

Aside from that, put down the diet soda for some time and stop chewing sugar free gum and watch the magic. It's all about how YOUR body responds to things. Again, I dropped the gum containing sorbitol and aspartame and I have not had the scary brain fog symptoms, gas, bloating and diarrhea. Try it and see.

I'm happy that you found something that works for you personally. But that's one single data point. We call that 'anecdotal evidence'. It can't be extrapolated to form a working theory for the public at large.

Over the past 24 months, under a calorie controlled diet, I have -

gone through periods of strict sugar and artificial sweetener restriction.
gone through periods of consuming artificial sweeteners, while restricting sugar.
gone through periods of consuming no artificial sweeteners, but eating significant amounts of sugar due to heavy training load.
gone through periods of eating both sugar and artificial sweeteners in moderation while training in moderation.

Mentally and physically, I felt precisely the same during all periods, adjusted for obvious physical stresses caused by training. At no point did I experience 'mental fog' or any sort of negative performance that could be traced to sweetener. My body responded precisely as predicted to all stimulus, through all phases. Calorie deficits led to weight loss. Calorie surplus led to weight gain. Resistance training increased strength and muscle mass. Endurance training increased my aerobic and anaerobic thresholds.

This, too, is of course also purely anecdotal and doesn't form a theory for the public at large. I present it merely as a means of demonstrating that you can't take your experiences and then try to force them down other's throats as absolute truth.

kgeyser

Let's be real honest here, the folks who begged for links wanted to see her fall. You did not politely and genuinely want to learn from her source, you wanted blood. Stop kidding around. If she provided you with a link, you would have told her that she doesn't have a credible source. How are you so sure that you're source is providing the full truth? They're probably funded by diet soda companies and sugar-free gum companies attempting to prove it's OK and will not kill you right away.

You realize the person you are defending spent the last few days making posts saying that dairy is bad for you, you cannot lose weight if you eat dairy, if you do lose weight while eating dairy it is not "ideal" weight loss (no definition provided as to what that even means), and that if you eat dairy, you are not in optimal health (again no definition provided)? She also stated that people who eat meat are less healthy than vegans. It's not like people saw someone question their diet soda and went for the jugular.

LivingHealthyLove

[/quote]

I'd rather not pay the $16 on Amazon for food fear mongering. I'd rather you just pass along a link or two to her sources and I (we) can go from there.
[/quote]

Now, you're asking for too much my good sir. I already killed so much time responding, now you're asking me to get up and dig through my book shelf for this book and provide you with a link. I'd rather just sit here and eat ice cream while watching extreme weight loss. LOL! :blushing:

Anywho, I gave you all my source of information as to why regular soda is better than diet soda. That should be good enough. I should not have to do additional research now. I know from experience that it's no good for me. No need for me to dig further. If you would like proof and it's burning you inside, it's your job to dig. That's all I'm saying. You can't knock me for that!

odusgolp

My first read in the forums today made me crave a beer.


The last read in the forums today is no different.


I suppose that means it's Miller time.

eric_sg61

the way i see it is that not all calories are created equal, it is not the same to eat fat from olive oil or processed disgusting transfats, it's not the same to eat a raw- vegan cake made with organic natural ingredients and to eat choclate cake made with bleaches flour, refined sugar, etc even if it's the same number of calories, the key thing here is how does your body use and process different foods.

calories are not the whole story,the nutritional content affects everything from digestion, to hormone production to energy levels.

Calories are a unit of measurement, so yes they are equal.

SideSteel

edit for quote @#$%@#$

kelly_e_montana

I counted calories from the time I was in grade school til the time I was 39 and I always struggled with binging and my weight. I ate crap and didn't provide myself with the nutrients I needed. I thought low-fat, lower cal processed convenience foods were my friends.

Turns out I should have just been moving more and eating real food. I can easily maintain my weight now that I gave up counting calories.

Seems the tide is starting to turn regarding on "A calorie is a calorie" versus a focus on the composition of our diets:

http://time.com/2988142/you-asked-are-all-calories-created-equal/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss

So, at this point, I pretty much think calorie counting is bro-science and it seems real science is starting to support my opinion.

"Then why are you on a calorie-counting web site?" is always the next question. I'm on here because it's called "Myfitnesspal" and I used it to track my exercise and connect with other people with similar fitness interests (powerlifters, crossfitters, trail runners, etc.). I do believe macros are important, and I track them using MFP when I need to. I've lost 8% body fat this year and have stayed the same weight essentially by lifting heavy and adjusting/tracking my macros.

BombshellPhoenix

$16 on Amazon could probably buy me some reeeally cute kitty ears with bells.

SideSteel

I counted calories from the time I was in grade school til the time I was 39 and I always struggled with binging and my weight. I ate crap and didn't provide myself with the nutrients I needed. I thought low-fat, lower cal processed convenience foods were my friend.

Turns out I should have just been moving more and eating real food. I can easily maintain my weight now that I gave up counting calories.

Seems the tide is starting to turn regarding on "A calorie is a calorie" versus a focus on the composition of our diets:

http://time.com/2988142/you-asked-are-all-calories-created-equal/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss

So, at this point, I pretty much think calorie counting is bro-science and it seems real science is starting to support my opinion.

"Then why are you on a calorie-counting web site?" is always the next question. I'm on here because it's called "Myfitnesspal" and I used it to track my exercise and connect with other people with similar fitness interests (powerlifters, crossfitters, trail runners, etc.).

The problem I have with the bold is the word "versus". This implies that it is an either/or scenario and it most certainly is not.

Additionally, calories were not held equal in the study referenced in the npr link -- at least that's my recollection when I looked at this, so the study they reference (again, IIRC -- I'll take a closer look when I get back to my desk) is laughable as a means to compare differing macronutrients when calories are held constant.

EvanKeel

I'd rather not pay the $16 on Amazon for food fear mongering. I'd rather you just pass along a link or two to her sources and I (we) can go from there.

Now, you're asking for too much my good sir. I already killed so much time responding, now you're asking me to get up and dig through my book shelf for this book and provide you with a link. I'd rather just sit here and eat ice cream while watching extreme weight loss. LOL! :blushing:

Anywho, I gave you all my source of information as to why regular soda is better than diet soda. That should be good enough. I should not have to do additional research now. I know from experience that it's no good for me. No need for me to dig further. If you would like proof and it's burning you inside, it's your job to dig. That's all I'm saying. You can't knock me for that!

[/quote]

You didn't provide evidence. You basically said some lady wrote a book and that she has the evidence. In fact, no. It's your job to dig. Then someone else gets to evaluate and counter. You don't get to wave your hands flippantly in a direction and make assumptions.

EDTI: I will, however, fix your quote tags for you. You're welcome.

kelly_e_montana

I counted calories from the time I was in grade school til the time I was 39 and I always struggled with binging and my weight. I ate crap and didn't provide myself with the nutrients I needed. I thought low-fat, lower cal processed convenience foods were my friend.

Turns out I should have just been moving more and eating real food. I can easily maintain my weight now that I gave up counting calories.

Seems the tide is starting to turn regarding on "A calorie is a calorie" versus a focus on the composition of our diets:

http://time.com/2988142/you-asked-are-all-calories-created-equal/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss

So, at this point, I pretty much think calorie counting is bro-science and it seems real science is starting to support my opinion.

"Then why are you on a calorie-counting web site?" is always the next question. I'm on here because it's called "Myfitnesspal" and I used it to track my exercise and connect with other people with similar fitness interests (powerlifters, crossfitters, trail runners, etc.).

The problem I have with the bold is the word "versus". This implies that it is an either/or scenario and it most certainly is not.

Point well-taken. Poor wording on my part.

eric_sg61

I counted calories from the time I was in grade school til the time I was 39 and I always struggled with binging and my weight. I ate crap and didn't provide myself with the nutrients I needed. I thought low-fat, lower cal processed convenience foods were my friends.

Turns out I should have just been moving more and eating real food. I can easily maintain my weight now that I gave up counting calories.

Seems the tide is starting to turn regarding on "A calorie is a calorie" versus a focus on the composition of our diets:

http://time.com/2988142/you-asked-are-all-calories-created-equal/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss

So, at this point, I pretty much think calorie counting is bro-science and it seems real science is starting to support my opinion.

"Then why are you on a calorie-counting web site?" is always the next question. I'm on here because it's called "Myfitnesspal" and I used it to track my exercise and connect with other people with similar fitness interests (powerlifters, crossfitters, trail runners, etc.). I do believe macros are important, and I track them using MFP when I need to. I've lost 8% body fat this year and have stayed the same weight essentially by lifting heavy and adjusting/tracking my macros.

Then eat 10,000 calories a day of your "approved" foods and tell me you don't gain weight. In the end it always comes down to calories and THEN macros. The link I posted earlier had plenty of people who ate clean without counting calories and still gained a lot of weight.

LivingHealthyLove

Let's be real honest here, the folks who begged for links wanted to see her fall. You did not politely and genuinely want to learn from her source, you wanted blood. Stop kidding around. If she provided you with a link, you would have told her that she doesn't have a credible source. How are you so sure that you're source is providing the full truth? They're probably funded by diet soda companies and sugar-free gum companies attempting to prove it's OK and will not kill you right away.

You realize the person you are defending spent the last few days making posts saying that dairy is bad for you, you cannot lose weight if you eat dairy, if you do lose weight while eating dairy it is not "ideal" weight loss (no definition provided as to what that even means), and that if you eat dairy, you are not in optimal health (again no definition provided)? She also stated that people who eat meat are less healthy than vegans. It's not like people saw someone question their diet soda and went for the jugular.

No, I don't know her history on MFP. I saw someone who gave very little explanation as to why something was bad and jumped in. I thought it was unfortunate that she heard something and could not explain her position, a position that I agree with. This tends to happen a lot. We hear why something is bad, but the only thing that sticks in our minds is that it's bad and not the reasoning behind it. Hey, we're human. As for her older posts, I had no prior knowledge of them nor do I agree with them (from what you just wrote). Since I am primal/paleo.. we eat lots of meat haha!

missemmapeel

i semi count calories but you are right a 0cal diet coke is worse than a 150cal smoothie people get way to into the calorie counting and ignore over all nutrition its a tricky balence sometimes

Worse in what way?

For your over all health as well as weightloss

Sigh, ok, how is it worse for your health, assuming you are meeting your nutrient goals?

because there are hazardous chemicals in it lol is this a real question? i highly suggest you do some research on 0 cal chemical storms that people put into there bodies, i should add it depends where you live as well as some ingrediants are banned in other countries so for example if your in europe then it was be as bad as if your in america

You'll find this topic highly debated here. And many don't find any of the research that says that carbonated beverages, or artificial sweeteners, are harmful to have much merit.

So yes, it's a real question. The assumption that diet soda is harmful is closer to superstition than science.

They did do a wonderful study feeding one group of rats diet soda, and another group regular soda. The diet soda group became obese at a faster rate than the regular soda rats and ate more. The theory was that insulin was released in expectation of sugar that never arrived, causing the rats to overeat (probably balancing blood sugar levels).

The flaw in this study was that the rats weren't given access to MFP to track calories, obviously.

Also, on a very different note, aspartame is one of the most studied food chemicals and so far it has been found safe for human consumption, or we probably wouldn't be debating how harmful it is after all these years...

So bottom line, it won't kill you, but I'm not convinced it will make you skinny either

LivingHealthyLove

Damn quotes keep messing up!

LivingHealthyLove

I'd rather not pay the $16 on Amazon for food fear mongering. I'd rather you just pass along a link or two to her sources and I (we) can go from there.

Now, you're asking for too much my good sir. I already killed so much time responding, now you're asking me to get up and dig through my book shelf for this book and provide you with a link. I'd rather just sit here and eat ice cream while watching extreme weight loss. LOL! :blushing:

Anywho, I gave you all my source of information as to why regular soda is better than diet soda. That should be good enough. I should not have to do additional research now. I know from experience that it's no good for me. No need for me to dig further. If you would like proof and it's burning you inside, it's your job to dig. That's all I'm saying. You can't knock me for that!

You didn't provide evidence. You basically said some lady wrote a book and that she has the evidence. In fact, no. It's your job to dig. Then someone else gets to evaluate and counter. You don't get to wave your hands flippantly in a direction and make assumptions.

EDTI: I will, however, fix your quote tags for you. You're welcome.

[/quote]

I do not agree. It is not my job to look for anything. When I read the book a few years ago, I wanted to know more and did additional research and not only read up on it but used how I felt to come to a conclusion. I was actually seeing a neurologist for brain fog and memory loss and wondering why my world was crumpling. I did the research for myself and my own individual case. If you want to know whether or not something is for you.. you should take what the poster says and run with it. That's what I would do. If I saw a forum post and you felt strongly about something that I'm unsure of, I would go digging for more answers elsewhere. If you provide your source, good for you.. but I'd also like to find some info on it else where and read up on the differing opinions on the topic and then formulate my own conclusion. I don't ask you to do the work for me. Only if you want to. :happy: