Calorie count vs. Actually doing it right

craft338

if you want to find good examples of logs, putting up a topic like "does anybody have a healthy log they wouldn't ming sharing?" rather than this whole thing probably would have been more productive.

Scidoc

I agree with Misty: I like to go to peoples diary's and get ideas...especially from people who have been successful. Most of the points disagreeing with you were more on the lines of "too each there own" and "they can do whatever works for them"...which is true to an extent, but being on this website members should learn to face criticism if they leave their diary open and are not eating healthfully. The whole point of having a diary and deciding to leave it open is for 1) to be held accountable for what you eat and 2) Give others a chance to get ideas that could benefit them. This is a community and is the way of community spirit.

Sure we all mess up and have good days and bad days, it happens to everyone. But if you are honest with yourself, then you will know that eating in this way is what led us to being overweight and/or unhealthy in the first place.

We are all here because we want to get slim and trim AND be healthy...not skinny fat with high cholesterol, bad skin, and scurvy.

poisongirl6485

Seems that you just can't win. If you keep your diary private, then that means you're not being honest or are 'cheating' on what you're logging/not logging. If it's public, then somehow people take that to mean it's open season if they aren't eating what certain viewers deem as 'healthy' or 'acceptable.'

I don't understand the mindset that a public diary = inviting criticism. we're not supposed to be on here to criticize, but to support each other in our weight loss goals. However people choose to strive for those goals is subject to opinion and I find it sad that people who are honest about logging their choices and leaving their diary public are being smashed because said choices aren't 'healthy' enough for others to gain ideas from. Diaries aren't just for obtaining ideas for your own eating habits, they're for use by the owner of said diary as a way to track their own consumption. However else they want to use that diary is up to them and it's silly to knock them because their personal choices aren't up to your own standards. If a diary isn't to your liking for ideas, look at another one. It's their DIARY, not an advice column.

Tomhusker

Maybe we should have our food diary approved for release first....... :laugh:

Laceylala

Trust me I knew full well before posting this that i would get lots of varied opinions. And i truly did not mean to "shame" anyone. And I fully understand that everyone here has days where they will eat pizza or drink soda... i did say that i know my diet is not perfect.
But my personal opinion is that its not healthy to eat all your calories in one sitting, and starve yourself the rest of the day. is that so wrong to say out loud?

The onlY input I have to offer up another viewpoint here is that I can eat a subway 6" with a bag of chips for lunch and not eat again until the next day sometimes because I am simply not hungry. So perhaps when you see a person eating 2000 cals of junk and that being their only meal, maybe that was enough for them that day? Who knows. It is most definitely possible. Perhaps they aren't starving because they are so full?

And it is definitely not healthy to do that on a daily basis, thats for sure. I think one of the things overweight people have to learn is to not keep eating when they are full or have overeaten at a meal. We mess up and eat too mich not realizing the cal count, we choose to eat a huge meal, etc etc. And then, hopefully, if we are learning anything on this site, the rest of the day we make sure that we aren't doing it again...

DangerRanger

OKAY, "someone" has been looking at my food diary. *points at Misty1208* ....... Just kidding (i hope)

I understand your frustration, but like a few have mentioned, there are several people here that are trying to maintain a lifestyle change, which includes, McDonald's, Wendy's, etc. So they may eat out every so often. Personally, I eat out at least 2-3 times a week, but I try to never eat 1200 calories in one meal. If I do, well, it's on me..

But, again, I do understand where you are coming from. So for those who are eating 1200 calories in ONE MEAL, lock your darn diary. LOL:drinker:

lodro

I Feel the same way! as you know, healthy eating is eating smaller meals but more of them.. and of course not eating foods that are fried or heavily processed.. well.. maybe on occasion

I beg to differ: eating small meals often is not healthier than eating one large meal a day. I'd also like to add, that as a person who does daily intermittent fasting (ie I have a 4 hour time window in which I will eat every day, so "one large meal") I find that if you only eat once a day there's more of a tendency to be really careful in what you eat, because you need to make that one meal count, nutrition-wise. So, in the "one pizza daily" scenario, the operative word is "intention". I can junk-eat my way through 6 small meals, and I can eat one meal a day in a healthy manner. Eating many frequent meals is overrated.

Also: most people underreport the calories they use. I know because I did too until i bought a precision scale and started weighing my food properly. I was off sometimes by 300-500 calories/day.

lodro

I agree with you and I would say to those people that they are doing it wrong. Because living that type of lifestyle will almost certainly lead to failure. Eating 3 well balanced meals with a few small snacks is the best way.

actually it has been proven that 6 evenly spaced meals is the best way.

No, that has not been proven. The reverse might actually be true in managing hunger and appetite.

lodro

Trust me I knew full well before posting this that i would get lots of varied opinions. And i truly did not mean to "shame" anyone. And I fully understand that everyone here has days where they will eat pizza or drink soda... i did say that i know my diet is not perfect.
But my personal opinion is that its not healthy to eat all your calories in one sitting, and starve yourself the rest of the day. is that so wrong to say out loud?

Well it's a personal opinion, and one not based in fact.

misty1208

Trust me I knew full well before posting this that i would get lots of varied opinions. And i truly did not mean to "shame" anyone. And I fully understand that everyone here has days where they will eat pizza or drink soda... i did say that i know my diet is not perfect.
But my personal opinion is that its not healthy to eat all your calories in one sitting, and starve yourself the rest of the day. is that so wrong to say out loud?

Well it's a personal opinion, and one not based in fact.

thanks. thats why i said it was my personal opinion.

DangerRanger

Trust me I knew full well before posting this that i would get lots of varied opinions. And i truly did not mean to "shame" anyone. And I fully understand that everyone here has days where they will eat pizza or drink soda... i did say that i know my diet is not perfect.
But my personal opinion is that its not healthy to eat all your calories in one sitting, and starve yourself the rest of the day. is that so wrong to say out loud?

Well it's a personal opinion, and one not based in fact.

Really, do you go around posts trying to prove people wrong.. woohoo, you are :glasses: <---cool just-in-case)

tamarjag

I am going to write this as nicely as I can. Whether or not a member makes their food diary public is their choice. That being said, I find it discouraging that members are being judged on their food choices. That stuff goes on out in public enough. This is supposed to be a supportive group, not a place for members to be berated. What they choose to eat is their business and whatever works for them is also their business. Live and let live. Believe it or not, members are not on here to help you or anyone else make food choices. They are here for their own personal reasons. If you are not getting healthy ideas from those people, then please look elsewhere. Shaming them in public is only repeating cruelties they have suffered from countless others.

Nicely put

lodro

Trust me I knew full well before posting this that i would get lots of varied opinions. And i truly did not mean to "shame" anyone. And I fully understand that everyone here has days where they will eat pizza or drink soda... i did say that i know my diet is not perfect.
But my personal opinion is that its not healthy to eat all your calories in one sitting, and starve yourself the rest of the day. is that so wrong to say out loud?

Well it's a personal opinion, and one not based in fact.

Really, do you go around posts trying to prove people wrong.. woohoo, you are :glasses: <---cool just-in-case)

Actually, the "eat 6 meals a day, eat your calories, starvation mode" myths touted on this and on other weight loss forums are -as the OP said - opinion, not fact. Yet people throw these factoids around as if they are gospel. They aren't. Yet they are used, as they are in this thread, to suggest to people they are "doing it wrong".

YeaILift

Actually, the "eat 6 meals a day, eat your calories, starvation mode" myths touted on this and on other weight loss forums are -as the OP said - opinion, not fact. Yet people throw these factoids around as if they are gospel. They aren't. Yet they are used, as they are in this thread, to suggest to people they are "doing it wrong".

They are not myths. If you don't eat enough calories during the day your metabolism will slow down by a certain percent. Depending on a person's cardio and weight lifting routine this can be offset to still allow for weight loss. However, being at such a huge deficit for extended periods of time promotes burning muscle for energy, resulting in a "skinny-fat" look.

As for six meals a day, when we eat something our body's depleted glycogen cells are filled first. Then, the remaining nutrients are more likely to be stored as fat. By having smaller meals you cut down on intestinal bloating which will help cut back on foods being stored as fats. Furthermore, your metabolism will be digesting food throughout the day. On the other hand, if you have just completed a workout, having more calories will help with replenishing the glycogen levels as well as feeding your muscles the nutrients required for muscle growth. This is an optimal time for some High GI carbs and lean protein.

Also, while people choose how they wish to go about dieting, it is a common belief that clean eating is at the very least the most effective way to burn fat while maintaining muscle. You can't get the nutrients required to maintain muscle if you are just portion controlling. However, you can lose weight and maybe even have a decent body composition by just doing this. Unfortunately, you will never get the incredible body today's societies idolize this way.

Honestly, it just depends on what you want to accomplish. Obviously no one is better than someone else just because they eat healthier, but changing what you eat instead of just how much you eat will have better long term effects on your health in my opinion. It's your life and you can choose how you want to live it. You are only hurting yourself by not developing good eating habits.

Cheechos

I am going to write this as nicely as I can. Whether or not a member makes their food diary public is their choice. That being said, I find it discouraging that members are being judged on their food choices. That stuff goes on out in public enough. This is supposed to be a supportive group, not a place for members to be berated. What they choose to eat is their business and whatever works for them is also their business. Live and let live. Believe it or not, members are not on here to help you or anyone else make food choices. They are here for their own personal reasons. If you are not getting healthy ideas from those people, then please look elsewhere. Shaming them in public is only repeating cruelties they have suffered from countless others.

I like this.

I know the OP didn't mean any harm, but it just doesn't really sit well with me when I look at some of the posts that say people are doing it wrong or that the way they do it is the right way. There is no right way to lose weight. There is no right way to arrive at a place where you're being more healthy. Sometimes people are just starting out and they don't really know WHAT to eat to be healthier and sometimes people don't have the money to buy the healthier and more expensive alternatives to what they usually eat. Maybe they're just making do with what they have. If someone is doing something and it's working for them, then nobody should be able to sit there and say, "Well they're not doing it right and it's going to blow up in their face later and they'll just be fat again." Maybe they will, maybe they won't. It's not really anyone's place to say and it just sounds pretentious to me when someone does try to say it.

dawnemjh

I agree with you Misty. And if people dont want their diets critiqued then they shouldnt be made public.

FearAnLoathing

I find if I eat something greasy and bad for me im just not hungry the rest of the day.

dlaplume2

okay, I know my diet is not perfect at all but I'm trying to eat right and be healthy. And I know it's none of my business but it annoys me when I see people eating the whole days worth in one sitting eating pizza and cheeseburgers and soda then not eating the rest of the day to stay under their count. It's not healthy or motivating. I understand we all slip up now and then but I've been seeing it alot. I don't know.... It's none of my business but when I go to someones food diary I like to get ideas to help me out not see 1200 calories in greasy deep fried food.

Okay. I'm done. On the other hand almost everyone here is super nice, trying to make the healthy change and very supportive so thanks my new friends

You can go through my diary to get ideas. I don't do that. I do agree with you I can't stand it when they are ready to quit and say they are doing everything they can and they are losing weight, only to go to their food journal and see pop tarts, for breakfast and cereal for lunch, no fruits, veggies. I even saw someone with a 700 cal beer.

backinthenines

I am going to write this as nicely as I can. Whether or not a member makes their food diary public is their choice. That being said, I find it discouraging that members are being judged on their food choices. That stuff goes on out in public enough. This is supposed to be a supportive group, not a place for members to be berated. What they choose to eat is their business and whatever works for them is also their business. Live and let live. Believe it or not, members are not on here to help you or anyone else make food choices. They are here for their own personal reasons. If you are not getting healthy ideas from those people, then please look elsewhere. Shaming them in public is only repeating cruelties they have suffered from countless others.

The original poster did not berrate anyone nor publicly shamed anybody.

She simply asked "what's the point".

A valid question IMHO.

ajbeans

okay, I know my diet is not perfect at all but I'm trying to eat right and be healthy. And I know it's none of my business but it annoys me when I see people eating the whole days worth in one sitting eating pizza and cheeseburgers and soda then not eating the rest of the day to stay under their count. It's not healthy or motivating. I understand we all slip up now and then but I've been seeing it alot. I don't know.... It's none of my business but when I go to someones food diary I like to get ideas to help me out not see 1200 calories in greasy deep fried food.

Okay. I'm done. On the other hand almost everyone here is super nice, trying to make the healthy change and very supportive so thanks my new friends

I agree, for the most part. I certainly don't think it's healthy to eat all your calories in one meal and then starve the rest of the day. It won't help people reach their goals any faster, and they're not going to feel good in the meantime. That being said, I don't eat healthy for every meal. I often rearrange my meals to make room for a "treat" like a burger while still remaining within my calorie goal. Yesterday I had a pizza binge that I'm not proud of. But I put these things in my diary for accountability. My food diary is not there to give people ideas, or help anybody else -- it's there for my own accountability. Most people on here feel the same. It's great if you can get ideas from someone's food diary, but for most people with a public diary, they're in it for accountability and support, not to be a role model for other people.

I think if you're specifically looking for diaries that are going to help give YOU ideas, it might be better to post a thread asking for people to come forward and offer their diaries to you. That way you'll get a better sample of people who are eating the way you want to eat (although if you ask for people who eat "clean," you're going to get a lot of people who claim to eat clean but really spend half their day drinking coffee and eating unnaturally processed "health" foods and protein shakes, which doesn't seem all that clean to me).

kadye

A tremendous amount of research has been done on intermittent fasting and the benefits of it. Some methods include one or two 24 hour fasts per week. Others include 18 hour fasts and 6 hour feeding windows every day. A lot of people eat like this and have had a lot of success. I'm sure the people who develop these programs and do the research don't mean for people to fill their feeding windows with pizza and burgers, but some may choose to. The number one component in weight loss really is calories in vs. calories out and if people choose to restrict their calories in that way and it works for them, fine. Their arteries may not like it, but that's their choice. I just wanted to say that six small meals a day is not the "proven" method of weight loss and it doesn't work for everyone.

dominioniwoman

This is a hard one because we all get so focused on the daily intake. Honestly I have learned that if you eat right 5-6 small meals about 80-85% of the time you don't have setbacks when we hit the greasy foods. While I do agree that eating one huge portion a day is not healthy they are at least tracking it. The most important thing to remember is that you do not judge your progress based on theirs.

I had an eating disorder in college and honestly have to fight that urge all of the time so it is hard for me see things like this and not want to insert my two cents. I just hope that everyone is being smart about their weight loss goals.

I think all of you are doing great jobs with your goals and supporting each other, I am thrilled to have found this website :happy:

luv2ash

okay, I know my diet is not perfect at all but I'm trying to eat right and be healthy. And I know it's none of my business but it annoys me when I see people eating the whole days worth in one sitting eating pizza and cheeseburgers and soda then not eating the rest of the day to stay under their count. It's not healthy or motivating. I understand we all slip up now and then but I've been seeing it alot. I don't know.... It's none of my business but when I go to someones food diary I like to get ideas to help me out not see 1200 calories in greasy deep fried food.

Okay. I'm done. On the other hand almost everyone here is super nice, trying to make the healthy change and very supportive so thanks my new friends

I have been seeing that a lot too, it really bugs me--I suppose if you were not looking to lose weight and wanted to maintain it, that would be okay, but most are here to lose at least a few pounds and have gone far enough to think about their own health. That being said, cutting out those kinds of foods and making daily lifestyle changes would be in their best interest.

forgiven4life

I am going to write this as nicely as I can. Whether or not a member makes their food diary public is their choice. That being said, I find it discouraging that members are being judged on their food choices. That stuff goes on out in public enough. This is supposed to be a supportive group, not a place for members to be berated. What they choose to eat is their business and whatever works for them is also their business. Live and let live. Believe it or not, members are not on here to help you or anyone else make food choices. They are here for their own personal reasons. If you are not getting healthy ideas from those people, then please look elsewhere. Shaming them in public is only repeating cruelties they have suffered from countless others.

Well said! While I do tend to look at other's food diaries to get some ideas if I am in a rut, I would never think to criticize someone for their food choices. If they ask for help, that is one thing. But to just blast on a public message board where people come to try to get motivation and see posts from other members telling them they are discouraging to others by logging what they ate that day is another. That is what our food diaries are for. Logging what we ate, no matter what it might have been. And I agree with others that they may not have finished out that day. Doesn't necessarily mean they didn't eat for the rest of the day. Posts like these are what might cause others to close their diary off to anyone. Please think about what you are saying before you annouce it to a message board full of people TRYING to change their way of life by becoming healthier. Sometimes it takes some people longer to get everything together because if you are used to eating unhealthy, it is going to take a while to adjust to a new way of eating.

That_Girl

Trust me I knew full well before posting this that i would get lots of varied opinions. And i truly did not mean to "shame" anyone. And I fully understand that everyone here has days where they will eat pizza or drink soda... i did say that i know my diet is not perfect.
But my personal opinion is that its not healthy to eat all your calories in one sitting, and starve yourself the rest of the day. is that so wrong to say out loud?

No it's not wrong to say out loud.

More things should be said out loud. But people get so offended and defensive about themselves...

I find that the people who get the most offended usually feel guilty about it already.

But that's just a general thing I've seen. The people on here so far seem awesome! I don't really look at their food diaries unless they ask.

honeyrabbit

Firstly I wholeheartedly believe that everyone has the right to make their own food choices...it's their body, therefore they can choose what to put into it. I also believe that every once in a while IF the majority of the time your diet is healthy and balanced, it doesn't hurt to satisfy your cravings for something less healthy i.e. pizza, chocolate, fries etc

If however you choose to use up your calorie allowance on a daily basis by eating fried chicken and pizza, this must be doing more harm than good even if you are losing weight!? If your entire diet is made up of junk food and you still manage to stay within your calorie goals, I would imagine that you spend most of the day feeling hungry and thinking about food. In my view, this type of diet is not sustainable and most definitely unhealthy.

Whilst I am certainly no angel when it comes to steering away from junk food, I would say that my diet is healthy and balanced. I eat three decent sized meals a day and have several snacks. The bulk of my diet is made up of chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables.....but I certainly don't deprive myself of anything, I NEVER feel hungry and i always stay within my calorie goal. I eat bread, pasta, chocolate, ice cream etc (in moderation) so I don't even feel that i'm on a diet so therefore am less likely to veer off course.

In summary, I think that if you choose the path of 'eating junk food but staying in your calorie goals' you'll still probably achieve weight loss BUT it will be a short term 'quick fix' approach which is impossible to sustain.
However if you choose the 'healthy' approach where no foods are forbidden but moderation is the key...your weight loss/maintenance will be much easier to sustain for a lifetime.

Tuckersn

I totally agree with you, that isn't healthy at all, but can you see if they completed the log in that day? I have a terrible habit of figured I'm going to go over and I quit logging my food. Maybe I'm just an optimist.

I do the same thing, logging it would only make me feel worse, I figure the day is kaput, and I start over the next day.

Actually logging it is a good idea . . . to heck with people that judge the contents. That log is for you! If you don't want people reading it, put it on private. I understand being frustrated by other people's choices, I guess, but how does it really effect you? Do you want to mimmick their bad eating habits . . . if not, why does it bother you?

If I have a bad day of eating, I still log it. I then, each week, tally it up, and get an average of calories eaten per day. 9 times out of 10, it evens out. I have days I'm under and days I'm over. Of course healthier foods make me feel healthier, so that is what I attempt to get the most of.

mielikkibz

to each his own.. somedays I may be craving pizza and I just got to have it.. so I do just as not as much as I used to... working for me.. last I checked I was almost 10 pounds down..

Bingo. . reason I started counting calories was so I didn't HAVE to go without my favorite foods. . .if i want to have pizza, I check my calories, figure it in, and see if I can splurge for the day. . the one time I have done pizza since I started this, I got a small, and it lasted me three days And I don't think I went over my calories

sicembears

I guess it's a good thing we're only responsible for ourselves.

welly5

I generally eat healthy but since this is a life style change and not just a diet I also occassionally do things like have popcorn for dinner. Why? Because if I'm usually healthy but still keep my treats within my calorie limit then I'm more likely to stick to my eating plan than if I denied myself everything.