Which is more important- staying in calorie range or what yo

RDH0513

Okay here is a question for the veterans of losing weight out there. Would you still lose weight if you ate stuff like white bread, pastas, sugars, candy, etc.. if you stayed within your calorie range, or even just not gain anymore weight? I don't eat like that, but I am just wondering if I am ever having one of THOSE days where I really don't feel like eating tilapia and broccoli haha

Thanks!!

WildcatMom82

Yes. When I lost 75 lbs (prior to having my daughter) I did eat like that because it's what I knew, I just counted calories. Alcohol, cake, candy - I ate all of it. TBH I still prefer white bread and have ice cream or chocolate almost daily, but overall I am eating a lot more healthy than I used to.

Uncle_Dim

Some guy at a university at nothing but Twinkies for weeks and kept the calories down. He still lost weight.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

NoAdditives

Once in a while it's not a big deal, but in general, eating more carbs or fats than your body can use for energy at one time will result in the excess being stored as fat. So you do want to stay within the limits set for your carbs and fats in addition to your calories. Going over on protein isn't a big deal since it's good for your muscles, helps you stay fuller and doesn't get broken down into fat.

sarah44254

I haven't restricted myself from any food whatsoever. I only make sure to eat very small amounts of it! I love bread, can't give it up. I love pizza, can't give it up! Sugars and candy bars, oh my! I don't know how I could stick to a life without those things.

But now, instead of eating 2 king size candy bars for breakfast and skipping meals until dinner of a half a pizza, I eat every 2-3 hours and include fresh fruits and veggies and other things I read about here that are great for you. I still have candy bars, just not a whole bar, or only a whole bar on days where I am far under calories.

I could definitely pay more attention to my carbs and sugar intake, and I think that would benefit me, but for now, just staying under calories and choosing healthier options (broccoli instead of kit kat) I have lost 14 lbs in 10 weeks. It is not as much as many people but I am very pleased with it. Out of these 10 weeks I only gained weight once, and that was only like half a pound.

kao708

Essentially, staying within calorie goals will help you lose weight (no matter what type of foods you eat). If you eat something less healthy every once in a while, you will be fine. It's not realistic to eat steamed veggies and fish or chicken every day so you should make sure you incorporate "regular" food in your week. It will keep you from feeling deprived and make it easier to move to maintenance mode.

That being said, and based on another blog that I read recently, if you eat "crap" all the time your body will not be as fit looking as you might want. Periodic additions of normal foods should be fine. Just take note of how your body reacts to those foods and avoid them if they make you feel bloated or "out of sorts" afterwards. :bigsmile:

MSDRIZZ

You will lose weight no matter what you eat if you stay in your calorie limit. I have done this. You might feel like crap if you did it alot, but you'd still lose weight. One day of bad eating within your range won't hurt you, but it might make you start wanting that more often I think.

Okay here is a question for the veterans of losing weight out there. Would you still lose weight if you ate stuff like white bread, pastas, sugars, candy, etc.. if you stayed within your calorie range, or even just not gain anymore weight? I don't eat like that, but I am just wondering if I am ever having one of THOSE days where I really don't feel like eating tilapia and broccoli haha

Thanks!!

warmachinejt

Yes but still eating crap with sat fat will give you cholesterol and eating sugary things will eventually give you some sugar related disease. Basically eating like that and staying under your calories will help you lose weight but isn't good for your body in the long run.

zoibas

nott an expert but i DID eat a pizza the other day and still managed to drop 1.2 lbs between weighins. from what I have read it is how fast your body breaks down the carbs. Complex carbs such as whole grains take longer and are not absorbed / turned into fat as fast as white bread. This being said, I do not believe a sustained diet of "white breads" would do you as much good as whole grains even if you stayed in the calorie range. Just my opinion and some things I have read....... My key is to change up the excercise times and amounts and fool yout body into not getting into a rut. Good luck

RDH0513

Okay. Well like I said I do eat very clean most of the time, but I am a girl and there are certain days where my protein shake and oats are just NOT an option haha. Good to know. Thanks for all your replies

rileysowner

In my experience I can eat whatever I want as long as I stay in my calorie budget for the day, and have lost the weight I have doing so. The problem with that is that eating the foods people call unhealthy will leave your stomach empty because they don't have the fiber and stuff that keeps you feeling full, and for many people they cannot eat just one donut or piece of chocolate or whatever, so eating those foods sets them off eating too much and going over their calories. One of my favorite people to read about weight loss is John Barban, he lost weight eating a donut and coffee every day, but he make sure it fit in his calorie budget for the day. Having said that, for some people, that might not work, but the really important thing for most, although perhaps not all, is calories consumed being less than calories burned.

hoosha61

Sarah, I agree with your approach. I still eat the things i want, just alot less of it.

RDH0513

I struggle with portion control. That is why I do best when I don't even start to tempt myself with those foods! I havent reached that level of self control to have one piece of chocolate, or 1 serving of chips. I guess thats why weight weight management is a lifestyle change and not something that happens overnight! But it makes me feel better to know that if I can work those things in on days where I'm not feeling so great, it won't ruin my efforts completely.

eating4balance

Okay here is a question for the veterans of losing weight out there. Would you still lose weight if you ate stuff like white bread, pastas, sugars, candy, etc.. if you stayed within your calorie range, or even just not gain anymore weight? I don't eat like that, but I am just wondering if I am ever having one of THOSE days where I really don't feel like eating tilapia and broccoli haha

Thanks!!

I don't really consider myself a veteran, but I have had a little experience with this sort of thing:

I started myfitnesspal in December. I logged in everything I ate and always stayed within the 1200 calorie range. I also exercised. My diet mostly consisted of sugary carbs, low fat snacks and healthy nut butters. Not too bad, but I gained weight, even though I was eating 1200 calories.

Starting in January, I no longer snacked, ate a balanced diet of protein, high fiber/low sugar carbs, a moderate amount of healthy fats, and I began to lose weight. I was still eating 1200 calories a day, but WHAT I ate really made a difference.

rileysowner

That is exactly my approach. It is learning restraint and not ultimately denying yourself the pleasure of what you like. It was the approach I took once I realized that all the other diets I had been on were just restricting my calories with their own little twist which were often completely opposed to one another. I used to be a huge Zone fan, and I still think it is not a bad diet, but I found it made me so obsessive compulsive about getting everything in the 40-30-30 zone that I couldn't eat with other people ever. That was the reason I ultimately gave up on it, not because I didn't lose weight. Of course giving up on it lead to me putting the weight back on. This time I have taken a much more sensible approach. I watch my calories above all. So I can go to a family dinner and estimate the calories in stuff having only a serving of meat, and a bunch of veggies and maybe even a couple of small treats. I am still getting used to estimating calories, but I am getting better at it. It makes life much more sane when I am not at home, but I still struggle when I get really fatigued to resisted eating way too much.

jenthestrawberry

In the end, it's about calories in vs calories out. If you're eating within the range, you will continue to lose weight.

The problem comes in when you eat your 1200 calories in 2 candy bars or whatnot, and then you feel hungry for the rest of the day. 2 things can then happen, your body will start to tell you it feels hungry and you'll start wanting to eat lots of things. Assuming you don't give in to any cravings, you'll still lose weight, but it won't be fun!

Also if you "feel hungry" you will likely become more sedentary, moving less, lowering your body temperature. Since keeping yourself warm (maintaining your 98.6 body temperature) is your body's #1 use of calories, it could be that by being hungry you actually end up burning less calories in a day and therefore your "range" is less.

While these are important things to keep in mind over a long term weight loss, just because you eat all your calories on a day, or even eat over slightly doesn't mean you're going to gain weight! It takes a 3,500 calorie excess to gain a lb. So, on the days you can't stand "tilapia and broccoli" -- it isn't going to undo your hard work, unless you go over your built in deficit in your MFP calculator by 500 calories a day (built in for 1lb a week weight loss), AND another 3500.

In short, stay in your calorie range, and you'll still lose weight. Eating foods that leave you feeling hungry may cause behaviors that cause you to burn less calories or eat more food, but unless you eat more than built into your deficit (500 a day for 1lb/week weight loss) then you'll still keep losing.

rileysowner

Jenthestrawberry has it right, although if you go over the maintenance number of calories one day say 500 calories, you will find your weight go up more than the part of a pound that would be fat, at least that is my experience. It comes off usually in a day or so because it is not fat, it is water and other things your body starts retaining, but the reality of one day over is that you will not put on pounds and pounds of fat unless you eat an absolutely huge amount of calories.

sincitylulu

In my case for weight loss it did not matter what I ate, just how much. Calories in/out is what counts.

callipygianchronicle

Not a veteran, still a work in progress. As others have said, maintaining a calorie deficit--regardless of what you eat--will result in weight loss. However, your body composition will be leaner (less fat covering your muscles) if you eat foods that are lower in fat and sugar. Your overall health will benefit if you eat foods that are well balanced in nutrients and with as few chemical additives as possible. But you do not have to have a healthy diet to lose weight.

ian191

I lost about 40lbs without changing my diet... I just walked a lot. But then I lowered the amount of food I ate and ate healthier and lost an additional 30lbs.

It's all about counting calories... As long as you don't eat more than you should, you will still lose weight.

zoibas

One of the better topics in my opinion

myofibril

Not a veteran, still a work in progress. As others have said, maintaining a calorie deficit--regardless of what you eat--will result in weight loss. However, your body composition will be leaner (less fat covering your muscles) if you eat foods that are lower in fat and sugar. Your overall health will benefit if you eat foods that are well balanced in nutrients and with as few chemical additives as possible. But you do not have to have a healthy diet to lose weight.

Nicely summarised.

In short:

losing weight = calorie deficit.

losing weight + looking good wearing clothes = calorie deficit + good diet.

losing weight + looking good without clothes = calorie deficit + good diet + resistance / strength training.

People like to make this complicated. It isn't.

labgirl3

Nicely summarised.

In short:

losing weight = calorie deficit.

losing weight + looking good wearing clothes = calorie deficit + good diet.

losing weight + looking good without clothes = calorie deficit + good diet + resistance / strength training.

People like to make this complicated. It isn't.

HA! I love this! So true! Although I'd add + being healthy to the good diet ones...

cmmull67

I struggle with portion control. That is why I do best when I don't even start to tempt myself with those foods! I havent reached that level of self control to have one piece of chocolate, or 1 serving of chips. I guess thats why weight weight management is a lifestyle change and not something that happens overnight! But it makes me feel better to know that if I can work those things in on days where I'm not feeling so great, it won't ruin my efforts completely.

Eat "forced" portion sizes, i.e. a lunch box size bag of chips, or baked vs fried versions of chips, fries, chicken, etc. and most of all, remember that you are human and if you have a bad day, just get back up, and hit reset tomorrow.

RDH0513

I struggle with portion control. That is why I do best when I don't even start to tempt myself with those foods! I havent reached that level of self control to have one piece of chocolate, or 1 serving of chips. I guess thats why weight weight management is a lifestyle change and not something that happens overnight! But it makes me feel better to know that if I can work those things in on days where I'm not feeling so great, it won't ruin my efforts completely.

Eat "forced" portion sizes, i.e. a lunch box size bag of chips, or baked vs fried versions of chips, fries, chicken, etc. and most of all, remember that you are human and if you have a bad day, just get back up, and hit reset tomorrow.

thanks!

jennifir

All I know is if I go into complete denial of the things I love I am more likely to binge. Everything in moderation. I also love veggies so that helps.