New York Times article on counting calories and food quality

emchamberlain

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/19brody.html?_r=1

Basically, what a lot of MFP'ers are saying...calories in, calories out is not the whole equation!

MzMiller1215

Many of the friends I have on MFP don't simply count calories. We are very conscious of what we are eating more than how much. I have tried to eliminate most possible "empty" calories that I can. However, scientifically, it is still a fact that a body can and will lose weight if they eat less and exercise more.

tony2009

Common sense really. Eating that 200 calorie candy bar for breakfast isn't going to be as good as eating a 3 egg white & a 1/4 cup of cheese.

kaylemartin

Imma get me some yogurt!

emchamberlain

Common sense really. Eating that 200 calorie candy bar for breakfast isn't going to be as good as eating a 3 egg white & a 1/4 cup of cheese.

Agreed. People are going around like this is so earth-shattering, but it's pretty much common sense.

tony2009

I really feel like they are conveying the wrong message to people. It's things like this that make people think that weight gain is inevitable and out of their control. These people were obviously not trying to do any sort of weight loss and sustain it.

sassylilmama

Good article but yes it is or should be common sense. Sadly in todays world it is not. Even knowing this myself I still do not always choose the best foods. Everyday I have something "empty" but it is a small portion of my day. For many people their day consists of almost if not all junk.

MzMiller1215

I really feel like they are conveying the wrong message to people. It's things like this that make people think that weight gain is inevitable and out of their control. These people were obviously not trying to do any sort of weight loss and sustain it.

I agree.

amewha

I generally feel that there are two sides to the argument and that articles like this rarely look at both sides. There is the pure mathematical outcome that in order to lose weight we must use more calories than we replace, this is simple, defined and true. The other side is that in order to be healthy and happy (and keep the weight off) you have to choose the right foods, I do not think that there are a lot of people who read the article and thought "wow, I didn't know that eating french fries was correlated to weight gain".

As the article nicely lays out, perhaps by eating more of the right foods early on we can prevent some of the gradual weight gain that the majority of people see over a several year span as we age. Which is a great message to get across to the new generation so that they can avoid some of our (my) mistakes.

kmjudge

Common sense really. Eating that 200 calorie candy bar for breakfast isn't going to be as good as eating a 3 egg white & a 1/4 cup of cheese.

Seriously, the twinkie diet, regardless of calorie intake, will make you ridiculously sick eventually. Food is an energy source for your body, and the type of foods you should eat are very specific to your body's function. Keep the liver healthy first and foremost! That's where fat is processed