so.. are all calories really created equal?

88keys

I know the obvious answer... I know you body with process 100 calories of broccoli much better than 100 calories from oreos, but my question is for those of you who have lost weight... have you found that you can really eat whatever you want and as long as ur net calories are under 1200 you lose weight?? I'm doing fine staying under calories and I've only been doing this a week, but ill admit that my calorie choice are not the greatest.

McKayMachina

Yup. Weight loss seems to reflect caloric intake/burn regardless. I do, however, feel and even look better when sticking to my macro goals.

mommygirl81

I've noticed that as long as my sodium intake is below 2500 I still lose weight. I typically lose 2-3 lbs a week.

lulabellarama

My view is that it is harder to maintaina calorie deficit with poor choices, as you are really not getting the nutrition you need. Personally speaking, if I eat 1200 cals of junk, I find I am still hungry for real food with proper nutritional content.

It is harder if you don't cut the crap down to a minimum. Eating well makes you feel brilliant, it just takes some adjusting to.

psych101

I never net under 1200. That's way too low for me.

I've found that the more I've eaten healthy, the more I want to eat healthy! Veges are a great way to fill you up and give you great energy! As well as keepin you regular lol.

Eating too much processed stuff makes me feel sluggish and gross. Of course I havent cut everything out as I still believe in moderation. Occasionally the Oreos win, but most times it's the broccoli!

Jade_Butterfly

Well everyone is going to have a different net calories. . .This depends largely on the infomation that you put into your settings. . The important thing is to make sure that your activity level is accurately set. . ie sedentary, light activity etc., as this is used partly to assess your needed calories. .

That being said yes. . it does matter what kind of calories you are consuming. . If you are wanting to lose weight and gain lean muscle mass. . you don't want to be consuming empty calories. . My current ticker is at 0 loss. . but I was very fit before as seen in my pics. .

And generally speaking and in my experience I wouldn't go lower than 1200 calories. . My fitness instructor when I was boxing told me anything under 1500, and biggest loser says your current weight (x) 7 is what you are supposed to consume. . MFP, figures an automatic deficit for you. . so if you go by what has been recommended and have your activity level correct. . you should be losing weight. .

The other tools that I have found most effect are my food scale and HRM. . . That way you get accurate measurements. . and when you workout you are not eating back too many calories. The best of luck to you~

McKayMachina

True. You want to get AS CLOSE TO 1200 AS POSSIBLE*. Don't go under. And if you work out, eat those calories so your net is 1200.

* EDITED TO ADD: Assuming 1200 is the goal MFP has set for you based on your stats.

louisebear

so if ur net is 1200 and u burn 200 do u have to eat back the 200 to make it 1200??? im a bit confused, if are bodies need 1200 to funtion then surly eatting back what the body burns will make you gain weight???

Spitfirex007

People don't take into consideration the other things found in our food. Sure you could eat 1,200 calories of healthy food and 1,200 calories of junk food and calorie goal would be met in both cases. But the junk food is also loaded with stuff we shouldn't be putting in our bodies.

I always laugh when I see companies advertise their food as low calorie. Like that all of a sudden makes their item a healthy choice.

Chairless

as a unit of measurement, yes.

speaking from a nutrition point of view, probably not.

Jade_Butterfly

so if ur net is 1200 and u burn 200 do u have to eat back the 200 to make it 1200??? im a bit confused, if are bodies need 1200 to funtion then surly eatting back what the body burns will make you gain weight???

Yes. . that is exactly it . . . MFP has already included a deficit in order for you to lose weight. . so if you workout. . you do need to eat those exercise calories back to make sure that your net is at 1200. . .

Jade_Butterfly

People don't take into consideration the other things found in our food. Sure you could eat 1,200 calories of healthy food and 1,200 calories of junk food and calorie goal would be met in both cases. But the junk food is also loaded with stuff we shouldn't be putting in our bodies.

I always laugh when I see companies advertise their food as low calorie. Like that all of a sudden makes their item a healthy choice.

Amen that that. . Love this post!

TavistockToad

My view is that it is harder to maintaina calorie deficit with poor choices, as you are really not getting the nutrition you need. Personally speaking, if I eat 1200 cals of junk, I find I am still hungry for real food with proper nutritional content.

It is harder if you don't cut the crap down to a minimum. Eating well makes you feel brilliant, it just takes some adjusting to.

I agree with this!

I try to get my 5 a day, and have found that my skin and hair are a lot better when i am eating plenty of fruit and veg!

Whitneylol

It's obviously better to eat healthier- but my ex bf lost like 100lbs by calorie counting. This includes beer, tacos.. pasta.. etc. IT's just that simple!

margo36

My view is that it is harder to maintaina calorie deficit with poor choices, as you are really not getting the nutrition you need. Personally speaking, if I eat 1200 cals of junk, I find I am still hungry for real food with proper nutritional content.

It is harder if you don't cut the crap down to a minimum. Eating well makes you feel brilliant, it just takes some adjusting to.

I agree with this!

I try to get my 5 a day, and have found that my skin and hair are a lot better when i am eating plenty of fruit and veg!

I find if I eat junk food for a couple of days I'm hungry and I feel unwell. I expect that's nature's way of saying don't eat junk :happy:

Skinny_minny_mo

so if ur net is 1200 and u burn 200 do u have to eat back the 200 to make it 1200??? im a bit confused, if are bodies need 1200 to funtion then surly eatting back what the body burns will make you gain weight???

we should,, but in my short experience, i put on weight doing this!!

Jojo2k11

Oddly enough, I had an experience recently that would make me say no. I went to my Aunt's house for dinner. Dinner she prepared was chicken alfredo, salad, fruit bowl, and my mom brought desserts which consisted of chocolate candy and coconut cake.

I ate the food, stayed within my calories of 1600 and I still gained 2lbs. I had a lot of salad, 2 cups of chicken alfredo, about a half cup of fruit, 6 pieces of chocolate (hershey's nuggets), and ate the frosting only, no cake.

So yeah, just from that I realized, quality of food means just as much as quantity. If foods are high in carbs, sodium, fats, it can cause weight gain just because of what its made of.

I was under the impression that as long as I limited the bad, I could still possibly have whatever I want. And because I don't exercise (trying to get into it) it really didn't fare well for me. Maybe exercise would have made a difference, I don't know. But it's definitely made me rethink some things.

Pebble321

A calorie is just a unit of measurement... so yes, a calorie is a calorie whether it comes from chocolate mousse or chicken breast.

What varies is how much nutrition you are going to get for each calorie. You could drink 300 cals of Coke and get a big sugar hit and a handful of chemicals or you could eat a big salad with sweet potato and chicken breast and get a whole range of different nutrients, vitamins, minerals and general goodnes.

In practice, I think it's about balance. I aim to eat mostly home cooked, generally healthy choices but still make room for chocolate, wine and other foods that aren't high in nutrition but that have good enjoyment value. I just try to limit them and keep close to my calorie allowance.

Spitfirex007

so if ur net is 1200 and u burn 200 do u have to eat back the 200 to make it 1200??? im a bit confused, if are bodies need 1200 to funtion then surly eatting back what the body burns will make you gain weight???

Yes you are correct. Your net is total calories consumed - exercise calories burned. But it has nothing to do with RMR (Resting Metabolism Rate) RMR are estimates of how many calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. They represent the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, including your heart beating, lungs breathing, and body temperature normal.

Basically the way this works is like this. You take your RMR + exercise calories burned - calories consumed = calorie deficit. So for example your RMR is 2,100 and your workout you burned 600 calories. 2,100 + 600 = 2,700. And say you ate 1,700 calories.

2,700 - 1,700 = 1,000 calorie deficit per day. That would give you a weight lose of 2lbs per week.

MFP takes all these numbers and your lifestyle and simplifies it all. The more weight you want to lose, the lower you want your net. But you don't want it to drop below 1,200. Because anything below that is consider unhealthy.

I probably just made this more confusing lol

SuperScrabbleGirl

My view is that it is harder to maintaina calorie deficit with poor choices, as you are really not getting the nutrition you need. Personally speaking, if I eat 1200 cals of junk, I find I am still hungry for real food with proper nutritional content.

It is harder if you don't cut the crap down to a minimum. Eating well makes you feel brilliant, it just takes some adjusting to.

This!

HMonsterX

If you want to lose weight and be healthier, yes.

If you want to get healthy, no.

The actual calories are, by and large, the same. Create a deficit = lose weight. Get plenty of exercise/resistance training, make sure you hit your macros, and its all good. That's how I do it. But if you really want to be 100% healthy, with a perfectly toned body, you have to watch what you eat more closely.

I'll never get that 6 pack eating like i do, but i will, and am, losing the fat, feeling great, and it's totally sustainable for me. I'd rather eat what i want, and get 90% healthier, rather than forcing myself to eat the stuff i cant stand for 100% health.

4theking

If you want to lose weight and be healthier, yes.

If you want to get healthy, no.

The actual calories are, by and large, the same. Create a deficit = lose weight. Get plenty of exercise/resistance training, make sure you hit your macros, and its all good. That's how I do it. But if you really want to be 100% healthy, with a perfectly toned body, you have to watch what you eat more closely.

I'll never get that 6 pack eating like i do, but i will, and am, losing the fat, feeling great, and it's totally sustainable for me. I'd rather eat what i want, and get 90% healthier, rather than forcing myself to eat the stuff i cant stand for 100% health.

You can get a six pack and eat junkfood. As far as getting healthy, even that is debatable. IMO, low bodyweight/bodyfat is far more important than what one consumes.

joejccva71

The way to go is to do both. This is where IIFYM comes into play which is "If It Fits Your Macros".

You still eat your calorie deficit, but you eat your healthy foods to obtian your minimum protein and fat macro requirements, then fill the remainding calories with whatever you want.

You can still be healthy and have your junk stuff at the same time.

Espressocycle

They aren't, but it doesn't make a HUGE difference unless you are really extreme in one direction or the other. So, probably you will lose weight slower on an all twinkie diet (but you will lose), faster eating nothing but raw vegetables (the chewing alone...).

Here is a great article on the subject:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2009/05/13/why_a_calorie_isnt_just_a_calorie/

puggleperson

bump