Are calories REALLY all that matter?

skinnyjess15

I'm not asking because I don't know, but I want to hear your opinions/thoughts on this. A combination of reduced calories and reasonable amounts of carbs, fats, sodium, etc. are all factors. Do you focus most on calories and staying under your goal, or do you try to make sure you meet the requirements in every category?

Are there people out there who say, "As long as I'm under my calorie goal, I'm happy"?

If so, I'm not judging. Genuinely curious about how everyone thinks.

TeresaC79

I try to stay under on all, with the exception of protein and sugar, assuming my sugars are natural and not added. I don't stress sugar from fruit, but I do carefully watch the added sugars in breads, cookies, drinks, etc.

sburde2

My main goal is to stay under my calories. I do try to look at what I'm eating and try to do better but there's some things I'm not giving up like my coffee with creamer and real sugar...this usually makes me go over on sugar everyday. I want to eat less fat and more protein though. I also watch the sodium!

CallieDerenthal

calories are generally all i look at. that being said, i LOVE to eat and i'm hungry all the time! so in order for me to be able to eat as much as i would like i typically make semi-healthy choices which end up helping me meet my protein, carb, and fat goals.

dollipop

I look at them all. I have one person on my friends list who has an appalling diet but stays under their calorie goal and seems to think that's ok. I have to shake my head at them TBH!

CRSE1214

bump

cheeksv

I focus on calories becasue I don't really take in much of anything less or should I say I never go over ( other than protein and the occasional sugar) so I am not worried. If I do see red on my diary I take a look at what I ate and try to make changes. So to answer yes mostly calories are all that matter at the present.

Cosmic_Unicorn

I have found that if I am under my calories but eating crap (processed foods, a lot of starch, diet colas) I don't lose, whereas if I'm eating healthy and even a little over my calories I'll still lose. Everyone's different though.

jenjustintime

All calories are NOT created equal....

SergeantSunshine_reused

If your only goal is to lose weight - yes calorie deficit is all that matters . It will cause you to lose weight.
If you want to look good naked though adequate protein and fat intake is very important (along with strength training of course)
Sodium only masks fat loss. It does not slow it down

I track my Macros and calories, making sure to at lest meet the minimum for pro and fat. I also track sodium just so I know what to expect on the scale. Somedays I go over, get on the scale, and DON"T freakout because it is only water retention and I did not gain 5 lbs over night. Hehe

No days are perfect. I do what I can and don't let it control my life anymore than it already does

cakeums

I try to watch it all, but I am mainly concerned with calories and sodium.

melbaby925

I heard something recently that had me rethinking everything: "It's not that you are what you eat, it's more you are with what you DO with what you eat."

For example, your body will send certain types of nutrients to the liver to be converted to fat, which, depending on the item - will create toxic byproducts and be stored as fat. Where other nutrients are absorbed by the gut and passed to the body as glucose for energy.

I'm a student of all this, and have been quite turned around from what I thought I knew about losing weight and how to be 'healthy' - turns out I knew pretty much nothing.

I'm currently reading a fascinating book written by Dr. Jaminet called the Perfect Health Diet. Where diet is sort of misleading - this is a change of life for health - feeding the body nourishment to get the best performance, and best health. Pretty amazing stuff! It proves all calories are not created equal for sure!

SergeantSunshine_reused

All calories are NOT created equal....

Some are more nutrient dense and some have little nutritional value.
From a weight loss standpoint it does not matter

BethanyMasters

I've been studying fitness and nutrition for a little while now because I'd like to become a personal trainer.

Between my studying and my personal experience I would say that your micros are pretty important especially when you get really close to your goal weight.

You might be able to get away with eating 1200 calories worth of crap every day and still lose weight for a while but it won't work in the long run. You wouldn't be giving your body the proper nutrients it needs to function (not even mentioning actually getting up and exercising) and you'd find yourself feeling tired and unmotivated.

Let's also keep in mind that 1200 calories worth of . . . lets say McDonald's isn't going to be very satisfying and you would crave more. It's a recipe for diet disaster.

Whenever I give people advice about their nutrition and I tell them about counting calories I also stress the fact that the calories need to be satisfying and full nutrients. Some people listen some don't. I'll give you one guess on which one of them is successful at losing weight.

mistersmithsbox

Monitoring macronutrients allows you see if your body is getting what it needs. You need carbs, fat, protein for your body to function. Losing weight is fine and wonderful but if it's not healthy, there isn't any point. This said, in general, yes. A calorie is a calorie and that's what matters for losing weight but it's much more than that in terms of overall health.

SergeantSunshine_reused

No point? So if you aren't going to eat healthy foods then you should just stay overweight/obese?

HonkyTonks

If your only goal is to lose weight - yes calorie deficit is all that matters . It will cause you to lose weight.
If you want to look good naked though adequate protein and fat intake is very important (along with strength training of course)
Sodium only masks fat loss. It does not slow it down

I track my Macros and calories, making sure to at lest meet the minimum for pro and fat. I also track sodium just so I know what to expect on the scale. Somedays I go over, get on the scale, and DON"T freakout because it is only water retention and I did not gain 5 lbs over night. Hehe

No days are perfect. I do what I can and don't let it control my life anymore than it already does

^^ 100% agreed. Calories in vs calories out for weight loss. People have eaten diets which are solely fast food but still created a caloric deficit, and lost weight. For general health and wellbeing, nutrients are important. Also, to make it easier to stay under your calorie goal, I find eating protein really helps curb my cravings (sugarry food makes me hungrier!) and also to keep me energetic enough to want to work out.

andrejjorje

+1 to this one.

If your only goal is to lose weight - yes calorie deficit is all that matters . It will cause you to lose weight.
If you want to look good naked though adequate protein and fat intake is very important (along with strength training of course)
Sodium only masks fat loss. It does not slow it down

I track my Macros and calories, making sure to at lest meet the minimum for pro and fat. I also track sodium just so I know what to expect on the scale. Somedays I go over, get on the scale, and DON"T freakout because it is only water retention and I did not gain 5 lbs over night. Hehe

No days are perfect. I do what I can and don't let it control my life anymore than it already does

BrandyGThomas

I mainly watch the calories and try to stay under my goal. However, I know that eating nothing but empty calories (even with working out and losing weight) isn't healthy...so I try to balance everything out. I just don't keep track like I do calories.

Rae6503

If your only goal is to lose weight - yes calorie deficit is all that matters . It will cause you to lose weight.
If you want to look good naked though adequate protein and fat intake is very important (along with strength training of course)
Sodium only masks fat loss. It does not slow it down

I track my Macros and calories, making sure to at lest meet the minimum for pro and fat.

This. I also take a multivitamin and try to eat fruits and vegetables often but I eat my fair share of crap. Somedays, like today, that's all I eat....

maryjay51

i try to stay within calorie guidlines to an extent but i really try hard to get some good protein, healthy carbs ,healthy fats and plenty of fibre in. those numbers are important to me too. i dont really meet the suggested standard on here because i have different goals in numbers for that . i used this food diary as a guideline for myself and dont etch the whole thing in stone. i do write everything down though. if i see im lackiing in one of the things i need like protein i make a switch in my meal or snack

to add to that.. say a fast food high end burger is 1200 calories which is your calorie limit of the day.. is it healthy to just have that burger and nothing else or is it healthier to can the burger idea and eat 1200 calories of healthy food throughout the day.

robert65ferguson

Calories are obviously important but not the whole answer on their own. Carbs and protein levels are just as important especially the balance between carbs and protein. Good information source would be The Insulin Resistance Diet.

mistersmithsbox

No point? So if you aren't going to eat healthy foods then you should just stay overweight/obese?

You missed the point of what I said entirely.

What's the point of eating 1500 calories of bull****? Tracking macros allows a person to make sure they're getting adequate nutrition. You can eat whatever you want - healthy or junkie - and lose weight. A calorie is a calorie after all and a deficit is a deficit at the end of the day. I've lost 100# doing the most ridiculous things in the world but I wasn't healthIER. It was pointless when I look back on it. Just because a person is losing weight doesn't mean they're healthy. That's what we should be promoting - HEALTH. Just because a person goes from 290# to 140# doesn't mean they are automatically healthier because they're thinner. Skinny people have bad health too.

Tada.

Rae6503

What? Of course a person at 140 is healthier than a person at 270. Your food choices alone don't determine your level of health.

ninerbuff

I'm not asking because I don't know, but I want to hear your opinions/thoughts on this. A combination of reduced calories and reasonable amounts of carbs, fats, sodium, etc. are all factors. Do you focus most on calories and staying under your goal, or do you try to make sure you meet the requirements in every category?

Are there people out there who say, "As long as I'm under my calorie goal, I'm happy"?

If so, I'm not judging. Genuinely curious about how everyone thinks.

Get in your macro and micro nutrients, vitamins and good oils and just stay in calorie deficit. That's pretty much it.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Debbe2

All calories are NOT created equal....

Some are more nutrient dense and some have little nutritional value.
From a weight loss standpoint it does not matter

And this is why I stay under in all but protein. I want to lose weight but not muscle if I can help it

oliviaseward

like said above.... i try to stay under in all the categories... through it doesnt really work out when it comes to protein. the thing i watch the most is the calories and normally if i eat low caloies the rest follow suit

ninerbuff

All calories are NOT created equal....

A calorie is a calorie. It's a unit of energy. Whether from a carb, protein or fat the energy value of a calorie is the same. Macronutrient/micronutrient content makes the difference.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

chickybuns

Oringally, I just looked at calories, and did this for the majority of last year, and I lost 15lbs so it does work, but would I have lost more if I ate healthier? who knows. But now I am slowly working on eating enough protein fiber, less fat and sodium and more fresh foods. I still go out to eat and eat processed food, but I'm slowly cutting back. Same thing with soda, slowly but surely cutting back.

ShelleLP

Healthier choices have to be in the budget and the whole family needs to eat the same foods. So I watch my calories(and other stats) as an indicator that I might be over doing it. But I never make goals for calories even when I splurge like the last couple of days. Exercise is my focus. Fighting illness and injury and getting that done are the goals I have. So I will watch what I eat but I won't stress it.

ParisArkw

As I see it, if I'm too overwhelmed with thinking about what I should and shouldn't eat, whether I fit in a work out today or not, I can always fall back on my caloric limit to be sure I am still moving forward with my weight loss. It is more of a priority for me right now to be eating healthy foods.