Calories are calories, but ...
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I'm just going to complete, and try to clarify my answer, the 5pm thing comes from the principles of chrono-nutrition, and is also applicable more for those of us who work out in the morning, not late afternoon - night time.
It's just stemming from the fact that if your activity is going to decrease at night you should eat less at night. (and your metabolism does decrease while you're sleeping, even if just a little- and before that as I said it depends on your level of activity, and whether it varies from the rest of the day).
Of course your body can process food the same all day long but apparently you tend to store more fat depending on what you eat starting late afternoon.
Again this coming from my teacher, your dinner should only represent 25-30% of your daily calorie intake.
But eveyone finds their own ways of losing weight, and what works for some might not work for others.
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat, regardless of what time it is. Eat 300 calories for breakfast and sit at a desk for work, and what few calories you used to get you there get burned, and the rest get stored as fat until later in the morning when you need them. So anyone who says you have to eat "x" food at "x" time so it doesn't get stored as fat, always seems to me to be somebody who is uniformed on how the human body actually functions. Fat storage is a 24/7 event, fat is constantly being stored and retrieved for various reasons and body functions.0 -
My best advice to you would be to enjoy them but do so post weight workout, that way they can at least be put to good use replacing glycogen stores. I have learned the last 2 months that not all calories are created equal and its more important to know what the body does to said calories taken in that makes a difference.0
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If you're worried about it, then try changing it. Basically what most people said is very true--calories are calories. However, it sounds to me like you are questioning whether or not you might get better results by eating more healthily as well as watching your caloric intake, so why not give it a try?
As someone else stated, no one food or food group is the enemy. I go over my recommended amount of carbohydrates and sugar almost every day because I eat so many fruits and veggies. I also, however, go over in protein even though I'm a vegetarian. I've had successful weight loss nonetheless.
If you're concerned about those little snacks you enjoy every day, try weening yourself off them. If you are miserable without them, by all means allow yourself those treats!
My motto is "Enjoy treats, but not cheats." Treats are foods you both enjoy and can afford because you have calculated them into your day (or week, as I tend to save them up for once or twice a week). However, cheats are things that make you go over your caloric goal when you did not intend to do so that day. When you go to a birthday party, you know you want to celebrate and have cake, and thus, you calculate that "treat" into your day/week so that you can have it and enjoy it. However, when you show up to work on a Tuesday to find that someone put leftover cake in the break room and you take a slice on a whim despite the fact that you have already met your caloric goal... that's a cheat. Generally, if you feel guilty about it--it's a cheat, not a treat, because you're only cheating yourself.
In the end, you have to decide what you want out of your weight loss journey... is it the ability to eat delicious foods every day and not gain weight or is to be strict about every morsel you put in your mouth and only eat highly nutritious foods? For me, it's somewhere in the middle.
i really agree with this too.0 -
Some experts believe that constant or to much stress can lead to an over-abundance of cortisol which increases glucose production which can increase fat storage. Simply put... Don't sweat it! Enjoy the litte things.
So that's why I got fat. Lol. Among other things.
A little bit of a good hing won't hurt you. It's no different to someone having a couple of pieces of chocolate etc.0 -
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat
I am sorry but this is bullcrap, I am living proof of that using the program I am currently using I easily eat well over my daily caloric limit but have yet to gain fat from said calories.0 -
When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.
You should google "the Twinkie diet." A university professor of nutrition ate nothing but snack cakes, chips, and convenience store junk food, along with 1 protein shake, a multivitamin, and a can of vegetables. He stuck to a caloric deficit, lost nearly 30 pounds and all of his health markers (body fat, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) improved. Losing weight is much more Important for overall health than specific food choices. Obviously the ideal is healthier food while losing weight, but that's not always totally practical for everybody.0 -
Just personal experience I was doing the same and stopped loosing weight... I craved it so much it drove me crazy. I decided to cut it out. It was really hard at first, but now I don't crave it at all. Maybe one a month at most, and I continued loosing weight. I believe the less you eat it the less you will want, even if its hard at first. X0
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I'm just going to complete, and try to clarify my answer, the 5pm thing comes from the principles of chrono-nutrition, and is also applicable more for those of us who work out in the morning, not late afternoon - night time.
It's just stemming from the fact that if your activity is going to decrease at night you should eat less at night. (and your metabolism does decrease while you're sleeping, even if just a little- and before that as I said it depends on your level of activity, and whether it varies from the rest of the day).
Of course your body can process food the same all day long but apparently you tend to store more fat depending on what you eat starting late afternoon.
Again this coming from my teacher, your dinner should only represent 25-30% of your daily calorie intake.
But eveyone finds their own ways of losing weight, and what works for some might not work for others.
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat, regardless of what time it is. Eat 300 calories for breakfast and sit at a desk for work, and what few calories you used to get you there get burned, and the rest get stored as fat until later in the morning when you need them. So anyone who says you have to eat "x" food at "x" time so it doesn't get stored as fat, always seems to me to be somebody who is uniformed on how the human body actually functions. Fat storage is a 24/7 event, fat is constantly being stored and retrieved for various reasons and body functions.
In my experience, what time I eat makes no difference. I don't know the science behind it, but I do know the reality of it. I eat a healthy snack every night before bed (and often it contains glucose, although not from refined white sugar but that's just because I try to limit my intake in general). In fact, I'd rather eat a 400 calorie snack before bed than be under my caloric goal by 400 calories because I think that would be FAR more detrimental to my weight loss.
So maybe in some laboratory where they observe isolated test subjects in a controlled environment, they find that metabolically speaking things are processed differently while you sleep (which would make sense because everything is processed differently when you sleep)... but in the real world of scales and measuring tape where there are no microscopes... it doesn't seem to make a difference.0 -
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat
I am sorry but this is bullcrap, I am living proof of that using the program I am currently using I easily eat well over my daily caloric limit but have yet to gain fat from said calories.
Do you have some magic, invisible bag that stores the energy you eat until it is used? Do you think it sits in your stomach and waits for you to need it? It's stored as body fat in adipose tissue. THAT'S WHAT ADIPOSE TISSUE IS FOR.0 -
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat
I am sorry but this is bullcrap, I am living proof of that using the program I am currently using I easily eat well over my daily caloric limit but have yet to gain fat from said calories.
It must mean that you're expending more calories than you thought. The calories don't just disappear.0 -
When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.
You should google "the Twinkie diet." A university professor of nutrition ate nothing but snack cakes, chips, and convenience store junk food, along with 1 protein shake, a multivitamin, and a can of vegetables. He stuck to a caloric deficit, lost nearly 30 pounds and all of his health markers (body fat, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) improved. Losing weight is much more Important for overall health than specific food choices. Obviously the ideal is healthier food while losing weight, but that's not always totally practical for everybody.
Oh god, if I hear about this twinkie diet one more time...
In the real world, no one would ever do that to their body (nor should they). Calories are calories, but your metabolism is designed to adapt to however many calories you give it and it is constantly trying to reach equilibrium. Stay on a 500 calorie deficit long enough and watch the plateau set in, and then tell me calories are calories.0 -
If I could, may I ask a related question? I was at a convention all last week, which required me to sprint through two airports and walk more than I usually do in order to get to the various sessions. I tracked everything in a way I believe is accurate, including the increased activity and every single thing I ate.
I stayed within my calorie budget and did my very best to maintain the deficit that MFP set for me. Some of the calories I ate were "sugar" in that I had a small helping of the snack given at break time and half a slice of pie at supper each night. I reiterate that I maintained my calorie deficit MFP designated for me.
When I got home, after being faithful to my budget and increasing my activity, I had gained 3 pounds. A day and a half later, after eliminating the sugary treats (I only use stevia for sweetening my foods at home), I am down 1.2 pounds from where I was when I returned from my trip.
My thought was that part of the gain had to do with not "going"' as much when I travel (water weight) and increased sugar content. Do you really think that increasing my sugar intake had nothing to do with it?0 -
Giving yourself a break would help as a cheat day too much exercise is just as badI'm actually running into this problem now. I've lost 31lbs and I too LOVE carbs and need sugar almost every day but now I'm at a plateau and I'm thinking its the carbs that are doing it because my work outs are still consistently 6 days a week and I also change up my work outs. I'm going to try to cut down on my carbs/sugar this week and see how it goes. Obviously you aren't having any issues now, so I say go with it for as long as you can...I went almost 4 months with no issues, but now here I am, stuck! And I still have 20lbs to loose
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When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.
You should google "the Twinkie diet." A university professor of nutrition ate nothing but snack cakes, chips, and convenience store junk food, along with 1 protein shake, a multivitamin, and a can of vegetables. He stuck to a caloric deficit, lost nearly 30 pounds and all of his health markers (body fat, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) improved. Losing weight is much more Important for overall health than specific food choices. Obviously the ideal is healthier food while losing weight, but that's not always totally practical for everybody.
N=1 isn't the greatest sample size either. The argument that it isn't practical to eat a mix of healthy and less healthy foods is pretty invalid. I can chicken breasts, pork chops, fruits, vegetables, etc. for a pretty similar price compared to what a twinkies and whey costs.0 -
If I could, may I ask a related question? I was at a convention all last week, which required me to sprint through two airports and walk more than I usually do in order to get to the various sessions. I tracked everything in a way I believe is accurate, including the increased activity and every single thing I ate.
I stayed within my calorie budget and did my very best to maintain the deficit that MFP set for me. Some of the calories I ate were "sugar" in that I had a small helping of the snack given at break time and half a slice of pie at supper each night. I reiterate that I maintained my calorie deficit MFP designated for me.
When I got home, after being faithful to my budget and increasing my activity, I had gained 3 pounds. A day and a half later, after eliminating the sugary treats (I only use stevia for sweetening my foods at home), I am down 1.2 pounds from where I was when I returned from my trip.
My thought was that part of the gain had to do with not "going"' as much when I travel (water weight) and increased sugar content. Do you really think that increasing my sugar intake had nothing to do with it?
This is why I just have to believe that yes, scientifically calories are calories. However, sometimes I just don't know why my body does what it does, and I have to believe that it's because the human body is holistic--it's a machine composed of many parts all of which work in conjunction with one another. Generally when scientists talk about calories they are talking about the laws of thermodynamics as seen through a microscope of a slide of cells. Your body is more than just one or two isolated cells. It is billions of cells, countless types of cells, all working together. It's more complex than calories in calories out... based on my experience.0 -
A calorie is a calorie. 100 calories of sugar is equal to 100 calories of fat. The laws of thermodynamics don't change here.Not all calories are created equals...100 calories of broccoli is not the same as 100 calories of sugar. Different types of food send different messages to our body. Sugar should be avoided as much as possible. Maybe you should try to eat your sugary treats only once a week or so, so pretty soon you will not feel the need to eat sugar anymore.
Macro/micronutrient contents is different though. They signal what hormones the body will secrete to use them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.
You should google "the Twinkie diet." A university professor of nutrition ate nothing but snack cakes, chips, and convenience store junk food, along with 1 protein shake, a multivitamin, and a can of vegetables. He stuck to a caloric deficit, lost nearly 30 pounds and all of his health markers (body fat, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) improved. Losing weight is much more Important for overall health than specific food choices. Obviously the ideal is healthier food while losing weight, but that's not always totally practical for everybody.
Oh god, if I hear about this twinkie diet one more time...
In the real world, no one would ever do that to their body (nor should they). Calories are calories, but your metabolism is designed to adapt to however many calories you give it and it is constantly trying to reach equilibrium. Stay on a 500 calorie deficit long enough and watch the plateau set in, and then tell me calories are calories.
Lose enough weight, and your calories expended will equal your calories ingested, if you fail to adjust either number over time, of course a plateau will set in. That has absolutely nothing to do with anything. You lose weight, you naturally burn less calories, if you don't decrease the calories you eat or increase exercise to compensate, eventually the 2 numbers will match.
How does that at all prove that a calories isn't a calorie? Calories are calories. It's that simple.0 -
This is so untrue. Your body doesn't "clock" it's burning abilities. Straight up, you could overeat in the morning and little in the evening and have a surplus which means you'd gain weight. Pseudoscience like this needs to be debunked so that people that come on here don't get confused.I'm just going to complete, and try to clarify my answer, the 5pm thing comes from the principles of chrono-nutrition, and is also applicable more for those of us who work out in the morning, not late afternoon - night time.
It's just stemming from the fact that if your activity is going to decrease at night you should eat less at night. (and your metabolism does decrease while you're sleeping, even if just a little- and before that as I said it depends on your level of activity, and whether it varies from the rest of the day).
Of course your body can process food the same all day long but apparently you tend to store more fat depending on what you eat starting late afternoon.
Again this coming from my teacher, your dinner should only represent 25-30% of your daily calorie intake.
But eveyone finds their own ways of losing weight, and what works for some might not work for others.
If you are in deficit by the end of the day you're fine regardless of what times you take those calories in.
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
If I could, may I ask a related question? I was at a convention all last week, which required me to sprint through two airports and walk more than I usually do in order to get to the various sessions. I tracked everything in a way I believe is accurate, including the increased activity and every single thing I ate.
I stayed within my calorie budget and did my very best to maintain the deficit that MFP set for me. Some of the calories I ate were "sugar" in that I had a small helping of the snack given at break time and half a slice of pie at supper each night. I reiterate that I maintained my calorie deficit MFP designated for me.
When I got home, after being faithful to my budget and increasing my activity, I had gained 3 pounds. A day and a half later, after eliminating the sugary treats (I only use stevia for sweetening my foods at home), I am down 1.2 pounds from where I was when I returned from my trip.
My thought was that part of the gain had to do with not "going"' as much when I travel (water weight) and increased sugar content. Do you really think that increasing my sugar intake had nothing to do with it?
If you stayed within your limits, then the only effect sugar might have had was water weight.0 -
When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.
You should google "the Twinkie diet." A university professor of nutrition ate nothing but snack cakes, chips, and convenience store junk food, along with 1 protein shake, a multivitamin, and a can of vegetables. He stuck to a caloric deficit, lost nearly 30 pounds and all of his health markers (body fat, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) improved. Losing weight is much more Important for overall health than specific food choices. Obviously the ideal is healthier food while losing weight, but that's not always totally practical for everybody.
Oh god, if I hear about this twinkie diet one more time...
In the real world, no one would ever do that to their body (nor should they). Calories are calories, but your metabolism is designed to adapt to however many calories you give it and it is constantly trying to reach equilibrium. Stay on a 500 calorie deficit long enough and watch the plateau set in, and then tell me calories are calories.
Lose enough weight, and your calories expended will equal your calories ingested, if you fail to adjust either number over time, of course a plateau will set in. That has absolutely nothing to do with anything. You lose weight, you naturally burn less calories, if you don't decrease the calories you eat or increase exercise to compensate, eventually the 2 numbers will match.
How does that at all prove that a calories isn't a calorie? Calories are calories. It's that simple.
Yeah but the twinkie diet isn't a good example because it is an unsustainable diet. It may demonstrate scientifically that a calorie is a calorie, but If it was so easy to control intake of junk food, than the United States wouldn't be the most obese country in the world. Better to eat better quality foods for weight loss.0
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