Food Diary ... less is NOT more.

Options
1…1012141516

Replies

  • lind3400
    lind3400 Posts: 557 Member
    Options
    I am amazed at the public food diaries I see. I don't understand how my MFP peeps expect to lose weight cramming all their calories in one, maybe two meals.


    I'm not so sure it really matters when you eat your calories. There are some days I eat half of mine in one meal, but hasn't hindered me in the slightest. The body doesn't care if you eat three meals, two or seven.

    Actually it does. I mean you will see your self lose weight by just counting calories and staying under a certain number, but you would be even more successful by eating more low-calorie meals in a day. The more meals you eat in a day the more "exercise" your metabolism gets. If you eat all your calories in one meal, your metabolism is "turned off" or however you want to put it...So when you start eating, it takes time for your metabolism to catch up to you, not burning off as much as you could if you spread out your calories in your day with more frequent meals. It then doesn't have a chance to completely shut down, allowing for it to be active at the beginning of your meals instead of in the middle of it.
    When you turn off your metabolism, you die. There are plenty of studies showing that over the course of time, how many calories you consume is the key, not when you consume them.

    Thanks to the OP for posting lol
    Cuz now I'm finding out more about my metabolism I didn't realize that when I ate mattered
    and here I am freaking about getting my cals in before 7 and not eating a huge dinner which is really the meal that I liek the best
    Sweet I can de-stress a bit
  • veromancha
    veromancha Posts: 158 Member
    Options
    I agree with your post! I have recently started to convert from processed to unprocessed foods!! and let me tell you, it has made a huge difference not only on my diet but also the overall health of my family! Yes, it is expensive to eat whole grain food, and fresh fruits and vegetables but in the long run were saving huge by not eating out all the time and health wise! My daughter has a congenital heart defect so I try to do what I can to keep it as healthy as possible, after two open heart surgery's the last thing I want to do is fill her up with fast food and processed junk!! Like Jillian Micheal's said...if it doesn't grow in the ground and it doesn't have a mother! don't eat it!!
  • Birder150
    Birder150 Posts: 677 Member
    Options
    If I only fuel my vehicle part of the day, how is that vehicle supposed to run at optimum output the entire day? Just sayin'.

    Do the Metab-Awake pills help to run at optimum output?
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,849 Member
    Options
    Geez, I'm so tired of all these rants about what other people are doing and not doing. Unless you have a degree in nutrition and exercise, I'm not trying to hear what you have to say. Let people eat and exercise how they want to. How does it hurt you, if someone else isn't eating enough/working out enough IF you are? Worry about yourself and your weight loss and Lead by your ACTIONS NOT YOUR RANTS.
    Thank you!

    This.
  • redshoeshelley
    redshoeshelley Posts: 206 Member
    Options
    I agree with your post! I have recently started to convert from processed to unprocessed foods!! and let me tell you, it has made a huge difference not only on my diet but also the overall health of my family! Yes, it is expensive to eat whole grain food, and fresh fruits and vegetables but in the long run were saving huge by not eating out all the time and health wise! My daughter has a congenital heart defect so I try to do what I can to keep it as healthy as possible, after two open heart surgery's the last thing I want to do is fill her up with fast food and processed junk!! Like Jillian Micheal's said...if it doesn't grow in the ground and it doesn't have a mother! don't eat it!!

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this !!!
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,849 Member
    Options
    If I only fuel my vehicle part of the day, how is that vehicle supposed to run at optimum output the entire day? Just sayin'.

    I fill my car up once a day, seems to run fine for the rest of the day.
  • midnightryder
    midnightryder Posts: 47
    Options
    When your in your 20's your metabolism burns calories more efficiently than when your in your late 30's or 40's. Eating 4-6 smaller meals thru day keeps your metabolism constantly working, rather than going into starvation mode cause you've only eaten 1 meal for the day, which will store your calories consumed for fat more easily. As we get older this is why we need to eat a better balanced meal through out the day. Some of these people are right with their post saying they eat what they want or eat 1-2 big meals but you may be in your early years still, and if you are in your 40's and have no problem, you are blessed and should be proud but it isn't the norm for most.

    Well said!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,230 Member
    Options
    When your in your 20's your metabolism burns calories more efficiently than when your in your late 30's or 40's. Eating 4-6 smaller meals thru day keeps your metabolism constantly working, rather than going into starvation mode cause you've only eaten 1 meal for the day, which will store your calories consumed for fat more easily. As we get older this is why we need to eat a better balanced meal through out the day. Some of these people are right with their post saying they eat what they want or eat 1-2 big meals but you may be in your early years still, and if you are in your 40's and have no problem, you are blessed and should be proud but it isn't the norm for most.

    Well said!

    There is more than enough research to say you are simply wrong on this. Not the slow down of metabolism, that is true, but the eating of 4-6 meals keeping your metabolism constantly working. It simply doesn't work that way. This completely misrepresents how the thermic effect of food works. To simplify it say you have 1500 calories to eat and the thermic effect of your food is about 10% of the calories consumed.

    5 meals of 300 calories
    10% thermic effect -- 30 calories per meal
    30x5=150 calories of metabolic activation

    2 meals of 750 calories
    10% thermic effect -- 75 calories per meal
    75x2=150 calories of metabolic activation

    Then realise that the thermic effect of food on metabolism will last longer the bigger the meal. Thus, a 300 calorie meal will have a smaller effect that lasts a shorter time. The 750 calorie meal has a larger effect that lasts a longer time. In the end what that means, and what the studies show, is that the metabolic effect of meals is identical at the end of the day. For that matter, during times of short term fasting your metabolism actually speeds up to make searching for and hunting food down easier.

    I am 45, and frankly the 2-3 meals a day I eat works great, far better than the 5-6 small meals I ate for almost a year before and was completely miserable doing it.
  • HorrorChix89
    HorrorChix89 Posts: 1,229 Member
    Options
    If I only fuel my vehicle part of the day, how is that vehicle supposed to run at optimum output the entire day? Just sayin'.
    The same way a body does. Which last I checked, the human body wasn't created in a factory and tested by driving around corners really fast in the rain.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,230 Member
    Options
    If I only fuel my vehicle part of the day, how is that vehicle supposed to run at optimum output the entire day? Just sayin'.

    I fill my car up once a day, seems to run fine for the rest of the day.

    I fill my car up once a week usually.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Options
    If I only fuel my vehicle part of the day, how is that vehicle supposed to run at optimum output the entire day? Just sayin'.
    The same way a body does. Which last I checked, the human body wasn't created in a factory and tested by driving around corners really fast in the rain.

    That could be fun though. We could run around a big track then go into the pit to get refueled like Nascar...

    But yeah, silly analogy and grossly untrue. OP kinda reminds me of this kid:

    495491-boy-with-fingers-inb-ears.jpg

    because she is still sticking to this "must eat often" belief and ignoring or dismissing any evidence otherwise.
  • paigemarie93
    paigemarie93 Posts: 778 Member
    Options
    I still eat fast food and processed food, sometimes I only eat 2-3 meals a day... there are days that I don't fit in a workout... yet somehow I'm still making progress.

    It's nice that you found something that works for you, but maybe it's better to keep your focus on what's working for YOU and not what bothers you about what might or might not be working for others.
    This!

    I can't afford to eat fresh all the time, I have to eat frozen boxed food, unless OP would prefer for me to starve rather than eat that "crap"?
  • shaahboogie
    shaahboogie Posts: 16
    Options
    I still eat fast food and processed food, sometimes I only eat 2-3 meals a day... there are days that I don't fit in a workout... yet somehow I'm still making progress.

    It's nice that you found something that works for you, but maybe it's better to keep your focus on what's working for YOU and not what bothers you about what might or might not be working for others.

    gee i wish there was a LIKE button for this
  • veromancha
    veromancha Posts: 158 Member
    Options
    I still eat fast food and processed food, sometimes I only eat 2-3 meals a day... there are days that I don't fit in a workout... yet somehow I'm still making progress.

    It's nice that you found something that works for you, but maybe it's better to keep your focus on what's working for YOU and not what bothers you about what might or might not be working for others.

    gee i wish there was a LIKE button for this

    I don't like to bash on anyone's lifestyle or how they eat. But can someone please explain to me how eating fast food is cheaper then eating a home prepared meal?? and please take into consideration the long term cost of say....a diabetic life style.
  • midnightryder
    midnightryder Posts: 47
    Options
    All I can say at this point is that life is all about choices and excuses are easily made. Regardless of any scientific evidence, experience is always the best teacher. It is true that basically calories in minus calories out will equal weight loss if there is a deficit. It is true that however you achieve this deficit is entirely choice. It is also true that obesity is an epidemic at this point and cuased by our society which is laden with high calorie, no nutrition foods, and then a sedentary lifestyle on top of that leads to obesity. The point of this should not be focused on what or what not foods to take in or when to take them in or how to take them in but to get off your *kitten* and move something. I do truely believe that metabolism slows throughout the years as on a norm your thyroid production responsible for your metabolism slows as you grow older. A very active person with a normal thyroid function should be able to eat anything they want whenever they want. If you don't agree with my statements of activity level then please explain to me how childhood obesity is on the rise whereas 20 years ago childhood obesity was not a problem.
  • Kailel
    Kailel Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    :indifferent: .......... I have read through every single one of these posts and thank GOD I finally have the SOLID answer to the perfect weight loss: Eat healthy, 24 times a day. Eat strictly junk, once a day. Exercise 3 times a day while eating a big mac, BUT only exercise ONCE a day if you're eating spinach - of course we have to recalculate everything if you opt for Salad and French fries...your body WILL burn the calories and they also will not burn the calories and it doesn't matter when or how often you eat, because it totally DOES matter how often you eat. You cannot eat UNCLEAN foods, because you CAN eat unclean foods - you will still lose weight while rapidly gaining weight.

    :noway: :laugh: ---- In other words....I am officially corn-fused, and at this point I am just here hoping to be able to look in the mirror soon...I dont give a TERD if I get there eating *kitten* or icecubes. I dont really care what anyone thinks of my diary, or my food, or my frequency of eating, exercising, and taking dumps. LOL. I could seriously give 2 F**KS about ANY opinion LOL.

    All of my love to you on "I dont give a TERD if I get there eating *kitten* or icecubes." xD Amen to that!
  • paigemarie93
    paigemarie93 Posts: 778 Member
    Options
    I still eat fast food and processed food, sometimes I only eat 2-3 meals a day... there are days that I don't fit in a workout... yet somehow I'm still making progress.

    It's nice that you found something that works for you, but maybe it's better to keep your focus on what's working for YOU and not what bothers you about what might or might not be working for others.

    gee i wish there was a LIKE button for this

    I don't like to bash on anyone's lifestyle or how they eat. But can someone please explain to me how eating fast food is cheaper then eating a home prepared meal?? and please take into consideration the long term cost of say....a diabetic life style.

    Fresh food cost more & doesn't last long enough for you to spread it out for a few weeks. £16 worth of fresh foods like veggies would feed me for about a week. £16 of frozen food feeds me for 3 weeks.
  • kellyras11
    kellyras11 Posts: 1
    Options
    Thanks for that great explanation. No one ever explained it that way to me. Makes total sense!
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    Options
    Bump. I :heart: a controversial thread. Gets me through the workday.

    I had no blazing idea that I was going to stir this much controversy ... however, the more I read, the more I amused !!

    Haha, it's because you're new here. Now you know that the message boards don't take kindly to know-it-alls and broscientists.
  • NanniesKitchen
    NanniesKitchen Posts: 24
    Options

    Leave people alone. You have no right to sit here and negatively criticize anyone. Just because someone leaves their diary public doesn't give you the God given right to belittle them, judge them, and make this pathetic post about them. Do you know what constructive criticism is? It's meant to help someone improve.. not make them feel bad about themselves, we are all here to learn and we are all here for a reason. If we all knew everything, NOBODY would be here!!! What works for someone else may or may not work for you.

    Again, leave people alone.. if you can't say something nice, then just don't say it at all..

    Criticize your diary?? Your diary is not open..So, how can anyone give you any constructive criticism? Unless they are on your friends list.. So, save it.
    [/quote]

    Never once did I belittle or judge a single, solitary person on MFP. Did you see me name drop? Nope, didn't think so. If I had criticized one person in particular, publicly I would expect this kind of remark. You'd almost think I was looking at YOURS for this kind of reaction !!!
    My opinion is my opinion, just as is yours. Diaries are made public for a reason ... and I will say it again ... mine is open for review.
    [/quote]

    Stop arguing, you won't win.

Categories