Is it as simple as calories in < calories out

anahita84

Hi guys,

Is losing weight really about tracking all you eat. Tracking you calories and making sure you are between 1200 to 1500 cals per day.

Is it really as simple as this?

taylor5877

Internally, I go ballistic just reading "calories in, calories out"...

Mels707

I think for most people, tracking cal in/cal out will work pretty well. However, there is no way for me to tell you how many calories you should eat. Go to an online TDEE calculator, figure that number out, and subtract 20% for weight loss.

KodAkuraMacKyen

No it's not that simple but tracking what you're eating heightens awareness about what exactly you're putting into your body.

DontStopB_Leakin

On paper, yes. However, each person is different. Some people have health problems that contribute to a lack of weight loss. Others retain water more than an average person. And ladies, don't forget PMS. I know for me that's like an instant 2 lb weight gain even if I don't eat (of course I eat though, I'm PMSing!). Also, without fail, the closer you get to target, the slower it comes off. So yes, it is just calories in, calories out. And no, it's not.

mcarter99

Hi guys,

Is losing weight really about tracking all you eat. Tracking you calories and making sure you are between 1200 to 1500 cals per day.

Is it really as simple as this?

Is it about tracking? No. Is it about eating less than you expend? Nearly entirely.

katamus

^^^LOL!

kacarter1017

As the director of my clinic says, it's simple math. You have to have 3500 calories less in than out to lose a pound. You can do that by burning more calories or eating fewer calories, or a combination of both. However, mental and physical problems can play a part in that equation. In my experience, when you have more weight to lose, your bosy is more willing to give it up. As you get closer to a "normal" weight, the body isn't as generous and things like too much refined sugar, too much sodium, stress, PMS, etc begin to play a role in how fast that weight comes off.

As far as the right number of calories, that is very person dependent. Using an online calculator can be very helpful.

Jynus

yes and no. for 99% of people their problem is simply they eat too dam much. And simply tracking calories correctly will have a positive impact on their body and will more than likely get them back into a somewhat normal weight range.

That said, there are certain factors that could cause issues and prevent progress past a certain point, things where a calorie is NOT a calorie.

1) The body is not a static calorie burning machine, it has the ability to adjust its base BMR up and down depending on variables. The food you eat being one of them.

2) In relation to the above. A harvard study was released this month where they gave people equal calorie diets. And found that macro differences can change peoples BMR. a highish carb diet resulted in a slowdown of metabolism compared to a more balanced macro diet.

3) In relation to the above again, while I was training, 100% of my clients handed in diet sheets that were basically no fat, low protein, and stupidly high carbs. the 80s dont eat fat to lose fat myth is still very strong with lots of people.

4) protein just on its own has a higher thermic effect. so a calorie of protein impacts the body about 80% as much as a calorie of fat or carbs.


There is more Im forgetting. Ill cut right through a lot of the BS about diet and foods that should be eaten because assuming you dont have a medical condition like hypothyroidism or allergies, people LARGELY overthink diet. your food intake can basically be summed up in one commandment.

Set a calorie total that allows you to lose weight on. Then take your goal body weight in lbs, thats your protein intake daily in grams. the remainder of your calories of fat and carbs can then be eaten with whatever the **** foods you want with exception to trans fats. The answer to EVERY food query about should I eat this food is: If it fits into my calorie total and protein intake, its fine to eat it.

As an example, Im 215lbs, currently cutting to 205lbs before I gain back to 240lbs.. Im eating 2400 calories a day to lose weight. That means my protein intake will be 205g per day (820 calories). That means I then have 1580 calories a day of fat and carbs. Long as I get some of both, it does not matter what form they come in. Chips? sure. Ice Cream? hell yes. Cake? go nuts. Long as I meet my calories and protein, its all good in the hood. That said, while I do frequently splurg on little snacks like that, bulk of my fat and carbs comes from somewhat healthy sources. But point being, long as your macros are in order and calories set, the source of which is largely unimportant. your body does not understand that cake is bad and veggies good for fat loss. it just sees carbs from both that it uses as glucose to power muscles. in this regard, assuming balanced macros (which you get by following the protein rule I laid out automatically) you kinda do see a calorie is just a calorie.

TheVimFuego

Internally, I go ballistic just reading "calories in, calories out"...

Hehehe, I hear that

Sort the metabolism out first then worry about the maths.

Not that the "3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of fat loss a week" has any basis in fact anyway ....

ninerbuff

For the general population who aren't suffering from a hormone issue or medication issue, then yes that's basically it.


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

taso42

Hi guys,

Is losing weight really about tracking all you eat. Tracking you calories and making sure you are between 1200 to 1500 cals per day.

Is it really as simple as this?

If your TDEE is 1700-2000 then yes.

wgn4166

Internally, I go ballistic just reading "calories in, calories out"...

this made me LOL

krissyliz78

I eat 1200 a day and the weight is falling off!!!! It DEF works!!

wgn4166

Who knows. I have been tracking mine for 45 days and I havent lost weight but I have lost inches

SpazzyMal

Eating less than you expend will cause you to lose weight, to varying degrees — that's simple body mechanics at work.

But eating better, working out, and eating less than you expend will speed up the process, make you feel healthier, and help change your bad habits so you're much less likely return to your previous high weight again.

triciab79

For now yes. Keep it simple while you are first starting out. Just keep your calories where they should be. Once you get going and have a routine then you can start looking at all the add protein cut bad carbs stuff. Just accurately counting your calories is enough of a challenge at first. Get a food scale and start looking at what you are eating. Then figure out what you can and can't have. So many people get caught up in these fad diets and they are all effective for a while but you have to live with whatever you choose so calories in vs calories out is a lifestyle change.

goldfinger88

No, that's a myth that was started in the 19th century. It never worked. It doesn't work now. It will work as long as you starve yourself. When you go back to eating normally, you gain even more weight. Moreover, when you lose weight by starvation, you lose muscle. The fat is the last to burn because the body hangs on to it for dear life.

Ash_ah_lee

LOL..!

Internally, I go ballistic just reading "calories in, calories out"...

graelwyn

I would say it is also kind of important to ensure you get all your vitamins and minerals which tend to come best from clean foods, and that filling your daily intake with mostly junk, would be very bad for overall health, but I guess that is just common sense really.

taso42

No, that's a myth that was started in the 19th century. It never worked. It doesn't work now. It will work as long as you starve yourself. When you go back to eating normally, you gain even more weight. Moreover, when you lose weight by starvation, you lose muscle. The fat is the last to burn because the body hangs on to it for dear life.

:laugh:

davert123

Yes it is - it really is that simple..... If anyone tells you this isn't the case I don't think they have grasped the basics. But things are not quite as simple as they seem....

calories in can be calculated very easily just by adding what you eat up.
calories out is difficult. From my understanding Cals out = BMR (just the calories used to keep your body running if you lay in bed all day) + exercise cals but both of these can vary. They both depend upon weight but they also depend upon your body composition, what you are doing to your body and how well your body is holding to any stresses (or lack of stresses) you are giving it.

for me the complexities are too much so I need to simply things - For instance I don't know (no one does without hooking me up to some complex test equipment) what my BMR is . Similarly I don't know for sure how many calories my body burns when i exercise. BUT, and this is the good bit, MFP guesses these for you. After reading some posts from the people who put this together they have made some assumptions about what YOU are going to do - if you stick to these the programme will most probably. calculate your weight reduction quite accurately. These assumptions are that you keep your body hydrated (hence the water level you can input) and that you loose weight at a rate of no more that 2lb per week. For instance increasing a weight loss over for a few days or weeks according to the site techs research can reduce your BMR. If you stick to these two rules then you will be well on your way. when you start off though your body will reconfigure itself over the first few weeks - it can loose water and gain muscle so weight is not really a good short term measure of how you are doing as it can reduce drastically or even go up a bit - but after this initial period and then over a few months you should notice that your weight drops a certain amount each week as long as you are burning calories . If after a couple of months you notice week on week that the guess made by MFP is out (i.e. it says 2lb loss and you get 1.5 lb loss (repeated over a few weeks) it means that MFP isn't quite predicting accurately for you (we are all different and MFP will no doubt be programmed for ms/mr average) . You could if you so wish manually adjust the cals in/calls out per day to change your real loss to your target loss (in the case of 1/2 lb difference you would need to adjust your cals by (3500*1/2 )/ 7 per day. Again if you are bulking out your muscle MFP wont know this and then the scales may not go down fast but that is because some parts of you are increasing in size :-) In general though by listening to a load of people for those who are only loosing weight and exercising without deliberately bulking MFP seems to be predicting accurately enough for them to be losing weight at a comfortable and acceptable level. .

davert123

For now yes. Keep it simple while you are first starting out. Just keep your calories where they should be. Once you get going and have a routine then you can start looking at all the add protein cut bad carbs stuff. Just accurately counting your calories is enough of a challenge at first. Get a food scale and start looking at what you are eating. Then figure out what you can and can't have. So many people get caught up in these fad diets and they are all effective for a while but you have to live with whatever you choose so calories in vs calories out is a lifestyle change.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Everything here is true from what I know and my own experience^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

wackyfunster

Short answer: Yes.

Slightly longer answer: No, but 99% of people who give reasons why it isn't are completely wrong about why. 90% of weight changes can be explained by raw calories in/calories out. 90% of the remaining 10% is explained by thermic effect of food.

dogacreek

Internally, I go ballistic just reading "calories in, calories out"...

OMG That's hilarious

Exill

Yes, it pretty much is that simple. If you don't over eat then your body isn't going to have the fat to store to make you fat. Can't comment on how many calories you should have, though. I'm very thin and can maintain my weight eating around 1650 daily and I don't "exercise", I just walk daily. Everyone's body is different. Tracking your calories over time is a way to get an idea of just how much you need to be eating.

rawcash2012

bump