A calorie is a calorie and you lose weight??

pittbullgirl

So I was recently talking to a friend about eating/my food log.
She mentioned that all she does is stay in her calorie range and is losing weight. She is not on MFP but she does track her food intake and said it doesnt matter what she eats, as long as calories are ok the other stats dont matter.

I try to make sure my sugar isnt way over (discounting my CRAZY day a few days ago when I went insane , haha) and if it is, its mostly from fruit sugars since I know the body breaks them down more effectively than refinded sugars.


Andddd, onto the question!

Do you JUST track calories and omit everything else from you brain?

Do you watch everything pretty closely?

A mix of the two?

anxietygirl

I'm trying to do a mix of nutrition + watching calories; like I do try to make sure I get my goal for protein at least, and watch Vitamins and stuff like that. But I don't really do much more than shrug my shoulders and enjoy it if I feel like having a hot dog for dinner, you know?

I think the calories in, calories out is probably more important short-term than what exactly you're eating, but I would say it's about 50/50 overall. I try to make sure I'me ating mostly healthy, but honestly, a burger or some french fries here or there won't hurt that much, and I think I'd be more damaged if I tried to force myself not to eat foods I enjoy ebcause they're "bad". That seems like a bad road to go down.

I am also not really worried about building a ton of muscle yet though beyond what just comes from being more active.

tavenne323

A calorie is a calorie (or a kilocalorie if you want to be specific). But, wouldn't you rather eat calories that are going to fuel your body properly? Wouldn't you rather eat calories that will help your body function efficiently? Wouldn't you rather eat calories that ward off diseases?

Don't get me wrong, I love the sweet stuff, chocolate, peanut butter, cookies.... but I try to keep my sugar cravings to fruit 6 days out of the week and allow myself one "reasonable" dessert once a week...so I don't go crazy.

allshebe

For me it's a mix. The first goal is to meet my nutritional needs from actual food as much as possible while not significantly exceeding my set calorie level (1500), so I need to eat mostly "good", nutrient dense food. I have an idea what proportions I want for my macros, but I don't dwell on it too much, even if I'm way off some days. I don't have any foods that trigger bingeing (that I know of), so that's not a worry for me, but could be a consideration for food choices where that's a problem. I eat what I want, but do it mindfully. I was offered a Reese's PB ice cream cup this afternoon at work, considered the cost/benefit and decided the calorie hit wasn't worth the brief potential pleasure.

aletadiana

I'm a believer that not all calories are created equal. For me it's important to feel good about myself inside and out. I also strive to extend while increasing the quality of my life through healthy eating while cutting calories. I have heart disease and cancer that runs in my family, so whatever I can do to help decrease the risk of those I will! BUT that didn't happen overnight. I started cutting down on things and then started cutting them out. I used to eat fast food 2-3 times per week when I was growing up, so now having it maybe once a year is something I had to work towards, it didn't happen overnight. I am by no means perfect......my downfall is always refined sugars!

Quix82

A mix of the two. I TRY to ignore how bad I go over with sugar/sodium. I mainly focus on protein, vitamin a, iron, vitamin c, calcium... in that order. (just because calcium & vitamin c are the easiest to achieve for me)

DanIsACyclingFool

A side effect of caloric deficit is loss of lean mass. Therefore preserving muscle should be strongly considered. That means keeping an eye on macros, especially protein.

When you lose weight it can be muscle or fat....obviously we want the fat outta here, so muscle is our friend. If you treat all calories equally it's much easier to lose the wrong kind of weight.

If your training is intensive you need to consider recovery, and hence your macros again come into play.

Diet/training both suppress beneficial hormones, watching your macros, cycling them, refeeds, etc can mitigate this.

But after you set your macros, it's IIFYM baby!

nikilis

yes, that is correct.

weight and health are separate issues tho.

HaleyxErin

Yes a calorie is a calorie but 1600 cal in sweets and 1600 cal in fruits, veg and other real food are very different things. If I ate 1600 cal in junk food I'd be starving at noon when I had finished all of my calories for the day.

chezjuan

The statement is basically true - if you look at it from strictly a weight loss perspective, all calories are the same, and a deficit will lead to weight loss no matter what food it comes from.

But, as others have said, if you look at it from a total health perspective, eating healthy foods at a deficit has other benefits outside of just losing weight.

vherron50

Right now I am not counting calories, my goals are to learn everything I can about nutrition and drinking enough water each day. I believe knowledge is power! much success to you.

Valerie

abeautifulwifey

Personally, I only am tracking calories. I do a lot of my own cooking though, and am wayyyyy too lazy to figure out everything for everything I eat. I figure out the calories per serving, and just do everything based on that.

That being said... I am trying to eat healthier (less desserts, etc.) in general, because I need to change my lifestyle, not just diet.

j6o4

All calories are not the same. protein, carbs and fats all do differents things in your body. Protein = repair muscle, Carbs = energy & are muscle sparing, fats = regulate hormones. How you split your calories will determine how you look, your not gona have a rip six pack buy eating almost all your calories in carbs and fat

krystleneal

I watch calories, proteins, carbs, and sugars. However, I have hypoglycemia so the other three are extra important for me. I honestly don't pay a lot of attention to the other categories. Haha

cherylmonster

3500 calories lost equals 1 pound. google a bmr calculator. figure out yours and stay under it.

Alicia_P_28

All calories are not the same. protein, carbs and fats all do differents things in your body. Protein = repair muscle, Carbs = energy & are muscle sparing, fats = regulate hormones. How you split your calories will determine how you look, your not gona have a rip six pack buy eating almost all your calories in carbs and fat

This is my vote as well

LuHox

Hypothetically you could eat your calories in nothing but chocolate ice cream and lose weight as long as you were in a caloric deficit, but you would feel like pure crap and be super unhealthy.

I prefer to feel good and have as much energy as possible, so I try to eat a healthy and balanced diet while not obsessing so much over perfect macronutrient ratios that I'm miserable.

awoodz13

I mostly watch my calories, carbs, and fat. However if you search the "twinky diet" it's pretty interesting. It was a study a guy did that only ate twinkys (and ate in a calorie deficient) and he still lost weight. However, that sounds completely unhealthy- but it's still an interesting concept.

savithny

I don't worry much about macros, and while I eat some really healthy things, I also don't avoid moderate portions of chips, chocolate, wine, and other treats.

I'm not runnng much of a deficit right now because I"m interested in actually building some muscle, but when I was running a consistent deficit I lost weight just as expected.

I don't really watch macros, but I look back at them, and I have found that I'm consistently running at about 40-45% carbs, 20% protein, and 35-40% fat. I'm trying to make sure the fat is mostly good fat , and I avoid trans fats. I lost 5 pounds a month eating like that for 2 months, plateaued a bit, upped my calories and started lifting weights and lost another five (and more inches in that last month than I'd lost before). Just had bloodwork done and my sugars and lipids looked fantastic.

I cook most meals at home with local meats and lots of greens, prepared with reasonable amounts of fat and served with moderate portions of carbs. We very much are taking the middle road in our approach to eating, and it seems to be working well for us.

pittbullgirl

What is IIFYM??

A side effect of caloric deficit is loss of lean mass. Therefore preserving muscle should be strongly considered. That means keeping an eye on macros, especially protein.

When you lose weight it can be muscle or fat....obviously we want the fat outta here, so muscle is our friend. If you treat all calories equally it's much easier to lose the wrong kind of weight.

If your training is intensive you need to consider recovery, and hence your macros again come into play.

Diet/training both suppress beneficial hormones, watching your macros, cycling them, refeeds, etc can mitigate this.

But after you set your macros, it's IIFYM baby!

pittbullgirl

This is what I was getting at. While not exactly the healthier way to go, it CAN be done.
Thanks!

I mostly watch my calories, carbs, and fat. However if you search the "twinky diet" it's pretty interesting. It was a study a guy did that only ate twinkys (and ate in a calorie deficient) and he still lost weight. However, that sounds completely unhealthy- but it's still an interesting concept.

khall86790

When I started out I just counted calories, no matter what I ate as long as I stayed within my calories I was fine.

SteelySunshine

In theory sure if you eat fewer calories than you need you will lose weight. The problem is it's very difficult to eat fewer calories in junk food, because if that is the bulk of what you eat you will feel very hungry when you just cut calories from that and don't add volume to your diet. So, my advice would be eat more fiber. And if you don't get much protein add more protein to your diet and go with a modest calorie cut and move more to create extra in your calorie deficit so you don't have to feel deprived and hungry.

LouLoulost

For me it's a mix. The first goal is to meet my nutritional needs from actual food as much as possible while not significantly exceeding my set calorie level (1500), so I need to eat mostly "good", nutrient dense food. I have an idea what proportions I want for my macros, but I don't dwell on it too much, even if I'm way off some days. I don't have any foods that trigger bingeing (that I know of), so that's not a worry for me, but could be a consideration for food choices where that's a problem. I eat what I want, but do it mindfully. I was offered a Reese's PB ice cream cup this afternoon at work, considered the cost/benefit and decided the calorie hit wasn't worth the brief potential pleasure.

I agree when I just stayed within calories and didn't pay attention to the nutritional values I started maintaining. so now I make my calories count I agree pb cup cost me too much for the small satisfaction . My quote I try to live by Wake up with determination , got to bed with satisfaction:happy:

niightwindz

I track mainly calories. I try not to go over in carbs or sodium though. The majority of sugar I have is from fresh fruit so I don't bother tracking it anymore; I track fiber instead.

runlilyrun

I focus first on calories and then on protein. The other macros I don't really bother with - though I need to find out what my protein macro ought to be.

Most days now I'm hitting or nearly hitting my protein goal, which is good.

ChanceTakr2131

I ended up developing an eating disorder by obsessing over the calories. Now I just try to eat at least 80% healthy, and work out often. It's so much more freeing than worrying about calories all the time.

amandapye78

A calorie deficit is all you need to lose weight, but in order to be healthy you need to watch nutrition.

twinketta

You can go and eat a big mac and fries (for example) or you could eat lots of healthy foods and get more to eat over the day.

If you go with the fast food you will be increasing sugar/sodium etc, but you will remain in your calorie goal if you eat around those goals with the rest of you food.

I eat loads of food, but steer clear of fast food/processed foods. But that is what works for me, everyone is different

Gwen_B

I eat healthy and stay under. But of course it is more important to me to be healthy!

Boogage

I try to make healthier food choices these days as I worry that when I move to maintaining I'll just regain the weight as I won't have learnt to eat properly. That doesn't mean I go without a bit of chocolate and junk food but it means I no longer have days where I stay under my cals but only eat chocolate all day lol. I also feel like its important to keep an eye on carbs, fats ect as I put on weight if I don't limit carbs a bit and as a vegetarian I struggle to get enough protein.