"a calorie is a calorie is a calorie" vs clean eating

I think both sides are too dramatic. There is much more to nutrition than calories- but you don't need to "eat clean" whatever that means, all the time either. There's a happy middle ground that you can find where you eat a well balanced and nutritious diet- and still enjoy some of the treats that you like.

My philosophy is to get protein first, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, some whole grains, and use the excess calories however you wish. It's a very sustainable approach- does not at all feel like a diet.

I agree with this person.

I do make better choices.. like having a large salad instead of fries.. but if i WANT fries, i eat them. If you deprive yourself of everything, you are setting yourself up for failure. You need to find what works for YOU. This is forever.. not for now. If you can eat only "clean" and not a single processed food for the rest of you life, GREAT, but thats just not for me. --I also have "cheat days" once a week, and im still losing! 40 days and 19.5 pounds and 20.5 inches..

I wouldn't recommend a person "eat as much fruit" as they want while trying to lose weight. Green veggies you can go nuts, devouring a fruit plate will spike insulin and cause fat storage. Additionally fructose can contribute to fat storage through physiological processes.

Limit fruit if you are trying to lose weight, and ideally consume immediately after exercise.

I think both sides are too dramatic. There is much more to nutrition than calories- but you don't need to "eat clean" whatever that means, all the time either. There's a happy middle ground that you can find where you eat a well balanced and nutritious diet- and still enjoy some of the treats that you like.

My philosophy is to get protein first, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, some whole grains, and use the excess calories however you wish. It's a very sustainable approach- does not at all feel like a diet.

I think both sides are too dramatic. There is much more to nutrition than calories- but you don't need to "eat clean" whatever that means, all the time either. There's a happy middle ground that you can find where you eat a well balanced and nutritious diet- and still enjoy some of the treats that you like.

My philosophy is to get protein first, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, some whole grains, and use the excess calories however you wish. It's a very sustainable approach- does not at all feel like a diet.

I wouldn't recommend a person "eat as much fruit" as they want while trying to lose weight. Green veggies you can go nuts, devouring a fruit plate will spike insulin and cause fat storage. Additionally fructose can contribute to fat storage through physiological processes.

Limit fruit if you are trying to lose weight, and ideally consume immediately after exercise.

How does an insulin spike after eating fruit cause fat storage in a calorific deficit? What physioligical processes are you talking about? Why would you consume immediately after exercise?

So I am pulling together some random facts that I think he might have been referring to. Insulin has a multitude of effects on the metabolism of your cells, in the big picture the release of insulin decreases overall lipolysis. I think under a calorie deficit that this would be a more temporary occurrence, but it is important for body composition that your body uses released blood fats as the energy source and not circulating amino acids. Fructose bypasses important regulation steps in glucose metabolism, and can lead to a higher energy state in the cell, which after a series of steps can increase lipid synthesis. Also after exercise the muscles begin rebuilding their glycogen stores, a good use for that sugar.

A lot of these responses are great.

It's also important to remember that different things work for different people in terms of what we enjoy, how we feel, what causes feelings of normalcy or deprivation, what is manageable for us. All of that is going to be different for everyone (and can change from time to time). Only we know that for ourselves.

There is no perfect formula for knowing how many calories we need or how many we burn (and it's always changing). If you need to lose weight, there are lots of ways to do that easily by eating at a calorie deficit.

But, if you are maintaining weight and working on body composition (as I am), it becomes more complex and variable. At this point, I am tweaking things at a much more subtle level and striking a balance so I do not go under weight and am able to continue to build muscle.

Maybe not for people operating at a high calorie deficient, but for people who are trying to maintain a very high muscle to fat ratio.

Maybe not for people operating at a high calorie deficient, but for people who are trying to maintain a very high muscle to fat ratio.

Sorry - assuming this is related to my response I am a little confused as to the context (I am not being snarky at all - just trying to understand). Macros are very relevent for muscle retention - not the type of carbs. My initial question was in relation to the comment regarding fruit as opposed to vegetables (or actually any other carb).