Can you really eat anything and lose?

Yes, this is how it works.

Let's say you have 1700 calories a day. I don't think you can eat 1700 calories worth of Jelly donuts and lose weight. I might be wrong but I think you can have a jelly donut now an then. Everything in moderation.

I have done that in the past. It has worked on a weight perspective only, because since fruits and veg are less calorific, you can eat more and stay in your limit. Bottom line, I find healthy foods keep me on track since I feel fuller, more energized and healthy.

Let's say you have 1700 calories a day. I don't think you can eat 1700 calories worth of Jelly donuts and lose weight. I might be wrong but I think you can have a jelly donut now an then. Everything in moderation.

This, LOL.

I still have cheat days and cheat meals, but the majority of the time I try to pay attention to what I have left and what I can eat.

I'm sure I could eat fast food every day and still lose weight, but I would be miserable (and hungry) and not have enough energy to work out and get stronger b/c my portions would be so small and I'd get no nutrients.

I eat whatever I want and still lose weight.

Eating more fruits, veggies, lean protein, healthy fats, and whole grains has a lot of benefits, but is not necessary for losing weight.

Try to use quite a few of your calories for the foods you need, then use some of them for the foods you want.

You have to learn to eat in moderation so you will be successful long term.

Let's say you have 1700 calories a day. I don't think you can eat 1700 calories worth of Jelly donuts and lose weight. I might be wrong but I think you can have a jelly donut now an then. Everything in moderation.

Technically you could eat jelly donuts and lose weight, it wouldn't be healthy obviously. There was a guy that demonstrated this with the Twinkie diet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie#Twinkie_diet

You definitely can in the short term. Theoretically you could do it in the long term too, but that's much more difficult. Eventually your motivation to count calories will wane. If you don't change the way you eat, then eventually you'll probably gain the weight back.

I eat anything I want. I just changed what I wanted :-)

Let's say you have 1700 calories a day. I don't think you can eat 1700 calories worth of Jelly donuts and lose weight. I might be wrong but I think you can have a jelly donut now an then. Everything in moderation.

Sure you can. Why couldn't you? You're not necessarily going to feel good nor be healthy. But you would lose weight if you're in a deficit.

yes.

I look at it in levels.. and the level most people are at is due to their nutritional education.

level 0 would be people that "eat healthy" but have no clue. they're the ones ordering their 2300cal subway sandwich on wheat.
1 would be people that count their calories only.
2 would be people that do calories and watch their macros.
and 3 would be people that do calories, watch their macros and keep an eye on their micros.


i always try to start people down level 1 and work up from there... just jumping someone to level 3 does nothing but confuse and/or infuriate them... then they give up.

Sure, but calorie-dense foods tend to have a lot of sugar and very little in the way of protein and will cause your blood sugar to spike, then plummet. You will be hungry again very shortly after eating that. So, as someone said, could you eat 1700 calories a day in jelly donuts and still lose weight? The answer is yes, assuming that's below your BMR, but you'd probably still be hungry during the day and would feel like crap.

You're better off eating less calorie-dense foods (fruits, veggies) and more protein- and fiber-rich foods that will keep you fuller, longer and generally make you feel good by providing necessary vitamins and minerals.

Admittedly when I started logging on MFP almost a year and a half ago, I ate pretty much whatever I wanted in moderation. As an example, I relied on 100-calorie packs of Cheez-Its, etc., for snacks. I did lose weight, but now I can't even imagine eating one of those packs. I eat Greek yogurt and/or fruit for snacks. Maybe it's because I work out regularly and need proper fuel, but for whatever reason I actually crave "good" foods. I will "cheat," though, so long as it's reasonable and a once-in-a-blue-moon thing, like a birthday. I mean, you have to live your life!

Just ask the Nutrition Professor from the University of Kansas and his Twinkie diet.

Me! It was more about portion control for me. Instead of eating 10 cookies I now eat an actual serving size.

yes

I don't live on garbage, but my day to day does include cookies, ice cream, burgers, and such. I just watch my portions and keep to my net calories.

My diary is open for all to see.

Same here. This has to be sustainable for me and I can't sustain without the Naughty foods. I did cut out Naughty foods and go "healthy", but I couldn't make it beyond 2 weeks before the b*tch I turned into became too much for myself and everyone around me. If I had the income and no medically restricted diet, I'd eat take-out most of the time. For me, it's calories burned > calories consumed = weight loss.