Can you really eat anything and lose?

No..I wasn't. ? I really don't understand it. But, if all you're going to do is laugh at me for being curious, I'll just end my discussion now.

'

Yes you were. You know very well that crack is NOT comparable to a donut.

Maybe she doesn't. I'll give the benefit of doubt for a D.A.R.E. graduate. There is so much propaganda in schools that a lot of people can graduate with all sorts of weird ideas that pass as "knowledge."

But yeah, comparing food to crack is as stupid as the poster earlier that compared food to cigarettes. It's just plain ignorant.

No, I wasn't. i did a quick search for donut ingredients, i found dunkin donut glazed donut, some of the chemicals in there sound just as scary (or maybe less scary lol) thank crack. how is it OK to eat something like that at all? or in moderation? i'm still new here, maybe i just don't get it? heck i used to eat donuts, but now that i know better, i don't see a reason to ever willingly and knowingly eat another one. but that's just me. maybe we should just agree to disagree. lol

Nothing in that donut will hurt you. Your body will break it all down into molecular components. What it needs immediately, it will burn. Others it will store for later. Others, it will flush out of your system.

Living life scared of food is no way to live.

I agree so much with the last sentence.

What ingredients sound scary, and why? Would you care to disclose which particular chemicals make it comparable to crack? I'm genuinely curious as to why the ingredients in one particular brand would make you go off having doughnuts completely? I'm sure there are others without this big scary chemicals in that are just as delicious.

Edit:

Flour Enriched (, Wheat Flour Bleached, Barley Malted Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB) ), Water, Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Sugar, Dextrose, Contains 22% or less Yeast, Salt, Maltodextrin, Whey, Soy Flour, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Soy Lecithin, Milk Non-Fat, Cellulose Gum, Guar Gum, Propylene Glycol, Annatto, Carrageenan, Citric Acid, Gum Arabic, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Caseinate, Turmeric, Xanthan Gum, Flavor(s) Natural & Artificial, Agar

None of that makes me go "oh noes, crack like addiction awaits!".

Just out of curiosity…have any of you lost weight eating anything you wanted but staying with in your calorie limit???

Yes. I just eat less of it, and it is more satisfying/filling to usually eat veggies and lean meats so I tend to eat them more. I still go out for burgers, shakes, ice cream, pizza and eat chocolates and the like. I still lose as long as I am within my calories. The exceptions to that are people who have issues processing carbs (PCOS, Diabetes, and the like).

For me personally, I cannot eat anything I want and still lose weight... Also, if I don't exercise, my body composition doesn't change at all. I have seen people eat what they want and lose, but I don't recommend that because it's not nourishing your body properly. I think 4 ounces of chicken, brown rice, and some broccoli is a way better way to spend 300 calories than a jelly donut. Granted, I would much rather have the jelly donut, but that's how I got fat in the first place

Bottom line: do what works for you and what you're comfortable doing.

I tried this and it did not work for me. Maybe I should have paid more attention to my MACROS. My sodium and fat went through the roof and I gained weight.

jeez i didn't realize i would get jumped on for being honestly curious about something. i'll just delete my post, this isn't worth it! i have no desire to sit here going back and forth proving something or proving something that is wrong. this is the exact reason i deleted my facebook. maybe some of these forums aren't for me. i apologize for stirring the pot, it honestly was not my intent. i had no idea people would get like that over my comment, i wouldn't have posted it had i knew.


oh, and it was the propolyne glycol that sounded scary to me. lol

lol @ Taubes

jeez i didn't realize i would get jumped on for being honestly curious about something. i'll just delete my post, this isn't worth it! i have no desire to sit here going back and forth proving something or proving something that is wrong. this is the exact reason i deleted my facebook. maybe some of these forums aren't for me. i apologize for stirring the pot, it honestly was not my intent. i had no idea people would get like that over my comment, i wouldn't have posted it had i knew.


oh, and it was the propolyne glycol that sounded scary to me. lol

I'm not sure how you define curiosity. Again, I blame public schools. :yawn:

I wanna say no
cause when i want to eat chocolate and drink iced coffee with whipped cream and still stay within my calories I gain weight so the answer is no.
you have to not only look at your calories intake but also look at your sugar, your fat if any of these are red then you ll not lose anything

Uh ... wrong. Unless you defy the rules of science.

Not necessarily. Going from dieting and eating 'clean foods,' as much as I hate that term, to eating junk can definitely cause a boatload of water retention. I mean, think of it like this. When you're dieting, glycogen can be depleted. When you move towards more junk food, glycogen gets repleted. Each molecule of glycogen carries 3 molecules of water.

Put simply, tissue mass is predicated on energy balance. And I know that's what you're implying. But weight entails other variables that can rise in the face of an energy deficit.

Water retention is not the same as weight gain.

This site is filled with people who: 1. Need to lose a few pounds 2. Spend hours a day in a gym 3. Vegetarians 4. Have an ideal BMI, but want a sculpted body 5. Need to lose 100+ pounds 6. Need to lose 10-30 lbs 7. Everyone else in between

That being said, I am a number 5. I joined MFP about 117 days ago. I have lost 75 pounds. Over the last few months I have tried to incorporate healthy foods into my diet. I do eat ice cream, pizza, hot dogs, bread, etc.... I simply count calories for the most part. When I was 75 lbs heavier, I was more unhealthy than I am today. I am halfway to my weight goal, and adding more natural healthy alternatives each week.

If you have 100+ pounds to lose, please don't get discouraged and give up on losing weight because of all of the "negative" things that members have to say. Opinions are like ........, and everyone has one! Even here on MFP. If you choose to lose weight by counting calories and keep ice cream, pizza and taco's in your diet, it's fine! People tend to "split hairs" on here when it comes to calories. Let's say you are allowed 1500 calories a day after putting all your info in. You have a twin with all of the same info and same calories allotted. Do you think that if you eat only fruits, vegetables and beans that total 1500 calories a day, and your twin eats pizza, ice cream and taco's that equal out to 1500 calories a day, that you will lose more weight? If you both have the same activities and consume the same calories, you will both burn the same amount of calories! Granted, you will be healthier because you will be getting all of the nutrients you need and will be taking in less fat, salt, chemicals and etc.. But both of you will still lose weight.

I'm sure that there will be a bunch of "haters" on here that will challenge me on this, but view my diary before you make an *kitten* out of yourselves! Not everything I eat comes fresh out of the garden, and I still lose weight! Like I said, I am adding more healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables every day. After all, I'm not just trying to lose weight, I'm trying to become more healthy, and eating healthy all the time, is my long term goal! I'm not a 20 year old buff "boy" that has yet to face reality, I'm a 43 year old, father of 4 with grandchildren. I'm a 5'10" Army Veteran that never hit 200lbs until I was almost 28 years old. Life happens, I put everything in my life before my own health for years. Now it's time to take care of me, so I can see my grandkids, kids grow up!

I hope that this helped at least one person on here, hopefully I kept you from giving up! Friend me if you would like to get support from a "real" person, trying to change his life to a more healthy one!

Honestly providing individuals are able to moderate their intake of crack (or any other illegal recreational drug for that matter) then sure, they can take that one hit every so often. If people develop addictions, serious addictions where they'll do anything for the hit (be it drugs or food) then you have to rethink everything, but if you are able to control yourself and understand the difference between planning to take a hit to keep yourself ticking over and indulging a little bit every now and then and you're perfectly happy with the potential consequences then go for it.

Each must find the way that suits them best. For some it means cutting everything out, but for many in this thread it means realising that painting various foods in the same light as the boogeyman, to be avoided at all costs, just doesn't work for them. For a lot of people sustainable changes must be made, and sustainability can be found in seeing that the harm in consuming "unhealthy" food in small amounts is negligible.

However it is slightly hyperbolic to compare various illegal and highly addictive drugs to unhealthy food, that smells a little like the all too frequent scaremongering.

Great comment! :happy:

...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.

thissss x 100!!! However, I also think occasional treats are ok, and help keep me on track also because I'm not completely deprived of the experience of those not-good-for-you-but-oh-so-delicious foods. but those treats are logged and counted against my calorie "budget".

I'm fairly certain you can in moderation.But also, track your fat, sugars, sodium for a more rounded healthful approach. I always have calories left over at the end of the day but my goal is to be within my cholesterol, sugars, and sodium levels too.

I wanna say no
cause when i want to eat chocolate and drink iced coffee with whipped cream and still stay within my calories I gain weight so the answer is no.
you have to not only look at your calories intake but also look at your sugar, your fat if any of these are red then you ll not lose anything

Uh ... wrong. Unless you defy the rules of science.

Not necessarily. Going from dieting and eating 'clean foods,' as much as I hate that term, to eating junk can definitely cause a boatload of water retention. I mean, think of it like this. When you're dieting, glycogen can be depleted. When you move towards more junk food, glycogen gets repleted. Each molecule of glycogen carries 3 molecules of water.

Put simply, tissue mass is predicated on energy balance. And I know that's what you're implying. But weight entails other variables that can rise in the face of an energy deficit.

Water retention is not the same as weight gain.

Huh? I believe you mean water is not the same as tissue gain. But that's something that I never implied. Water retention most definitely leads to weight gain... acute or not.

Water retention may lead to a higher number on the scale for a day, but it does not lead to actual permanent weight gain.

I'm well aware of this but never suggested anything different. Now that you put the "permanent" qualifier on your statement I can agree with it. How you said it originally though is inaccurate. Seems subtle, I know. But those words mean things.

We're really 'battling' over semantics at this point. You obviously understand. But not everyone does. In fact I started a thread on this forum titled relatively lean people trying to get leaner, or something along those lines. It was one of the most popular threads ever. And the gist of it revolved around the concept of water retention's ability to mask real tissue loss in the face of a deficit... especially in thin people who are eating hypocalorically.

I think it's fine to talk about "science".... assuming you're referring to physics and thermodynamics. But it's more proper to speak about mass or tissue gain/loss than it is weight gain/loss when it comes to energy balance... simply because weight is comprise of variables that aren't necessarily dependent on thermodynamics/energy.

Sorry for nitpicking, but based on the thread I mentioned, plenty of people still don't understand this concept... so I think it's meaningful. You have to remember, as much as we tout the importance of the longer term trends being the important variable, many people are still focused on the short-term fluctuations.