the appropriate way to lose weight?

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leestulip
leestulip Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
So I have been told that it doesnt matter what kind of food I am eatting as long as I am staying within my calorie goal then I will continue to lose weight. What does everyone think of this?

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  • Lisalisaw4
    Lisalisaw4 Posts: 27 Member
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    I will be honest...I have tried all kinds of diets (eating clean) (high protein) etc. I finally went back to good old calorie counting and the weight started falling off. Of course eating healthy is important but I have finally accepted the fact that it's simply calories consumed versus calories burned. Simple as that...keep in mind that eating large amounts of low calorie foods is a lot more satisfying than a small amount of high calorie junk food.
  • elle_gray8
    elle_gray8 Posts: 3
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    The short answer is no, it doesn't matter what "type" of calorie you eat. A calorie is a calorie. However, you'll get more from your diet if you eat calories with high nutrient vs. low nutrient foods.

    Here's a short blurb about it:
    http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter6.html
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    The short answer is no, it doesn't matter what "type" of calorie you eat. A calorie is a calorie. However, you'll get more from your diet if you eat calories with high nutrient vs. low nutrient foods.

    This. Obviously you'll be able to eat more if you eat green vegetables and lean meats, but enjoying something decadent every once in a while won't derail your weight loss efforts. Having food that you enjoy like pizza and wings in moderation helps keep me on my plan most of the time. I may lose slower, but I will be able to sustain long term weight loss and not just "dieting" for a few months then putting it right back on.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
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    Bottom line is mostly the calorie count - but there are reasons to decide to eliminate or reduce certain foods.

    If you live on 1200 calories of candy a day you will lose weight, but your sugar levels may cause health problems. If you some foods that have a high calorie count they will not fill you and you may have more hunger pangs than you want. I've reduced my intake of bread, rice and pasta for that reason. I mostly eliminated chocolate bars, as I can't limit myself to one piece I eat the whole bar, but I found that 72% dark chocolate is less of a problem.
  • leestulip
    leestulip Posts: 11
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    Thanks for the info guys!
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    So I have been told that it doesnt matter what kind of food I am eatting as long as I am staying within my calorie goal then I will continue to lose weight. What does everyone think of this?

    correct answer is...

    "it doesnt matter what kind of food you eat as long as you stay in your calorie goal AND macronutrient goal AND micronutrient goal."

    hope that clears it up.
  • spramn
    spramn Posts: 67 Member
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    "it doesnt matter what kind of food you eat as long as you stay in your calorie goal AND macronutrient goal AND micronutrient goal."

    Agree with Monty, another thing to think about, try ahve your complex carbs in morning and lunch, then have high protien and low carb meals in evening/dinner. IN all honesty tho, if your have no problems with hunger/low energy/cravings then just keep doing what your doing so long as ure under your calorie goal.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    "it doesnt matter what kind of food you eat as long as you stay in your calorie goal AND macronutrient goal AND micronutrient goal."

    Agree with Monty, another thing to think about, try ahve your complex carbs in morning and lunch, then have high protien and low carb meals in evening/dinner. IN all honesty tho, if your have no problems with hunger/low energy/cravings then just keep doing what your doing so long as ure under your calorie goal.
    What? When you eat carbs or protein is irrelevant. All that matters is hitting your goals for the day, timing doesn't make a bit of difference.
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
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    It does matter a little bit. Eating a chocolate brownie vs a balanced meal with some carbs, veggies and protein, you can imagine which would be better for you if the calories were the same.

    That said though, if you are used to eating a chocolate brownie every day and you suddenly switch to eating only salads, you can only imagine how long that would last before you want to devour 10 chocolate brownies. So the idea is to rather cut down on the things you normally eat and enjoy, instead of completely changing your eating habits altogether. Being an eating habit, it's going to be difficult to change all in one go without reverting back. Making smaller changes, such as smaller portions, or more veg or replacing sweets with fruit, mean that you can keep it up longer, giving you much bigger chances of success.

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