Choose your calories wisely

You are 100%, absolutely and completely correct about the wisdom of choosing your calories. But this is something that has driven me insane on a number of fronts.

I started off counting calories and managing my serving sizes. This worked out for a short bit. Then I started looking at fat, with saturated and unsaturated fats. I had gotten those under control and I started looking at proteins, wondering why I was going over daily and what did it mean. See where I am going with this? After I tackled each "metric" of my food intake, I moved on to another challenge.

I have looked at a few food diaries and thought, "There is no wonder that you haven't lost weight... look at what you are eating and calling exercise!" But as I have thought about it, these people will either figure it out, or they will fail and quit. You can patiently and politely give these people advice, but if they are not ready for it, they won't listen. If they are ready for it, they will actually come asking for the advice.

Oh yeah, and ironically, tonight I am going out for Pizza. It will be the 2nd time this year I will treat myself. Before Jan 1, I would typically eat pizza at least 1 or 2 times a week.

I see way to many diaries with people over their fat limit significantly everyday.

I hope you are looking at more than just someone's fat totals before you judge them. There are reasons for going over on fat. For example, I started following the Flat Belly Diet Sunday and it pushes monounsaturated fats. You'll see that I go over my fat everyday because of it even though what I'm eating is healthy.

I agree that there are people (on this site and else where) who fool themselves into thinking they are eating healthy just because they limit their calories. I just think there is a lot more to look at than fat and calories.

I get it, and I do try to eat healthy...BUT...I guess if I want to "spend" my calories on pizza, or girl scout cookies, or ice cream AND I can stay within my calories for the day; I call that living a realistic life. I try to treat my calories like $ and I choose what and how much I eat very carefully. I use myfitnesspal to help me monitor how much I am eating on a daily basis. I don't think choosing to eat pizza is necessarily bad...Perhaps I am missing the point.

Since I'm one of your friends whose diary you can see, I will comment on this topic. I have no idea if I'm one of the people you're referring to, but I just want to give you my perspective.

1) I absolutely agree with you about not all calories being equal.
2) My first goal in starting MFP was controlling my portions.
3) I don't very often long fruits & veggies. If you ever see ranch dressing and croutons but no salad (or butter but not corn) you may wonder about this.
4) I'm not yet concerned with fine-tuning macronutrients. It will come, but I need to tackle one thing at a time.

ditto mvl

Right on! I agree. However, I think it is also important to remember that large changes often take time. When I started getting educated about nutrition, my first goal was to get my calories under control. It was too much to also worry about the quality of my food. Then I got the macronutrient stuff under control. Then I started to get clean and taking out all the processed junk and eating organic, pesticide- and chemical-free whole foods. And I look at the bottles of salad dressing I used to eat and see high fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient or I think about the artificial sweeteners I used to eat and I think "I used to think THIS was healthy?" BLECH!

But hey! I've been allowing myself one or two Girl Scout cookies most nights. I agree that sometimes we need to allow ourselves treats. Consistency is key--not perfection. Some people can make huge changes in their lives all at once. For other people, it is an incremental process.

Joining MFP I had goal in the forefront of my mind....controlling portions so that I wasnt overeating. I knew this was a HUGE problem for me.

As I did that and realized just how small a serving was - especailly of my beloved fat laden goodies, my whole way of looking at food changed. When I think back to how I was eating just 3 months ago, I cringe. My typical diet would:

Breakfast - Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches - usually 2 or 3 depending on the sandwich and how big it was.
Lunch - Burger and Fries
Dinner - Fried meat of some sort - no veggies except potatoes.

I'd be snacking all day on chocolate, chips, cookies, crackers. You name it, I ate it. Weekends was always pizza & wings or Chinese Food.

So I agree that we should choose our calories wisely. But at the same time, I also think that it comes naturally with time. As we feel healthier, we crave healthier foods. I dont think I could stomach what I used to eat and I dont want to even venture a try. But I will also say that if I want a treat, I'll have one. The difference is now...the treats are few and far between and if I do eat something a little more caloric and fattier, I make up for it with exercise.

I also wanted to add that I think fat isnt the only culprit of unhealthy eating - someone could be using heart healthy fats and that's a good thing...processed food is HUGE on my list of foods that should be banned...and that's anything from boxed granola bars that are all sugar, to fake sugar substitues they put in foods like sugar free puddings and the like. Processed food, IMO is a greater evil because they're filled with sugars - I used to snack on these all day and think since it was a granola bar or it said "sugar free" on it, I was fine. Okay...I'll get off my soapbox now...

bumping to read later but I will say I am guilty as I was looking thru my diary last night I noticed constantly going over fats and sodium.
and no I'm not happy about that!

regarding the fat, it is just as important to make sure you are not too far UNDER on fat as it is to be too much OVER fat. a diet too low in fat can also cause you to come up short on several important dietary nutrients, such as the mineral zinc, some b vitamins, and certain essential fatty acids that your body needs (a fat is made up of fatty acids). you also need fat in your diet in order to help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins such as a, d, e, and k, as well as other compounds like lycopene.

I'm talking about people who's fat and calories are clearly coming from the wrong source.

it may be crystal clear to you, but it may not be that clear to them. in most cases, i think people are doing the best they can. you really have no idea what people's motives for joining are. also, many times people don't log every thing (i personally don't log exercise unless it goes over what i consider part of my lifestyle, yet i do a workout video/run on the treadmill/play the wii and walk my dog daily, so my exercise shows up as very minimal.)

that said, you are absolutely correct that choosing your calories wisely is important! thanks for the reminder! the problem is that we each have different priorities on what is the most important. it could be portion-control as mentioned, it could be being 'healthy' (of which there are lots of different ideas) like your goals, it could be eating clean without pesticides, chemicals/processed and hormone-injected food. health is a journey that most people are just beginning.

i think your intention with this post is very admirable, but it is clear that a lot of people now feel a little hurt and/or judged. at the very least, defensive about their choices.
dawn

ITA!!! Save the bad meals for occasional cheat nights out only, and eat only food you prepare at home! All calories are not created equal!

When I started this journey, my goal was to lose weight and keep it off. I have (for the most part) done that. I have changed my eating habits immensely as compared to 4-5 years ago. I've learned a lot about fat, protein, fiber, nutrients, sodium, sugar, etc along the way.

I don't ever intend to eat "perfectly healthy"

I like my ice cream, burgers and fries, pizza and barbeque ribs. I enjoy potato chips sometimes and candy too (chocolate, MMMmmmmmm) I know I will never weigh 120 pounds and be perfectly shaped with little body fat because I DO like these and indulge on them quite frequently- although, not in the quantities I used to pre-weight loss. I eat processed foods purchased from the grocery store and probably always will - sure, I read labels and there's some things I will never ever buy and eat again- but there's plenty out there that I still do.

I know doritoes have no nutritional value and lots of fat, and the same for donuts... but they taste good and they make me happy. When I am happy, my body is happy because I am not miserably moping around feeling deprived and mad at the world because I "can't" or "shouldn't" eat the food that I just want to eat (regardless of whether or not it's good for me)

I am not perfect, I do not eat perfect, I do not strive to be perfect nor do I strive to eat perfect. I do not think it's a good idea to give myself an unrealistic goal. In my world, yes... cutting out all junk and processed food is unrealistic. I don't want to, don't think I really need to. If you looked at my food diary (go ahead if you want- it's public) you'd probably be shocked at the amount of "crap" I eat. I know I could probably cut back a bit and lose faster - but it's hard for me!

Anyway, I'd like to think of myself as a weight loss success, I lost 60 pounds in 7 months back in 2006. I gained a few back, but I am working on losing them again and am currently still down 56 pounds from that original high weight (see signature if you'd like) I must be doing SOMETHING right! I am only 7 pounds away from my desired weight, which isn't so bad IMO. I'm not really unhappy where I am now, but it's nice to have that extra cushion (you know, incase I go on vacation and REALLY pig out!) LOL

Seriously - this is how I feel, and I can't be ALL wrong because my weight has stayed off and I've been eating all that unhealthy stuff the whole time. Everyone has different levels of what they want out of life - including their nutritional and exercise life. What works for you won't work for someone else... obviously, what works for me would never work for you!! :laugh:

I do find it extremely rude to read through other people's food diaries and make judgments about them based on what they eat. People here are in many different steps of progress along the way and most people take baby steps as they learn. You have NO IDEA what they ate before to compare and think they are eating poorly now. The food diary is here for us to learn from. It tracks what we eat and shows us what we need improvement with and it's up to us to take that information and tweak and adjust our diets as needed until we get to where we want. It really p*sses me off when someone makes people feel that they should be ashamed of ANYTHING they eat, that they need to keep their diaries private for fear of negative feedback from others who think they are "helping" them. If they want help and ask for it, that's one thing.... otherwise, keep your opinions to yourself!

People join MFP and sites like this mostly because they are overweight. Most people become overweight because they eat a lot and of the wrong foods. They don't just miraculously join a site and automatically start eating perfectly and exercising like a maniac overnight! We should be here to offer support, suggestions and advice, not to belittle and judge.

My thought is that people should look through other's food diaries to see what the people are eating who HAVE lost lots of weight, maybe get some ideas for new meals or snacks that look good and healthy. Learn from them - not judge because of them.

OK OK OK.... I'm getting off my soap box now.

Sorry. :blushing:

I'm going to eat that slice of pizza and enjoy it, dammit. If I'm within my calories, I think I should be able to enjoy a slice of pizza every now and then. I'm sure most people on this board have the intelligence to make that call. You do have to make wise choices when you have a limited amout of calories, but you also have to eat like human being.

Moderation is key. Torture and ridiculous unmanageble rules are not.

Just my two cents.

I agree to some extent to what you are saying. Have you ever heard, "people don't fail, diets fail". I understand eating healthy and keeping active. But I also believe in being happy. I've joined this site for many reasons. Fist was to get healthy, second was to lose weight, third was to know that people where here to support me in my journey. All calories are not created equal, and watching your fat intake is extremely important. But isn't your mental health just as important? If I would completely stop eating some of the foods that I love I would be miserable. If I was miserable, why would I want to keep moving foward? Does that make any sense? Why make yourself miserable to lose weight? I believe most of this journey is about portion control and learning what you can and can not do. Not about eating ONLY "healthy" foods all the time. That is not a life in away. Life is meant to be enjoyed.

You are so right. If you eat 1500 calories worth of pizza every day you may be within your calories but it is not a healthy choice. I think most people get that but some may not.

That being said so I am not misunderstood.. If you want to have a cheat once a week or so it is ok. as long as you don't do it every day.makes the changes seem more bearable and makes you less likely to give up altogether. I personally do not feel right about checking out other peoples food diaries unless they are asking me to. I have enough trouble with my own:blushing: