Just a question

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LeshayeSimone
LeshayeSimone Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
so Is weight loss soully dependant on your calorie intake and the rate that you burn calories? for example, you are eating a healthy amount of calories to lose weight, say around 1200-1400 calories. Would you lose more weight if absolutely everything you ate was healthy and not processed etc, than if you say had maybe a packet of chips, something unhealthy once a day but your calorie intake stayed the same. Or would you lose the same amount of weight but just be healthier if you only ate the healthy food?

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  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
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    Calories are calories, there is no difference in fat loss. But, it is much easier and better to eat healthy, High volume, low calorie foods are more satiating and good nutrition will reduce your body's craving for more calories. Also, you are less likely to die prematurely of a chronic disease, which is a nice bonus.
  • debzv
    debzv Posts: 23
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    I disagree. 500 calories from chocolate (fat) is not the same as 500 calories from lean meat and veg (protein, carbs) for example. Yes the number 500 is the same, but thats looking at QUANTITY not QUALITY.

    I also wondered this at the beginning, because we obviously secretly hope that we will still lose weight even if we "cheat" the system. MFP helps you track calories, but calories alone is not enough. You need to look at what makes up the calories.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    It's been proven numerous times that you can lose weight eating all kinds of junk as long as you have a caloric deficit.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I disagree. 500 calories from chocolate (fat) is not the same as 500 calories from lean meat and veg (protein, carbs) for example. Yes the number 500 is the same, but thats looking at QUANTITY not QUALITY.

    I also wondered this at the beginning, because we obviously secretly hope that we will still lose weight even if we "cheat" the system. MFP helps you track calories, but calories alone is not enough. You need to look at what makes up the calories.

    There's a difference between whether you'll lose weight and whether you'll be healthy. For sure there's a difference between junk and nutrition but as far as weight loss and calories in/calories out it doesn't make a difference.
  • healthyKYgirl
    healthyKYgirl Posts: 272 Member
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    Initially, you would lose the same amount of weight regardless of the diet, but OVER THE LONG TERM, one would make you micronutrient depleted (vitamin deficient), which will mess with your metabolism and other body functions (your liver will become more inefficient, you might get kidney stones, thyroid problems, scurvy, etc.). Now this takes years. But it will happen, and then you will spend years trying to get your body back to normal. So yes, you could do a cupcake diet and eat cupcakes for the next 25 years and only cupcakes and be skinny, but your body would eventually break down.
  • Joluru
    Joluru Posts: 89 Member
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    Any calorie deficit will result in weight loss. Proof: The Twinkie Diet. A nutrition professor lost 27 lb. eating ONLY junk food, but in a calorie defecit. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    This is not to say that it's healthier, or that your long term side effects of eating purely junk, or that you'll be satisfied on junk food. I'm far more satisfied with a range of healthy foods, but having chips now and then, withing my calories and macros, makes the plan liveable.
  • debzv
    debzv Posts: 23
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    said by FALLSER on a previous thread on Sat 09/22/12 04:10 AM

    I recommend you listen to a free podcast series called The Smarter Science of Slim. The guy talks quite specifically about why the quality of food and the types of calories you consume are the key to sustainable fat loss. He explains how the body's metabolism is managed by our hormones, which in turn are dictated by the quality of the nutrients we eat. Foods that are high in sugars, starchy carbs, and bad fats (as opposed to good ones) do different things to our hormones than do foods that are lean proteins, fiber-filled, and water-based (ie, non-starchy veggies). He also talks about how it's not really the amount of calories you eat, but the quality that dictates fat loss, so a fat-loss eating plan that is realistic & sustainable can be higher in overall calories as long as the calories consumed are quality calories.

    And as I've heard more than one nutritionist say, "You can't out-train a bad diet." So calorie quality (diet quality) counts.
  • Joluru
    Joluru Posts: 89 Member
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    Quality diet DOES count, toward health, toward increasing your metabolism, etc. But you can lose while eating junk food, even by eating all junk. I don't think anyone would recommend that! It's certainly better to eat healthier foods, but it's okay to have a little treat now and then. You won't undo all the other hard work.
  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
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    For the purpose of WEIGHT LOSS, all that most people need is a calorie defecit regardless of where those calories come from.

    For overall HEALTH, people should eat more nutritious foods in order to meet macro and micronutrient goals.

    I eat healthy food most of the time. I still eat pizza, burgers, fried foods, and other "unhealthy" foods, just not that often. I still have chocolate, ice cream, chips, beer, and wine fairly regularly but in smaller portions than I might have earlier in my life. Regular exercise is also important and that's what I'm really working on now.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
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    Just for weight loss, you can eat whatever as long as you are at a deficit. Your body only knows that you are at a deficit.

    The saying "you can't out train a bad diet" relates to over consumption of calories.

    If you want body recomposition, then you will have to eat more nutritious foods while maintaining the calorie deficit.
  • LeshayeSimone
    LeshayeSimone Posts: 3
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    Ok thanks

    I was just wondering, because I don't want to slow or hinder my progress at all. I knew that I'd still lose some weight as long as I was ultimately burning more than I was consuming but I wasn't sure if eating some processed or unhealthy foods would slow down the weight loss. And yeh I definitely wasn't thinking of going on an all junk food diet XD so again, thankyou :wink:
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
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    Dont misunderstand, you should try to eat more healthily. It will help you lose fat and maintain a healthy weight, just not because of calories but for other more complex reasons. You might check out a movie, Forks Over Knives, it explains it well.

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