Does it matter what your calories are?

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  • sweetfiona
    sweetfiona Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks everyone - great answers - maybe I need to dig deeper tho for a factual answer. Any nutritionalists out there?

    Can I just add that the calories we are on are suggested by MFP! Also that at no point did I say we were hungry!! You don't have to be hungry to eat chocolate!! Maximum of 'rubbish' he is eating is 300 cals so I'm not worried about his or mine for that matter diets. It was just a topic that came up. We are general happy with it all - I have treats etc as does he (maybe just a few more) and obviously exercise cals come in too. Was just a question really - not in relation to what we eat moreso what was fact about calories from 'bad' food verses good food and weightloss from either/both. Thanks though.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Thanks everyone - great answers - maybe I need to dig deeper tho for a factual answer. Any nutritionalists out there?

    You should definitely dig deep on anything you want to know. However....

    I am genuinely curious: You've had just about every person in this thread tell you that your husband is correct and now you are seeking to find a nutritionist or someone with credentials so you can get a "factual answer".

    Is this because you came in here thinking he was wrong and you were right?

    You received factual answers from those who said that the caloric balance is what contributes to weight gain/weight loss (ie almost everyone in this thread)..

    Please understand I'm not trying to belittle you when I say the above even though you may not be comfortable with my answer.

    Here is something good for you to read:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17536194
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    If you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight.. regardless of where those calories come from..

    What you are talking about is eating *healthy* versus eating *unhealthy* eating garbage all the time is not healthy and he will pay for that in the future. I'm a big component of eating healthy. It's a mjor life change and require baby steps and remembering that haveing something unhealthy once in a while will not hurt you.

    Also. When you eat healthy your body will come to expect it and you will crave strawberries instead of burgers. (like I do) You don't get the proper nutrients you need if you eat a lot of junk and if you aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs, it will hold onto the fat and burn muscle.

    Chocolate and fast food may fill you up, but it doesn't meet the nutrional requirements your body needs to functions properly and maintain health.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Thanks everyone - great answers - maybe I need to dig deeper tho for a factual answer. Any nutritionalists out there?

    You should definitely dig deep on anything you want to know. However....

    I am genuinely curious: You've had just about every person in this thread tell you that your husband is correct and now you are seeking to find a nutritionist or someone with credentials so you can get a "factual answer".

    Is this because you came in here thinking he was wrong and you were right?

    You received factual answers from those who said that the caloric balance is what contributes to weight gain/weight loss (ie almost everyone in this thread)..

    Please understand I'm not trying to belittle you when I say the above even though you may not be comfortable with my answer.

    Here is something good for you to read:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17536194
    SideSteel beat me to posting the above link. If you read it I think you'll find it enlightening.

    As usual, I see much of the polarized "all or nothing" thinking in this thread. There IS a middle ground between "eating healthy" and "eating junk all day". If you're hitting your micro and macronutrients (especially protein and fats) and staying within your calories, there's nothing wrong with indulging in things that orthorexics consider "unclean" or "unhealthy". You will still lose weight (the caloric deficit is what determines this) and, assuming the above statement re: macros/micros is true, you'll be nourishing your body in a healthy manner. The only time I'd say otherwise is if one is a person who absolutely cannot exercise self-restraint when indulging in "treats" - in that case, it's probably best to exclude them entirely from your diet. Binging is not conducive to maintaining your caloric deficit or healthy eating habits.
    ...Also. When you eat healthy your body will come to expect it and you will crave strawberries instead of burgers. (like I do) You don't get the proper nutrients you need if you eat a lot of junk and if you aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs, it will hold onto the fat and burn muscle...
    Maintaining lean muscle is facilitated by adequate protein intake and strength training. Eating strawberries instead of burgers, while it may assist in maintaining a caloric deficit, does absolutely nothing toward maintaining lean body mass and encouraging fat loss. Strawberries are pure carbs and contain no protein.
  • EvilShenanigansTX
    EvilShenanigansTX Posts: 143 Member
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    Thanks everyone - great answers - maybe I need to dig deeper tho for a factual answer. Any nutritionalists out there?

    You should definitely dig deep on anything you want to know. However....

    I am genuinely curious: You've had just about every person in this thread tell you that your husband is correct and now you are seeking to find a nutritionist or someone with credentials so you can get a "factual answer".

    Is this because you came in here thinking he was wrong and you were right?

    You received factual answers from those who said that the caloric balance is what contributes to weight gain/weight loss (ie almost everyone in this thread)..

    Please understand I'm not trying to belittle you when I say the above even though you may not be comfortable with my answer.

    Here is something good for you to read:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17536194

    100% agree. Could not respond to OP any better.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
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    I'm not an expert, but I would think not. Calories from chocolate are going to be much different than from an apple or a healthy snack. There are differences between healthy sugar, such as those found in fruits and veggies, and unhealthy sugar such as the rubbish food. If I remember from some training I had a few years ago with a nutritionist, different foods can be stored in different ways in your body which means he can eat the rubbish but it will still store as fat. Again...not an expert...just what I remember being told.

    A calorie is a calorie. (by definition) Chocolate has them and an apple has them.

    You lose weight by having a calorie deficit.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
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    I actually put that to the test last week! I ate my calorie goal but ate fast food for every dinner. I did not lose like I did when I ate healthy. Not even close! So yes, it matters

    Did you hit the same macros?

    Also, weight loss isn't linier. your example doesn't prove anything.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    Yes, but it's sad that all one would care about is weight loss when there are so many other health benefits to be gained by properly fueling your body.

    This is a total aside, an totally anecdotal, but for me, when I was eating completely clean, I lost 35 pounds in under four months and never counted a calorie. Since then, for the last 4 months, I've been eating over BMR but under TDEE and have only lost 10 pounds and one size. So while that's counter-intuitive, tracking, exercising, and doing the MFP has been far LESS successful for me than just eating totally clean with no tracking. I don't know why this happened, and it doesn't make sense. No, I am not gaining muscle and losing body fat, as I have been taking measurements.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Yes, but it's sad that all one would care about is weight loss when there are so many other health benefits to be gained by properly fueling your body.

    This is a total aside, an totally anecdotal, but for me, when I was eating completely clean, I lost 35 pounds in under four months and never counted a calorie. Since then, for the last 4 months, I've been eating over BMR but under TDEE and have only lost 10 pounds and one size. So while that's counter-intuitive, tracking, exercising, and doing the MFP has been far LESS successful for me than just eating totally clean with no tracking. I don't know why this happened, and it doesn't make sense. No, I am not gaining muscle and losing body fat, as I have been taking measurements.

    You were creating a larger energy deficit in the former scenario.
  • Belinda658
    Belinda658 Posts: 181 Member
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    I actually put that to the test last week! I ate my calorie goal but ate fast food for every dinner. I did not lose like I did when I ate healthy. Not even close! So yes, it matters

    Did you hit the same macros?

    Also, weight loss isn't linier. your example doesn't prove anything.

    Why is it so hard for so many to understand that "if it fits your macros" is NOT the same as just eating lots of junk? If you ate fast food all week you probably went over on fats and carbs.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    ...Also. When you eat healthy your body will come to expect it and you will crave strawberries instead of burgers. (like I do) You don't get the proper nutrients you need if you eat a lot of junk and if you aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs, it will hold onto the fat and burn muscle...
    Maintaining lean muscle is facilitated by adequate protein intake and strength training. Eating strawberries instead of burgers, while it may assist in maintaining a caloric deficit, does absolutely nothing toward maintaining lean body mass and encouraging fat loss. Strawberries are pure carbs and contain no protein.

    Well ok then.. panties in a bunch.. how about carrots instead of cookies? Or peanut butter instead of burger king? or Homemade strawberry jam instead of butter? All better now?? My point is the same.
  • CovaJoser
    CovaJoser Posts: 18
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    It is most definitely not as simple as calories in/calories out.

    I dare anyone to eat nothing but 1500 McDonalds calories and see if you can still lose weight. Sure, you'll lose some weight at the beginning but it won't be fat you're losing. It'll be muscle mass. Eventually, you won't be able to operate very well with those crap calories as you'll start seeing yourself get fatter.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
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    It is most definitely not as simple as calories in/calories out.

    I dare anyone to eat nothing but 1500 McDonalds calories and see if you can still lose weight. Sure, you'll lose some weight at the beginning but it won't be fat you're losing. It'll be muscle mass. Eventually, you won't be able to operate very well with those crap calories as you'll start seeing yourself get fatter.
    Yeah, forget McDonalds and try the twinkie diet, it works great.:wink:
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
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    It depends on how you want to feel!! I would think that "junk in" would make you feel like junk! And you can eat a lot more if you choose heathy foods!!! You also don't have the continued cravings for more junk.

    Also remember that the insulin rush from the junk carbs will store as fat.

    This! As a recovering "fast food addict" I thought my low level of energy/motivation was normal when I ate that stuff almost every day. Once I started eating clean habitually, it makes me want to never eat fast food again because of how I'll feel (like junk).

    IT DEPENDS ON HIS GOAL:

    To just lose weight --- yep it'll happen if calories in < calories out

    To lose fat while retaining muscle (body recompostion, look better, feel better, healthier and still losing weight) --- calories in < calories out AND paying attention to macros
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    It is most definitely not as simple as calories in/calories out.

    I dare anyone to eat nothing but 1500 McDonalds calories and see if you can still lose weight. Sure, you'll lose some weight at the beginning but it won't be fat you're losing. It'll be muscle mass. Eventually, you won't be able to operate very well with those crap calories as you'll start seeing yourself get fatter.

    So, you're saying you will gain weight on a calorie deficit just because it's McDonalds?
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    It is most definitely not as simple as calories in/calories out.

    I dare anyone to eat nothing but 1500 McDonalds calories and see if you can still lose weight. Sure, you'll lose some weight at the beginning but it won't be fat you're losing. It'll be muscle mass. Eventually, you won't be able to operate very well with those crap calories as you'll start seeing yourself get fatter.
    Yeah, forget McDonalds and try the twinkie diet, it works great.:wink:
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    If he didn't bother to read it the first two times it was posted in this thread, I doubt he will after the third time. Some people just don't want to be wrong, at all costs.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
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    It is most definitely not as simple as calories in/calories out.

    I dare anyone to eat nothing but 1500 McDonalds calories and see if you can still lose weight. Sure, you'll lose some weight at the beginning but it won't be fat you're losing. It'll be muscle mass. Eventually, you won't be able to operate very well with those crap calories as you'll start seeing yourself get fatter.
    Yeah, forget McDonalds and try the twinkie diet, it works great.:wink:
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    If he didn't bother to read it the first two times it was posted in this thread, I doubt he will after the third time. Some people just don't want to be wrong, at all costs.
    Right! didn't read the whole thread. Ok then, my jobs done.
  • trojanbb
    trojanbb Posts: 1,297 Member
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    No, for weight loss it does NOT matter. Cookie crisps and whey protein or a super clean diet...the results are the same. For muscle retention while losing weight, it matters a little more but that can mostly be addressed by eating more protein.
  • trojanbb
    trojanbb Posts: 1,297 Member
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    It is most definitely not as simple as calories in/calories out.

    I dare anyone to eat nothing but 1500 McDonalds calories and see if you can still lose weight. Sure, you'll lose some weight at the beginning but it won't be fat you're losing. It'll be muscle mass. Eventually, you won't be able to operate very well with those crap calories as you'll start seeing yourself get fatter.

    Oh really? I did that, actually. Well close enough. Whey protein and ice cream with a few eggs thrown in daily.. Lost 10lbs and my strength increased.

    There is no such thing as "crap" calories. It's energy. With respect to nutrients, that is a totally separate topic. Even many "clean" foods have terrible nutrient profiles.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    Calories in versus calories out for weight loss.
    Eating healthy, filling macros, eating over your bmr and under your tdee and working out for health.

    Agreed!

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