Calories

LemonJADE
LemonJADE Posts: 89 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello :)

So basically I'm not 100% sure what to look at most when I eat. If I just count calories will I lose weight no matter what foods the calories came from?

Replies

  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    if you stay under the calories MFP has provided for you (or you have worked out) yes, no matter where the calories come from, you will lose weight.

    you will find however that the more healthy you eat, the more you can eat. also make sure you can stay within carbs/fat/sodium/sugar
  • norghost
    norghost Posts: 19
    Yes, as long as you input less energy (kcal) than you spend, the body will take energy from its stores and spend that instead -> losing weight. That's thermodynamics and there are not many ways around it.

    But it's not irrelevant what your fill your daily quota with. Not enough protein and some of the weight you lose will be muscle mass and even if it looks good on the scale, it doesn't help the way you look and feel at all, and that's usually the main goal. Snickers chocolate has some protein, but if you fill your quota with that, you will go hungry all day.

    Bread will also fill your stomach temporarily but it doesn't last as it's very easily digested and it's very high GI, meaning it spikes your blood sugar and then crashes it, making you feel hungry again shortly after.

    Vegetables, saturated fat, whole grain bread (dark colored, lots of seeds etc), meat and so on works best for me, making me feel full while still easily controlling my intake. Some days I have to find some high calorie easy snacks just to get closer to my daily goal. Fasting 16-20 hours is no problem for me if my last meal was a high-protein, high-fat one.
  • sgarrard01
    sgarrard01 Posts: 213 Member
    The post which Norghost has writting is exactly on the ball, it's all about energy in/engery out. Eating better quality foods and looking to change your ratio's of carbohydrates, protein and fats changes how you feel after eating those calories!

    I'd highly recomend everyone to try changing the ratio's to see which fits you best (as a side note MFP's protein is 15% as standard and you should be at least at 30%), but looking at changing each macro and how you feel after. I'm personally at 45% Carb, 25% fats, 30% protein and that leaves me feeling in peak condition.

    Hope that helps a little.

    Simon
  • LemonJADE
    LemonJADE Posts: 89 Member
    Thank you everyone, you are all a great help :D

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