Does it matter what foods i eat.....

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leahslooloo
leahslooloo Posts: 57
in Health and Weight Loss
As long as i stay in my TDEE calories. As you can see from my diary my diet is not very balanced and consists of a lot of junk even though i try to stay as close to my TDEE as poss.
Hope that makes sense lol

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  • heyitsedgar
    heyitsedgar Posts: 7
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    Yes and no.

    Everyone's bodies are different. My roommate eats junk food all day and has about a 8%bodyfat and hardly works out. So if you're one of those people who doesn't gain weight from eating junk food, then more power to you as long as it hits your macro nutrients.

    For some others though: Eating processed foods causes an insulin spike which inhibits or weakens the effects of cortisol (naturally occurring fat loss hormone in the body) and can cause your weight loss to slow down a lot. Also some peoples bodies have more problems digesting high preservative foods and especially some fats like hydrogenated fats (which over a period of time with inactivity "could" lead to increased cardiovascular problems).

    If you're losing weight with your junk foods then good for you, just be sure you're not losing muscle. If not, try eating less processed foods. Everyone is different.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    If you eat close to TDEE, you won't lose weight. You want to eat your MFP goal plus exercise or TDEE - 15 or 20%. Just to be clear.

    You'll be fuller and will be less likely to feel the need to binge if you eat healthier. I know if I ate junk all the time, I'd be starving personally. I don't believe you have to eat 100% healthy, but you should at least aim for 80%.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Techinically no ..... you could lose weight on an all Twinkie diet. But because Twinkies have little protein, you would lose a great deal of muscle along with fat loss.

    Do you want to lose weight .... or do you want to lose body fat?

    Twinkies and other highly processed foods will not keep you full very long, because you are reducing your calories you might want to consider getting the "most bang for your calorie" buck.

    Protein, fat, and fiber all help keep you full longer.
  • leahslooloo
    leahslooloo Posts: 57
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    I'm eating at my TDEE -20% sorry forgot to mention that
    I'm wanting to loose weight then tone up
    What's the best was to find out what nutrients i should be getting etc
    Sorry I'm new to all this up till bring 23 i used to eat nothing but take out fast food and snacks and my weight never went over 139lbs but then i got pregnant now ive put loads of weight on i need to move :-/ i used to be very toned aswell which I'd love to get my physique back again
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Lean meats, Whole fruits, Veggies, Whole grains, Diary ..... not non-fat if your macros will allow

    Rule of thumb, the more food is processed .... the more nutrients are stripped away.

    Compare Wonder bread to 100% whole wheat .... protein & fiber values are very different

    Added sugar ..... lots of calories .... no nutritional value.

    I can't stay away from all junk food; but logging it here is "eye opening" for sure
  • ajwall3
    ajwall3 Posts: 187
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    To lose weight? Not necessarily. To lose weight AND be healthy? Yes. While there are people who eat crap all the time and manage to lose weight or not gain any at all... it doesn't make them healthy. Growing up I could eat whatever I wanted but I couldn't run/walk a mile without gasping for air. Was I thin? Sure. Was I healthy? Heck no! While losing weight is an awesome goal - I personally think the best goals should be to lose weight (which is healthy) and to treat our bodies well (eat healthy). I personally can't moderate, so I try to eat as clean as possible. Fresh veggies, lean meat or protein (beans, lentils, seeds, nuts, etc) fresh fruit, whole grains, lots of water, no soda, and occasionally I eat dairy but I tend to stay away from it. I don't eat sugar or drink sodas. Eating this way isn't for everyone but for me it's the only way I can keep check of what I put into my body. And although that sounds really restrictive - there are a LOT of fresh, clean, healthy and delicious ingredients to incorporate into your diet. And by 'diet' I don't mean something that is only maintained to lose the weight... I mean lifestyle. You want to fuel your body with good, healthy satisfying foods and losing the weight will be healthier for you. You will be able to workout to the best of your ability and do it so your body doesn't end up using muscle for fuel. One quote I heard that I think about often is "You cannot out exercise a bad diet". No matter how much exercise you do, if you eat garbage, your results will suffer.

    Good luck and congratulations on your new baby! :) You can do whatever you put your mind to! The first few weeks is always the hardest to get through any new change, but it gets better. Don't get discouraged :)
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    For me, what I eat matters 100%. I was very sick with many illnesses including severe depression, chronic pain/fatigue, binge eating disorder, pre-diabetes, severe obesity, digestive disorders, on and on. All of which can be attributed to "metabolic disorders". My lifestyle change resolved ALL of my health issues and in a very short time.

    Other people here will say what you eat doesn't matter at all, that it's only "calories in and calories out", "everything in moderation", "if it fits in your macros" (which is really silly since macro goals can me manually modified), blah, blah, blah. For some people, that may be true, but for many of us with metabolic disorders (storing extra fat is a metabolic disorder!) what we eat matters more than anything else.

    Figure out what works for you.

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