Why does everyone think it's WHAT they eat that matters?

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  • mystiedragonfly
    mystiedragonfly Posts: 189 Member
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    " Instead of Guinness drink a Miller Lite."

    No thank you. I'd rather stop drinking all together if I had to put down my Guinness :P
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I aim for balance, but balance for some of us is hard, especially for those who are prone to addiction, or to emotional eating issues, or who are sensitive to sugar. I have to reach a very delicate balance with my treats, because if I have just a little too much, it can spiral into a full on binge. I also feel better mentally and physically when I am putting good things into my body. Thus, I get in plenty of lean protein, fruit, vegetables and healthy complex carbs, and workout hard so I can also have cake, chocolate and ice cream in moderate amounts if I so wish.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    Instead of Guinness drink a Miller Lite.

    Very ironic statement. Isn't this changing WHAT you eat not how much.

    Plus both of these are not exactly fine examples of beers. How about have one flavour-packed micro brew beer instead of six ****ty mass-produced beers. That would be an appropriate example of changing how much you eat
  • badgerbabs
    badgerbabs Posts: 49 Member
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    Spoken like a 29-year-old. You're still young enough to get away with eating pretty much anything you want to, and yeah, if you stay under your calorie goal, you'll lose weight. However...

    I now have type II diabetes because of what I ate. Even when I wasn't gaining weight, I was making myself sicker and sicker by eating WAY too much pasta and WAY too little protein. And if you're starting a weight training program, you're not going to be able to build muscle by eating (and drinking) all the carbs you want. YOU CAN'T BUILD MUSCLE WITHOUT PROTEIN.

    My diagnosis took beer off the "regular intake" menu for me forever. Have I had a beer since? Yes. One. It tasted pretty good, but you know what? Not good enough to be worth jeopardizing my health. There are many other ways I'd rather spend my calories.
  • jeremyw1977
    jeremyw1977 Posts: 505 Member
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    As reported on CNN:

    Twinkies. Nutty bars. Powdered donuts.

    For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals. To add variety in his steady stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Haub munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos, too.

    His premise: That in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most -- not the nutritional value of the food.

    The premise held up: On his "convenience store diet," he shed 27 pounds in two months.

    For a class project, Haub limited himself to less than 1,800 calories a day. A man of Haub's pre-dieting size usually consumes about 2,600 calories daily. So he followed a basic principle of weight loss: He consumed significantly fewer calories than he burned.

    His body mass index went from 28.8, considered overweight, to 24.9, which is normal. He now weighs 174 pounds.

    But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so.

    Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.

    AND

    He also took a multivitamin pill and drank a protein shake daily. And he ate vegetables, typically a can of green beans or three to four celery stalks.

    So basically he did 600 calories of protein/veggies, took care of basic vitamin needs, and ate 1200 calories of crap per day for 10 weeks. He lost weight because he ate below maintenance. He wasn't trying to go to the next level (actually looking good) - he was just trying to get to a normal BMI. And he succeeded at that.

    Thanks for the add-on. I must have missed that part of the story.
  • sd0104
    sd0104 Posts: 40 Member
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    For me, it is what I eat.
    If I eat a massive 2-lb salad with cucumber, tomato, avocado, and tuna which only comes to 300 calories, I will feel invigorated, full, and satisfied.
    If I eat a 2.5oz bar of chocolate which comes to 300 calories, it will taste good while I'm eating it, but I'll still be hungry and I will feel unsatisfied and have heartburn.

    That's the point that I made, though. Your calorie-dense chocolate bar isn't satisfying whereas your big salad is. You decide what to eat for your calories. For example, as a test, if you only ate 1,200 calories of chocolate bars each day you'd still lose weight. I see so many people on this site only wanting to lose weight (and fast!). So cut down what you eat. Period. Of course it matters what we put in our bodies but from a pure calories in/out perspective just eat less. You're going to fail if you cut out pizza, beer, a candy bar, etc. That's why when I lost my weight I focused on the calories only.

    ^^^This^^^

    I totally agree - from a purely caloric point as long as I'm within my calorie goal I'm good. Don't get me wrong, I typically choose healthy options BUT if I want a slice of pizza or cake or a chocolate bar I will eat it - for me, denying myself food I enjoy will lead me to failure. The most important thing I've learned from MFP is that portion control is everything!!! Eat the right serving size (and don't guess actually figure it out!) . If what you're doing works for you (portion control, cutting out all sweets/carbs etc..etc..) that's awesome!! As long as your able to sustain your way of eating for long term success :)
  • Dharmafor1
    Dharmafor1 Posts: 32
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    I would never drink a Miller lite... Or any lite beer for that matter. If I want a Guniness, good craft or Belgium beer, and I do, I will wait for the appropriate time. I guess I haven't had a beer in about 2 months now and it's bothering my craft beer snobs more than me. I have several cases of good stock in my basement and I will wait. I love pizza too, but if a slice or two is gonna kill a bunch of calories and hard work and then I have to be more careful the rest of the day, then I personally don't think it's worth it, IMO. When I started cleaning my diet I figured a cheat meal in once a week. Ive skipped the last three weeks weekly cheat meal and I dont feel I am missing anything. You have to do what works for you. To each his or her own. There is a time for all seasons.
  • Jackson4590
    Jackson4590 Posts: 145 Member
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    Holy crap you guys took one example and totally blew it out of proportion. Let's try this another way. Say you wanted to use less gas. A Fiat is going to use a lot less than a Cadillac Escalade. So if your one goal is to reduce gas usage it makes sense to switch. No one ever said the Fiat is better, or more stylish, than the Escalade, just that on a pure gas in/gas out analysis it performs better. That's what I meant, trolls :) !
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
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    Eating clean can be the key to how cut you are.
  • ApocalypticFae
    ApocalypticFae Posts: 217 Member
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    Certain foods make me feel happier, fuller, calmer, more energetic and/or stronger than others. Also, the same foods that tend to help me feel calm and strong are foods that help my skin and hair look awesome and are less likely to cause further cravings. But to each their own.
  • Bounce2
    Bounce2 Posts: 138 Member
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    In theory I agree with most of what you have written (barring the beer comment ;) ). That being said, I am on this site for health and fitness reasons, so 'what' I put into my mouth is just as important as it's calorie count.
  • mistimn
    mistimn Posts: 58 Member
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    Not all foods are satisfying or good for you. I don't eat much fried food anymore and now if I do I just feel heavy and tired. I prefer to eat more fruit and veggies verses a burger and fries. I agree you shouldn't restrict yourself in any way but to say all food is created equal No way dude :D
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    Holy crap you guys took one example and totally blew it out of proportion. Let's try this another way. Say you wanted to use less gas. A Fiat is going to use a lot less than a Cadillac Escalade. So if your one goal is to reduce gas usage it makes sense to switch. No one ever said the Fiat is better, or more stylish, than the Escalade, just that on a pure gas in/gas out analysis it performs better. That's what I meant, trolls :) !

    Yeah but, unless I'm missing something, the whole point of your post was that it doesn't matter WHAT you eat only how much. Both of your example involve changing the WHAT not the HOW MUCH. In the first example the appropriate advice is to drink one Guiness instead of 6. In the above example you should just drive less to consume less fuel.

    Switiching to a more gass-efficient car is like switching to eating more nutrient rich low calorie foods (more bang for your buck)
  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
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    Because it actually does. Yes, calorie input has to be less than calorie output in order to lose weight but you will feel a whole lot better and your body will function better if you get your calories from nutrient-rich foods as opposed to crap.
  • WinCherry
    WinCherry Posts: 30 Member
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    Agreed
  • rosemaryhon
    rosemaryhon Posts: 507 Member
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    Holy crap you guys took one example and totally blew it out of proportion...

    Nope, I don't think so. It wasn't "one example" anyway. Look at your title alone. It obviously incited some of us to point out actually WHAT we eat DOES matter. Which doesn't mean many of us won't indulge pizza and beer now and than.

    Also too in your OP you talked about some who restrict food that "tastes good". Huh?? Healthy food doesn't = tastes bad. I ONLY eat tasty meals, despite the majority are lately (mostly) healthy.

    This is a message board where readers can only go on your words. Unless you specify you don't want to actually be taken at your word. Don't blame us for responding to what you said instead of reading your mind ;)
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    What you eat has a big impact on how much you eat, at least for me it does. Two thousand calories of healthy food is a *lot* of food, and will keep me full all day. Two thousand calories of crap food is... a lunch. It's really easy to eat too much when you're eating crap.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    Hungry for change is a great documentary that does a great job on why exactly it DOES matter. You can be eating fine but still be starving on a cellular level.
  • Elisirmon
    Elisirmon Posts: 273 Member
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    You are what you eat....your body takes those nutrients and uses them as building blocks of your cells over processed foods it doesn't know what to do so your toxin center (liver) sends it into store fat..so even if your at a deficient your running your body on nothing causes you to get sick....
  • ggxx100
    ggxx100 Posts: 520 Member
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    Instead of Guinness drink a Miller Lite.

    ^ This is not an option! Otherwise, I agree.

    What on God's green earth would possess you to do such a thing?

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