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Healthy or junk?

mailonline
mailonline Posts: 7
in Social Groups
do you think the weight loss/gain remains the same whether your calories come from a week's worth of healthy stuff or a week of junk?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    do you think the weight loss/gain remains the same whether your calories come from a week's worth of healthy stuff or a week of junk?

    weight loss will be the same, how you feel may well be different.
  • angiewf
    angiewf Posts: 171 Member
    But if you eat a lot of sugary or salty stuff it will retain fluid and slow your weight loss.
  • happymum37
    happymum37 Posts: 95 Member
    Calories are calories but there's lots of other benefits of choosing healthy options. You don't get many vitamins and minerals in crisp (which are my major weakness)
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
    Have a look at this thread, seems to be along the same lines as what you're asking:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1033965-can-you-eat-what-you-want-and-lose-weight
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    The short term loss might be marginally slower because of retained fluid from the salt, but you will still lose weight even on a diet of total crap, if you limit your calories. There will, however, be a world of difference in your energy levels and how you feel in yourself.

    There is no substitute for fresh, healthy, unprocessed food without additives and hidden sugars and salt if you want to feel good as you shed the pounds.
  • LilMissDB
    LilMissDB Posts: 133
    I honestly don't think it is the same for 2 reasons:

    1) When you eat packaged foods you are more likely to underestimate the calories you are taking in. Ie packaged food can be labeled up to 50% wrong but xxx grams of say potato is likely to be much more accurate

    2) Different foods are processed by the body very differently. The calorie amounts you will find are usually measured from the actual food, not from the amount of calories our body takes from the food. It also doesn't factor in that different foods require different amounts of calories for our bodies to burn - usually those high fibre or high protein healthy foods use more calories to burn than processed junk. This is a reason why programs that allow you to not count vegetables still usually work.

    I'm all for an 'everything in moderation' approach. But if you are relying on packaged foods and not seeing results it may be worth swapping in some whole foods to see if it makes a difference.
  • AverageUkDude
    AverageUkDude Posts: 371 Member
    nutrition cannot and doesn't break the laws of thermodynamics, this is a scientific fact, so remember that.

    Reasons why 'diets' that allow you to eat lots of free veggies work is because vegetables as a general rule aren't calorie dense and are very satiating, hell eating 1000 calories of brocolli can be a huge challenge, I've tried it.

    I go on the approach of ensuring you get that right macros and micro nutrients day in with veg and meat, and then whatever calories I have left for the day tend to go down the if it fits your macro approach. I've managed a full body recomp over the last 12 months, never been healthier and I still manage to eat the odd takeaway and junk food by making the right decisions.
  • LilMissDB
    LilMissDB Posts: 133
    nutrition cannot and doesn't break the laws of thermodynamics, this is a scientific fact, so remember that.

    This is an interesting statement. I'm not sure what is had to do with my post :) As a registered dietitian, I'm pretty confident in my knowledge that each person's body breaks down food slightly differently and that different foods require a different amount of energy and time to be digested.

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