Do the type of calories matter?

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lacypope
lacypope Posts: 7
in Introduce Yourself
Does anyone find the type of calories they eat make a difference? For instance carbs vs. low carbs? My diet primarily consists of a variety of whole foods (organic as much as possible). But I'm wondering if you consumed 1200 calories of junk if you'd still lose the same amount of weight (calories in/ calories out). Of course, I understand you would not benefit nutritionally from eating this way. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this especially if you are having a day where you crave salt or sugar.
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  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    i eat whatever i want, as long as it is within my calorie goal! flaming hot cheetos, candy bars, skittles, donuts, burgers, fries, pizza... i lost almost 100 in 11 months, so i dont think it hindered me...
  • lacypope
    lacypope Posts: 7
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    Wow! You look amazing. How many calories did you eat daily? What was your exercise program? It looks like you averaged close to 10 pounds a month...that is super!
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    The ones you eat...sorry had to with the title of the thread.

    Seriously, on here most of my FL that have been successful and maintained, eating anything they want. They just learned portion control and moderation.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Does anyone find the type of calories they eat make a difference? For instance carbs vs. low carbs? My diet primarily consists of a variety of whole foods (organic as much as possible). But I'm wondering if you consumed 1200 calories of junk if you'd still lose the same amount of weight (calories in/ calories out). Of course, I understand you would not benefit nutritionally from eating this way. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this especially if you are having a day where you crave salt or sugar.

    Yes, you will still lose the same amount of weight. But if you don't at least TRY to loosely follow macros, your results will be less than ideal.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    The best advice is to eat whatever you plan on eating forever. If low carb works for you and you think you can eat that way forever, then by all means, do it.

    I love ice cream and pizza (along with my veggies and fruits) and plan on eating those forever, so I eat those on my weight loss path.

    ETA: QuietBloom is right. A person can lose weight eating anything while in deficit, but meeting macros will ensure fat loss instead of fat and muscle loss.
  • lacypope
    lacypope Posts: 7
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    Macros?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    The best advice is to eat whatever you plan on eating forever. If low carb works for you and you think you can eat that way forever, then by all means, do it.

    I love ice cream and pizza (along with my veggies and fruits) and plan on eating those forever, so I eat those on my weight loss path.

    This!^

    Maintaining a weight loss is going to be about lifestyle change.

    I eat more fiber than I used to.....but I can do that forever. Keeping an eye on getting enough protein....I can do that too. Adding healthy fats daily (before all my "diets" were low fat) ....I'm working on this.

    I want to eat healthy forever, but I know that I will always crave chocolate & pizza. So I work those into healthy macros.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Macros?

    Protein, fat & carbs....
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
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    I find that when I start eating sweet things, my sensation of hunger throughout the day is greater. Calorie for calorie, I end up eating much more for satiety.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I still eat pizza, thai, chinese and have little indulgences from time to time. As long as they fit in my calorie/macro goals, I'll still lose. It's only when I go over that things go wonky. Please remember there are other factors with weigh-ins...high sodium intake, monthly hormone cycles, hard workouts, even high carb days can all lead to some water retention. Prime example, this week I've been slightly under calories on average (not on purpose, PMS made me feel icky) so by all rights I should've seen a loss by now but between the hormones and some high sodium days, I've been up 3 pounds the last 2 days.

    The thing with quality vs quantity, at least in my experience/opinion, is that you'll feel better eating healthier foods. When I eat junky stuff, I just don't feel as good and definitely don't stay as full. And if I'm not full enough, that means I might need to eat more and end up going over calories in the end.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    In theory, no, they don't matter for purposes of weight loss (without regard to what kind of weight is being lost).

    In reality, it does matter, both in terms of weight loss itself, and in terms of sticking with the diet.

    For example, some people do well with staying within calories on a higher carb diet, but others don't and may fare better with higher fat and lower carbs.

    Similarly, if you have some kind of issue that elevates your insulin levels then you may have more success with a low carb, high fat diet than with a higher carb diet, because of the effects insulin has on weight loss and retention (and the fact that carbs and, to a lesser extent, protein, trigger an insulin response).

    And, in everyone that wants to minimize muscle loss (and help ensure that most weight loss is fat, and not lean body mass), then you need to make sure you get enough protein.
  • susieoj
    susieoj Posts: 181
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    It matters depending on what your real goal is, just to lose weight or maintain weight, maybe not so much, but to go beyond that.... Yeah. It matters to some degree atleast. Many people and athletes I know follow an 80-20 rule.... 80% nutrient dense whole foods and 20% whatever they want or crave. It's an easy way to live with everything included but some things in moderation.
  • lacypope
    lacypope Posts: 7
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    How do you determine how much protein is right for you?
  • ggeise14
    ggeise14 Posts: 386 Member
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    For me personally, yes. My system holds on to carbs like a drowining person. Plus, some of the carb foods are triggers for me so they start the snowball rolling for me.
  • christinemadden0223
    christinemadden0223 Posts: 175 Member
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    Yes and No- If you eat less calories and move more, you will lose weight- it doesn't matter much where the calories come from.
    HOWEVER! If I eat all super healthy, mostly fruit and veggies and lean protein, I feel healthier. I also feel more full because you get more food for your calorie buck. BUT! I can only maintain that for a day or two before I would binge like crazy on junk because I had been denying cravings. So then fail.

    My advice? Eat healthy foods alongside the less healthy foods you love. For example I love a good burger, but I'll eat it with a big green salad on the side so I get more food to keep me full for less calories, but I still get the burger =)
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    Nope.

    If you have netflix, rent "Fat Head" a documentary where a guy loses weight despite the fact that he's eating nothing but garbage.

    I just find that "cheat meals" or "cheat days" are like a gateway drug to giving in for good (for me anyway) which is why I choose to eat clean every day 90% of the time. I do find, however, that I seem to have better results if I 1) don't drink alcohol on lifting days 2) watch the sodium or drink a CRAP LOAD of water if it gets out of hand 3) drink protein shakes nearly everyday 4) no carbs at dinner

    That's just what works for me... to each his/her own though :) Good luck!
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
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    Yes and no.

    For weight loss/gain, it is calories in vs calories out. There have been people who experimented and were able to lose wieght on Twinkie diets and Big Mac diets.

    I strongly that quality of food matters for a number of reasons. One is just fullness - it doesn't take a large volume of junk food to hit my daily calorie requirements, so I tend to be hungier on days when I eat too much junk. I also think a well balanced diet of nutritious foods helps me feel my best. Of course, there is room for a treat here and there with a well balanced diet.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    Yes and No!

    Basically, calories in, calories out. Eat more cals than you need, the body finds a way to store the excess. Eat less cals than you need, the body finds a way to use it's reserves to make up the difference. This is the most general and most simple philosophy to live by for weight loss.

    HOWEVER! With that said, your body is a complex machine, and different macros and micros that you eat are used by the body differently. How you eat will have an effect on your weight loss and weight gain. Also, what you eat will matter when you place extra strain on your body such as cardio and resistance training.

    If you exercise, your body will need more protein in order to recover from the strains you placed on your muscle tissues. Your body will need calcium if you do a lot of running which puts a strain on your bones and tendons. Eating fatty acids aids in the transport and administrative functions of your body.

    Carbs you eat break down into simple sugars so your body has energy. But so does the fat stores already in your body that you are actually trying to loose during weight loss. But you need to eat certain amounts of carbs to replace the glycogen reserves that you loose during exercise. But you can train your body to rely more on burning excess fat in your stores than the carbs you eat (by calorie deficit and watching carb intake and timing carb intake with exercise).

    It's all about getting to know how your body works and how food and exercise applies to your body functions.
  • YumemiruJin
    YumemiruJin Posts: 133 Member
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    A couple of years ago a nutrition professor from Kansas State lost 27 pounds by eating only Twinkies and a couple other foods that most people would not deem ideal or even moderately healthy. He did it to prove that as long as you stay within your macros, the quality of the calories doesn't matter.

    If you ate like this for the rest of your life you would have problems. But as he only did this for 2 months, I'd say he probably didn't do any irreversible harm to his vitamin stores or saturated fat intake.

    So yes and no. No in the short-term, yes in the long-term.

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