Food, what to eat etc etc, Need help

gibran30
gibran30 Posts: 30 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
Hello there all of you,
I am new to exercising and changing the way I eat. I have some questions and would love answers.

First off, I try to only eat 1500 calories a day Now in that 1500 calories I know ideally you are to eat clean foods etc and make your calories that you eat count. But does that mean that if I still ate only 1500 calories a day but yet some of the food I eat isnt the greatest that I wont lose weight?

So say you take 2 people both eating 1500 calories a day one eating totally healthy clean type foods and then the other one eating half clean healthy food but still some junk food in there, Is the clean eating person going to lose alot more weight?

Now another question... I read some of the biggest loser books and they say to eat at least 4 servings of Fruit and vegetables a day, 3 proteins etc etc.... Does it matter if all 4 servings are of fruit? and how big is a serving?

Replies

  • kimsue123
    kimsue123 Posts: 24 Member
    Google "The Twinkie Diet"............it has been in the news lately.
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
    Both would lose similar amounts of weight, one would stand a better chance of being healthy.
  • BrentGetsFit
    BrentGetsFit Posts: 878 Member
    Congrats on starting your journey! I'm no expert but as a general rule, small occasional indulgences like junk food won't torpedo your weight loss. In fact it may help by killing a craving before it starts. You'll have to find what works for you though, some people don't have the self control yet in order to limit their junk food so it's better to just avoid it all together until they can deal with it. In it's simplest terms, weight loss is basic math, calories in need to be less than calories out.

    As to your second question, fruits and veggies offer different things your body needs so it's best to get some of each but I suppose if you're not getting much of either right now then all fruit is better than nothing. You should really make an effort to get some veggies in daily though. Serving sizes vary by item but there are charts out there that list general serving sizes, maybe look up info on the food pyramid?

    good luck!
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    Unless you take into account water weight from excess sodium, they would probably lose a similar number of pounds - but the person eating whole, healthy foods would be losing FAT and actually developing a healthier body. The other person would just be becoming a thin person with health problems.

    Occasional indulgences are probably ok, but it's best to stil with healthy foods the vast majority of the time.

    RE: your fruit & veggie question - ideally, you should eat at least 3 servings of vegetables and at least 2 servings of fruit on any given day. It doesn't always have to be that way, but you should definitely shoot for that balance.
  • gibran30
    gibran30 Posts: 30 Member
    Okay maybe this is a lame question but in response to what someone said about basic math being
    calories in need to be less than calories out. What would the calories out be......... I appreciate these responses..... I am definately eating healthier then I was before. I ate alot of dessert type foods... I have a sweet tooth but I have been pretty good. Which brings me to my next question as well, We all know that cookies, brownies etc arent the healthiest thing to be eating but on occaison we can still eat them right?

    Another scenario,,, Lets say I had a day when I just fell off the wagon, and I ate over 2000 plus calories and yet as I mentioned am trying to get it at 1500 does that mean that week It will be harder for me to get that weight loss due to that one day?
  • BrentGetsFit
    BrentGetsFit Posts: 878 Member
    The short answers are yes and yes.

    Yes we can still eat things like brownies but we have to do so in MODERATION. An example, my landlady brought me some brownies last week. I had 3 choices. I could throw them away, I could eat the whole bag or I could eat a half a brownie every other day or so. I chose option 3 and was able to enjoy the brownies and still lose weight.

    Now if I had eaten the whole bag and blown my calorie count yes my weight loss would be impaired. The way to get over a binge like that is to eat a few less calories the remaining days and do a little more exercise each day so that the math still comes out right. That way you're not starving yourself or working yourself to death as punishment. This is a lifestyle change and we all will occasionally stumble but by dealing with it in a logical manner we can overcome it and keep on track.
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