Eat Until You’re Full, Ignore Calories, and Lose Weight?

NavyKnightAh13
NavyKnightAh13 Posts: 1,394 Member
in Motivation and Support
Thoughts on this article. One of my friends posted this up and I am looking at feedback.

http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/01/eat-lots-ignore-calories-and-lose-weight.html?mid=facebook_nymag/

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    I don't believe it for a minute. Even eating non-starching veggies and lean protein I can easily over eat because my sense of when I am satisfied is screwed up. This is not to mention that the satisfaction from eating foods like that is very low for me, so if I only ate them I would eventually end up giving up because of overall dissatisfaction.
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
    It takes at least 1/2 lb of Oreos before I start feeling full. And a couple of glasses of nonfat milk, but I digress.

    I think he's oversimplifying. We can easily consume too many calories because many modern/processed/fast/tasty (choose your term, you KNOW what I mean) are really calorie dense.

    No foods are inherently evil, but I think a certain amount of calorie-counting or dietary choices (paleo, veg, whatever) is necessary due to the ridiculous range of food choices we have today. I don't think most people will "naturally" make sound nutritional choices consistently enough to get all nutrients AND stop eating at the appropriate point.

    Some people? Sure. But not most.

    Also, MFP/calorie-counting can be used as training wheels to get to that point: figure out how to consistently eat a variety of nutritious foods in appropriate quantities. The author's ignoring that most folks today NEED that training.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Sounds grossly oversimplified and misguided, and probably not a good fit for today's eaters.

    That said: I lost my weight without counting weighing or measuring. I focused on building my diet around nutrient dense, fiber rich vegetables, lean meats, low fat dairy, fruits, nuts, and 100% whole grains. I ate until I was satisfied. I ate to fuel my body. And I moved a lot, and lifted (both of which I was already doing).

    The weight came off and stayed off. So I know it's possible.

    But it's a pretty big paradigm shift, and probably not sustainable for most Americans, since it assumes a pretty plant based diet.

    I personally think MFP, and all other tools (including formal diets such as South Beach, Eat to Live etc.) can be good TOOLS. They can help teach us about proper nutrition, portion size, calories, our bodies...etc. And then it becomes about personal responsibility to apply that knowledge, to synthesize that information. You have to use the tool as a means for figuring out what will work for you for the long haul.

    For me it was sticking with the above eating principles and keeping active.

    Because again: the goal isn't simply losing weight, it's losing it and keeping it off.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    Would you say calorie-counting perpetuates a relationship between guilt and eating?


    Absolutely. Calories paint eating as a negative thing, which is part of the problem. Food — the right kind of food, and an abundance of it — is the cure to the hormonal, neurological, and gastroenterological cause of obesity. But if we are afraid to eat food because we are afraid to eat calories, we can never cure that condition.

    yet having a set list of "good" and "bad" foods is going to set people up for long term weight loss and maintenance and having a good relationship with foods :laugh:

    It's BS.

    Find a study that shows long term weight loss with an energy surplus of "clean" foods. Not going to happen.
  • MyFoodGod
    MyFoodGod Posts: 184 Member
    I don't know that "calorie dense" is as much a problem as being addicted to certain foods - sugary, salty, fast food, etc.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I don't know that "calorie dense" is as much a problem as being addicted to certain foods - sugary, salty, fast food, etc.

    This is kind of what I was thinking.

    I don't wanna go down the slippery slope of talking about too few calories, starvation mode, blah blah...but I do know when I wasn't counting calories, I had 700 cal days and 3,000 cal days all mixed together and it kept me in the neighborhood of 270 (and sometimes higher) for a decade plus. "Eating 'til you are full" can mean eating too much or too little, sometimes both for the same person.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Well I have a problem with feeling full.... like ever. So that would mean eating ALL the time & not feel full. That would not help me lose weight, in fact that's kinda how I got fat in the 1st place.
  • aquamomma
    aquamomma Posts: 10 Member
    It takes at least 1/2 lb of Oreos before I start feeling full. And a couple of glasses of nonfat milk, but I digress.

    I think he's oversimplifying. We can easily consume too many calories because many modern/processed/fast/tasty (choose your term, you KNOW what I mean) are really calorie dense.

    No foods are inherently evil, but I think a certain amount of calorie-counting or dietary choices (paleo, veg, whatever) is necessary due to the ridiculous range of food choices we have today. I don't think most people will "naturally" make sound nutritional choices consistently enough to get all nutrients AND stop eating at the appropriate point.

    Some people? Sure. But not most.

    Also, MFP/calorie-counting can be used as training wheels to get to that point: figure out how to consistently eat a variety of nutritious foods in appropriate quantities. The author's ignoring that most folks today NEED that training.
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
    It's already been proven that my stomach can't handle this kind of responsibility. It's a greedy little brat that goes out and buys a BMW when it can only afford a Toyota. So, I have to buy the Toyota myself and set a curfew for how long my stomach can stay out on Fridays. It's also a lying liar pants that would regularly tell me that I was still hungry after eating enough food for two people.

    Crappy metaphors aside, the kind of oversimplification that's in this article is insulting. There's more than one way to eat in a healthy manner. The lucky ones can eat until they are full because their stomachs aren't jerks. Then there are folks like me who need to monitor intake, stop eating at a reasonable time even though I could totally eat more, and then feel full 20 minutes later when my jerkface stomach gets with the program and realizes it's satisfied. :)

    I ate and still eat quality food. I just ate a lot of it. Yes, you can eat too much of it.

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