It really does help, ever since my little experiment I've been weighing everything LOL
I don't know if anyone would be interested but here is another way of calculating your calories. Its a very interesting post. There is also a link in the post to her success story. Though it also mentions Intermittent Fasting which is a topic for a whole other day.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/fivethreeone/view/how-did-i-eat-the-basics-tdee-calories-macros-570878

I think a lot of times the generic calculations suggests a calorie level that's too low for a lot of people and makes it hard to maintain. If you have a smaller amount to lose it will take a little longer as your deficit won't be as large.

I have learned a lot reading the forums, people post a lot of great info and research references to back it up. A few diet myths I have long since believed are now busted. Such as:
- fat is not the devil
- carbs are not evil
- sugar isn't evil either

In fact from a strict weight loss point of view you can eat anything as long as you remain in a deficit - calories in vs calories out.
Studies show you would lose the same amount on the Twinkie diet as you would "clean eating' assuming you maintained the same deficit for both.

That being said, how would you feel? well probably like a bag of crap LOL In terms of health, no the twinkie diet leaves a lot to be desired. Foods higher in carbs, sugar ( which is a carb too ) and fat are more calorie dense therefore you would eat far less to reach your calorie goal. For example:


Nuts - Almonds, 1 cup, whole 827 Calories
(Costco) Fresh Express - Spring Mix, 1 cups 10 Calories


The difference is amazing, and I don't know about you guys but I've sat down and eaten a cup of nuts mindlessly thinking I was doing myself a favour because its healthy - and it is, within reason! But if you want filling, go with the salad with a scant handful of nuts on it, best of both worlds. You get the filling and nutrition from the spring mix and the satiety of fat from the almonds.

So in the end with all my blabbering I'm trying to say if you want a baked potato ( not one the size of your head ) with a tablespoon or two of sour cream ( full fat, not the light stuff unless you want to ) go ahead and have it. Its not going to kill you. Have it every day? Probably not, but you could if you wanted to.

We get so caught up in trying to do this the fastest way possible, but thats because in the back of our minds once we lose the weight we'll be 'done' dieting. But, if you go back to eating the way you did before you'll just end up back at square one. So you need to find a way to make this healthier lifestyle maintainable, so that's going to include Big Macs every now and again ( Whoppers for Shelley :bigsmile: ) or a cupcake. It's not what you eat between Christmas and New Years that matters, its what you eat between New Years and Christmas.

( I shall get off my soapbox now :laugh: )

Disclaimer : All of this is assuming there are no medical conditions such as diabetes, PCOS etc to consider.