Eating whatever you want but staying under calorie limit

AliGilbreath
AliGilbreath Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Here's my dilemma. For my entire life, I've always eaten whatever I wanted, and never worked out. 4 weeks ago I started FocusT25. The 2nd week, I lost 4lbs and and inch in my waist. The 3rd week I missed my double day workout, and went out for dinner and drinks. I measured myself, and I hadn't gained or lost anything. This week will be my 4th week, I am finding it's super easy for me to workout, and I love to do it, and I hate that I missed my workouts last week. I always stay under or at my calorie limit. The big dilemma for me is eating healthy 100% of the time. So my question is, as long as I'm staying under or at my calorie limit, and workout 5 times a week, can I eat whatever i like and can I still lose weight and have good results as long as I work out and stay within my calories?
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Replies

  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    As long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're eating, you're going to lose weight.
    It's good to try to get the nice nutrients like protein, fats, etc. and too much sodium will often make you retain water, but strictly speaking... Yep. Calorie deficit is king.

    I don't eat clean.

    Welcome to the awesomeness of MFP.
  • AliGilbreath
    AliGilbreath Posts: 18 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.

    Thanks for the answer, you made me feel alot better. It's so hard for me to eat clean all the time, so when I eat something that isn't clean I freak out and feel all down on myself, even if my calories allow it.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.

    Thanks for the answer, you made me feel alot better. It's so hard for me to eat clean all the time, so when I eat something that isn't clean I freak out and feel all down on myself, even if my calories allow it.

    I eat so "dirty" it would make you cringe. :laugh: Hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. I love food. I love food so much I got really, really fat. I LIKE that gross packaged processed stuff too. Now, I just eat less of it. If it kills me, at least it will taste good going down.

    ETA: If you eat a lot of higher sodium foods (which I do sometimes) you do need to be ready for the water weight fluctuations that accompany them. Don't freak out if the scale bounces around a lot, just look at the overall trend. The app Libra is great for easing your mind of fluctuations...just log your weight and look at the overall trend line. If mine stays flat or starts going up over time, I know I need to change something.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.

    Thanks for the answer, you made me feel alot better. It's so hard for me to eat clean all the time, so when I eat something that isn't clean I freak out and feel all down on myself, even if my calories allow it.

    I eat so "dirty" it would make you cringe. :laugh: Hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. I love food. I love food so much I got really, really fat. I LIKE that gross packaged processed stuff too. Now, I just eat less of it. If it kills me, at least it will taste good going down.

    I think I developed a crush on you right this second. :laugh: Awesome!!!
  • AliGilbreath
    AliGilbreath Posts: 18 Member
    As long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're eating, you're going to lose weight.
    It's good to try to get the nice nutrients like protein, fats, etc. and too much sodium will often make you retain water, but strictly speaking... Yep. Calorie deficit is king.

    I don't eat clean.

    Welcome to the awesomeness of MFP.
    I always see people talking about how if you don't eat clean you wont get good results, so that always freaked me out. So as long as I only eat the calories I'm allowed to have in a day, I'll still lose weight? That's like music to my ears, I hardly ever go over and never feel starving so thats great to hear
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    As long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're eating, you're going to lose weight.
    It's good to try to get the nice nutrients like protein, fats, etc. and too much sodium will often make you retain water, but strictly speaking... Yep. Calorie deficit is king.

    I don't eat clean.

    Welcome to the awesomeness of MFP.
    I always see people talking about how if you don't eat clean you wont get good results, so that always freaked me out. So as long as I only eat the calories I'm allowed to have in a day, I'll still lose weight? That's like music to my ears, I hardly ever go over and never feel starving so thats great to hear

    Yes. :)
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    As long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're eating, you're going to lose weight.
    It's good to try to get the nice nutrients like protein, fats, etc. and too much sodium will often make you retain water, but strictly speaking... Yep. Calorie deficit is king.

    I don't eat clean.

    Welcome to the awesomeness of MFP.
    I always see people talking about how if you don't eat clean you wont get good results, so that always freaked me out. So as long as I only eat the calories I'm allowed to have in a day, I'll still lose weight? That's like music to my ears, I hardly ever go over and never feel starving so thats great to hear

    Yeah, well, the loudest voices are usually the "hangriest". :wink:

    Edited because autocorrect sucks.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.

    Thanks for the answer, you made me feel alot better. It's so hard for me to eat clean all the time, so when I eat something that isn't clean I freak out and feel all down on myself, even if my calories allow it.

    I eat so "dirty" it would make you cringe. :laugh: Hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. I love food. I love food so much I got really, really fat. I LIKE that gross packaged processed stuff too. Now, I just eat less of it. If it kills me, at least it will taste good going down.

    I think I developed a crush on you right this second. :laugh: Awesome!!!

    :flowerforyou: :smooched:
  • AliGilbreath
    AliGilbreath Posts: 18 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.

    Thanks for the answer, you made me feel alot better. It's so hard for me to eat clean all the time, so when I eat something that isn't clean I freak out and feel all down on myself, even if my calories allow it.

    I eat so "dirty" it would make you cringe. :laugh: Hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. I love food. I love food so much I got really, really fat. I LIKE that gross packaged processed stuff too. Now, I just eat less of it. If it kills me, at least it will taste good going down.

    I think I developed a crush on you right this second. :laugh: Awesome!!!

    Ahhh! You guys made my night! :-) I'm right there with ya!
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    It all comes down to calorie deficit. "Clean eaters" and paleo dieters are all in a deficit because they are eating low calorie foods. That is it. The only thing I worry about is getting my protein quota in. After that I eat whatever the heck I want.
  • RamonaFr
    RamonaFr Posts: 112
    Speaking as an older woman with lots of years of eating not-such-good food, I'd like to change what you're saying just a little:

    "I can eat whatever I want, but FIRST I'm going to eat an apple."
    "I can eat whatever I want, but FIRST I'm going to have a side salad."
    "I can eat whatever I want, but I think I'll chop up some broccoli to put in it."

    You'll be glad when you're older. And part of the reason you're dieting is to have a long, healthy life. Eat a few veggies for the healthy part. I didn't really start eating more healthy food until I was in my 30s and I've never had what you would call a really pure diet, but I keep trying to add some of the good stuff every day.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    Yes.

    I don't eat clean. Sometimes I'll go a week without even eating something "healthy" (whatever that is). I eat lots of boxed foods. I try to hit my macros. The rest, I don't care.

    Since you are still just starting out, get used to nailing your calories. Don't worry about what foods get you there. Once you have that down pat, start looking at your macros and manipulating your protein/fat/carbs to hit your goals.

    Now, here's the catch on that. The days I eat a lot of packaged food, I tend to be a bit hungrier because it has a tendency to be calorie dense foods. You might find that eating fresher foods keep you fuller. However, for weight loss in and of itself, it doesn't matter.

    Thanks for the answer, you made me feel alot better. It's so hard for me to eat clean all the time, so when I eat something that isn't clean I freak out and feel all down on myself, even if my calories allow it.

    I eat so "dirty" it would make you cringe. :laugh: Hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. I love food. I love food so much I got really, really fat. I LIKE that gross packaged processed stuff too. Now, I just eat less of it. If it kills me, at least it will taste good going down.

    I think I developed a crush on you right this second. :laugh: Awesome!!!

    Ahhh! You guys made my night! :-) I'm right there with ya!

    *like*
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Yeah it's fine. Try to get reasonable macros (with particular attention to getting enough protein) and try to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and you're golden.

    Have your cupcake and eat it too.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,145 Member
    the 80/20 rule is a good one..
    80% healthy, 20% whatever you want ice cream, cookies, pizza, etc….

    just stay in a deficit and hit your macros...
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    Speaking as an older woman with lots of years of eating not-such-good food, I'd like to change what you're saying just a little:

    "I can eat whatever I want, but FIRST I'm going to eat an apple."
    "I can eat whatever I want, but FIRST I'm going to have a side salad."
    "I can eat whatever I want, but I think I'll chop up some broccoli to put in it."

    You'll be glad when you're older. And part of the reason you're dieting is to have a long, healthy life. Eat a few veggies for the healthy part. I didn't really start eating more healthy food until I was in my 30s and I've never had what you would call a really pure diet, but I keep trying to add some of the good stuff every day.

    I hate apples and vegetables.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,871 Member
    If all that matters is weight loss, then yes, calorie deficit will get you there. Healthy nutrition is another issue.
  • Harry_jazzhands
    Harry_jazzhands Posts: 16
    Ive lost 80kg doing just that. :)
  • jessready
    jessready Posts: 129 Member
    I lost all my weight eating what ever I wanted. I am maintaining by doing the same. I feel better if I throw in some kind of balance of "good for you foods" but as for the scale it doesn't matter as long as I'm under!
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    Yes! I will throw my hat in as another successful, non-clean eater. As others have said, watch your macros, especially protein, get in some fiber and enjoy the freedom of not having a bunch of crazy restrictions!

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