Sorry I'm Not Sorry - I gotta rant!

I recently posted on a thread about someone who is having a hard time losing weight - upon looking at their diary, it showed that they consume a decent amount of processed, convenience, and fast foods. My advice was that they should consider really eating more fruits/veggies etc. I used the term "clean eating". Lo and behold, the inevitable comment came in response to my suggestion; I believe the exact quote was "Seriously, stop it. This is not helpful. It's not what the food is, it's overall calories and macros. As long as a person eats in a calorie deficit, the pounds will come off, it doesn't matter what the food being consumed is."

I am going to lose my mind if I hear or see this comment again! I realize that for so many people the goal is to shed pounds, and I'm all for that! Obviously, losing the extra pounds is the first thing that is going to happen when converting to a healthy lifestyle, and it's mandatory in order to decrease the likelihood of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. But that's not the point of all of this. Food can be the best, most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. The point is to eat the foods that are going to keep you healthy for the rest of your life. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! Fresh produce, whole grains, unprocessed food, little or no refined sugar/ wite flours - THAT is how you lose weight, and get healthy.

It is dangerous and counterproductive to suggest that it doesn't matter what you put into your body. I expect backlash to this rant, and I welcome all you trolls to tell me that I'm wrong - but you ask any single expert, or even just a health conscious person out there and they will say the exact thing I've just said. No one can dispute this.

THANK YOU for this elusive nugget of wisdom that has thus far bypassed me. Now I know the secret!

*eatshawtfashionablerichhappywomenbecausethatswhatshewantstobeforevah*

You shoudn't be sorry!

I just 'tried' to have this conversation with someone - you get out what you put in. Eat poorly, workout half *kitten*, lose no weight, feel bad, then give up! Eat better, kick a&& workouts, lose weight, feel great, keep going - increase your health outlook!

I admit, we all reach this point in our own time but don't knock it until you try it!

hmmm...what about the combo of eating "ok", having kick-*kitten* workouts, losing body fat, feeling great, continuing to succeed?

I recently posted on a thread about someone who is having a hard time losing weight - upon looking at their diary, it showed that they consume a decent amount of processed, convenience, and fast foods. My advice was that they should consider really eating more fruits/veggies etc. I used the term "clean eating". Lo and behold, the inevitable comment came in response to my suggestion; I believe the exact quote was "Seriously, stop it. This is not helpful. It's not what the food is, it's overall calories and macros. As long as a person eats in a calorie deficit, the pounds will come off, it doesn't matter what the food being consumed is."

I am going to lose my mind if I hear or see this comment again! I realize that for so many people the goal is to shed pounds, and I'm all for that! Obviously, losing the extra pounds is the first thing that is going to happen when converting to a healthy lifestyle, and it's mandatory in order to decrease the likelihood of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. But that's not the point of all of this. Food can be the best, most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. The point is to eat the foods that are going to keep you healthy for the rest of your life. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! Fresh produce, whole grains, unprocessed food, little or no refined sugar/ wite flours - THAT is how you lose weight, and get healthy.

It is dangerous and counterproductive to suggest that it doesn't matter what you put into your body. I expect backlash to this rant, and I welcome all you trolls to tell me that I'm wrong - but you ask any single expert, or even just a health conscious person out there and they will say the exact thing I've just said. No one can dispute this.

I think your statment "But that's not the point of all this" is where the issue may lie. A broader concept of being healthy may be the point from YOUR perspective, which means that "point" fits here, on your post. But that doesn't mean that your concept of "the point of all this" fits THEIR post. Lots of people, especially those who are starting out, are focused on just losing weight because that's often the quantifiable metric they use to judge themselves.

So, if the individual is here for weight loss and that is their personal point for being here, then emphasizing focusing on caloires over types of foods can be a good initial approach. For them, they might not agree with you that "The point is to eat the foods that are going to keep you healthy for the rest of your life" at this time. They could just be looking to lose the weight they're carrying *now*, see the number on the scale go down, and feel their clothes getting looser.

If we can get them to lose weight with focusing on a calorie defecit, then we will likely have fulfilled the goal of an individual for whom the "point" of an MFP membership is weight loss.

After that, there's usually opportunities to address food types because that's usually when issues of satiety and energy levels start to come up. They start saying "I'm meetign my calorie goals, but I'm always hungry" or "I'm tired". That's a time to discuss food choices like moving away from pre-processed foods and even suggesting your concept of clean eating. But those topics are easier to motivate them to address if they see that they're already fulfilling the point of their being here.

You don't want to scare them away or make them frustrated by tacking the additional objectives of moving away from the processed foods that they eat AND embracing a concept of "clean eating" (which isn't always well defined) on top of the concept of using a caloric defecit to lose weight to fulfil their personal goal.

I see people on my friends list losing weight and eating lot's of processed/fast food. I think eating healthy and losing weight can be two different things Eating clean is definitely good for you but I see people lose weight eating fast food and crap as well. I think basically we are talking about two different things. A deficit eating crap will allow you to lose weight but absolutely eating clean with lot's of fruits and vegetables is a healthier way to do it.

What about people who eat processed foods, fast food, and lots of fruits and veggies? There's a middle ground here that too many clean eaters ignore.

*yawn

This is exactly why so many people try MFP...fail....try again...fail...people will find anything they can to eat what they want and call it healthy...

Welcome the fruititarian to the discussion everyone! This should be good for a laugh or two as well as some feverish facepalming.

Lol...you can read an awful lot into one sentence.... you should be quite impressed with yourself

*yawn

LOL fave

This is exactly why so many people try MFP...fail....try again...fail...people will find anything they can to eat what they want and call it healthy...

Oh? So my success at losing 60lbs is a lie (as well as the keeping it off for the most part for a few years) because I couldn't do it being restrictive but rather flexible? Not to mention me getting out of a few deficiencies I was facing because of the restrictiveness and my overall health improvement (especially my back issues)?

Oh. Okay.

So you lost your weight eating twinkies and hohos? Probably not...and I never said restrictive... just saying all these people saying 1,000 calories of Big Macs is the same as 1,000 of fruit, vegetables and lean meats is just silly and misleading. But I'm not here to argue...lol...if people want to chow that crap and pretend they are healthy...have at it...no skin off my back

Those are two different arguments. 1000 calories of anything is 1000 calories. Now if you want to talk nutrition, that's a different subject.

Unhappy, unhealthy, unfit person here checking in.

You shoudn't be sorry!

I just 'tried' to have this conversation with someone - you get out what you put in. Eat poorly, workout half *kitten*, lose no weight, feel bad, then give up! Eat better, kick a&& workouts, lose weight, feel great, keep going - increase your health outlook!

I admit, we all reach this point in our own time but don't knock it until you try it!

hmmm...what about the combo of eating "ok", having kick-*kitten* workouts, losing body fat, feeling great, continuing to succeed?

meet me at the squat rack and lets find out.

whats wrong with pickles? If you choose carefully they can be a good addition.

Unhappy, unhealthy, unfit person here checking in.

Aren't you the lady that eats Talenti all the time…and OMG look at that body!!! Hot mama.

Ohaaaaai.♡

Well, while I personally agree with you, I fully realize it is just that: my opinion. My husband doesn't even have the same opinions I do regarding food and health and that's okay. We are all entitled to our opinions. I don't "preach" or try to convince him of my opinions and neither does he.

What I don't like or agree with is when someone tries to convince everyone else that they are right and others are wrong. Just simply not the case, but that seems to be very common on these boards.

YES!!!

This is exactly why so many people try MFP...fail....try again...fail...people will find anything they can to eat what they want and call it healthy...

Oh? So my success at losing 60lbs is a lie (as well as the keeping it off for the most part for a few years) because I couldn't do it being restrictive but rather flexible? Not to mention me getting out of a few deficiencies I was facing because of the restrictiveness and my overall health improvement (especially my back issues)?

Oh. Okay.

So you lost your weight eating twinkies and hohos? Probably not...and I never said restrictive... just saying all these people saying 1,000 calories of Big Macs is the same as 1,000 of fruit, vegetables and lean meats is just silly and misleading. But I'm not here to argue...lol...if people want to chow that crap and pretend they are healthy...have at it...no skin off my back

The argument is saying that telling someone that it's not "bad" or a "fail" to include processed or fast foods is wrong and bad information. And again, you show an attitude that is common among "clean eaters" that supposedly doesn't exist. Just because you might not favor certain types of food doesn't make them unhealthy or "crap".

And what you basically just said in the bolded is saying that I am "wrong" and that my improved health is a lie because how can I possibly be healthy eating what you keep calling "crap".

And lol for those that say "clean eaters" don't come off all high and mighty.

I see people on my friends list losing weight and eating lot's of processed/fast food. I think eating healthy and losing weight can be two different things Eating clean is definitely good for you but I see people lose weight eating fast food and crap as well. I think basically we are talking about two different things. A deficit eating crap will allow you to lose weight but absolutely eating clean with lot's of fruits and vegetables is a healthier way to do it.

If someone is eating "crap" you should really tell them to seek help.

99% of the nation eats junk every so often! Some a lot more than others. Some are skinny, others are fat. But one thing for certain there aren't enough shrinks or dietitians in the world to handle that group.

Please no one bad mouth glazed donuts, I am planning on having my one monthly glazed donut this Saturday!

I was referring to the fact that "crap" is feces. Is someone is eating that, then they need psychological help. If they are just eating food..then they are eating food, not 'crap".