can you really eat anything and remain fit?

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jardimgirl
jardimgirl Posts: 522 Member
in Food and Nutrition
serious question.can you continue eating anything you'd like, with a deficit of course, and still remain fit?
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  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Yes. You should of course try to get sort of close to your macro (Carbs, protein, fat) goals but what you put in those is up to you. If you want your carbs to come from cookies, then have at it. It really doesn't matter that much and won't make a difference on if you lose weight.

    That said some foods make you feel more full and satisfied than others. There are however no "bad" foods.
  • Anonycatgirl
    Anonycatgirl Posts: 502 Member
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    Lose weight, yes. Remain fit, not so much. If you eat some tasty but less nutritious stuff, that's fine...most of us love our treats. But if it's all cookies, chips and soda and almost no lean meat, veggies, fruit or whole grains, you'll probably feel like weaker than you would otherwise and be at risk for developing health problems.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    I guess you would have to define "fit" but you could get leaner eating that way. Its a terrible way to look at fitness though.

    Nutrients matter.
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
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    With reasonable quantities yes
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Anything, yes. Everything, no. You can incorporate anything you'd like into a balanced, nutritious diet and remain fit, but you cannot eat just cookies and ignore your nutrition completely and maintain a base level of health.

    That's to "remain fit." I'm interpreting "fit" as basically healthy and free of disease. That's not the same as "lose weight." You can lose weight just eating cookies if you want.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    mustgetmuscles1 wrote: »
    I guess you would have to define "fit" but you could get leaner eating that way. Its a terrible way to look at fitness though.

    Nutrients matter.
    A calorie deficit helps you lose weight. Exercise makes you fit.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    jardimgirl wrote: »
    serious question.can you continue eating anything you'd like, with a deficit of course, and still remain fit?

    Exercise is what makes you fit...
  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member
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    Calorie Deficit + Exercise can make you "look" fit.

    Your regular blood work and yearly check-ups will keep you medically fit.
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
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    There's more to life than deficits and macro nutrients. You need a good balance of micro nutrients as well for long term health.

    You can lose weight eating nothing but ice cream and Twinkies. You can build muscle eating nothing but ice cream and Twinkies. But a junk diet is going to catch up with you over time.

    So it depends on your definition of "fit." If you're thinking superficially and you don't expect to ever grow much older than 40, then yes, you can get fit eating anything you want. If not, . . . .
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I assume you are using "fit" to mean "not overweight". Given that context, yes BUT it can be very difficult if not impossible for some people. Others can do so relatively easy.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Define "fit."

    You can eat anything you want and remain thin, so long as you stay under your calories.

    If the things you want are fast food and candy, you may not be able to remain healthy.

    If fit is all about how you look, sure! If it includes health, you may need to take another look.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    mustgetmuscles1 wrote: »
    I guess you would have to define "fit" but you could get leaner eating that way. Its a terrible way to look at fitness though.

    Nutrients matter.
    A calorie deficit helps you lose weight. Exercise makes you fit.

    I agree. Just didnt know what the OP meant specifically by "fit".

    Nutrients would still matter even for exercise though. Body composition, energy, performance and recovery will all be effected by nutrients (macro and micro).
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Doesn't work for me. I can tell the difference fitness wise when I eat poorly. I'm slower running, biking, and swimming is harder. So, for me personally, I don't buy the eat what you want at a deficit and all is good. (I indulge all the time. I'm talking about when I go overboard.)
  • mrmagee3
    mrmagee3 Posts: 518 Member
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    jardimgirl wrote: »
    serious question.can you continue eating anything you'd like, with a deficit of course, and still remain fit?

    The question as posed, the answer is "no". There are essential nutrients that must be taken in (as your body cannot synthesize them) through your food sources. Essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, etc., need to come from food sources.

    Within the realm of "getting the nutrition that is biologically required", however, there is a lot of flexibility.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    Why did the posts in this thread that got flagged get flagged? And as "spam?"
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
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    Nope.

    Fit and thin are not the same confounded thing. (Gripes me to use fit as a euphemism for for thin, anway)

    Can you lose weight. Hell yeah! You can lose weight on twinkies, if you have a mind to.

    Will that fuel your body for great workouts? Only if you're an Olympic level athlete who is working out so much, they need more calories in any damn form they can get them. (See Michael Phelps' diet during serious training for an example) We lesser mortals need to be more careful to nourish our bodies properly to perform well, which in my mind is a better definition of fitness than how tiny your jeans are.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    I assume you are using "fit" to mean "not overweight". Given that context, yes BUT it can be very difficult if not impossible for some people. Others can do so relatively easy.

    Also assuming you mean "fit" to mean "not overweight/overfat", this is a good answer.

    For me, I have a great deal of difficulty maintaining a healthy weight if I eat the SAD...that's not to say I don't have some pizza from time to time or enjoy a little desert...but overwhelmingly my diet consists of nutrient dense, whole food nutrition and meals prepared from such ingredients. I also find nutrition to be very important to making fitness advances as it helps in recovery...but the actual work I put into my exercise is what makes me actually fit.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Like others have said, depends on what you mean by "fit" and depends on what you mean by "anything you want."

    I am assuming by "fit" you mean both in shape and healthy, and there for the best bet you want to eat a healthy diet with reasonable micros and macros. (If you just mean "not gain weight," then the answer is yes, no matter what you otherwise mean, assuming you can feel satisfied on what you are eating, which -- like others have said -- varies from person to person. It's a lot easier for me to stay in shape if I eat in a way I consider more healthy, in part because it helps me exercise and vice versa and because I feel better, but also because I am someone who can easily overconsume calories when I'm not careful.)

    I am also assuming by "anything you want" you mean "in the context of my overall reasonable diet." If so, the answer is, again, yes. There is no food that is inconsistent with remaining fit; you don't have to cut out anything. If you mean something weirder like "can I eat candy and French fries all day as my only food" (which I guess I idealistically don't think anyone in reality aspires to), then no, that's not a good diet to promote health or an ideal body composition or energy, although some people get away with it just like some drink to excess and smoke and live to 100.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    edited January 2015
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    mrmagee3 wrote: »
    jardimgirl wrote: »
    serious question.can you continue eating anything you'd like, with a deficit of course, and still remain fit?

    The question as posed, the answer is "no". There are essential nutrients that must be taken in (as your body cannot synthesize them) through your food sources. Essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, etc., need to come from food sources.

    Within the realm of "getting the nutrition that is biologically required", however, there is a lot of flexibility.

    There is no "yes" or "no".

    Anything you like could = getting your micro nutrients too. Even if not,

    "fit" could mean cardiovascular. Which isn't necessarily tied to diet
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    I agree with those that have said it's both yes and no. If you are eating nothing but junk food, you are unlikely to be fit, unless you are young. Having youth on your side will work for a while, but not forever.

    But if you are eating a healthy diet that just happens to include some junk food, you could become and remain quite fit, assuming you are working out appropriately.

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