Why eat healthy food?

For weight loss calories in vs calories out doesn't matter the source, or only matters somewhat.
For good health, high energy, and weight loss, it matters what you eat not just the calories. You can eat 3000 calories a day and still be malnourished if you are not getting all the vitamins and minerals you need, not to mention eating bad on 1500 cals will probably have you go over on saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and sodium, all of which can lead to health problems even if you are losing weight.

:laugh:

Because unhealthy calories mean you are most likely robbing your body of proper nutrients. It's not purely calories in and calories out. Your body needs a healthy ratio of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that can not necessarily be supplied in junk food. Sure, you could probably lose weight simply by eating junk food and maintaining a calorie deficit, but it would wreak havoc on your body. And you will find eating healthy choices often means you can eat more frequently and/or increase portion sizes. A fast food meal can probably fill your calorie needs for a day, but are you really only going to eat one meal a day? Where eating healthy proteins, good carbs, and healthy fats allow you to have proper meals spaced evenly through the day.

The easiest way to explain this is that keeping your choices healthy has additional health benefits above and beyond weight loss. Also if you are just eating things full of sugar and sodium it will keep you from losing weight. I could go on with some examples, but think about it. If you eat 10 snickers a day but it's within your calorie goals do you really think you'll lose weight?

I really hope this isn't a serious question. It is a no brainer, but if it is:
Because nutrition is a huge part of weight loss and being healthy. If you eat your cals in whoppers, the sodium and fat will do nothing but harm you. And when you eat healthy, the calories for each food tend to be a lot less and you can eat more of the food. Not to mention, it your eating healthier, you will feel much better. It would be like putting diesel in your car. It might run for a couple minutes, but it harms the inside causing it to run like crap and eventualy expire at an early age.

The easiest way to explain this is that keeping your choices healthy has additional health benefits above and beyond weight loss. Also if you are just eating things full of sugar and sodium it will keep you from losing weight. I could go on with some examples, but think about it. If you eat 10 snickers a day but it's within your calorie goals do you really think you'll lose weight?

yes you probably would lose weight, but you would be sick and unhealthy and your energy levels will be out of whack.

glad someone else has asked this.....as I have pretty much curbed my calorie intake yet still eating the same kinds of foods.....I know its not 'ideal' but it makes it possible for me to stick at it, plus when cooking for a family of 7 I need convenience too.

i eat healthy because i want to be healthy and not be sick and have health problems such as high cholesterol, bp, and become diabetic. 1200 cals of snickers vs 1200 cals of fruits and veggies....hmm i wonder.

hello! first of all, it doesn't always have to do with the amount of calories involved. there are more factors to that... such as the sugar content, fat, sodium, carbs, protein, etc. one snickers bar has 280 calories, with 36 carbs, and 16 fats. four ounces of salmon also has 16 fats, but has ZERO carbs an 225 calories. you want to look for the food that is low in all these categories.

This is the second post I've seen today that mentions Snickers...I-WANT-ONE-NOOOOWWWWWW!

The "healthy" natural foods are as they grow or minimally processed, maybe flash frozen like the raspberries I have as often as I can manage (currently out) come with micro-nutrients and vitamins etc.
I have a problem with "Enriched flour' where they take the whole-grain, remove the best stuff for you and then take the end result and add back in vitamins and the like that they took out in the process of making it white flour, just so a company can make more money off of it. I really wish I knew a farmer (large-scale farming) that was actually getting most of the money for even the flour from their product but they're not, they grow the raw material, dealing with too much or too little rain etc, then someone buys it... anyway they sure don't get the $1/lb I think it was the last time I looked at flour, $10 for a 10lb bag maybe a bit less, the farmer gets pennies of that if he's lucky.
A chocolate bar laughably has a so called "nutritional info" label on it when it's not very nutritious at all (in general) the sugars are highly processed, and isolated from any of the other micro-nutrients that might benefit you, artificial colours / flavours etc to make it palatable....
Healthy tastes better, healthy food will fill you up longer, and if you grow some of your own food like I do you come to appreciate what goes in to being able to get the food we can just grab off the grocery store shelf when the system is working properly.

You are correct in stating that consuming 1500 calories will not affect your weight loss if its healthy or unhealthy food. But it is much harder to eat just 1500 calories in unhealthy foods and not be starving as most unhealthy foods are mainly sugar which your body breaks down quickly. Food is just fuel for our bodies and you kind of want to use the best fuel you can get to take better care of you body so it will last you a long time.

if you have more fat in your diet as opposed to a lower fat diet, over time,the fattier diet will cause weight gain. There was a proven study with rats. and the rat that ate the fattier food was fatter!

Healthy to me is eating whole grain breads, cutting out sugar, eating lower sodium, drinking more water, eating more fruits and veggies and more but I eat beef, hamburger, chicken, tuna, salmon, turkey and also more. Healthy to me is avoiding white bread and limiting pasta and rice (but I love rice and eat both brown and white. My corrections in my diet was mainly stopping all the sweets like cookies, candy, cake, pie etc etc. Healthy doesn't have to be boring once you explore all the "healthier" recipes found all over the place.

a calorie is not just a clorie!! Calories come from different sources and are processed by the body for different things!

what you are saying is that if you have a diet where all your calories are coming from protein vs a diet where all your calories are coming from fat, the results would be the same!! I think not!

Proteins are processed by the body for growth and repair, carbohydrates are used for primary energy source and fats (healthy or unhealthy) are your secondary energy source.

When trying to lose weight you are geared away from foods that are full of sugar as they produce an insulin spike in your blood,.

insulin 'shuttles' these nutrients around your body to where they are needed, If these nutrients are not needed they will be stored as fat.

If you eat a shed load of carbs, your bodys preferred energy source, and you dont use or need that energy, your body will store this as fat.

If you partake in weight training, for example, you are advised to drink a post workout shake containing proteins and carbs, The protein repairs your muscles and the carbs replace the energy you have just used, once these nutrients have done there job, if there is any left over, it will be stored as fat!

It is best to get your nutrition and calories from a well balanced, healthy diet, My diet consists of 55% carbs 30% protein and 15% fat, i monitor this as much as possible!

A calorie is definartely not a calorie with reguards to how the body processes nutrients.

With the calories in versus calories out argument, this is true, A calorie is just a unit of energy, but i think it is important to balance your micronutrient ratios to ensure you are being nourished!!