Healthy Eating But Too Many Calories

deannaxsmithx
deannaxsmithx Posts: 27 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

Replies

  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,646 Member
    deannaxsmithx wrote: »
    I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

    Yes.

  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Yes.
    If you are over your maintenance calories, regardless of what you eat, you will gain weight.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Yes, you'll gain weight if you eat too many calories, no matter how "healthy" those calories are. Calories are king for weight loss.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    deannaxsmithx wrote: »
    I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

    Of course you would. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight, regardless of the source of those calories.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    While the obvious answer is yes, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around "eating too much healthy" stuff. Are people only eating endless amounts of nuts/nut butters, avacado, bacon, rice, potatoes and high fat cuts of meat?
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    While the obvious answer is yes, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around "eating too much healthy" stuff. Are people only eating endless amounts of nuts/nut butters, avacado, bacon, rice, potatoes and high fat cuts of meat?

    You'd be surprised. Full fat dairy, nuts, whole wheat bread, oatmeal, grass-fed meat/butter - the things that many people consider "clean" or "healthy" can really add up calorie-wise.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    deannaxsmithx wrote: »
    I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

    Since that's what I did, I'm going to say yes! And I don't even eat much fatty meat and zero full fat dairy.

    A diet of all "healthy foods" is not a "healthy diet" if you overeat. Too much of a good thing is bad.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    While the obvious answer is yes, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around "eating too much healthy" stuff. Are people only eating endless amounts of nuts/nut butters, avacado, bacon, rice, potatoes and high fat cuts of meat?

    I rarely eat any of those things but still managed to overeat. Nuts and peanut butter are culprits, but olive oil is my biggest problem. I put it on everything.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    deannaxsmithx wrote: »
    I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

    of course you would...but I have a hard time seeing how your would possibly be overeating unless you were eating a lot of nuts, avocados, cooking with a lot of oils, etc. Those things are all good for you but obviously calorie dense...eaten in moderation along with other foods that are typically thought of as "healthy" (lean sourced protein, veg, fruit, whole grains, legumes, etc) I have a difficult time see how you would be overeating on a regular basis.

    I eat in this manner for the most part and it can sometime be a chore trying to maintain...because it's so easy to lose weight when you eat this way. I generally have to supplement my diet with some good craft brew just to keep my calories up.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    deannaxsmithx wrote: »
    I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

    of course you would...but I have a hard time seeing how your would possibly be overeating unless you were eating a lot of nuts, avocados, cooking with a lot of oils, etc. Those things are all good for you but obviously calorie dense...eaten in moderation along with other foods that are typically thought of as "healthy" (lean sourced protein, veg, fruit, whole grains, legumes, etc) I have a difficult time see how you would be overeating on a regular basis.

    I eat in this manner for the most part and it can sometime be a chore trying to maintain...because it's so easy to lose weight when you eat this way. I generally have to supplement my diet with some good craft brew just to keep my calories up.

    I'm glad I'm not alone in this.
  • herpeeedick
    herpeeedick Posts: 2 Member
    How much fruit are you Consuming
  • herpeeedick
    herpeeedick Posts: 2 Member
    How much fruit are you Consuming
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    deannaxsmithx wrote: »
    I eat a lot of foods rich in fiber, protein, vitamins, etc and try to avoid processed foods. The problem is: as I add ingredients to a recipe, the calories add up. Would I gain weight by eating too much of the healthy stuff?

    of course you would...but I have a hard time seeing how your would possibly be overeating unless you were eating a lot of nuts, avocados, cooking with a lot of oils, etc. Those things are all good for you but obviously calorie dense...eaten in moderation along with other foods that are typically thought of as "healthy" (lean sourced protein, veg, fruit, whole grains, legumes, etc) I have a difficult time see how you would be overeating on a regular basis.

    I eat in this manner for the most part and it can sometime be a chore trying to maintain...because it's so easy to lose weight when you eat this way. I generally have to supplement my diet with some good craft brew just to keep my calories up.

    I'm glad I'm not alone in this.

    I'm guessing you guys probably have a few more calories at your disposal.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    Yes. Period. Yes.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    And it's perfectly easy for me to eat too much that way. LOL.
  • ltkasmala
    ltkasmala Posts: 109 Member
    That's why this site was helpful three years ago when I started to seriously focus on weight loss.... I, too, ate well. I just ate "a lot"! Portion control is important, bottom line! If you post what you eat you can quickly see how much of what is a good size!
  • JudithNYC
    JudithNYC Posts: 80 Member
    Oh, please, I could write a book on healthy eating and weight gain. I am probably the "healthiest" eater I know, except it's not that healthy because I love to eat big portions. And that is how I went all the way up to 220 pounds. Excess calories are excess calories no matter where they come from and your body will store them as fat.

    The bright spot is that even though I am usually the fattest person in the room, I am also the healthiest but I am tired of carrying that extra weight.
  • JudithNYC
    JudithNYC Posts: 80 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    While the obvious answer is yes, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around "eating too much healthy" stuff. Are people only eating endless amounts of nuts/nut butters, avacado, bacon, rice, potatoes and high fat cuts of meat?

    It does not need to be endless amounts. Yummy raw almond butter is 100 calories per tablespoon. And it takes at least two tablespoons, preferably three, on a piece of toast for me. That's 400 calories right there. Avocadoes are calorie dense too, 250 to 300 or even more if you get a large one. One cup of cooked medium grain rice: 240 calories. We won't even go into diary and meats, oils, etc.

    For a woman who is not very active and not that tall (borderline petite), it is very easy to gain weight on healthy food. Specially if she is a good cook and loves to polish off those bigger portions. Because, who ever heard of eating just a half a cup of rice? I'd rather do without.
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  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Yes.

    And now you see why so many people just cant seem to figure out why they aren't losing weight when "eating healthy all the time".
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    A healthy diet also considers how many calories you need and then eat at or below that if you want to drop pounds

    Just cut back on some high calorie foods and add some low calorie ones.

    If you swap out a cup of mixed nuts for three cups of cucumber tomato onion salad you get a huge calorie drop!

    Wise choices will be your friend along with a food scale and the food diary.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    JudithNYC wrote: »
    rybo wrote: »
    While the obvious answer is yes, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around "eating too much healthy" stuff. Are people only eating endless amounts of nuts/nut butters, avacado, bacon, rice, potatoes and high fat cuts of meat?

    It does not need to be endless amounts. Yummy raw almond butter is 100 calories per tablespoon. And it takes at least two tablespoons, preferably three, on a piece of toast for me. That's 400 calories right there. Avocadoes are calorie dense too, 250 to 300 or even more if you get a large one. One cup of cooked medium grain rice: 240 calories. We won't even go into diary and meats, oils, etc.

    For a woman who is not very active and not that tall (borderline petite), it is very easy to gain weight on healthy food. Specially if she is a good cook and loves to polish off those bigger portions. Because, who ever heard of eating just a half a cup of rice? I'd rather do without.

    learning portion control is also a part of healthy living.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JudithNYC wrote: »
    rybo wrote: »
    While the obvious answer is yes, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around "eating too much healthy" stuff. Are people only eating endless amounts of nuts/nut butters, avacado, bacon, rice, potatoes and high fat cuts of meat?

    It does not need to be endless amounts. Yummy raw almond butter is 100 calories per tablespoon. And it takes at least two tablespoons, preferably three, on a piece of toast for me. That's 400 calories right there. Avocadoes are calorie dense too, 250 to 300 or even more if you get a large one. One cup of cooked medium grain rice: 240 calories. We won't even go into diary and meats, oils, etc.

    For a woman who is not very active and not that tall (borderline petite), it is very easy to gain weight on healthy food. Specially if she is a good cook and loves to polish off those bigger portions. Because, who ever heard of eating just a half a cup of rice? I'd rather do without.

    It's not that hard. I am 5'6" and fairly active most of the year and I still gained weight eating mostly "healthy foods". Not quickly, but overeating as little as 50 calories per day on average can lead to 5 lbs per year gain. That's only one extra tbs of oil or glass of wine every 2-3 days.

    Don't do anything about that for 6 years, and BOOM, you need to lose 30 lbs.
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
    Yes.
  • kyla_mari
    kyla_mari Posts: 3 Member
    Well it really depends on the amount of calories in comparison to what you were eating before that was unhealthy if it's higher than you may want to start watching your portions but if it's less you are off to a good start! Plus depending on how active you are one day to the next plays a big role as well because some days you may need those extra calories and other days you may not. And I've noticed a lot of the time calories are the biggest role, it's trans fat and sugars/ carbohydrates that sabotage weight loss along with sodium which absorbs and retains water weight. Anyways I am all about fueling your body with the right nutrients so if there are to many calories don't worry about it right off the bat but the more you get accustomed to eating healthy the easier it will be to shrink your portions :smile:
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Yes
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