not doing it right

keel_ashley
keel_ashley Posts: 13 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
..so obviously I'm not. So if I stay under my calorie intake level every day but I don't watch things like sodium, carbs, and fat grams will I still lose weight or will it just like cancel each other out?...I'm exercising daily as well.

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Calorie deficit to lose weight.

    Macros (protein, fat, carbs) & micros (nutrients) for health and staying full while eating less.

    You could eat a Twinkie diet & lose weight.....but you would probably feel like crap.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Calories are king for weight loss. As long as you keep them in the right range, you should lose weight.

    Things like carbs, fat, and sodium can affect your overall health and things like water weight that might mask fat loss, but they won't cancel out a calorie deficit.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    If you hit your calorie goal then you are doing it right! The other things, your macronutrients or macros, like fat, fiber protein, sodium won't cancel out weight loss (although higher sodium days may cause you to retain water and mask fat loss for a little while) but they are important for other reasons. Protein helps you retain your muscle mass and tends to increase satiety so it is your friend while losing weight! You want to look great when you hit your goal weight, right? Fiber and fat help with satiety, too, so I watch those as well. Carbs are great for fueling workouts, but I find it hard to stick to my calorie goal and feel satisified if I eat too many refined carbs and frankly the reason I needed to lose weight was because I found it very easy to eat too many of them! Anything you can do to help yourself stick with your calorie goal is worth paying attention because that's all it boils down to. Good luck!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    It is thought that some with insulin resistance will lose a little easier on a low carb diet, but beyond that, the calorie deficit is the main need for weight loss.
  • amberlyda1
    amberlyda1 Posts: 154 Member
    its all about the math. Calories in vs calories out. Be careful though if you eat too few calories than your body will go into a type of starvation mode and hold onto everything. Sodium will cause you to retain water weight; carbs get meabolised as sugar unless they have a high fiber content. Funny enough FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU. Just make sure its the right kind of fat
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you eat few enough calories, you will lose weight no matter what you're eating.

    Eating healthy foods is good for you, gives you those vitamins and minerals that you need, fiber you can use...helps you stay healthy! But you could lose weight eating nothing but ice cream. :)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    @amberlyda1 Check out this article on "starvation mode"... Unfortunately this is a myth that just will not go away!!

    http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/
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  • amberlyda1
    amberlyda1 Posts: 154 Member
    I can't take the guy in the article too seriously. He lists his acredidations as "a guy obsessed with nutrition" With us frequent yo yo dieters, "starvation mode" is a thing and putting yourself in too much of a deficit can ruin your metabolism and negate your efforts due to hormonal imbalances caused by improper nutrition. Yes if you starve yourself you will loose weight, but when you begin to eat normally your body will try to retain everything as storage for the next famine. You will also burn muscle as your body needs a minimum amount of proteins etc to function properly. If you go into a large deficit it can make swelling worse and make an individual retain more water.
  • keel_ashley
    keel_ashley Posts: 13 Member
    ..thanks for the advice so I will see weight loss results but the other aspects should be considered for my over all health!! :-) Got it!!! Cool how you can get on here ava ask a question and get solid answers from people who been where I'm at in my lifestyle change.
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
    amberlyda1 wrote: »
    I can't take the guy in the article too seriously. He lists his acredidations as "a guy obsessed with nutrition" With us frequent yo yo dieters, "starvation mode" is a thing and putting yourself in too much of a deficit can ruin your metabolism and negate your efforts due to hormonal imbalances caused by improper nutrition. Yes if you starve yourself you will loose weight, but when you begin to eat normally your body will try to retain everything as storage for the next famine. You will also burn muscle as your body needs a minimum amount of proteins etc to function properly. If you go into a large deficit it can make swelling worse and make an individual retain more water.

    That article aside, the point it makes is true, Starvation mode as you described it doesn't exist. Any changes in metabolism would be minuscule at best. You're right about burning through muscle and damaging the body, but if "starvation mode" as you described it were true, the Minnesota Experiment wouldn't have happened the way it did.
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