Please help me understand weight loss and nutrition

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http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside/p1

maidentl wrote: »

So over the past month, you've lost about 4-5 pounds? It sounds like you're doing just fine. You can eat anything you like within your calorie goal, just less of it. A lot of weight loss is trial and error, but you'll soon figure out which foods keep you full, which don't. Poke around on Pinterest or the recipe section here for low-calorie options that sound good to you.

True that!

BogdanMih wrote: »

Dont eat everything you want, a calorie deficit is not enough as long as you're still eating proccesed food. Here's my advice: Start eating good home cooked meals rich in protein as well as fats and carbs. Reduce sugar intake to almost none or at least 5-6 tspoons/day. Eat fruits. And one personal advice that I recommend when one wants to loose weight fast: use intermittent fasting. Google it, research it and apply it. Youre gonna feel great and you are gonna loose weight, trust me! Oh, and keep the calorie deficit, that is important too. Good luck!

...No. You don't need to cut out processed food, or reduce sugar. And you don't need intermittent fasting (I know you didn't say you need it, just saying). You just need a calorie deficit. You can still lose weight perfectly easily eating those things you've said to cut out.

DemoraFairy wrote: »

BogdanMih wrote: »

Dont eat everything you want, a calorie deficit is not enough as long as you're still eating proccesed food. Here's my advice: Start eating good home cooked meals rich in protein as well as fats and carbs. Reduce sugar intake to almost none or at least 5-6 tspoons/day. Eat fruits. And one personal advice that I recommend when one wants to loose weight fast: use intermittent fasting. Google it, research it and apply it. Youre gonna feel great and you are gonna loose weight, trust me! Oh, and keep the calorie deficit, that is important too. Good luck!

...No. You don't need to cut out processed food, or reduce sugar. And you don't need intermittent fasting (I know you didn't say you need it, just saying). You just need a calorie deficit. You can still lose weight perfectly easily eating those things you've said to cut out.

+1

jgnatca wrote: »

So ideas for eating at home? Hubby and I rotate through "Italian", "meat-and-potatoes", "Chinese", "Mexican". I keep a variety of meats in the freezer (hamburger, chicken breast, pork chops) as well as beans and get different veggies in season fresh.

I have a George foreman and a slow cooker.

The carb might be pasta, rice or potatoes.

I mix and match. Sometimes I will use Pinterest or Google listing the ingredients and see what comes up. I bookmark successful recipes.

Lunch is often leftovers from the night before.

Breakfasts are cereal (cooked or dry) yogurt or egg based.

Portable snacks include crackers and cheese, a fruit, cucumber or celery sticks, or a protein bar.

Really love the way you eat! Good job!

Skinnytaste website has a lot of great recipes that are high in flavor and fit my calorie count for dinner. Especially if I like having a snack or dessert after dinner. I usually pair them with a salad or veggies, but there are suggestions there too. Check it out!

It took some time for me to adjust, too. One thing that I found was that I really needed to eat more protein. It kept me feeling more satisfied for longer. I also found that I needed to add a lot more vegetables than usual. The bulk really helped when that 4 ozs of whatever looked mighty small on my plate.

Snacks.....I tried some of those protein bar things. I personally cannot eat them. They are just yucky to me. I'd rather go without a snack. I use apples, celery and salsa is one of my faves, unsweetened applesauce is another, and those 100 calorie popcorns from Jiffypop are good. I had to toss out a few diet items I gave a whirl.....lots of it is just inedible to me.

I found that I do best with a set breakfast.....for me it's yogurt and half cup of cereal. I also have about 5 lunches I rotate around. That leaves only dinner to fuss over and figure out if it'll be good. Eating out is hard for me. I don't get many calories, so it's hard to find anything on the menu that actually is going to be OK. Usually, I have to skimp on other meals so I have enough left to eat out.

If I'm super-hungry, a can of tuna and some fruit works. You'll find plenty of recipes online for slimming down regular meals. It's kind of fun to try new recipes. The snacks, I agree, are not so easy. And if I can, I just skip them.

marissamacko13 wrote: »

For the last month I have tried exercising more and didn't eat as much junk as usual. I would typically go out to eat at least 3-4 times a week, but now I'm down to 1. I've kept a close eye on my intake and never really went over my calories. I have 1300 calories a day, I am 5'3 and now 187 pounds. I started at about 191-192.


Can anyone help me with meal ideas? Or snack ideas? I just feel so lost with this even though it should be common sense.

DemoraFairy wrote: »

BogdanMih wrote: »

DemoraFairy wrote: »

BogdanMih wrote: »

Dont eat everything you want, a calorie deficit is not enough as long as you're still eating proccesed food. Here's my advice: Start eating good home cooked meals rich in protein as well as fats and carbs. Reduce sugar intake to almost none or at least 5-6 tspoons/day. Eat fruits. And one personal advice that I recommend when one wants to loose weight fast: use intermittent fasting. Google it, research it and apply it. Youre gonna feel great and you are gonna loose weight, trust me! Oh, and keep the calorie deficit, that is important too. Good luck!

...No. You don't need to cut out processed food, or reduce sugar. And you don't need intermittent fasting (I know you didn't say you need it, just saying). You just need a calorie deficit. You can still lose weight perfectly easily eating those things you've said to cut out.

I know you all want to belive that but I know what I'm saying. Processed food is bad. I tried both ways, a deficit in calories where I ate pretty much what i wanted to cover those calories and another one where I carefully cooked all my meals and reduced my sugar intake. The results were beyond comparison. You maybe say that because even if you eat processed food you probably don't gain that much fat (alotough I don't know that) Each of us burn calories at different rates and that is because of our lifestyle and our metabolism, which works different for each of us.

What I said above about reducing the sugar intake to 6 tsp/day was actualy what is recommended by the The American Heart Association.( And in my opinion I think it should be less)

As for Intermittent fasting, it's just something I tell people to try, it's really awesome once you get used to it.

Again, just my personal opinion. Don't get mad at me

I gained fat on eating processed foods, I also lost fat eating processed foods, because at first I was eating more calories than I burnt and then I started eating less calories than I burnt. Yes, we all burn calories at a different rate, so you have to work out the amount of calories that works best for you. Unless you have a medical condition, it doesn't matter what those calories are made up of.

But if you're going to say that you should cut out processed foods, then you should define what you mean by processed foods. Is it foods with preservatives? Artificial flavourings? Anything with more than one ingredient that you buy ready made? Anything that isn't in its natural state that you've bought that way? Does it matter who does the processing?

@DemoraFairy Ok, so first of all, I did not say that you will not loose weight while in a calorie deficit and eating processed food. You will loose weight, slower and messier - so to say - if you ask me. Since the fitness revolution in the mid 90's the main rule was that if you eat less and you exercise more YOU WILL loose weight. And they were right, in a way. But I will disagree with you, you don't need to have a medical condition to matter what the calories are made of. I read a lot on this subject and to summarize i learned that "a calorie is not a calorie". You can't compare 1 avocado with 1 'any sugary bar you want'. You just can't. They may have the same amount of calories but if you talk about the micro/macronutrients in those 2, they are miles away different. The impact they have on the body it's different, mainly because of the absorption time. But this is a very complicate subject that I don't fully understand it yet so let's move on.

Now, what i mean by processed food, for me is pretty much everything with all those mentioned by you above. But let's face it, who can make that big of a change? It's expensive, it takes a lot of your time and you will give up after a while. But you can avoid some foods. For example:
Frozen Dinners - they are "great": vegetables, some chicken, entree, all in one plate; but most of them are loaded with sugar, fat and sodium, all bad for you.
Any instant food - same thing, loaded with fats and if you ask me too many carbs that can be spitted in 2 other healthy meals that will keep you satisfied for longer.
Flavored Nuts - Lots and lots of sugars and fats. Buy the RAW ones, I mean c'mon, they're great.
Ketchup - The most unbeliveable creation to make bad food worth eating as a friend of mine would say; but the tomatoes in ketchup are so diluted by sugar and salt that it's simply not good for you.
White Bread - There are plenty of other options and it's not that hard to cut it out of your diet.
Sugary Cereals - You can make an amazing breakfast with some oats, fruits, some dark chocolate, vanilla sticks etc. You don't need all those processed cereals in the supermarket.
Low fat products - With theese I just recommend reading the nutritional label becasue they are often loaded with sugar and that 5% fat you cut out it's for nothing if you eat 10g of sugar at once.
Sweets - Here we can apply that "moderation' concept. You can't just don't eat sweets anymore, you gotta enjoy life. But less is better. Make it an ocasion not a habit. And you can always pop in some dark chocolate when you really crave some sweets.

I really have a lot of stuff I would recommend, but I can't just write novels here.
Have any other questions or you know, maybe some advice, I'm not perfect, contact me.

Eat healthy, good luck!

BogdanMih wrote: »

DemoraFairy wrote: »

BogdanMih wrote: »

DemoraFairy wrote: »

BogdanMih wrote: »

Dont eat everything you want, a calorie deficit is not enough as long as you're still eating proccesed food. Here's my advice: Start eating good home cooked meals rich in protein as well as fats and carbs. Reduce sugar intake to almost none or at least 5-6 tspoons/day. Eat fruits. And one personal advice that I recommend when one wants to loose weight fast: use intermittent fasting. Google it, research it and apply it. Youre gonna feel great and you are gonna loose weight, trust me! Oh, and keep the calorie deficit, that is important too. Good luck!

...No. You don't need to cut out processed food, or reduce sugar. And you don't need intermittent fasting (I know you didn't say you need it, just saying). You just need a calorie deficit. You can still lose weight perfectly easily eating those things you've said to cut out.

I know you all want to belive that but I know what I'm saying. Processed food is bad. I tried both ways, a deficit in calories where I ate pretty much what i wanted to cover those calories and another one where I carefully cooked all my meals and reduced my sugar intake. The results were beyond comparison. You maybe say that because even if you eat processed food you probably don't gain that much fat (alotough I don't know that) Each of us burn calories at different rates and that is because of our lifestyle and our metabolism, which works different for each of us.

What I said above about reducing the sugar intake to 6 tsp/day was actualy what is recommended by the The American Heart Association.( And in my opinion I think it should be less)

As for Intermittent fasting, it's just something I tell people to try, it's really awesome once you get used to it.

Again, just my personal opinion. Don't get mad at me

I gained fat on eating processed foods, I also lost fat eating processed foods, because at first I was eating more calories than I burnt and then I started eating less calories than I burnt. Yes, we all burn calories at a different rate, so you have to work out the amount of calories that works best for you. Unless you have a medical condition, it doesn't matter what those calories are made up of.

But if you're going to say that you should cut out processed foods, then you should define what you mean by processed foods. Is it foods with preservatives? Artificial flavourings? Anything with more than one ingredient that you buy ready made? Anything that isn't in its natural state that you've bought that way? Does it matter who does the processing?

@DemoraFairy Ok, so first of all, I did not say that you will not loose weight while in a calorie deficit and eating processed food. You will loose weight, slower and messier - so to say - if you ask me. Since the fitness revolution in the mid 90's the main rule was that if you eat less and you exercise more YOU WILL loose weight. And they were right, in a way. But I will disagree with you, you don't need to have a medical condition to matter what the calories are made of. I read a lot on this subject and to summarize i learned that "a calorie is not a calorie". You can't compare 1 avocado with 1 'any sugary bar you want'. You just can't. They may have the same amount of calories but if you talk about the micro/macronutrients in those 2, they are miles away different. The impact they have on the body it's different, mainly because of the absorption time. But this is a very complicate subject that I don't fully understand it yet so let's move on.

Now, what i mean by processed food, for me is pretty much everything with all those mentioned by you above. But let's face it, who can make that big of a change? It's expensive, it takes a lot of your time and you will give up after a while. But you can avoid some foods. For example:
Frozen Dinners - they are "great": vegetables, some chicken, entree, all in one plate; but most of them are loaded with sugar, fat and sodium, all bad for you.
Any instant food - same thing, loaded with fats and if you ask me too many carbs that can be spitted in 2 other healthy meals that will keep you satisfied for longer.
Flavored Nuts - Lots and lots of sugars and fats. Buy the RAW ones, I mean c'mon, they're great.
Ketchup - The most unbeliveable creation to make bad food worth eating as a friend of mine would say; but the tomatoes in ketchup are so diluted by sugar and salt that it's simply not good for you.
White Bread - There are plenty of other options and it's not that hard to cut it out of your diet.
Sugary Cereals - You can make an amazing breakfast with some oats, fruits, some dark chocolate, vanilla sticks etc. You don't need all those processed cereals in the supermarket.
Low fat products - With theese I just recommend reading the nutritional label becasue they are often loaded with sugar and that 5% fat you cut out it's for nothing if you eat 10g of sugar at once.
Sweets - Here we can apply that "moderation' concept. You can't just don't eat sweets anymore, you gotta enjoy life. But less is better. Make it an ocasion not a habit. And you can always pop in some dark chocolate when you really crave some sweets.

I really have a lot of stuff I would recommend, but I can't just write novels here.
Have any other questions or you know, maybe some advice, I'm not perfect, contact me.

Eat healthy, good luck!

@BogdanMih Everything I've read supports that calories are what matters. What those calories are made up of affect other things, such as satiety, energy, health, etc. but in terms of simple weight loss, it's just calories. So I will agree that an avocado and a sugar bar a different impact, but not an impact on how many calories your body burns.

"Now, what i mean by processed food, for me is pretty much everything with all those mentioned by you above." I assume you don't mean everything I said, since that would cut out pretty much everything in the supermarket. You couldn't ever buy meat, because it's been changed from its natural state. You'd have to farm your own. You'd basically have to be a farmer to live by that rule. Pedanticness aside, I still don't quite agree with the things you've listed. I mean, for example, I used to have a microwave meal quite often which was chicken, potatos and vegetables, which was 277 calories. You try splitting that into 2 more filling meals!

BogdanMih wrote: »

jgnatca wrote: »

@BogdanMih I also have goldfish crackers in my cupboard. Everything in moderation, eh?

I'm not a fan of the ''everything in moderation'' concept that most people use. When you eat mostly home cooked meals like you do for example, some cheats now and then are fine. I have my own ''everything in moderation'' concept where I advise people to enjoy those cheats in moderation, and use their common sense. Check the nutrition labels to avoid anything high in fats, sugars, and chemicals you can’t pronounce. If it has high contents of fats or sugars and you still want to eat it make sure you really "pay'' for that one. (ha ha, I'm joking).
Anyway, keep up the good work!

You say you don't agree with 'everything in moderation', then in both posts you recommend eating everything in moderation. 'You can't just don't eat sweets anymore, you gotta enjoy life. But less is better. Make it an ocasion not a habit', 'some cheats now and then are fine', those are basically the definition of everything in moderation. And that's what people here advise, and what I'm advising. I'm not saying to eat only junk food all the time (though I am saying that would still make you lose weight), my point was you don't need to cut anything out.

Though I have to laugh at the whole 'chemicals you can’t pronounce' thing. I've never seen it argued seriously, I always thought it was a parody of the clean eating argument, because the argument just makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, firstly, if you're actually going to take it seriously, just learn to pronounce the names. Secondly: