Does what you eat matter?

I'm with you in the whole being poor thing AND having allergies. It's a pain in the *kitten*! OMG! I was given 4 boxes of food from a pantry and couldn't eat any of it except for the canned vegetables. My daughter and I are allergic to wheat, eggs, milk, and peanuts. The American staples, lol, they are in EVERYTHING! Just curious though, if you are allergic to milk, how can you eat Mac and Cheese?

Here are MY staples:

Beans (They are cheap, healthy, and filling)
Brown Rice (I cook up a big batch twice a week in vegetable broth. Again, healthy and filling)

What fruits and veggies CAN you eat? Thats a tough one. I highly recommend figuring that out and working around it. Weight loss is pointless if in the end you aren't healthy enough to enjoy it in the end.

You will lose weight as long as your calories in is less than your calories out. However, healthy food is important for health. Eating "crap" is better than not eating, especially if you're still watching your portions and calories. Hang in there, and remember that this is temporary!

Is this actually true? If so how do you explain starvation mode or plateus? There are numerous people on here who claim that they had to increase their calories in order to lose weight. How could this be?

Oh for spork's sake. Any EXCESSIVE calorie deficit will cause starvation mode. Do you just enjoy trying to tear me apart or is it by chance that you always pick my thoughts?

Are you sure because I don't remember trying to tear you apart?

I am asking because I hear it all the time but then i hear people say that they couldn't lose weight until they increased their calories. If all that matters is calories in < calories out than this can't possibly be true. I mean wouldn't an excessive calorie deficit cause an even greater loss of weight?

I am not trying to tear you apart, just get some answers, sorry if it comes off that way.

I think it probably matters in the long run. you want to be healthy as well as thin. Someday, you will have more money and be able to eat anything you want. I understand about being broke because I am too. I spend about $300 for 6 weeks of groceries for two people which comes out to about $25 a week per person. I eat really well but then I don't have any allergies. Obviously, your allergies are a problem but you can work around them. I would recommend that you ask your doctor what you can eat instead. You should also see if you can get a cookbook from a used bookstore. If you want find recipes online, there are many websites for recipes. I like Allrecipes because you can put in the ingredients you have and it will give you recipes that have those ingredients. Here are some healthy things I think you can eat.

Beans. I really like black beans but any beans are good for you. You can put them in a burrito with canned corn and salsa.
Nuts are great for snacking on. Peanut butter is really good. You can make peanut butter noodles or peanut butter chicken. Popcorn with little salt and butter. Sandwiches can be made with luncheon meat and whole wheat bread.

If you are going to eat junk food, then find the better of the two bad items. If you want to have a candy bar then look at the calories between two of them and pick the better option.

When you eat less than your body needs to survive, you won't lose weight. I guess I should say when you net less, because there are many people who net 500 calories a day and wonder why they're having problems. Say your BMR is about 1800. If you eat slightly less than that, enough to equal 3500 calories per week, you'll lose weight. If you cut too drastically, you won't. The idea of eating more still involves a calorie deficit, just a less severe one, like eating 1600 per day instead of 1200 per day. You're still at a deficit for your BMR, but not so much so that you're shocking your body.

I looked at all your posts for nearly a month and I'm pretty sure I've never posted in any of those threads.

Anyway, what you are saying is much different than "if you eat less calories than you burn than you will lose weight no matter what" I guess you were the wrong person to ask since you don't actually believe that. Their are people who will claim that the law of thermodynamics can not be broken and so it must be true.

These constant contradictions have me spinning in circles with no real idea on what I am supposed to do.

By the way, I'm a gamer too. I have played WOW since 2004 and just recently started playing Rift. :happy:

I'm right there with you on the allergy front. I'm severely allergic to natural latex proteins, which eliminates a surprising number of healthy foods: bananas, pears, kiwis, zucchini, avocados, soy, celery, mangoes, wheat grass, all nuts except for almonds and pecans... the list goes on and on and freakin' on. As I'm rather keen on avoiding death, I have to watch what I eat very closely and, unfortunately, it seems the healthier a menu item is the less likely I'll be able to eat it.

Hamburgers and hot dogs with a side of greasy crisps? No problem. Pesto Tofu? Painful death. *sighs*

For the most part, a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day will result in a weight loss of one pound per week; regardless of what you're eating. Do keep an eye on specific nutritional deficiencies related to your allergies though (for example, I have difficulty getting enough potassium in my diet), and try your best to eat a balanced diet.


Also, feel free to add me to your friend list if you'd like a partner in allergy purgatory.

I think a lot of people aren't reading your post correctly. I live with allergies to A LOT of the really common ingredients in our food system (corn, wheat, soy...etc). I understand how hard it is to buy things without allergens in it and how expensive it can be. I really think that eating macaroni and hot dogs will make it harder for you to lose weight very fast...but do what you can with what your money allows. I looked up your allergy (I had never heard of it before). Could you maybe buy fresh vegetables and steam them or stir fry them? Can you also try frozen veggies? Canned/frozen may not be the BEST, but they still contain nutrients and will help you tremendously with your diet. I understand that you don't have a lot of money, but try to think outside the box. Instead of macaroni, try getting a cheap box of brown rice and a can of stewed tomatoes and put that together with some cooked chicken breasts (most of the time there are some chicken breasts on sale!) There are also a lot of inexpensive soups out there that aren't very calorie dense, although you've got to watch out for crazy sodium content. I hope this starts to get easier for you!!

When you eat less than your body needs to survive, you won't lose weight. I guess I should say when you net less, because there are many people who net 500 calories a day and wonder why they're having problems. Say your BMR is about 1800. If you eat slightly less than that, enough to equal 3500 calories per week, you'll lose weight. If you cut too drastically, you won't. The idea of eating more still involves a calorie deficit, just a less severe one, like eating 1600 per day instead of 1200 per day. You're still at a deficit for your BMR, but not so much so that you're shocking your body.

I looked at all your posts for nearly a month and I'm pretty sure I've never posted in any of those threads.

Anyway, what you are saying is much different than "if you eat less calories than you burn than you will lose weight no matter what" I guess you were the wrong person to ask since you don't actually believe that. Their are people who will claim that the law of thermodynamics can not be broken and so it must be true.

These constant contradictions have me spinning in circles with no real idea on what I am supposed to do.

By the way, I'm a gamer too. I have played WOW since 2004 and just recently started playing Rift. :happy:

No, what I am saying is exactly what I've been saying, the amount of detail I put into the post is what changes. MFP uses the system of deficits, eating less than you burn. My BMR is around 1700 cal per day. I set mine to lose 1 lb per week, and I am netting 1600 per day, or attempting to. My point being that you'll lose weight eating 1200 calories of twinkies (as some dude proved on a documentary), but you won't be healthy. I could live off of 1200 calories of cereal and milk a day and lose weight, but I wouldn't be very healthy. There is a huge difference between dieting and health. Bigger than most people want to realize. That is why it is important to make a lifestyle change if you are determined to keep the weight off.

Edit: I apologize if I mistook you for someone else. It is very frustrating when people post and make you feel like you're stupid because your opinion is different from theirs.

No problemo.

Here's the thing, you say that if you maintain a deficit you will lose weight. But you also said that if you maintain a deficit that is too large you won't lose weight. Does this not seem confusing to you?

i don't want to make you feel bad so if these questions are bothering you i will stop.

There is no one food that will hinder/accelerate weight loss. Weight loss/gain is determined by energy balance (calories in vs. calories out). Body composition, or the amount of fat/lean mass you have, is determined by the amounts of MACROnutrients you ingest (carbs/fat/protein). Foods also contain MICROnutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) that are important for overall health, but do not rule weight loss/gain.

Using this post you can get a general idea of calculating your calorie and macronutrient needs. All of the calculations have been gathered from empirical studies that are peer reviewed:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=436716771&postcount=1


In regards to hormones, everyone wants to look at the immediate post meal fluctuations and never bother to look at the LONG term levels and effects of those hormones. Transient hormonal fluctations such as insulin, glucagon, IGF-1, GH, etc. are largely irrelevent in terms of weight loss/gain.


The main problem IMO is people get defensive when what they believe to be true about dieting comes crashing down. The fact that losing weight is much simpler that it is made out to be. Why is it hard to accept the fact losing weight is as simple as counting your calories and maintaining a deficit? Common sense IMO would tell you to eat mostly whole foods, but for God's sake don't tell me that my weight loss is going to be slowed or hindered by sugar.



CLIFFS:


1. Energy balance determines weight loss
2. Macronutrients determine body compostion
3. MICROnutrients are important for overall health, but have no play in weight loss