Why eat healthy/nutritious food?

You answered your own question! More bulk generally leaves you feeling fuller. Also a 100 cal candy bar will me gone an about 3 seconds if your anything like me and leave me wanting more sweet stuff. Same with salt....more you have the more you want!

If I eat a candy bar (250 cal or so) I'm tired and feel like cr@p, and hungry again in an hour. If I eat the same calories in eggs, cheese, veggies, I'm full for hours and I feel good and energetic.

That's enough reason for me.

nutrient dense foods are more bang for your buck - I often forget about micronutrients. I am going to incorporate more in my diet

Because it's healthy/nutritious.
That said, it must also be delicious!

Because it's better fuel for my body, I feel better when I'm eating in a nutritious way and it's yum.

Because weight loss and health/nutrition are two very separate things. Sure, you can lose weight by just eating a certain amount of calories in candy, but your health will go to hell and you'll be deficient in all sorts of nutrients. You'll also likely be hungry and very damn sick of candy.

elaineamj wrote: »

Starting my journey so have been reading the forums and learning a lot about calories in, calories out. Basically my understanding is that a 100 calorie candy bar is equivalent to a 100 calorie apple in terms of weight loss.

So what are the reasons to choose food that is less processed/lower in sodium/whole foods/veggies/etc?

In tandem with my calorie counting, I have been doing more cooking from scratch/lowering sodium intake/lowering fat intake and so on. From what I am learning, the positive aspects of doing this are:

- nutritious food often leaves me feeling fuller between meals (eg a bowl of chickpeas vs a donut)
- less sodium is better for my heart
- nutrients matter for my body's overall health.

Those are basically the reasons, although I will add - sodium really only matters for heart health if you have high blood pressure. For those whose blood pressure is normal, sodium and potassium have no measurable impact.

Why not?

seska422 wrote: »

I aim for a good macro and micro balance and about 80% of my calories for nutrient dense foods with 20% going to whatever I wish.

I'm losing weight in a way that's sustainable for me. I'm not giving up anything that I'm not willing to give up forever.

I'm not going balls to the wall and changing up everything about my diet. Personal experience has shown that that will lead me to regaining all of the weight I lose plus some.

I'm using this weight loss time to learn how to work my foods into a balanced and overall healthful diet.

I only eat foods I like. I don't eat foods I don't like. I've substituted some foods that I like with other foods that I also like that are more nutrient dense. I refuse to waste my calorie budget on "healthy" foods that I don't like.

I moderate calorie dense foods. If I find a food that I can't moderate, I only buy single-serving portions of it.

I drink some of my calories. I drink a lot of water too but I'm not willing to give up on caloried drinks.

Everyone needs to find their own way and experiment to see what works for them long term. I barely feel like I'm in weight loss mode because I'm still eating close to the way I've always eaten. Portion control is my area of concentration.

This!! If I want something, I've learned to work it in and balance it with good stuff. Great post.

elaineamj wrote: »

Starting my journey so have been reading the forums and learning a lot about calories in, calories out. Basically my understanding is that a 100 calorie candy bar is equivalent to a 100 calorie apple in terms of weight loss.

So what are the reasons to choose food that is less processed/lower in sodium/whole foods/veggies/etc?

In tandem with my calorie counting, I have been doing more cooking from scratch/lowering sodium intake/lowering fat intake and so on. From what I am learning, the positive aspects of doing this are:

- nutritious food often leaves me feeling fuller between meals (eg a bowl of chickpeas vs a donut)
- less sodium is better for my heart
- nutrients matter for my body's overall health.

Yes.

However.

Many people get caught up in the mindset of candy-or-other-not-particularly-nutritious-stuff = bad. This sets up / continues negative emotions being associated with food (i.e., "bad" food), which can eventually lead to people judging themselves negatively based on eating something that is high-cal/low-nutrient (i.e., I was/am bad because I ate a Snickers instead of an apple).

In terms of weight loss, sure, 100cal candy bar = 100cal apple. In terms of nutrition, apple > candy bar. In terms of sustainability.... Man, some days, I just want a freaking Snickers. I could not care less about the nutritional comparison. An apple =/= chocolate. If I want chocolate, and I try to appease myself with an apple, eventually I will eat that chocolate in addition to the apple.

Sometimes a Snickers bar isn't worth it, in terms of calories, nutrition, etc. But if you're at a point where your sanity depends on chocolate (it happens; I won't judge if you won't), eat the damn candy and enjoy it.

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

It's a never ending learning process. Right now, I'm working on incorporating more legumes in my diet, as I tend to stick with garbanzos and black beans. Trying new dishes and incorporating my favorites into my diet will give me more flexibility of choice and still help me meet my goals.

I love both and also do some tasty white bean options, but lentils are my go to, as they are really the easiest legume, as they are so fast cooking. So highly recommended!

That's funny -- I don't perceive lentils as hippy at all. But then, I grew up in a meat and potatoes and veg kind of household (not hippy at all!). My parents still find the idea of a main meal without meat confusing.

I lost a lot of weight initially on my journey by eating "diet" foods - Lean Cuisine, Diet Coke, splenda in my coffee instead of sugar, non-fat milk, sugar free this, sugar free that. So yes part of the "calories in vs calories out" statement holds true, to lose weight,

For health, the quality of the calories count. 100 calories of candy vs 100 calories of fruit - both have a bunch of sugar right? What about vitmains, minerals, fiber? I've been on a Paleo type regimen for about a year and a half now and it's changed the way I look at what I eat. When you eat that candy bar, your body recognizes the sugar - physiologically our bodies expect there to be nutirents to go along with that sugar because historically we didn't all walk around chewing on straight sugar cane - our bodies learned that naturally ocurring sugar comes from whole foods like fruit. When you chomp on an apple, your body gets the nutrients and fiber it's expecting, thus yes, you feel fuller longer and don't get that feeling of heading towards a downward spiral of neverending empty carbohydrate consumption. Eat the candy bar, you brain is like awesome, we're getting sugar! We run on sugar, okay... wait where's the other good stuff we need to live? Oh, I didn't get it, better eat something else.... and so it goes.

Calories in vs Calories out, is scientifically true - but the quality of the calories matter. I'm more afraid of drinking a diet soda now than I would be a real Coke despite the high fructose corn syrup. Ban the artificial crap. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. To quote Michael Pollan, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." - Food is anything that grows. Everything else is food like subsbtances.

This has to be a lifestyle to be successful, and a lifestyle of consumption of foodlikesubsbtances will not lead you to healthy outcomes. Trust me, I'm a pharmacist, studying nutritionist, and alternative medicine enthusiast.

That all being said - I agree still with those about the 80/20 rule.... do I never eat hershey kisses? muffins? cupcakes? hell no, I love that stuff! Just only here and there