Is it the total calories or the foods that help with weight

with regards to weightloss, no, it doesnt matter, as long as you stay in your goal.

Healthwise it makes a big difference if thats a common occurance. and 1200 cals of icecream isnt going to be enough to keep you going all day most likely, whereas if you choose healthier foods, you get a lot more for your cals, so you feel more satisfied

It does matter. If you are trying to lose weight 1200 calories of ice cream or junk is full of carbs and fat. 1200 calories of healthy clean eating would inclued a balance between protein, carbs, and fat. Everyone has an opinion, this is just mine. Experiment to see what works for you

There are factors that will help you. High fibre, low sodium foods will help, as will drinking more than 100 oz of water per day. (I aim for about 120 oz per day). And the reason it's better to eat healthy food choices instead of just 1200 calories of ice cream is this

1200 calories of junk goes by very quickly. You don't get a lot of food, and suddenly you've reached your limit for the day. This will leave you hungry and likely lead to cheating. Not to mention that your sodium intake for the day will be through the roof, which will cause your body to retain water.

1200 calories of good, healthy food is actually quite a lot of food. You can be satiated if you space out your meals. In fact, planning 300 calories 4 x a day can keep you full until you're ready for bed - especially if you're drinking all your water.

Hope this helps!

Here is a link to a guy who is a personal trainer in the UK.

http://www.londonpersonaltrainingstudio.com/

If you goto the the free elimination workout bit and sign up to that he has a very very different view, they don't ask for money or anything like that. I have been trying to copy and paste the link to the actual diet bit that I have but its not working.

What he is saying is that all the junk and chemicals do have a influence on the way your body processes food. I must say he is very extreme cutting out all junk to the point where I just cannot stick to it, BUT after reading what he has to say I do try and make 90% of my calories good ones - have better days than others and the weekend IS difficult...

and by the way, it took me a year to lose 40lbs the right way...and I know I am not going to gain it back. I was 40lbs heavier June 28, 2010. There is no quick fix.

I lose sooooo slowly. I need to boast my metabolism. So here is the questiion. (yes I know age is a factor). I get stuck on a certain weight... like 150 pounds. IF I HAVE 1200 CALORIES... DOES IT MATTER IF I EAT 1200 CALORIES OF ICE CREAM or the good stuff? Is 1200 calories 1200 calories no matter what you eat.

No I am not eating ice cream, but I am simply asking, it you stay within your calorie goal does it matter what you eat?

And I am trying to figure out what would boost my metabolism, if anything. I am losing .5 a week. By the time I get to my weight goal... it will be over a year. I am in a hurry.

I lose sooooo slowly. I need to boast my metabolism.
[...]
No I am not eating ice cream, but I am simply asking, it you stay within your calorie goal does it matter what you eat?
[...]
And I am trying to figure out what would boost my metabolism, if anything. I am losing .5 a week. By the time I get to my weight goal... it will be over a year. I am in a hurry.

These are really two separate questions:

* How to boost your metabolism?

- To boost their metabolism, most people will chose to build muscle. So, you need to exercise, run, do weight lifting, etc.
Your muscle will burn more energy, thus you will burn more energy.

- Living in a very cold country also boosts your metabolism (your body would be forced to produce more heat).

- If you eat too much food (abundance), then your body will learn to burn more food and you will actually boost your metabolism as well. This is why people try to avoid "starvation mode" which will "lower" your metabolism (rarity of food), as your body becomes "conservative".
Etc.
So basically, whenever your body is "struggling" (physically), you are boosting your metabolism.


* What do you need to eat within your daily limit of 1200 calories?

- You can eat what you want (almost) and still lose weight if you stay within your allowance.
However you would probably die if you were only eating ice cream, as your body would probably lack a critical nutrient at some point (e.g. protein or whatever).

- If you eat only "junk" however, you will seriously hinder your muscle building (because it takes proteins to build muscles, and plenty of other things). Thus, you would actually fail to boost your metabolism enough.

- As others have said, you would feel really tired, you would feel depressed, you would probably not even be able to actually lose weight because of that (yes, your mind plays its part too)

- Finally, you can speed up your weight loss by eating a "balanced" meal. If you were only eating junk food, then your body would probably get enough fat and carbs from food, and would probably end up burning your fat slower than someone who eats a balanced meal.

there r foods to rev the metabolism, but eating more frequent but smaller portions is the natural way of keeping ur body in action, the process of digesting food requires energy(calories).

u can divide 1200cals to 3 meals of 400, or 6 meals of 200, 3 meals/day causes major spikes up and down in ur metabolism. It takes about 3 hrs to digest a meal. This means if u only eat 3 meals a day, there are several hours between each meal where ur body is not digesting food. When ur body is finished digesting food, ur metabolism drops off. In contrast, 6 meal after every 3 hrs, ur constantly reving up ur metabolism. Small portions of healthy food not just a 100 cal cookie or a scoop of icecream, u will not feel full and starve urself and later outta frustation of not losing weight ull end up with eating really unhealthy.

Small meals =>No sugar surges, which is the whole science around which GI diet is based. and when u give sudden spikes to sugar when it gets low u crave for food more

I lose sooooo slowly. I need to boast my metabolism. So here is the questiion. (yes I know age is a factor). I get stuck on a certain weight... like 150 pounds. IF I HAVE 1200 CALORIES... DOES IT MATTER IF I EAT 1200 CALORIES OF ICE CREAM or the good stuff? Is 1200 calories 1200 calories no matter what you eat.

No I am not eating ice cream, but I am simply asking, it you stay within your calorie goal does it matter what you eat?

And I am trying to figure out what would boost my metabolism, if anything. I am losing .5 a week. By the time I get to my weight goal... it will be over a year. I am in a hurry.

At 150lbs, 30% bodyfat, 1200 cals/day, you should be losing 1lb a week.

Food intake does matter, yes. If you are eating all carbohydrates (like 1200 calories of ice cream, i.e. all sugar, candy, grains, etc) well those are generally used for long-term storage and so that's what they get used for.

If you want that 1lb a week mark with little to no exercise, I'd shoot for 1200 cals on an Atkins/Paleo diet. Your body doesn't really need carbohydrates in the amounts most people eat them in, especially if you aren't a runner or other form of athlete (even lifters don't need much in the way of carbs, though more than sedentary folk).

Eat lots of GREEN leafy veggies (broccoli, spinach, etc) and lean meats. Nuts and legumes are also great. I am not anti-carb, but I am smart about carbs, and people who aren't exercising on a regular basis frankly don't need carbohydrates outside of the ones they get from veggies.