Is this too good to be true?
Options
just_jenna2004
Posts: 2 Member
I am a little confused and wanting some advice
Is the general way this works, you can eat anything you like so long as it's within your daily calorie recommendation
I have been doing this one week along with swimming every day and lost 7lb so I am over the moon. But feeling like I haven't cut much out of my diet etc
Can anyone shed any light on this
Is the general way this works, you can eat anything you like so long as it's within your daily calorie recommendation
I have been doing this one week along with swimming every day and lost 7lb so I am over the moon. But feeling like I haven't cut much out of my diet etc
Can anyone shed any light on this
0
Replies
-
The first week is mainly water weight.0
-
Yes, first week loss is often mostly water. You can lose weight by eating poorly, but keeping at your calorie goal. Over time, it's best to switch to better nutrition choices. Forming a long term habit of eating well is usually the goal.0
-
For some reason we (in general) feel like suffering is necessary to discipline. The degree of suffering is blown way out of proportion. Being in it for the long haul means some days will be harder than others, but if you are doing it right you should never feel like a starving Charles Dickens character.
You can eat whatever you want but I do suggest you check your nutrition tab to be sure you get your needs met there.0 -
The diet industry wants you to believe that losing weight is near to impossible, painful, and needs magical interventions, so that they can sell you their products. In reality, weight loss is about eating fewer calories than you burn. A calorie is a calorie. It's simple math.
Losing weight is simple, but not always easy. Temptations abound, and overweight people usually like to eat. Balancing nutrition and taste is important. If you eat too little, or in any other way feel deprived, you will give up, sooner or later. Finding a sustainable way of eating and exercising, is the only way to succeed.0 -
The basis of losing body fat is energy (calorie) balance.
Consuming more energy (calories) than your body requires over a sustained period makes your body store this excess energy (calories) in the form of body fat. This is a surplus of energy (calories).
Consume less energy (calories) than your body uses over a sustained period and your body resorts to using it's stored energy (body fat). This is a deficit of energy (calories).
This is how the human body works.
The grey areas are how people choose to create these sustained periods of surplus and deficit. You will get views from a wide spectrum of Diet(™) supporters.
But the headline principle, using immutable laws, is that you need to consume less calories than you use in order to lose body fat.
Other goals will vary the advice given from here. But if it's a weight loss only goal you cant go wrong with eating the foods you like, that will promote long term adherence, whilst meeting minimum recommended levels of macro and micronutrients.
If musculature retention and aesthetics are important, then things change a bit. If you have medical conditions things change a bit. If you have specific training goals things change a bit.
But really, consume less calories than your body uses, and you're golden.0 -
For me, the food I eat dictates how I feel and how fast I recover from working out. I struggle with moderation but am excellent at extremes, so I plan my meals out to avoid my weaknesses and play to my strengths. I keep myself stocked up on fruit and vegetables during the day and have some lean protein at dinner. I'm never starving but getting used to eating mostly vegetables takes some adjustment. I have to stay away from junk and fast food completely because if I am around it I'll start rationalizing why it is okay to eat it.0
-
just_jenna2004 wrote: »...Is the general way this works, you can eat anything you like so long as it's within your daily calorie recommendation....Can anyone shed any light on this
Yes, it really is that basic.
The reason extreme and fad type diets don't work in the long run is they are not sustainable. Simply eating less than you have been can be done for the rest of your life.
0 -
just_jenna2004 wrote: »But feeling like I haven't cut much out of my diet etc
Can anyone shed any light on this
You cut something important from your diet - calories.
It is excess calories that cause our bodies to store fat, not specific foods.0 -
For most people though it still means making better choices, or be hungry.0
-
calories in vs calories out is what works for me, but i also add mindful eating to that and do my best not to be eating or drinking when i am not physically hungry or thirsty.0
-
You can theoretically "eat anything you want", but if you choose too much of the wrong foods, you won't be able to eat very much. Many foods, including many "good" foods, are still calorie dense and not particularly filling.
The reality is that, in order to feel full and get proper nutrition, there will be some practical limits on the types and amounts of food you can eat. But it also means that, as others have said, you don't need to bother with any "magic" foods, and you can have a lot of flexibility in your eating plan.0 -
just_jenna2004 wrote: »I am a little confused and wanting some advice
Is the general way this works, you can eat anything you like so long as it's within your daily calorie recommendation
I have been doing this one week along with swimming every day and lost 7lb so I am over the moon. But feeling like I haven't cut much out of my diet etc
Can anyone shed any light on this
A calorie is a unit of energy...a calorie is what our bodies utilize for energy to function and do all of the things we need to do. When you consume more calories than you require, that excess energy is stored in your backup generator for later use...your fat stores. When you consume less energy than you require, your backup generator kicks on and you burn fat to make up for the energy deficiency. When you consume a balance of energy you maintain the status quot.
So yes, theoretically you could eat whatever you want and so long as you are hitting your calorie targets, you will lose weight. That said, nutrition is also important to your health and certain foods are going to be more satiating than others. From a food volume standpoint, you're not going to be able to eat a large volume of "junk" and still hit your calorie targets.
Beyond that, weight loss isn't magic...you don't have to do some crazy special plan or take some weird pill or magical cleanse or whatever...it's just math.
Note that seven pounds in a week will not be the norm...when you first start dieting you release a lot of water and you start to deplete your glycogen stores (basically fluid in your liver and muscles) and since you're eating less, you also have less inherent waste in your system. I only mention it because a lot of people get discouraged when it levels off to the reality of anywhere between 0.5 and 2 Lbs per week depending.0 -
For most people though it still means making better choices, or be hungry.
Yes because...
Some foods are calorie dense and some are not. So if you eat calorie dense foods, like say a candy bar, then you don't consume much volume for the same amount of calories as if you ate a lower calorie food by volume like, say, broccoli.
A typical candy bar is 250300 calories. A cup of steamed broccoli is 31 calories. So for the same calorie budget you can eat one snickers bar or nine cups of steamed broccoli. The none cups of broccoli will probably keep you fuller longer than the one Snickers bar.
Now if you go to smothering the broccoli in melted cheese you won't keep the broccoli at 31 calories per cup!!
0 -
allenpriest wrote: »
A typical candy bar is 250300 calories.
What kind of candy bar is that??? Haha. I wanna try it!
0 -
allenpriest wrote: »
A typical candy bar is 250300 calories.
What kind of candy bar is that??? Haha. I wanna try it!
250-3000 -
makaryan11 wrote: »allenpriest wrote: »
A typical candy bar is 250300 calories.
What kind of candy bar is that??? Haha. I wanna try it!
250-300
Not a Zero candy bar. That has, like, 0 calories. Like Coke Zero. Right....right?
0 -
ModernRock wrote: »makaryan11 wrote: »allenpriest wrote: »
A typical candy bar is 250300 calories.
What kind of candy bar is that??? Haha. I wanna try it!
250-300
Not a Zero candy bar. That has, like, 0 calories. Like Coke Zero. Right....right?
I wish. They're my favorite!
0 -
I down 33lbs without cutting anything from my diet. I might not eat certain things as often as before but I still eat them.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 399 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 983 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions