Is weight loss only based on calorie intake?

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  • WA_mama2
    WA_mama2 Posts: 140 Member
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    ellevs wrote: »
    itsLuciaxo wrote: »
    If weight loss is all about your calorie intake, Say I were to eat sweets and chocolate as my meals but ensured that they only amounted to 1200 calories at the end of each day, would I still be able to lose weight?

    No. It's about balance of nutrition, not just hitting calorie numbers. For weight loss you should try a 40% Protein 40% HEALTHY Fat and 20% COMPLEX Carb diet.

    That in joint with a calorie deficiency.

    Yeah, no. Tons of people ignore macros and lose weight solely from counting calories. There's no denying that weight loss is simple math of intake and burn. Health is macro dependent, fat loss is not.
  • gettingreallyfedupnow
    gettingreallyfedupnow Posts: 79 Member
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    I find that where my calories comes from matters for retaining water. If I have a day or two eating high amounts of fat or salt, my weight goes up due to water retention and I can feel my clothes getting tight. I have to remind myself that it will come off again once I go back to eating normally. So I would still be losing fat eating X calories of sweets, but with the water belly bulging out, it wouldn't look like it!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    ellevs wrote: »
    itsLuciaxo wrote: »
    If weight loss is all about your calorie intake, Say I were to eat sweets and chocolate as my meals but ensured that they only amounted to 1200 calories at the end of each day, would I still be able to lose weight?

    No. It's about balance of nutrition, not just hitting calorie numbers. For weight loss you should try a 40% Protein 40% HEALTHY Fat and 20% COMPLEX Carb diet.

    That in joint with a calorie deficiency.

    For many people 40% protein would be way more than necessary.

    I can lose weight on 1800 calories (about a lb a week), and 40% protein of that is 180 grams. Given that I'm 125 and estimate my LBM at 95, that's nuts. I have no reason to aim for more than 100 grams of protein.
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    edited April 2016
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    ellevs wrote: »
    itsLuciaxo wrote: »
    If weight loss is all about your calorie intake, Say I were to eat sweets and chocolate as my meals but ensured that they only amounted to 1200 calories at the end of each day, would I still be able to lose weight?

    No. It's about balance of nutrition, not just hitting calorie numbers. For weight loss you should try a 40% Protein 40% HEALTHY Fat and 20% COMPLEX Carb diet.

    That in joint with a calorie deficiency.

    It terms of weight loss, macros mean absolutely nothing. As long as you're eating at an appropriate calorie deficit then you'll lose weight.

    I've never tracked macros and not only did I lose over 50lbs, but I've also been in maintenance for several years now. I eat a varied diet that includes all sorts of foods and my macros fall where they fall.

  • khernan1964
    khernan1964 Posts: 11 Member
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    Overall nutrition is extremely important, otherwise you mess with your metabolism and organs. As a stabilized diabetic from a family of diabetics who did not take proper care of themselves. It is incredibly important to eat (even for non-diabetics) in a way that keeps your glucose going level, instead of up and down. Eating only junk food will hype you up and drop your energy levels, do it over time and your metabolism, sleeping patterns, digestion will be the first to suffer. You can mess with your magnesium and D levels which will cause cramps and spasms even when you are not working out. Your potassium can drop which is EXTREMELY dangerous, etc. Aside from the fact that researchers keep coming up with all kinds of other diseases caused by white sugars, non sweetners and processed foods in general. To me, the diabetes and weight issues are enough (don't need to rush my demise or make myself suffer anymore. Best of luck!
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    edited April 2016
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    khernan1964 wrote: »
    Overall nutrition is extremely important, otherwise you mess with your metabolism and organs. As a stabilized diabetic from a family of diabetics who did not take proper care of themselves. It is incredibly important to eat (even for non-diabetics) in a way that keeps your glucose going level, instead of up and down. Eating only junk food will hype you up and drop your energy levels, do it over time and your metabolism, sleeping patterns, digestion will be the first to suffer. You can mess with your magnesium and D levels which will cause cramps and spasms even when you are not working out. Your potassium can drop which is EXTREMELY dangerous, etc. Aside from the fact that researchers keep coming up with all kinds of other diseases caused by white sugars, non sweetners and processed foods in general. To me, the diabetes and weight issues are enough (don't need to rush my demise or make myself suffer anymore. Best of luck!

    I used to have a higher glucose number and I also come from a big family tree of T2. Funny thing is, while we've all been labeled 'genetically pre-disposed' to be diabetic, everyone who has/had it is/was overweight or obese. Wonder of all wonders-my glucose number stabilized as I lost the extra poundage, not because I cut certain things out of my diet.

    I still eat sugary foods every day, I still eat 'processed' foods, I eat fast food several times a week, I use artificial sweeteners. I also eat veggies, whole grains, fish, chicken etc etc. Throughout this whole process I've continued to eat all the foods that I enjoy, just less of them. My glucose number has been stabilized into the 80s since 2013, the year I finished losing 50lbs and I transitioned into maintenance. By every health marker I'm now in fantastic health.

    My problem wasn't that I was eating 'wrong' foods, it was that I was eating too much food. Period.

  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
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    Not to mention if you ate candy and sweets only to get to 1200 it wouldnt take much and you would be starving all the time and probably binge before to long. But yeah totally possible according to the math.
  • sbrya03
    sbrya03 Posts: 40 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Actually i eat sweets all the time in calorie goal and ive lost 8 pounds just need exercise

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