Does it really matter what you eat?

Fitby32 wrote: »

I'm just beginning my journey. I was curious, does it really matter what kinds of foods you eat? Is weight lost sustained or easier when you eat certain types of food? I've heard it's only about calories in vs. Calories out. I've also heard eating clean (whatever that means) is best. Those that have reached success, can you share how you ate with me?

"Clean" foods have calories too...and calories are what counts. You can still overeat whilst eating "clean"...weight management is simply energy (calorie) management regardless of the source...a calorie is a calorie is a calorie...it's a unit of energy.

That said, weight management is much easier IMO when your diet consists largely of whole foods and meals prepared using scratch, whole ingredients and minimally processed foods (things like canned tomatoes and whatnot for sauces, etc). I mean really, it would be pretty easy for me to scarf down a couple thousand calories worth of potato chips...I'd be hard pressed to do the same with an actual baked potato or something.

Also, certain foods are going to have a higher thermal effect than others...meaning you actually burn more calories consuming them...your body has to work harder to break down fibrous foods and protein and thus you burn a handful more calories eating these things. These same types of food also tend to be more satiating...again, a bunch of potato chips isn't going to keep me full very long...a nice baked potato with the skin is going to keep me satiated much longer for less calories.

Beyond that, you obviously have to consider the nutritional aspect of things.

Personally, I eat a diet consisting largely of lots of veg, a couple servings of fruit, plenty of whole grains and legumes, lean sourced protein, and healthy fats from things like avocados and nuts and good cooking oils...my diet consists largely of whole foods and meals prepared with scratch, whole ingredients...but I also enjoy taking my kids and wife out to eat once in awhile...I enjoy having pizza now and then...sometimes I just like a good deli sandwich, etc. You don't need to get all wrapped up in everything being "clean" and not every morsel that goes into your mouth has to be the epitome of healthy...having a little ice cream for desert tonight isn't going to undo all of the awesome nutrition I otherwise took in today.

Look at the bigger picture and look at your diet as a whole rather than the individual parts...if your diet on the whole is good, you are good.

Ponkeen wrote: »

Yes and no. You could lose weight eating nothing but donuts and fritos, so long as you ate fewer total calories. You would ultimately get skinnier. However, you'd feel like crap and the damage you would do to your body with a terrible diet would counter many, if not all, of the benefits of weight loss.
I don't 'eat clean,' but I eat healthy most of the time. And a side bonus of eating more fruits and veggies is that you can eat more food, period. Once you make a habit of it, it's not difficult to sustain. It is a little spendier in the short term, but you'll thank yourself in the long term.

Did the OP say she was considering a diet of nothing but donuts and fritos? I'm not sure why people always bring up these extreme examples.