"A calorie is a calorie" - yay or nay?
emilyrtanner
Posts: 22 Member
Hi yall, I am working on trying to lose some weight before my wedding next year. I've had success in the past with following "clean eating" meal plans (avoiding sugar and processed foods, wheat/grains, etc) but I have always gained it back - I find it extremely difficult to stay on these plans permanently, and any attempt at moderation has been met with failure (time and time again). I also work in the restaurant business so this naturally means that I eat when I can, not always necessarily when I want, and this is often late at night.
I want to try something new, so my aim is to not have any restricted or forbidden food groups, but instead maintain a caloric deficit. Naturally I am choosing more low calorie foods to meet my goals, but nothing is expressly off limits.
My question comes though because I have spent years believing that a calorie is not, indeed, a calorie - that you will lose weight so much faster and quicker if you avoid carbohydrates, or avoid eating at night. I am interested to know if anyone has any guidance on this topic. Are there really times of day I should avoid eating? Is it better to eat high carb foods in the morning and lower carb at night, or does it really matter?
I want to try something new, so my aim is to not have any restricted or forbidden food groups, but instead maintain a caloric deficit. Naturally I am choosing more low calorie foods to meet my goals, but nothing is expressly off limits.
My question comes though because I have spent years believing that a calorie is not, indeed, a calorie - that you will lose weight so much faster and quicker if you avoid carbohydrates, or avoid eating at night. I am interested to know if anyone has any guidance on this topic. Are there really times of day I should avoid eating? Is it better to eat high carb foods in the morning and lower carb at night, or does it really matter?
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A calorie is a unit of measurement. A calorie from bread has the same energy as a calorie from steak as a calorie from chocolate. So yes, a calorie is a calorie.
Nutrition is another matter and obviously you should aim for a wide and varied diet, when reducing calorie intake focusing on protein is often how people feel fuller with the other macros falling where they may. But experiment, as long as you are within your calories you will lose weight at the same rate as someone following a more restrictive/different way of eating.5 -
Oh and meal timing and carbs are irrelevant to weight loss. The calorie is king. It's just science with the application of some maths.5
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Yay0
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The overwhelming experience of people posting on here is that food rules really don't matter in any universal way. There are people here doing low carb, high carb, vegan, keto, 5:2, intermittent fasting, one meal a day, six meals a day, no sugar, ALL THE SUGAR, daily ice cream, Weight Watchers, and lots and lots of people doing nothing in particular, just eating whatever they feel like within a calorie limit. Many of them have lost colossal amounts of weight or maintained weight loss for many years.
You need to figure out what works for you and keeps you satisfied - but at the end of the day, it isn't what you eat or when you eat that affects your weight - it's how much.15 -
Meal timing is irrelevant. Avoiding carbs is unnecessary unless you have medical reasons to do so. When it comes to weight loss, calories are king. If you take in less than you expend over time, you will lose weight.2
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Nutrient timing is irrelevant for the vast majority of us. People prone to acid reflux should avoid eating before lying down; many of us here have a bedtime snack. Carbs make me sleepy so I save them and calories for a bedtime snack. Highish protein breakfasts keep me fuller longer, so that's what I have.
I may be mistaken but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of weight to lose (and a year to lose it in), in which case set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week. Goals too aggressive for the amount one has to lose are a recipe for burnout.1 -
Thanks yall! Making me feel so much better. Bring on the late night tacos
I have been trying to focus on higher protein meals just because they keep me fuller longer (particularly during long shifts) but I feel so much better not having entire food groups marked as EVIL. It just made me feel so mentally and emotionally horrible when I'd slip and eat one.4 -
emilyrtanner wrote: »...
My question comes though because I have spent years believing that a calorie is not, indeed, a calorie - that you will lose weight so much faster and quicker if you avoid carbohydrates, or avoid eating at night. I am interested to know if anyone has any guidance on this topic. Are there really times of day I should avoid eating? Is it better to eat high carb foods in the morning and lower carb at night, or does it really matter?
I'm going to put this as simply as I can.
Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
Consume an appropriate amount of Calories. Ensure you're getting enough protein and fat (these will vary per individual). Ensure you're getting enough of all of the essential vitamins and minerals. Barring any additional necessities from any particular medical conditions you may have, you're good to go.
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For weight loss, a calorie is a calorie - if you stop at the same total. Personally, some types of food make me hungry for more and others satiate me. Calories from the "just make me want to eat more" foods are, to me, usually wasted calories - since I'm going to wind up eating more than if I just hadn't had that type of food. Suffice it to say, I avoid those foods. (Snack crackers, I'm looking at you.)
For good nutrition, a calorie is not a calorie. You'll lose weight on a low cal Twinkie diet - but you'll feel like crap the whole time. Most people go with a balance - mostly nutritious calories with a small number reserved for treat foods. The more active you are, the more you can afford to spend calories on treats.3 -
emilyrtanner wrote: »I want to try something new, so my aim is to not have any restricted or forbidden food groups, but instead maintain a caloric deficit. Naturally I am choosing more low calorie foods to meet my goals, but nothing is expressly off limits.
Good aim. I'm a huge proponent of doing now as you mean to do in the future - eliminating whole food groups, eating at certain times, etc. are not sustainable for the long run, IMHO.
Do I believe a calorie is a calorie? 95% of the time, yes. There are outliers, odd circumstances, freaks of nature, etc., but honestly, CICO just works. The other fancy diets are out there to make money, generally - it's hard to make money from CICO since the info is out there for free. Science!
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It really is pretty simple. Eat less calories than you burn and you'll lose weight. Find a way to do this that you can stick with long term, and where the transition to maintenance is easier. No food is "evil". No food is "bad". Some foods have high calorie values for the amount of nutrition they provide (Cheetos for example have very little nutritional value) and those foods are "sometimes" foods. If protein does indeed keep you fuller, eat more of that, but I've found fat to work better. If eating large meals and no snacks works for you, do it. If you have to eat late at night, that's fine too, but if being tired makes you over hungry and you overeat be aware of that and try to correct for it.1
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A calorie is a calorie for weight loss. You may find a particular diet more sustainable or satisfying than another. You don't have to eat a particular type of food or at a particular time of day for weight loss.
I've had the best success eating the food I like and that my family typically eats and just watching my calorie intake.2 -
Calorie is a calorie yay, some foods give you more quantity for less calorie , or better nutrients for less calories (ie peas vs cookies, can eat more peas for the same calories and get better nutrients out of the peas) than others, but it's still just a calorie (mmm cookie).1
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kshama2001 wrote: »I may be mistaken but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of weight to lose (and a year to lose it in), in which case set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week. Goals too aggressive for the amount one has to lose are a recipe for burnout.
I'm setting several smaller goals for myself right now, with breaks in between, because I want to learn how to maintain my weight. I am always either gaining or losing. My idea is, once I hit 10 lbs lost, I will take a break for the summer, and then start again fall, break at Christmas, start in the new year. The hope is about 25 lbs before next May, which I think is entirely reasonable.
I just read some interesting articles on accurate logging so that is my next adventure - to try and improve accuracy in tracking what I am eating! So tough sometimes because so many of my meals come from work.3 -
A calorie for you may not be the same as a calorie for me. If I avoid eating 3500 calories my weight lss will not be the same as yours. Metabolism varies.
Avoiding carbs by itself does not cause faster weight loss - it just may make you less hungry so you eat less and don't cheat. I was losing 2lbs a week for a long time on low carbs - but decided that was too fast and might lead to future problems.0 -
It is what it is.0
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emilyrtanner wrote: »Hi yall, I am working on trying to lose some weight before my wedding next year. I've had success in the past with following "clean eating" meal plans (avoiding sugar and processed foods, wheat/grains, etc) but I have always gained it back - I find it extremely difficult to stay on these plans permanently, and any attempt at moderation has been met with failure (time and time again). I also work in the restaurant business so this naturally means that I eat when I can, not always necessarily when I want, and this is often late at night.
I want to try something new, so my aim is to not have any restricted or forbidden food groups, but instead maintain a caloric deficit. Naturally I am choosing more low calorie foods to meet my goals, but nothing is expressly off limits.
My question comes though because I have spent years believing that a calorie is not, indeed, a calorie - that you will lose weight so much faster and quicker if you avoid carbohydrates, or avoid eating at night. I am interested to know if anyone has any guidance on this topic. Are there really times of day I should avoid eating? Is it better to eat high carb foods in the morning and lower carb at night, or does it really matter?
None of that is relevant to weight loss in and of itself. When you cut carbs, you're cutting an entire macro...suffice it to say, it's pretty likely that you're going to go into a default deficit of calories...which is what causes weight loss. Meal timing or eating late has nothing to do with anything...the notion of not eating past X 'clock is namely a calorie control mechanism...it doesn't actually have anything to do with losing weight other than being a strategy to control calories.
A calorie is a unit of energy...as per your stats and activity, you require XXXX amount of energy daily to maintain the status quo and function optimally. When you consume a balance of energy, you maintain weight...when you consume more energy than you require, that surplus is stored as body fat...stored energy...basically your backup generator. When you consume less energy than is required, that deficiency has to be made up...so your backup generator kicks on and you burn fat to make up for the deficiency of energy coming in.
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Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!0 -
emilyrtanner wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »I may be mistaken but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of weight to lose (and a year to lose it in), in which case set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week. Goals too aggressive for the amount one has to lose are a recipe for burnout.
I'm setting several smaller goals for myself right now, with breaks in between, because I want to learn how to maintain my weight. I am always either gaining or losing. My idea is, once I hit 10 lbs lost, I will take a break for the summer, and then start again fall, break at Christmas, start in the new year. The hope is about 25 lbs before next May, which I think is entirely reasonable.
I just read some interesting articles on accurate logging so that is my next adventure - to try and improve accuracy in tracking what I am eating! So tough sometimes because so many of my meals come from work.
i think you've got the right mindset and tools for success! A+ OP.
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A calorie is a calorie in the same way that a brick is a brick. A brick can be used to build any kind of building, but on its own, it's just a brick, and will never be anything else.2
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emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
Ain't nothing immoral about fresh from the oven bread with a slick of butter.4 -
VintageFeline wrote: »emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
Ain't nothing immoral about fresh from the oven bread with a slick of butter.
Someone pass me a towel, my drool is getting out of control with this mental image.1 -
emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
Yeah, unfortunately, that seems to be many people's/companys' MOs. Make people feel bad/inferior so that they'll buy your product. If they told us/you/everyone the simple truth, they'd make no money.0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
Ain't nothing immoral about fresh from the oven bread with a slick of butter.
Wow, I read it 3x to see the word "slick" instead of "stick"
I was getting amazed by people's eating habit.
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Obviously you eat crappy food at a deficit you will lose weight but you may feel like crap, or may not feel full because you will not be able to eat as large of a volume as a leaner/healthier choice (depending on the food).
My weight loss goal is non-aggressive (about 0.5 lbs per week), because I do want to be able to sustain these habits. I ate mostly healthy foods the last couple of days but I also had a couple of mini chocolates the last 2 days and stayed within my goals.
Like others have said -it's trial and error, you need to find what works for you. There are so many "diets" (hate that word) and such a wide variety of exercise and workout programs that you should be able to find something that you like. Keep going!0 -
emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
I am appalled and personally insulted.0 -
emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
I love for you to share more about this over on the current Whole30 thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10522655/thoughts-on-whole30-eating-plan
I blame Susan Powter for making me fear fat for decades.
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My mom is obsessed with counting calories (inaccurately, no matter how many times I've shown her the scale) and fat, even though she nor my dad have health issues revolving around fat. I think her dr mentioned it years ago before she had her kidney transplant and it just stuck.0
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endlessfall16 wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »emilyrtanner wrote: »Virtually everything you've ever seen on tv or read about in a magazine (probably online, too, especially via blogs or websites with something to sell) is utter BS.
This makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Seriously, those people at Whole30 ruined my brain for years. They had me believing I was some kind of moral degenerate when I ate bread. Damn them!
Ain't nothing immoral about fresh from the oven bread with a slick of butter.
Wow, I read it 3x to see the word "slick" instead of "stick"
I was getting amazed by people's eating habit.
I mean, the more butter the better right? And if you're going to eat the whole loaf then you might well need a whole stick!
Making myself unimaginably crave-y but it's 9pm here so no bread and butter for me!1
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