Can you eat ANYTHING?
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I've been loosing weight while eating a little of everything. I don't deny myself I simply make sure it fits within my calories for the day.0
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From a nutritional standpoint, there certainly is junk food! It is very difficult to eat much junk food and stay within your calorie goals, let alone get decent nutrition.4
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Physically, you can. What it's gonna do to your body is another thing. First of all, vitamin and macro-nutrient deficiencies may start appearing and messing up your health. The mental aspect is another thing, if you are on a diet and your calories are low, blowing it all on a a bit of pizza or something and then not being able to eat for the rest of the day will demotivate you really quickly and you'd rather eat 1lb of vegies to feel full than having a chocolate bar and starving until the next morning.1
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My answer is yes and no. I can eat anything, but I truly find that I am more successful with my weight loss when I don't eat anything and eat more healthy foods. Maybe the junk food does not fill me, which prompts me to eat more but I have tried CICO and it really does not work for me.0
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naturallykinky wrote: »I was wondering has anyone been able to eat anything (junk food included) stay within the suggested calories and still lose weight?
Yes ma'am. I routinely eat poptarts, pizza, bagels, burgers etc.
The trick is that it would be impossible to hit your macros on just that kind of food so it forces you to eat clean food 80% of the time. For example, I ate 3 doughnuts yesterday at 5AM while deadlifting for simple carbs. But, that put a dent in my fat and carb allotment for the day so my lunch was just grilled chicken and my dinner was grilled chicken and grilled zuccini.3 -
All successful weight loss diets are "CICO". It's how you achieve that that varies. If moderation isn't for you, abstaining is a good idea. That doesn't mean "calories in/calories out" does not work.My answer is yes and no. I can eat anything, but I truly find that I am more successful with my weight loss when I don't eat anything and eat more healthy foods. Maybe the junk food does not fill me, which prompts me to eat more but I have tried CICO junk food moderation and it really does not work for me.
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I lost 70 pounds eating whatever I wanted and staying at my calorie goal. I did find that some foods did not keep me full as well as others so what I want to eat has changed a bit. But I still eat out, both fast food and sit down restaurants, and I still eat processed foods and sweets. I just eat them in moderation and have portion sizes that are appropriate for me.0
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My answer is yes and no. I can eat anything, but I truly find that I am more successful with my weight loss when I don't eat anything and eat more healthy foods. Maybe the junk food does not fill me, which prompts me to eat more but I have tried CICO and it really does not work for me.
That's gonna be the fastest way, for sure.5 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »Look at my diary. I've lost over 90 lbs eating what many here would consider junk. But I eat a lot less of it than I did and am better at getting fruit and vegetables than I was.
Even going to hit the pub tonight to watch hockey. Will have wings (which isn't "junk" but some would call them that).
I'm learning what it is to eat healthier as I go. I'm learning what healthy foods I like and make sure my diet isn't totally rabbit food. But I'm also looking long term and know that the habits I make now will have to be the same habits when I hit my goal weight.
I really appreciated looking through your diary. To know that you've lost so much while still enjoying yourself gave me a big boost of confidence that I am doing alright. So thanks
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Yes and no. I regularly eat many foods that get labeled "junk food". A single serving of chips or pretzels. A single serving of ice cream. A homemade cookie or two. Yummy stuff like that.
I have found, for me, that there are a couple of foods that are not a good idea for me to eat because I have too much trouble with portion control. So, I don't eat snack crackers. Not because there's anything inherently worse about them than chips or cookies or ice cream. But because I will eat half the box.
I also regularly eat many foods that the "clean eaters" would scoff at - though I don't consider them junk at all. Thin crust pizza with a salad or with edamame is a perfectly fine dinner, in my opinion. And sausage is perfectly fine as my protein on occasion. Steak? Yep. Bacon? Yep. Cheese? Yep. Pasta? Yep. All perfectly decent foods that can be eaten in appropriate portions as part of a balanced meal.4 -
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It's not the "what" that is the problem. It's the "how much". If you choose high-calorie low-nutrient foods, then the quantity may leave you wanting. Should be a no-brainer really.1
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Physically, you can. What it's gonna do to your body is another thing. First of all, vitamin and macro-nutrient deficiencies may start appearing and messing up your health. The mental aspect is another thing, if you are on a diet and your calories are low, blowing it all on a a bit of pizza or something and then not being able to eat for the rest of the day will demotivate you really quickly and you'd rather eat 1lb of vegies to feel full than having a chocolate bar and starving until the next morning.
On what reasonable calorie goal would "a bit of pizza" leave someone unable to eat anything for the rest of the day?9 -
My answer is yes and no. I can eat anything, but I truly find that I am more successful with my weight loss when I don't eat anything and eat more healthy foods. Maybe the junk food does not fill me, which prompts me to eat more but I have tried CICO and it really does not work for me.
CICO works for everyone. It is a fundamental energy balance that drives weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain. It is simply a mathematical equation.
I feel like if more people understood what CICO is, and more importantly, what it is not, they would be more successful at implementing what so many of us are actually suggesting. The advice that you can eat what you want within your calorie deficit does not mean that a person should eat nothing but Doritos and doughnuts. It means that you don't have to exclude foods you love from an overall healthy, balanced diet in order to be successful. You can eat A serving of Doritos, or A doughnut, on occasion - when you have the calories for it. If you try to build the entire diet around "junk food", and then complain that it doesn't fill you up, then that is a failing of your understanding and your approach - not a failing of CICO.
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Physically, you can. What it's gonna do to your body is another thing. First of all, vitamin and macro-nutrient deficiencies may start appearing and messing up your health. The mental aspect is another thing, if you are on a diet and your calories are low, blowing it all on a a bit of pizza or something and then not being able to eat for the rest of the day will demotivate you really quickly and you'd rather eat 1lb of vegies to feel full than having a chocolate bar and starving until the next morning.
How low is your calorie goal that "a bit of pizza" blows the whole day?
Do people really eat a bar of chocolate when they are hungry and think that will be a filling meal?
Why can't people eat a meal like salad and a slice or two of pizza? That should fit within most calorie budgets, even if someone was aiming for the 1200 cal minimum threshold. Or, why not eat protein, a lot of veggies, and then a small piece of chocolate? Why always the extreme examples of a pound of veggies or a chocolate bar?11 -
My afternoon chocolate fix is 2 squares of 70% Divine dark chocolate. 50 calories - plus it has fiber! Some days I eat twice that amount. It's delicious. It has iron. It is not a sin.5
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In short yes, but.... for example I can't devour a large takeaway pizza as I simply cannot fit that into my calories for the day even if I didn't eat anything else that day. I can however fit in a small one if I'm conscious of the Base type and toppings I choose.
You just have to be sensible about it. Today is a great example I'm actually making pizza tonight, less cheese, some veggies and ham for the topping. To fit it in I had a large homemade greek salad for lunch and just a slice of toast for breakfast, a large orange and blueberries for snacks. It's all about balance.1 -
I just stuffed my face full of quesadillas. Later I'll be eating one of my homemade protein bars, which is almost entirely rich ooey gooey chocolate, I'll also have strawberry Greek yogurt mixed with harvest crunch, and then some pad Thai. With a bit of shuffling I could probably get a bag of popcorn in there too. All within my deficit. (And not a small deficit either, I'm set to lose 2lbs a week). 1650 cals per day.
CICO is like the ultimate food puzzle of "how many awesome things can I eat and be happy while still losing a ton of weight?"
One thing I suggest though is knowing your trigger foods. I'm basically addicted to gummy bears so for now I just don't touch them, simply because I KNOW I can't do moderation with them, I'll eat the whole bag at once, and then there goes all my calories. That's not me saying "I don't eat candy". That's me saying, "At the moment I'm not in a place where I can eat GUMMY BEARS with moderation, so I'm going to avoid them until I've got a better handle on that specific trigger food and then I'll be all nom nom nom, but with portion control."10 -
Let's say that it was easier to get away with an unbalanced diet when I had 80 lbs to lose, but yeah, you can eat anything you want and lose weight... you just got to ask yourself if that 800 calorie milk shake is worth being hungry all day in order to stay within your calories (or exercising for 2 hours).1
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snickerscharlie wrote: »Yes, you can literally eat anything and lose weight, provided you remain in a calorie deficit while doing so.
What you will find, however, is that high calorie foods, especially those yummy ones containing both sugar and fat, 'cost' a great deal more, calorie-wise, than their less spendy counterparts, and satiety may become an issue since you can't eat a whole lot of them in a day and remain within 'budget.'
Nutrition and weight loss are two separate issues. But that doesn't mean you should disregard nutrition simply because you absolutely *can* lose weight by eating anything you crave within your caloric budget. What seems to work best overall for most people is a well-balanced diet that covers all of your macro needs, with a little wiggle room left over for some treats.SusanMFindlay wrote: »Yes and no. I regularly eat many foods that get labeled "junk food". A single serving of chips or pretzels. A single serving of ice cream. A homemade cookie or two. Yummy stuff like that.
I have found, for me, that there are a couple of foods that are not a good idea for me to eat because I have too much trouble with portion control. So, I don't eat snack crackers. Not because there's anything inherently worse about them than chips or cookies or ice cream. But because I will eat half the box.
I also regularly eat many foods that the "clean eaters" would scoff at - though I don't consider them junk at all. Thin crust pizza with a salad or with edamame is a perfectly fine dinner, in my opinion. And sausage is perfectly fine as my protein on occasion. Steak? Yep. Bacon? Yep. Cheese? Yep. Pasta? Yep. All perfectly decent foods that can be eaten in appropriate portions as part of a balanced meal.
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