How does all this calorie counting work??
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nicci288693 wrote: »[quote=I eat peanut butter
I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I cringe that you think you can't have treats. Eat within your calorie limit and find room for treats. Losing weight is hard enough without enjoying the finer things in life. :-) Live by the 80/20 rule and you'll find losing weight a whole lot easier. I have lost 50 pounds and you can look at my diary and see that I still have chocolate bars/ice cream etc.
What is 80/20?[/quote]
80% of the time you do the best you can so you can slack off for the 20%. It's a philosophy you can apply to anything but works well for weight loss. I think my diary is open so you can see that I am pretty routine in my diet but I fit in treats and junk food from time to time so I never feel like anything is off limits. It almost always fits into my calorie goal and I'm still losing weight. 50lbs and counting. As in everything in life it's about balance. :-) When I first started losing weight I also wanted to be super strict and cut out everything and be super diligent but it's not real life and I learned over time that the occasional treat didn't make a difference in the long game if I was on point most of the time with what I ate. It was the same with exercise. I wish I had not made the beginning of the process as hard as I did so just sharing that with you. The weight will come off if you stay within your calorie goal. Don't make it harder than that. :-)2 -
ashliedelgado wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »[quote=I eat peanut butter I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I cringe that you think you can't have treats. Eat within your calorie limit and find room for treats. Losing weight is hard enough without enjoying the finer things in life. :-) Live by the 80/20 rule and you'll find losing weight a whole lot easier. I have lost 50 pounds and you can look at my diary and see that I still have chocolate bars/ice cream etc.
What is 80/20?
80% of foods are what most would identify as healthy - fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, etc. 20% are "fun". Ice cream, lol.[/quote]
So fun foods are good calories or bad? Or do they all burn the same?0 -
nicci288693 wrote: »ashliedelgado wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »[quote=I eat peanut butter I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I cringe that you think you can't have treats. Eat within your calorie limit and find room for treats. Losing weight is hard enough without enjoying the finer things in life. :-) Live by the 80/20 rule and you'll find losing weight a whole lot easier. I have lost 50 pounds and you can look at my diary and see that I still have chocolate bars/ice cream etc.
What is 80/20?
80% of foods are what most would identify as healthy - fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, etc. 20% are "fun". Ice cream, lol.
So fun foods are good calories or bad? Or do they all burn the same?[/quote]
I don't view any calories as good or bad. I view calories like I view gas in the tank. I need energy and calories provide that. I don't want all of my calories to come from cake because I'd feel like crap but if I eat a balanced diet with lots of variety then a few treats here and there don't derail my progress. That said it still all comes down to staying within your calorie goal. If you eat more calories than you need then you will gain weight. If you have a goal of 1800 calories and leave 100 calories at the end of the day for a chocolate bar as a treat then great. You will still lose weight and you will have a nice treat to look forward to. :-)3 -
They all burn the same. Don't fall into good foods or bad foods. Food is food, and a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight.
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nicci288693 wrote: »ashliedelgado wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »[quote=I eat peanut butter I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I cringe that you think you can't have treats. Eat within your calorie limit and find room for treats. Losing weight is hard enough without enjoying the finer things in life. :-) Live by the 80/20 rule and you'll find losing weight a whole lot easier. I have lost 50 pounds and you can look at my diary and see that I still have chocolate bars/ice cream etc.
What is 80/20?
80% of foods are what most would identify as healthy - fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, etc. 20% are "fun". Ice cream, lol.
So fun foods are good calories or bad? Or do they all burn the same?
I don't view any calories as good or bad. I view calories like I view gas in the tank. I need energy and calories provide that. I don't want all of my calories to come from cake because I'd feel like crap but if I eat a balanced diet with lots of variety then a few treats here and there don't derail my progress. That said it still all comes down to staying within your calorie goal. If you eat more calories than you need then you will gain weight. If you have a goal of 1800 calories and leave 100 calories at the end of the day for a chocolate bar as a treat then great. You will still lose weight and you will have a nice treat to look forward to. :-)[/quote]
Thank you0 -
ashliedelgado wrote: »They all burn the same. Don't fall into good foods or bad foods. Food is food, and a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight.
I'm doing low carb with counting calories. A little more strict. I find I do better with a more structured diet.0 -
nicci288693 wrote: »I eat peanut butter I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I lost over 100 lbs my first year, eating ice cream almost every day. Start thinking of things in terms of calories not what you're eating. Macros are 2nd to think about, types of food last. Keto isn't for everyone, and there's nothing out there that says in order to lose weight all you need to do is pick a fad diet and stick to it. Calories In, Calories Out. It's that simple. I have practiced IIFYM for almost 3 years now and did great with it. I simply set my calorie goals based on my daily TDEE, then set my macros. I eat whatever I want as long as it fits in my macros and calorie goal. It just plain works.
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Spliner1969 wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »I eat peanut butter I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I lost over 100 lbs my first year, eating ice cream almost every day. Start thinking of things in terms of calories not what you're eating. Macros are 2nd to think about, types of food last. Keto isn't for everyone, and there's nothing out there that says in order to lose weight all you need to do is pick a fad diet and stick to it. Calories In, Calories Out. It's that simple. I have practiced IIFYM for almost 3 years now and did great with it. I simply set my calorie goals based on my daily TDEE, then set my macros. I eat whatever I want as long as it fits in my macros and calorie goal. It just plain works.
What is IIFYM and TDEE I'm totally new to my fitness pal0 -
nicci288693 wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »My fitnesspal counter gave me 1800 but I want to drop weight and since I work out, calorie in and calorie out...so I chose to lower my intake. I'm lost lol
Then you should eat 1800. Faster does NOT equal better in this game.
In fact, if the more you exercise, the more you should eat.
I exercise every day both cardio and strength training. I started out cutting carbs, which cut calories significantly, it also suppresses my appitite. So how do I get more calories if I'm just not hungry?
If your carbohydrate restriction leaves you with so little appetite that you can't consume the calories you need to support your activity, it may not be the right plan for you.
Thank you. I'm doing keto and I started out not counting calories, but figured maybe it would help. I feel great and have lots of energy. I don't feel like I'm under eating, but maybe
How accurately are you logging? Are you using a food scale? One good measure is how fast you are losing weight. If after a month you are losing much more than 2 lbs per week consistently, eat more. If you are set to lose 2 lbs per week, but only losing 1 lb per week, you are eating more than you think.
Considering your stats, you don't need to eat that little to lose.
I don't accurately measure my food I'm sure. I just make sure I'm eating little to no surgar and little to no carbs. I just started counting calories a couple days ago, along with carb counting.
Chances are good that you're eating at a higher calorie level than you think you are...what is you average weekly rate of loss. I'd go more by that...if it's more than 1% of your body weight per week, eat more...if it's not, then carry on.
I wouldn't switch my calories up until I knew what was being logged is actually as accurate as it can be...you could easily be already eating 1800 or more calories and think you're only eating 1500 if you have a lot of inaccuracies...being off by 300 calories is pretty easily done if you're not accurately measuring your food, particularly on a diet where your primary macronutrient is fat.4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »My fitnesspal counter gave me 1800 but I want to drop weight and since I work out, calorie in and calorie out...so I chose to lower my intake. I'm lost lol
Then you should eat 1800. Faster does NOT equal better in this game.
In fact, if the more you exercise, the more you should eat.
I exercise every day both cardio and strength training. I started out cutting carbs, which cut calories significantly, it also suppresses my appitite. So how do I get more calories if I'm just not hungry?
If your carbohydrate restriction leaves you with so little appetite that you can't consume the calories you need to support your activity, it may not be the right plan for you.
Thank you. I'm doing keto and I started out not counting calories, but figured maybe it would help. I feel great and have lots of energy. I don't feel like I'm under eating, but maybe
How accurately are you logging? Are you using a food scale? One good measure is how fast you are losing weight. If after a month you are losing much more than 2 lbs per week consistently, eat more. If you are set to lose 2 lbs per week, but only losing 1 lb per week, you are eating more than you think.
Considering your stats, you don't need to eat that little to lose.
I don't accurately measure my food I'm sure. I just make sure I'm eating little to no surgar and little to no carbs. I just started counting calories a couple days ago, along with carb counting.
Chances are good that you're eating at a higher calorie level than you think you are...what is you average weekly rate of loss. I'd go more by that...if it's more than 1% of your body weight per week, eat more...if it's not, then carry on.
I wouldn't switch my calories up until I knew what was being logged is actually as accurate as it can be...you could easily be already eating 1800 or more calories and think you're only eating 1500 if you have a lot of inaccuracies...being off by 300 calories is pretty easily done if you're not accurately measuring your food, particularly on a diet where your primary macronutrient is fat.
Thank you0 -
nicci288693 wrote: »Spliner1969 wrote: »nicci288693 wrote: »I eat peanut butter I'm obese and want to lose 80 pounds, so ice cream is not an option
I lost over 100 lbs my first year, eating ice cream almost every day. Start thinking of things in terms of calories not what you're eating. Macros are 2nd to think about, types of food last. Keto isn't for everyone, and there's nothing out there that says in order to lose weight all you need to do is pick a fad diet and stick to it. Calories In, Calories Out. It's that simple. I have practiced IIFYM for almost 3 years now and did great with it. I simply set my calorie goals based on my daily TDEE, then set my macros. I eat whatever I want as long as it fits in my macros and calorie goal. It just plain works.
What is IIFYM and TDEE I'm totally new to my fitness pal
IIFYM = If it fits your macros -- a dieting style where you can eat whatever foods you like as long as they fit into the macronutrient goals you've set for yourself. Is often used to denote a more balanced macro split, but the thinking can be combined easily with the low carb or keto diets.
TDEE = total daily energy expenditure. ie. the total number of calories your body burns in a day. Would also be the number of calories you eat for maintenance.
I know someone up thread mentioned the stickies to you and you really should check them out. Each forum section has a selection of threads collected as "must reads." You'll find a whole dictionary of acronyms used on MFP there.0 -
All calories burn the same.
A calorie is a measurement of energy. Your body needs energy to do what it does. If you consume more potential energy in the form of food than you need (to do what you do, including everything your body does like breathing), then your body stores the excess in fat. If you consume less potential energy in the form of food than your body needs, it uses some of the potential energy that was stored as fat.
In other words, eat fewer calories than you expend and lose weight. There are no good or bad calories. What we call a calorie (actually a kilocalorie) is simply the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one degree centigrade at sea level.
For weight, the healthiness or carb/fat/protein mix of the foods you eat matters little. It matters more for health, satiety, etc. The time of eating, how many meals you eat, how long between meals, etc., matters even less for weight loss. Keto does seem to help some people limit their calories and has been shown to marginally increase weight loss over the short term but there's little study of its long term effects. Here's a good explanation: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketogenic-diet-is-the-ultimate-low-carb-diet-good-for-you-2017072712089
You will find many folks here eat whatever they want to whenever they want to and simply limit their intake. That's what I'm doing. I do work to make sure that what I eat satisfies my hunger while staying within my calorie limit, which is a 500 calorie/day deficit. I don't eat much ice cream because it's high calorie and the sweetness of it just makes me want to eat more. I eat plenty of smoked cheese, on the other hand, because it may be high calorie but it satisfies me so I'm not so hungry. But that's me. Other folks eat ice cream every day because it does satisfy them.
Meanwhile, as someone else said, read the stickies and all will become clear.2 -
HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »All calories burn the same.
A calorie is a measurement of energy. Your body needs energy to do what it does. If you consume more potential energy in the form of food than you need (to do what you do, including everything your body does like breathing), then your body stores the excess in fat. If you consume less potential energy in the form of food than your body needs, it uses some of the potential energy that was stored as fat.
In other words, eat fewer calories than you expend and lose weight. There are no good or bad calories. What we call a calorie (actually a kilocalorie) is simply the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one degree centigrade at sea level.
For weight, the healthiness or carb/fat/protein mix of the foods you eat matters little. It matters more for health, satiety, etc. The time of eating, how many meals you eat, how long between meals, etc., matters even less for weight loss. Keto does seem to help some people limit their calories and has been shown to marginally increase weight loss over the short term but there's little study of its long term effects. Here's a good explanation: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketogenic-diet-is-the-ultimate-low-carb-diet-good-for-you-2017072712089
You will find many folks here eat whatever they want to whenever they want to and simply limit their intake. That's what I'm doing. I do work to make sure that what I eat satisfies my hunger while staying within my calorie limit, which is a 500 calorie/day deficit. I don't eat much ice cream because it's high calorie and the sweetness of it just makes me want to eat more. I eat plenty of smoked cheese, on the other hand, because it may be high calorie but it satisfies me so I'm not so hungry. But that's me. Other folks eat ice cream every day because it does satisfy them.
Meanwhile, as someone else said, read the stickies and all will become clear.
Thank you0 -
nicci288693 wrote: »What is IIFYM and TDEE I'm totally new to my fitness pal
It's already been explained, but all you need to do is use a calculator (choose whichever one you feel is accurate for you, there are many freely available) and set your calorie goal based on your height, weight, age, gender, and daily activity level plus exercise. Then set your macros. You can use suggested settings or adjust them to fit your needs. Once you've done all that, eat whatever you want, watching your calorie goal and your macros.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. For instance, I am 6'2" tall, 187lbs, 48 years old male. With a sedentary lifestyle (desk job), and no extra exercise I burn an average of about 2000 calories a day. I can eat that much and not gain weight. However, I tend to work out 5 days a week for a minimum of 90 minutes a day, at a very intense level. Factoring that in, I burn an average of 2700 calories a day over a 7 day period. So I can set my calorie goal at around 2700/day, exercise my 5 days a week, take my 2 days a week off (eating also 2700 calories on the rest days) and not gain weight. So with my regular exercise (as long as I continue to keep that schedule) my TDEE is 2700 calories a day. If I wanted to lose a pound a week, I'd drop it by 500 calories a day down to around 2200 calories a day.
I guess my point is that all you need to do is restrict calories to lose weight. There's no need to use keto, LCHF, intermittent fasting, etc. to lose weight. Unless of course that's something you want to do. It won't lose weight any faster for you, it's still all based on calories. If you do intermittent fasting but eat more calories than you burn you're going to gain weight, and probably still be miserable doing it. For me, low carb (likely because I work out a lot) means no energy. It just isn't right for me because I need the carbs to fuel my exercise. My suggestion is start with a caloric deficit, then eat food however you can sustain that deficit. If that's LCHF, or keto lifestyle then so be it. If it's not though, then don't make yourself miserable. The problem I see with the fad diets is that once you stop them, you generally regain the weight unless of course you continue to count calories and stay at your TDEE or below. I have a bunch of family members that use the Atkins diet to lose weight. They are constantly telling me they can eat whatever they want if they stay low enough on carbs. They do lose their weight but as I watch them they stop eating generally before they go over their calories because the things they are eating (protein and fats) are making them full much quicker than carbs would. So without realizing it they are eating at a caloric deficit. The catch is, I've seen them all go back on that diet 2-3 times in the last several years because once they went back to eating carbs, they gained the weight right back. Food for thought (punn intended).
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In my experience, restriction diets don't work long term and I'm sorry to be blunt, but to get to a healthy weight, you'll need to be in this for awhile.
Eat 1800 calories a day and eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories. Eat what you want, no food should be restricted.
Honestly. I'm not kidding. It will work.
On July 31st I started at 161.8. Today, after 47 days, I'm down to 151.8. I ate and drank what I wanted in a calorie range. Beer, cookies, ice cream, cake, potato chips, french fries, wine, etc. I rarely exercised in the first month, starting circuit training videos on Sept. 1st. And I'm only 2-3lbs from goal.
The quicker you realize that there is no food that is "bad" or "junk", the easier this all will be.2 -
kristen8000 wrote: »Eat 1800 calories a day and eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories. Eat what you want, no food should be restricted.
That's exactly what I did to lose my first 100 lbs in a year. I ate at a 2lb/week restriction and ate back at least 50% of my exercise calories on top of that. I still probably wasn't eating enough but it worked just fine.
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I'm just...10 or so pounds heavier than you with a physical job and gym routine. 1800 is gonna drop you fine. Don't try to rush things. I've been with the whole "Oh maybe I should drop to 1,500" route before ...like, two years ago. Just go with what MFP is telling you and see how that treats you in regards to weight loss and satiation. Don't eat in a way that you cannot continue for the long term. Personally, low carb is fine. It's not necessary though unless you've got medical or other dietary restrictions. I'm usually downing 120-200 a day (my goal is 220 with mfp's default) and I'm losing just fine. Eat your ice cream. Count the calories. You'll lose the weight. 4
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ashliedelgado wrote: »They all burn the same. Don't fall into good foods or bad foods. Food is food, and a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight.
Just read an interesting article today on this topic.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/digesting-whole-vs-processed-foods
TL/DR : controlled study using the same calorie sandwiches - one of 'whole foods' ingredients, one of 'processwd ingredients". Same calorie count for both. To digest/break down the whole food sandwich it took 46.8% more energy than the processed food. Meaning you have less calories left over to burn/store.
To be fair we aren't talking a huge amount - article says 10% of daily calories are used to digest food. So if you are eating 2000 calories then 200 go to digesting. But if the food you are digesting are coming from whole foods, then it's a comparatively higher number. In a world where people are working with a 500 cal deficit, I think it might help. Not to mention the fact that you probably feel better eating nutritious food vs empty calories.
But I'm not disputing the balance of incorporating treats or fun food by any means. I'm currently drinking wine and eating chocolate (within my cal goal )
just thought it was an interesting article. 2 -
ashliedelgado wrote: »They all burn the same. Don't fall into good foods or bad foods. Food is food, and a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight.
Just read an interesting article today on this topic.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/digesting-whole-vs-processed-foods
TL/DR : controlled study using the same calorie sandwiches - one of 'whole foods' ingredients, one of 'processwd ingredients". Same calorie count for both. To digest/break down the whole food sandwich it took 46.8% more energy than the processed food. Meaning you have less calories left over to burn/store.
To be fair we aren't talking a huge amount - article says 10% of daily calories are used to digest food. So if you are eating 2000 calories then 200 go to digesting. But if the food you are digesting are coming from whole foods, then it's a comparatively higher number. In a world where people are working with a 500 cal deficit, I think it might help. Not to mention the fact that you probably feel better eating nutritious food vs empty calories.
But I'm not disputing the balance of incorporating treats or fun food by any means. I'm currently drinking wine and eating chocolate (within my cal goal ) just thought it was an interesting article.
That article claims that celery is a negative calorie food (which isn't true) and shares that both sandwiches were processed. I'm utterly lost as to how they drew the conclusion that whole foods take more energy to digest when the only thing tested were two different sandwiches made of processed foods.3 -
vivelajackie wrote: »I'm just...10 or so pounds heavier than you with a physical job and gym routine. 1800 is gonna drop you fine. Don't try to rush things. I've been with the whole "Oh maybe I should drop to 1,500" route before ...like, two years ago. Just go with what MFP is telling you and see how that treats you in regards to weight loss and satiation. Don't eat in a way that you cannot continue for the long term. Personally, low carb is fine. It's not necessary though unless you've got medical or other dietary restrictions. I'm usually downing 120-200 a day (my goal is 220 with mfp's default) and I'm losing just fine. Eat your ice cream. Count the calories. You'll lose the weight.
Thank you 0
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