Does it matter what foods make up my daily calorie intake?

13

Replies

  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Like others, I would be interested in OPs motivation for posting this in the first place. Was it merely a hypothetical to provoke discussion? Or are you considering filling your 1800 calorie days with nothing but "junk" food? And what does that mean to you OP? What would your ideal 1800 calorie day look like?
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    There are various groups for specific ways of eating that are low fat (like Fuhrman), but no question that low carb is currently much more trendy than low fat.

    The alternative to low carb is not low fat, however, that's a false dichotomy. Some enjoy eating lower fat, some enjoy eating moderate fat, some enjoy eating higher fat. What is more satiating depends on the person and what else the person eats, obviously.

    The Japanese diet is WAY lower fat than the US diet, and yet the Japanese obesity stats are better (and were even better when the diet was even lower fat, and more traditional). I don't think the Japanese perceive themselves as constantly starving, but perhaps you do.

    It is socially unacceptable to be fat in Japan. Real fat shaming there.

    That's a non sequitur that really doesn't address why the Japanese obesity stats are better.

    Unless you really think that their culture of fat shaming is the sole reason they aren't obese. If you really think that, I'm just going to walk away shaking my head.

    The Japanese have the same fast-food restaurants and high-calorie packaged junk food offerings that we have, yet the remain just about the thinnest country on the planet. Meanwhile, obesity and T2 diabetes are soaring in China.

    WHY?

    More non sequiturs from you.

    When I was growing up in the 60's, we had fast food restaurants and packaged convenience foods too.

    The population was much thinner then.

    The answer to your question is that people avail themselves of these things as occasional indulgences rather than regular parts of their daily diets.

    This isn't rocket science.

    Energy balance is still king.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    amyepdx wrote: »
    It does matter because some food will provide you with more satiety than other food. Find the foods that you enjoy and fill you up. It will make your life a lot easier.

    Everyone is different. If I eat a 350-calorie donut I might as well have eaten nothing. But a 250-calorie omelet stuffed with all sorts of stuff (the eggs contain 150 calories) keeps me full for a long time.

    A 350 cal donut (I'm looking at you apple fritter) would totally fill me up. So you see, it's all individual.

    Pssst....apple fritter is closer to 410 o:)
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    It matters in how it affects your satiety. But no, it doesn't matter in terms of weight loss. I know this because most days I eat alot of sweets- donuts, ice cream, ect. I still lose as long as I'm in deficit. You could eat an entire box of cereal and still lose, but will you feel good or satiated for long? That's the problem..
  • JustRobby1
    JustRobby1 Posts: 674 Member
    This is quite a long thread for a OP question that can be addressed in a single sentence: In the context of weight loss, the answer is no, it does not matter.

    People can talk in circles forever defending their preferred eating habits, but the fact of the matter is they offer no metabolic advantage. People who claim they do are clueless. They should at least stick to their anecdotes, or "feels", since this is about their only hope for legitimacy as it's difficult to disprove pure conjecture and supposition.
  • Bluetail6
    Bluetail6 Posts: 2,985 Member
    ^^ ROFL. Thanks :D:D
  • JustRobby1
    JustRobby1 Posts: 674 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    JustRobby1 wrote: »
    This is quite a long thread for a OP question that can be addressed in a single sentence: In the context of weight loss, the answer is no, it does not matter.

    People can talk in circles forever defending their preferred eating habits, but the fact of the matter is they offer no metabolic advantage. People who claim they do are clueless. They should at least stick to their anecdotes, or "feels", since this is about their only hope for legitimacy as it's difficult to disprove pure conjecture and supposition.
    Well ! You're no fun. :'(
    Debating woo diets keeps the boards a-rollin'..

    I suppose I can't argue with that one. Fad diet folks can be useful in terms of pure entertainment value. Some get really animated about it too, which has it's finer charms on an otherwise melancholy day. Talking smack on their diet is roughly akin to pimp slapping their little brother, so they lash out. Pure gold sometimes.
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  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    kokonani wrote: »
    It matters in how it affects your satiety. But no, it doesn't matter in terms of weight loss. I know this because most days I eat alot of sweets- donuts, ice cream, ect. I still lose as long as I'm in deficit. You could eat an entire box of cereal and still lose, but will you feel good or satiated for long? That's the problem..

    You must have a very high calorie limit. Once you eat a lot of donuts and ice cream, there's not much left for anything else.

    I have 1700 Calories to work with plus excersise. I eat one meal so I eat alot in one sitting. That's alot for me because I'm only 112 lbs.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Like others, I would be interested in OPs motivation for posting this in the first place. Was it merely a hypothetical to provoke discussion? Or are you considering filling your 1800 calorie days with nothing but "junk" food? And what does that mean to you OP? What would your ideal 1800 calorie day look like?

    Considering the OP's other posts are on needing to gain weight, or asking how much weight she'll gain after a couple of days of excess calories, I'd like to know the motivation too...
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited September 2017
    remoore23 wrote: »
    Strictly speaking, no, it doesn't matter; as long as you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. However, I would point out that eating an enormous amount of simple carbohydrates (sugar, potatoes, white flour, white rice, etc.) would cause your blood sugar to rise and then to plummet, causing you to feel much hungrier during the day and perhaps making it much more difficult to only consume the amount of calories you want... which could indirectly cause you to gain weight rather than lose it as a result of what you're eating.

    What you said is totally reasonable. And you get a bunch of "woo" votes for saying something totally reasonable.

    The "woo" voters are saying, with 100% confidence, that the word satiety doesn't matter. It matters a lot. In fact, it is probably the most important factor when it comes to weight loss if you are counting calories and have greatly reduced the amount of food you were eating prior to counting.

    FTR, some of the things he listed as simple carbohydrates are complex carbohydrates. Sugar is a simple carb. The starches (potatoes, white flour, and white rice) are complex carbs.

    Some people, and I'm one of them, are quite satiated by starches. There are quite a few of us who post on these forums who find the combination of starch and protein very satiating and don't find fat satiating in the least. There's no rise and plummet and hunger spike for us, just lasting satiety and easy compliance with our deficit.

    Why does what he said get woo votes? Because satiety is individual, and making statements about it that are meant to apply in a universal sense is woo. There's no one size fits all formula that's true.

    So no, what he said isn't totally reasonable, it's just what low-carb gurus tell everyone.

    Well it is interesting that the MFP low-carb group has 46,000 members. The low-fat group? Is there a low-fat group?
    So?

    A group with 46,000 members does not spell success of low carb.

    Low carb is not for weight everyone. It certainly wasn't for me.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Like others, I would be interested in OPs motivation for posting this in the first place. Was it merely a hypothetical to provoke discussion? Or are you considering filling your 1800 calorie days with nothing but "junk" food? And what does that mean to you OP? What would your ideal 1800 calorie day look like?

    Considering the OP's other posts are on needing to gain weight, or asking how much weight she'll gain after a couple of days of excess calories, I'd like to know the motivation too...

    Ahhh, good to know.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Like others, I would be interested in OPs motivation for posting this in the first place. Was it merely a hypothetical to provoke discussion? Or are you considering filling your 1800 calorie days with nothing but "junk" food? And what does that mean to you OP? What would your ideal 1800 calorie day look like?

    Considering the OP's other posts are on needing to gain weight, or asking how much weight she'll gain after a couple of days of excess calories, I'd like to know the motivation too...

    I would love it if just once this OP came back to one of her many threads and actually engaged with the people here trying to help her!!!!
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    kokonani wrote: »
    It matters in how it affects your satiety. But no, it doesn't matter in terms of weight loss. I know this because most days I eat alot of sweets- donuts, ice cream, ect. I still lose as long as I'm in deficit. You could eat an entire box of cereal and still lose, but will you feel good or satiated for long? That's the problem..

    You must have a very high calorie limit. Once you eat a lot of donuts and ice cream, there's not much left for anything else.
    I see no one advocating "eating a lot of donuts and ice cream" *facepalm* Most here stick to a 80/20 rule (80% nutritious, 20% "treats".) I have never seen anyone advocating an all junk diet here.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    remoore23 wrote: »
    Strictly speaking, no, it doesn't matter; as long as you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. However, I would point out that eating an enormous amount of simple carbohydrates (sugar, potatoes, white flour, white rice, etc.) would cause your blood sugar to rise and then to plummet, causing you to feel much hungrier during the day and perhaps making it much more difficult to only consume the amount of calories you want... which could indirectly cause you to gain weight rather than lose it as a result of what you're eating.
    This is NOT woo, according to my PCP, bariatric physician, and registered dietician.

    The amateurs who post here know much more than your PCP, bariatric physician, and registered dietician.

    That's the whole doggone problem with the internet - you just never know who's an amateur and who's not. There are quite a few professionals here in various healthcare/diet disciplines. A username doesn't always indicate somebody's level of expertise - or lack thereof.

    The point is, the science is not settled.

    In your opinion. I don't think that's the point at all.

    [ETA:] Putting my response into context, is it your opinion that the science is not settled as to whether potatoes are simple or complex carbohydrates? That was the specific point I addressed in my reply. Along with the fact that there is no net storage of fat while in a caloric deficit, regardless of the macro composition of one's diet. I don't find either of those to be controversial points.

    They are not. One is correct by definition and the other has been studied to death and is well proven. But hey, there is always someone who will think not....... :s
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