Can you really eat whatever you want?

damdam96
damdam96 Posts: 23 Member
edited November 23 in Health and Weight Loss
I started my weight loss journey/life style change in about April. I did really well for the first few months through sticking to 1,200 calories a day, regular walks/jogs and low carbs.

But I fell of the wagon over summer when I went backpacking and struggled to sort myself out when I got back...but I'm now on week 2 back at it!

Basically I'm trying the low carbs combined with general healthy eating thing again. Mainly, because it makes it easier to maintain my calorie deficit and protein makes me feel fuller...

But every so often I find myself craving hot wings from the chicken shop (lol), popcorn, burgers and cake....

So what I want to know is...does it matter what you eat, if you can fit it under your calorie count? Will I still lose weight if were to, for example, eat a bag of popcorn for dinner if it fit in my daily calorie consumption? Does low carbs make you lose weight faster?
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Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    If you are sticking, say, to 1,200 calories a day, you could have one of these.

    https://goo.gl/images/vVv9Sh

    If you can’t live on one burger a day, you will have to spread it out a little. Like restraining yourself to eat one of these.

    https://goo.gl/images/YsT244

    I habitually order my fast food burger with the maximum veggies. Because veggies good.

    I eat one slice of pizza with leafy salad.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    I have popcorn for dinner a couple times a month. I love popcorn, and it has to have butter and there has to be a big bowl of it. Sometimes I even put parmesan or sugar on it. :) It doesn't affect my weight...sometimes it even pushes me OVER my calories. :open_mouth:
  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
    Depends on whether you do better by abstaining or moderating. Once you figure that out you can choose your best course of action. If you do better by abstaining, then stick to your eating plan, if you're better at moderating then experiment with adding different foods that fit your calories
  • tess5036
    tess5036 Posts: 942 Member
    Yep, this is the apprach I use, with an if it fits your macros (IIFYM) apprach. I do make sure I have a lot of protien, but ither than that have a very eclectic diet, which at times includes pizza, chocolate, and fish and chips. I have lost a lot of weight doing this, and the good thing is that it will make it easy transistioning to maintanance
  • nickbullett
    nickbullett Posts: 44 Member
    edited December 2017
    There are other health benefits to eating a well balanced diet but as far as weight loss goes it's pretty basic cico. Try to avoid deficiencies. I find drinking nutritional shakes and eating protein bars helps me. Find the things you enjoy and allow you to keep Inside your target. Technically you could lose weight eating nothing but twinkies but that might cause other health problems in the long run. Air popped popcorn that isn't drenched in butter really isn't that bad.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    I eat chocolate every morning for breakfast, so it is possible to lose/maintain weight and "eat whatever you want."

    You need to keep in mind though that 1200 calories of potato chips, cookies, etc. is going to be significantly nutritionally different than 1200 calories of lean meat and vegetables. The volume of 1200 calories of chicken breast and broccoli is going to be more than 1200 calories of "junk."

    Which scenario is more likely to keep you feeling fuller longer?

  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Yes. With planning (looking at menus ahead of time, planning my treats), being aware of my calorie intake (spacing out my calories) and staying in control (not overeating, stop eating when I'm close to getting full) I've been able to eat regular pizza once a week, candy, ice cream etc and still lose a lot of weight and keep off.

    True, I can't eat all of the pizza and bread sticks like I used to, but 3 good slices and a big salad is perfect for me now.

    On a typical week I usually eat a little more strict Monday - Thursday and I will have planned treats Friday night - Sunday. However if I really want something during the week I will work for it and plan for it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Yes and no.

    I can eat what I want... just not in the quantity/frequency I want. If I'm craving cheese and bread, it's pretty easy to fit in my days as long as I stick to one or two servings of each, because at least it's filling. On days I only want pie/croissants/chocolate? I can't eat what I want then, because it won't fill me up for the calories.

    Unfortunately I have a sweet tooth and would live off desserts if I could, but I just can't get away with it because I get blood sugar/cravings issues and just get too hungry if I spend more than 250 calories on sweet stuff.

    So no... I can't eat what I want. I do have to make good choices every single day (I've been on MFP 5 years, lost 80 lbs, gained 15 back that I want to lose again, but it's hard to do because I'm feeling too deprived after 5 years of 'better choices').
  • damdam96
    damdam96 Posts: 23 Member
    Thank you all for the advice so far! Just to clarify - I really do enjoy the "healthy" foods I cook. And I've stuck to low carbs so far mainly because I find it easier to stay under 1,200 that way.

    I genuinely want to be healthier but I'm talking about the few times a week I get cravings for stuff. It's currently popcorn, it's literally all I can think about haha.

    I was looking at the calories on things like donuts, granola bars or even crisps and because my lunch&dinners are usually so low calorie, I could fit in some other stuff on some days....I was just worried that the fact they are "unhealthy" would hinder my progress.

    I know CICO, but it's sometimes hard to believe that any calories that are less than what you expend will lead to a loss. I guess, I just wanted some clarification...
  • chnkysoup
    chnkysoup Posts: 79 Member
    It IS hard to believe that weight loss is so simple, we have been brainwashed to think that we have to eat in a special way, and exercise, and that certain foods are fattening, and that eating at the wrong times makes it impossible to lose weight, and so on. There's a nugget of truth in most things - so yes, some foods are easier than others to overeat, and yes, being more active overall makes us burn more calories, and yes, bored and mindless eating is more common at night - but if you log your food intake correctly, and stick to your calorie target, you WILL lose weight, as long as you have weight to lose. It will be slow if you have little fat on your body, but your body doesn't have a will of its own, or any such nonsense. Weight management is actually pretty straightforward and logical, almost boring. You can't speed it up, but you can decide if it's going to be torture, or fun, or at least not be constant torture.

    Yes yes yes!!!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    You can't eat a wrench! But if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.

    Can you eat a ball?
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    I've lost over 20 kilos so far and I've eaten chocolate/cake/ice cream etc. every day. No it doesn't matter at all.
  • damdam96
    damdam96 Posts: 23 Member
    Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.

    I'm eating roughly 1,200 calories a day, this is the figure MFP generated for me based on my height and weight loss goals
  • Jackibrazil
    Jackibrazil Posts: 124 Member
    For weight loss sure, as long as you're burning more calories than you consume. For health? probably shouldn't lol
  • damdam96
    damdam96 Posts: 23 Member
    damdam96 wrote: »
    Thank you all for the advice so far! Just to clarify - I really do enjoy the "healthy" foods I cook. And I've stuck to low carbs so far mainly because I find it easier to stay under 1,200 that way.

    I genuinely want to be healthier but I'm talking about the few times a week I get cravings for stuff. It's currently popcorn, it's literally all I can think about haha.

    I was looking at the calories on things like donuts, granola bars or even crisps and because my lunch&dinners are usually so low calorie, I could fit in some other stuff on some days....I was just worried that the fact they are "unhealthy" would hinder my progress.

    I know CICO, but it's sometimes hard to believe that any calories that are less than what you expend will lead to a loss. I guess, I just wanted some clarification...

    I sometimes had foods like donuts, granola bars, and potato chips when I was losing weight. It never hindered my progress.

    One thing I will note is that if you're eating generally lower carbohydrate, increasing your carbohydrates on a given day can lead to a temporary jump in water weight because going lower carbohydrate tends to result in less water in your body and increasing the carbs will result in more. But this isn't the same thing as actually gaining fat. So you might see a temporary increase on the scale for a day or two, but it doesn't mean that your plan isn't working.

    Oh, interesting, I did not know this. I'm not too caught up in daily fluctuations on the scale but thanks for the heads up!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    damdam96 wrote: »
    Wait. Why are you eating under 1200 calories/day? That's the bare minimum for someone small and sedentary.

    I'm eating roughly 1,200 calories a day, this is the figure MFP generated for me based on my height and weight loss goals
    But is your weight loss goal realistic? No more than 1% of your body weight per week, on average, is realistic. A bigger deficit than that, is pointless.
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