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Do diets work?

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Replies

  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    Holy moly! I finally made it to the end!

    I just do my best to hit my macro/calorie goals (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't because I find macros more difficult than calorie control) and don't demonize my food preferences, because I know myself well enough to understand that too many boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken breasts will make me fly into the arms of my favorite fast food restaurant. If I want the burger, I will have it. And I was super glad when Hardee's and Carl's Jr. became one, because when I moved away from California in the early 80's I missed the Western Bacon Cheeseburger from there the most. Now I can get one in NC any time I want. B)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
    slossia wrote: »
    Am I the only one who sees that diets don’t work! I’ve been reading all the posts on all these threads on MFP, and see that everyone is always dieting and always needing to loose weight! Weight watchers, slim fast, CICO, And the worst offender, eat less and exercise more!! You are what you eat, not how much you eat! Spend your life eating junk food , processed meat , sugary foods, and then think it’s okay as long as you eat in moderation!! Won’t work!!

    If I am what I eat I'm pizza!...... ever hear of the Twinkie Diet?

    cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »

    are you asking me to provide with peer reviewed dietary analysis that a bacon western cheeseburger is less healthy than a chicken breast with balsamic salad?

    No, people are asking specifically about the context of the overall diet. We are not asking you to compare two specific meals.

    We're asking why the person who meets their nutritional needs with a variety of foods including a bacon cheeseburger is better off than the person who is meeting their nutritional needs while excluding bacon cheeseburgers (and, presumably, their components -- beef, bacon, cheese, and bread).

    Foods don't exist in a vacuum, they exist in the context of an overall diet. That is what people are asking you about.

    Although, a bacon cheeseburger is probably more balanced than a balsamic vinegar salad with chicken breast.

    nah
    2 meats and nitrates - lettuce onion ring and BBq sauce (sugar) vs. Chicken breast peppers - still lettuce - tomatos - cucumbers - hard boiled eggs vinegar AND 1/2 the calories

    Why are two meats worse than one meat?

    What on earth is wrong with lettuce and onion rings?

    I was combining them as there is not real nutritional benefit difference between the 2 - What on earth is wrong with lettuce and onion rings? - nothing - I just like my onion sauteed not breaded

    Breaded?? That's also a crime against humanity. Onions should be raw. especially on a bacon cheeseburger.

    I'll gladly take up to 1/3 of a large onion on my Cheeseburger.

    I think this conversation is giving us insight into the kind of burger Irishman1970 likes (BBQ sauce, breaded onion rings on it). Interesting that he assumes that's the kind of burger everyone else wants.

    Not, of course, that it couldn't fit into a reasonable diet on occasion if it was what someone enjoyed.

    Eating tons of chicken breast daily seems to me more of an issue (lack of variety) than occasionally having a bacon cheeseburger.

    I also don't get how someone who seems to think fat and carbs are bad gets to 4000+ calories. It can't all be lemon chicken breast and salad with vinegar.

    It's a good point -- these conversations always seem to wind up suggesting what the dietary prohibitionist in question thinks they would eat in the absence of certain internal restrictions.

    To me, the Carls Jr Bacon Western Cheeseburger looks a bit bland and a bit gross (no judgment meant to those who enjoy them, I'm sure I enjoy things that look bland and gross to some) and I can't imagine wanting to eat it. For it to get held up as some sort of hedonistic cheeseburger delight is . . . a bit funny to me.

    There are delicious looking bacon cheeseburgers in the world, that just doesn't strike me as one of them.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
    brittyn3 wrote: »
    I wonder how many people involved/read this thread are having burgers inthe very near future because of it :D

    Kinkaid's for me and mine tonight!!!! Blue cheese double burger (might even put bacon that sucker)!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member

    are you asking me to provide with peer reviewed dietary analysis that a bacon western cheeseburger is less healthy than a chicken breast with balsamic salad?

    No, people are asking specifically about the context of the overall diet. We are not asking you to compare two specific meals.

    We're asking why the person who meets their nutritional needs with a variety of foods including a bacon cheeseburger is better off than the person who is meeting their nutritional needs while excluding bacon cheeseburgers (and, presumably, their components -- beef, bacon, cheese, and bread).

    Foods don't exist in a vacuum, they exist in the context of an overall diet. That is what people are asking you about.

    Although, a bacon cheeseburger is probably more balanced than a balsamic vinegar salad with chicken breast.

    nah
    2 meats and nitrates - lettuce onion ring and BBq sauce (sugar) vs. Chicken breast still lettuce - tomatos - cucumbers - hard boiled eggs vinegar AND 1/2 the calories

    Well that's problem number 1. Who wants half the calories? Now I have to eat 2 salads. and you're probably still light on fat and protein

    And what sort of criminal puts BBQ sauce on a bacon cheeseburger?

    that is one of my many meals and I need the nutrition and don't want empty calories of breading bun sugar in the sauces - LOL BBQ - Carls Jr does

    Why is your cheesburger in this scenario have a bun, onion rings and BBQ sauce on it, but the chicken doesn't have those things? Shouldn't they be equal to compare?

    lean meat - sauteed onion rings and peppers a bit of mozzarella cheese maybe some crushed bacon - no bun no sauce in a lettuce wrap


    Ok, but, you didn't even attempt to answer my question. Why cant I eat the burger that way? Why does it have to be on a bun, with deep-fried onion rings and BBQ sauce? To accurately compare, shouldn't the chicken breast be on a bun, with onion rings, smothered in BBQ sauce?

    YOU CAAAAAAAN - my point was between the 2 that burger or a chicken breast with salad you can eat more nutritious food - if you are active and fit you need more nutrient dense food between the 2 - a Carls jr Bacon western Cheeseburger or a sald with chicken breast the later is the better choice for fitness

    But didn't the Carl's Jr Bacon Western Cheeseburger originally come up because you were attempting to use it as some sort of stand-in for the typical cheeseburger?

    Weren't you the one who did that while other people were arguing that cheeseburgers come in all sorts of forms and it's possible for all types of people to find a version that fits into their calorie and nutritional goals and there's nothing inherently unhealthy about foods that fall into the category of "cheeseburger"?

    And all this in the context of you refusing to even explain why you are so convinced that someone who is meeting their nutritional needs but sometimes having a cheeseburger, even a Carl's Jr Bacon Western Cheeseburger, is going to be worse off.

    Nope I used the 2 because the person thought I was part of the eat what you want as long as you stay within your calorie range

    Well, are we talking weight loss (where they can work) or nutrition (where of course what you eat matters and some diets are bad and some good -- note: diet here means "way one eats")?

    Of course, if you know anything about nutrition you know that there's no inherent nutritional difference between someone who only eats chicken breast as their protein vs. someone who eats a variety of protein sources, including occasional cheeseburgers.

    Single meals do not make that much difference, it's the overall diet. And also a meal involving a cheeseburger can be nutrient dense, and in fact more nutrient dense than a meal involving a chicken breast (or 5, sigh).

    If I like cheeseburgers and really want one, it is far more likely that making myself one (or even going out to dinner for one, although I wouldn't choose Carl Jr's, again, that seems to be your thing) will do more to deal with the temptation to overeat than having boneless skinless chicken breast (which I don't much care for). And I've never found that eating a cheeseburger makes me hungry the next day. I might save calories for it, but eh, that's not a huge trade off (I do this with meals I prefer at restaurants, like Indian food, all the time).