Losing weight by eating twinkies...27lbs in 2 months.

portexploit
portexploit Posts: 378 Member
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
This guy lost 27lbs in 2 months eating just twinkies.obviously this isn't recommended,but it does make an interesting point about
calories. I think he ate 1700 calories a day.

. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

Replies

  • idahogirl71
    idahogirl71 Posts: 1,110 Member
    I've always said a calorie is a calorie...doesn't matter where that calorie comes from it is still a calorie
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    The theory is... as long as you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

    However, losing weight and being healthy are two different things and obviously living on Twinkies isn't healthy.
  • wcasie
    wcasie Posts: 299 Member
    lol wow... makes you wonder for sure doesn't it!
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    Calorie restriction will absolutely lower your weight. I don't think that's news. I know links to articles on this exact experiment have been reposted here countless times and discussed ad nauseum but I'll say it again: eating nothing but sugar will effing WRECK your body.
  • whisperingdragon
    whisperingdragon Posts: 334 Member
    I remember that. LOL!
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040 Member
    Not the healthiest option, but it really does come down to calories in vs. calories out! There have been days that I use all or most of my calories on beer and I still lose weight.
  • clarech
    clarech Posts: 157 Member
    What are twinkies? Guess they aren't healthy.
  • bhagavatilad1
    bhagavatilad1 Posts: 277 Member
    He consumed empty calories which are no good for you. Maybe he just wanted a huge initial weight loss and worked out extremly so both factors worked together amazing!
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    He consumed empty calories which are no good for you. Maybe he just wanted a huge initial weight loss and worked out extremly so both factors worked together amazing!

    If you'd read the article you'd know the hows and whys. :/
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    mmmm twinkie
  • portexploit
    portexploit Posts: 378 Member
    I think there is something missing to the story...I don't know though.
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437 Member
    I doubt there is anything missing. This is the 1st law of thermodynamics so it's science at work.

    As someone else pointed out above though, being healthy and losing weight are two different things. Regardless, if weight loss is your goal, this is solid evidence that you can eat your twinkies, pizza, cookies, ice cream, etc and still lose weight as long as you're in a deficit. Energy can't be created or destroyed, just stored or used. If you eat less than you use, weight will come off.

    As far as his insulin and other hormone responses, they're probably pretty decent as well. Insulin is a main factor in being unhealthy when you're already eating too much and you store fat. If you're in a deficit, the insulin responses from sugary foods still won't end up in storage of fat because your body will be using the nutrients for functioning, repairing and whatever other duties it has to carry out.

    I would be curious to know his HDL/LDL prior to the study, half way through, right at the end and then a month later when he returned to his normal eating habits.
  • portexploit
    portexploit Posts: 378 Member
    I doubt there is anything missing. This is the 1st law of thermodynamics so it's science at work.

    As someone else pointed out above though, being healthy and losing weight are two different things. Regardless, if weight loss is your goal, this is solid evidence that you can eat your twinkies, pizza, cookies, ice cream, etc and still lose weight as long as you're in a deficit. Energy can't be created or destroyed, just stored or used. If you eat less than you use, weight will come off.

    As far as his insulin and other hormone responses, they're probably pretty decent as well. Insulin is a main factor in being unhealthy when you're already eating too much and you store fat. If you're in a deficit, the insulin responses from sugary foods still won't end up in storage of fat because your body will be using the nutrients for functioning, repairing and whatever other duties it has to carry out.

    I would be curious to know his HDL/LDL prior to the study, half way through, right at the end and then a month later when he returned to his normal eating habits.

    Yes that's what I used to talk about the law of thermodynamics and how it relates to weight loss. In terms of the body there was an article that completely dismissed that law in terms of bio reactions. It doesn't take in to account of efficency of the different macro nutrient's energy production. When saying " a calorie is a calorie." Yes it's at work the law of thermodynamics, it's just a bit more complciated in the body.I think you already know that different macro nutrients have different thermogeic effects. They're also absorbed at different rates. It's interesting what you said about the insulin spike which would be high on this diet, but it's not enough carbs to convert it in to fat which does make sense.
  • inlander
    inlander Posts: 339 Member
    1700 calories of twinkies a day would make me feel just AWFUL.
  • cantjustcant
    cantjustcant Posts: 1,027 Member
    1700 calories of twinkies a day would make me feel just AWFUL.

    OMG! Can you imagine? I would have to brush my teeth 25X a day to get the taste out
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    1700 calories of twinkies a day would make me feel just AWFUL.

    OMG! Can you imagine? I would have to brush my teeth 25X a day to get the taste out

    I once figured how many twinkies it'd take to kill a person (in terms of sugar consumption) and it was disturbingly low:

    118

    You can see the table here, with some other things like sodium, vitamin C and LSD:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/McKayMachina/view/how-much-does-it-take-110002

    Eerily, the blog mentions Dr. Kevorkian and his death was announced within hours of my post. Kinda freaked me out!
  • AI1108
    AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
    Anyone could do this, but you definitely wouldn't feel your best. As he pointed out, there's "a disconnect between eating healthy and being healthy." I wonder where his Twinkie diet would have taken him if he had followed it long term.

    And all he wanted was a healthy body fat, not a minimal one. And if you want to be at your lightest (six packs & all), I wouldn't really recommend it. haha He'd probably hit a wall somewhere in his weight loss. Not to mention, most people probably could not last through a diet like this long term: "Two-thirds of his total intake came from junk food. He also took a multivitamin pill and drank a protein shake daily. And he ate vegetables, typically a can of green beans or three to four celery stalks." lol
  • AI1108
    AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
    double post lol
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    as far as the experiment goes, he did actually improve his health dramatically in general terms, just by being at a calorie deficit, even on a crap diet.
    Its worse for your health to overeat healthy foods, than to under-eat crap, it seems.
  • Gary1977
    Gary1977 Posts: 804 Member
    The theory is... as long as you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

    However, losing weight and being healthy are two different things and obviously living on Twinkies isn't healthy.

    Amen sister, Amen
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