Can u get fat by eating 2,000 calories of raw food?

joowelz
joowelz Posts: 170 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Been trying to eat more natural and fewer processed food. Took up veggie and fruit smoothies. Have a question. My weight loss calorie goals are around 1750 per day. If I eat 2000 calories worth of raw fruit, veggies and nuts, would weight still gain occur? Are all calories created equal?

Replies

  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    yes, it is possible.
    if 2000 cal is more than your calorie allotment, you will gain weight
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    What is your maintenance (TDEE) calorie value? Without this number, there is no way to tell if you will be eating in a surplus at 2000 calories per day.

    What can be said with the numbers you've provided is: Since the 2000 calorie figure is larger than your weight-loss calorie figure by 250 calories per day, your weight-loss will be ~½ a pound per week less than you'd have with your targeted 1750-calorie per day intake.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,969 Member
    Raw foods may have a bit higher TEF (jury's kinda out still, I think), or be a bit less easy to absorb nutrients from in some cases (don't know whether that extends to calories), but there's no magic in raw food. If you overeat them, you'll gain. If there's a difference, it's not going to be big. If 2000 calories is below your maintenance, you'll keep losing. Will you lose faster than on 2000 calories of junk? Probably not enough to notice, if at all.
  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    Oh God...add another one to the debate section (rolls eyes)...
    Nuts quite much so. The question is whether one can actually stomach the bulk required to reach 2,000kcals of extremely low density kcal foods (without the aid of cow stomachs transplantation...joking of course)
  • azamayoa
    azamayoa Posts: 1 Member
    Find your maintenance amount of calories. let's say your maintenance is 2500 calories a day. If you eat raw foods worth 2000 calories, you will lose weight. Hell, even if you eat 2400 calories a day, you will lose weight (slowly). Treat all calories the same. Doesn't mean you should constantly indulge in treats because those are high in calories but are not very nutrient dense. It's all about moderation. Calories are calories. If you're in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. it's really that simple. I wish you luck.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I can't because my maintenance is 2600 but you might depending on what yours is!
  • tlpina82
    tlpina82 Posts: 229 Member
    Short answer is yes.
    If you need 1750 to maintain and are eating 2000, you have a 250 surplus.
    A typical pound of fat (453g if you use the metric system) contains 3500kcals.
    So IF, and only if you are absolutely certain of your math and you know for sure that your body, between organs, muscle and fat tissue, consistently needs 1750kcal to maintain its weight, you can expect to gain 1 lbs on the first 14 days.

    The more weight you gain, the higher the threshold to maintain. (Generally speaking)
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Not likely. If your weight loss calories are 1750, your maintenance is likely 2000 or more (unless your weight loss calories give you only a tiny deficit). It's not likely you would gain on 2000 on a raw food diet or on an exclusively cooked diet because it has little to do with foods and everything to do with calories.

    If you mean 2000 calories worth of raw foods on top of other foods, then the possibility of gain becomes much more likely.

    P.S: if you're looking for healthy, eating raw foods exclusively isn't it. Your diet would not provide adequate protein and would be missing several other nutrients.
  • Millicent3015
    Millicent3015 Posts: 374 Member
    There's food that is better nutritionally when cooked, like tomatoes. Some foods aren't meant to be eaten raw, like potatoes, some root veg, beans and pulses, and we're not meant to exist on fruit and veg alone. We need a variety of foods for health. Smoothies are fine short term, but they're not sustainable, and they don't help you change your eating habits. You're likely to get more benefit from eating your fruit and veg than drinking them.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    Yes, you can gain weight from eating surplus calories of anything even 'raw' foods.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
    Yes. Avacado, nuts, seeds. All very calorically dense.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    2000 is well below my NEAT calories, but it wouldn’t be enough for me. I need fat and protein, and I don’t like nuts so I’d need to get those macros from elsewhere.

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