Do I have to eat healthy all the time to lose weight?
h553xx
Posts: 1 Member
My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
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Replies
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You do not need to eat "healthy", which is an arbitrary word without a defined meaning, in order to lose weight. You only need to eat less than your body burns. Not only can you have a treat everyday, but I would think that eating a treat along with the rest of your diet would help make it "healthy" as it would be enjoyable and sustainable.
Just be aware that no matter how you do it, losing 15 pounds should be at a slow rate, so you may not always see progress on the scale every week. But that doesn't mean that you are off track or that it is holding up your progress.44 -
what he said ^^10
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Nope. Eat what you want as long as you are in a deficit.6
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You also don't need to eat unhealthy food to gain weight - just too much food.
(I gained my excess weight eating a vast majority of good home cooked food.)22 -
Weight gain is caused by over-eating too much food.12
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My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
My major weight loss phase (for me) was in 2017. For the duration of my weight loss, I had at least 3 chocolate chip cookies almost every single day while losing 53 pounds. I also had an occasional Coca Cola (my drink of choice - that I do not drink regularly anymore), birthday cake, or an occasional candy bar.
Yes, you can have sweets. You just have to accurately include them in your tracking.
And ultimately it's calories, not macros that determine fat loss (although being accurate on counting macros implies being accurate on calories). The composition of macros does not matter with respect to fat loss.6 -
Losing weight is healthy all by itself. As long as you don't go to some sudden extreme moving more and exercise is healthy all by itself.7
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While losing my weight (90 lbs in almost a year), I was (very carefully and mindfully) ordering takeout, eating at restaurants, and having desserts multiple times a week. As long as I stayed within my calorie target, I lost weight as expected. I’m now maintaining the weight loss using these same guidelines and habits.
I say “carefully and mindfully” because it takes some planning to make sure you’re ordering a meal with reasonable calorie totals (ordering small low-cal easy-estimate foods or saving half for later were two good strategies). You can absolutely make treats fit in your way-of-eating; in fact, you SHOULD. don’t give yourself any unreasonable restrictions that you couldn’t see yourself sticking to for the rest of your life.12 -
You do not need to eat "healthy", which is an arbitrary word without a defined meaning, in order to lose weight. You only need to eat less than your body burns. Not only can you have a treat everyday, but I would think that eating a treat along with the rest of your diet would help make it "healthy" as it would be enjoyable and sustainable.
Just be aware that no matter how you do it, losing 15 pounds should be at a slow rate, so you may not always see progress on the scale every week. But that doesn't mean that you are off track or that it is holding up your progress.
I find your post always so accurate and helpful! This is very sound advice!! I will follow it my own self.
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My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
Although I agree with the others I'm going to go on the flip side of the advice.
Cut out the *kitten* food completely and replace your sweet "needs" with fruit instead of like figuring out how to work in a Snickers everyday. I think it will help you clear your head of the "need" for sweets and realize you don't actually need them. As for binge eating that's within your control just stop yourself if you feel that way.
Save the treats for when you reach markers ... like 10lbs lost then have something sweet, otherwise eat clean and stay within your calories.
Don't go nuts ppl I'm with you on CICO just sometimes it's easier if ppl cut the crap out all together.8 -
I lost 45 lbs eating pretty much anything I want, just less of it. Being very aware that there was a limit to what I could ingest and hope to burn off that day. You have a calorie budget and its up to you to determine how you want to fill it. I discovered that pretty early on that I could more easily do this by making choices that didn't have such a big calorie hit, but if I really wanted that ice cream cone, I had it.
There are lots of things or programs or plans that claim to help you lose weight, but in reality they are for the most part eating strategies to help reduce calories (Meal timing, toying with macros, skipping sugars or carbs. etc...). They certainly work for some people, the thing is to find what you can sustain and live with long term.
My advice is to not try something that you cannot do long term.
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Tedebearduff wrote: »Cut out the *kitten* food completely and replace your sweet "needs" with fruit instead of like figuring out how to work in a Snickers everyday. I think it will help you clear your head of the "need" for sweets and realize you don't actually need them. As for binge eating that's within your control just stop yourself if you feel that way.
Unfortunately it's not that easy for some like me... I am seeing a psychologist about my issues with binging and have made significant progress using cognitive behavioral therapy. But it has taken a lot more that just stopping myself when I feel that way. One of the several behaviors we have worked on was to work in more treats because I previously had abstained from them completely.24 -
You do not need to eat "healthy", which is an arbitrary word without a defined meaning, in order to lose weight. You only need to eat less than your body burns. Not only can you have a treat everyday, but I would think that eating a treat along with the rest of your diet would help make it "healthy" as it would be enjoyable and sustainable.
Just be aware that no matter how you do it, losing 15 pounds should be at a slow rate, so you may not always see progress on the scale every week. But that doesn't mean that you are off track or that it is holding up your progress.
^^^This covers it...4 -
I'm a binge eater so if I have one treat, I'm generally eating ALL THE TREATS. If I have to have sweets, it has to be occasionally unless it's a fake sweet treat like a keto dessert with fake sugars or stevia. Know thyself....4
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Tedebearduff wrote: »My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
Although I agree with the others I'm going to go on the flip side of the advice.
Cut out the *kitten* food completely and replace your sweet "needs" with fruit instead of like figuring out how to work in a Snickers everyday. I think it will help you clear your head of the "need" for sweets and realize you don't actually need them. As for binge eating that's within your control just stop yourself if you feel that way.
Save the treats for when you reach markers ... like 10lbs lost then have something sweet, otherwise eat clean and stay within your calories.
Don't go nuts ppl I'm with you on CICO just sometimes it's easier if ppl cut the crap out all together.
This may be good advice for people who are, across the board, not able to moderate treat foods.
It's very poor advice for those for whom over-restriction leads to cravings and over-consumption.
And I can't even, with the idea of using treat foods as a reward for weight loss. It seems like a recipe for developing a poor relationship with food, in someone who doesn't already have one. Maybe it works for somebody, but I think it's not great general advice. Food is not a sin that requires expiation; neither is it a reward for "being good". It's just food, and we need to eat some, so it might as well be tasty and overall nutritious and satisfying.
I, too, am going to go with a slightly different emphasis from what I perceive to be the overall leaning of the thread.
I agree that one need not eat 100% "healthy foods" (whatever the heck that is), in order to lose weight. Weight management, in the short run especially, is all about calories.
But most of us want to be healthy and energetic, not just thin. That's where nutrition becomes important . . . but it's an attribute of one's overall way of eating as a whole, not an attribute of individual foods considered separately. Even some/most treat foods have some useful nutrients: They count.
Eat the right number of calories, get good overall nutrition, choose foods you personally enjoy that meet those calorie and nutrition goals, and throw in some less nutrient-dense or higher-calorie foods now and again, if that makes you happy.
Further, in the long run, under-nutrition will affect energy level, and lethargic people burn fewer calories than energetic ones. Undernutrition may also lead to problems with cravings/appetite, which can make a calorie goal tough to stick with (so can cutting out all treats and then eventually feeling deprived or entitled, BTW). Lethargy and noncompliance can hinder weight management success, so in that sense, nutrition is important for weight management, too.
Calories are the main thing, though, I agree.
OP, eat a daily treat. Keep it within your calorie goal, and in a context where your base nutrition needs are met, the overwhelming majority of days. That's the sweet spot. You'll be fine.
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Tedebearduff wrote: »My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
Although I agree with the others I'm going to go on the flip side of the advice.
Cut out the *kitten* food completely and replace your sweet "needs" with fruit instead of like figuring out how to work in a Snickers everyday. I think it will help you clear your head of the "need" for sweets and realize you don't actually need them. As for binge eating that's within your control just stop yourself if you feel that way.
Save the treats for when you reach markers ... like 10lbs lost then have something sweet, otherwise eat clean and stay within your calories.
Don't go nuts ppl I'm with you on CICO just sometimes it's easier if ppl cut the crap out all together.
What about all those posts "I don't understand why I'm gaining weight, I eat clean and healthy"?11 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
Although I agree with the others I'm going to go on the flip side of the advice.
Cut out the *kitten* food completely and replace your sweet "needs" with fruit instead of like figuring out how to work in a Snickers everyday. I think it will help you clear your head of the "need" for sweets and realize you don't actually need them. As for binge eating that's within your control just stop yourself if you feel that way.
Save the treats for when you reach markers ... like 10lbs lost then have something sweet, otherwise eat clean and stay within your calories.
Don't go nuts ppl I'm with you on CICO just sometimes it's easier if ppl cut the crap out all together.
Imagine someone talked about a medical condition in the brain like epileptic seizures this way. "Oh, come on now, what's this medication stuff, just stop yourself from convulsing if you feel that way."15 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
Although I agree with the others I'm going to go on the flip side of the advice.
Cut out the *kitten* food completely and replace your sweet "needs" with fruit instead of like figuring out how to work in a Snickers everyday. I think it will help you clear your head of the "need" for sweets and realize you don't actually need them. As for binge eating that's within your control just stop yourself if you feel that way.
Save the treats for when you reach markers ... like 10lbs lost then have something sweet, otherwise eat clean and stay within your calories.
Don't go nuts ppl I'm with you on CICO just sometimes it's easier if ppl cut the crap out all together.
Oh gosh, I wish I'd thought of just not binge eating.
Like I wish I'd thought of just not being depressed and anxious.
Maybe I should try just not having a broken ankle too?29 -
Not all the time, not even half the time, not even at all. You only need to eat healthy if eating healthy is one of your goals. For weight loss, calories and sustainability are all that matters. Since you appear to find daily snacking more sustainable, see how you can fit it into your budget and as long as you are logging correctly and staying within calories, weight loss is almost guaranteed.3
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Technically you are all correct - you lose weight by having a calorific deficit. But to encourage people to continue eating unhealthily is denying the obvious health benefits from eating more of a healthy diet. The benefits for your heart, liver, blood pressure, diabetese etc, etc. from cutting out less healthy food are there for all to see. It's somewhat dangerous to encourage someone to eat what they want as long as its in the right amount. That's like saying if I ate nothing but cheese burgers for a year i'd be ok as long as I was lighter. Probably have serious heart disease, good chance of a stroke or liver failure as well, but what the hey, I've lost some weight.3
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padawan2302 wrote: »Technically you are all correct - you lose weight by having a calorific deficit. But to encourage people to continue eating unhealthily is denying the obvious health benefits from eating more of a healthy diet. The benefits for your heart, liver, blood pressure, diabetese etc, etc. from cutting out less healthy food are there for all to see. It's somewhat dangerous to encourage someone to eat what they want as long as its in the right amount. That's like saying if I ate nothing but cheese burgers for a year i'd be ok as long as I was lighter. Probably have serious heart disease, good chance of a stroke or liver failure as well, but what the hey, I've lost some weight.
I think most people know that nutrition is important, and are just looking for "permission" not to feel guilty when they eat things they want. I would also argue that starting with a single goal may be better in the long run. Once calories are easier to control, other goals can be introduced. You may also find yourself wanting to add foods that aren't too calorie dense, like vegetables, even without specifically trying. That's because "eating what you want" is self-balancing. Most people would not be very full if they spend all their calories on brownies daily, and many people would not want to live on brownies (or cheeseburgers, or any other single food) anyway. That's why I believe simplifying is the best strategy, all else will come gradually, and if it doesn't, it can be introduced once dieting isn't as challenging.17 -
The advice you've received is solid all you need is a calorie deficit to lose weight. What I found has worked best for me (but everyone is different) has been try to eat 3 parts healthy/clean with a good balance of macro's and nutrition to 1 part eat whatever I fancy as long as it fits in my cals. (I'm not trying to lose weight at the moment though) 2
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Hi, you say you want to have a treat every day. I gather that a treat for you is junky kind of sweet food. You mention sweet food and I dont think you mean sweetcorn, sweetpotato etc. :-) I treated myself to a super juicy Mango the other day. Im currently treating myself to a soy latte barley drink which I find so soothing and its sweet because the light soy milk is sweetened. So we can treat ourselves to sweet foods without them being junky is what Im getting at. You can have a snickers or whatever as long as its within your calories for the day and still stay in deficit is the answer you are looking for I think.2
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CI/CO and keeping at a calorie deficit is the only thing that matters for losing weight. That being said, I prefer to eat healthier choices. Makes me feel so much better and I have more energy through the day.5
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Hi, you say you want to have a treat every day. I gather that a treat for you is junky kind of sweet food. You mention sweet food and I dont think you mean sweetcorn, sweetpotato etc. :-) I treated myself to a super juicy Mango the other day. Im currently treating myself to a soy latte barley drink which I find so soothing and its sweet because the light soy milk is sweetened. So we can treat ourselves to sweet foods without them being junky is what Im getting at. You can have a snickers or whatever as long as its within your calories for the day and still stay in deficit is the answer you are looking for I think.
No food is 'junk'.
A Snickers may have a lot of calories and very few micronutrients, but that doesn't make it 'junky'. It means it wouldn't make a good dietary staple. But if someone's on a fifteen mile hike, for example, or seriously underweight, a Snickers is actually a much healthier snack than some sweetcorn or a soy latte!
Foods are not 'good' or 'bad' absolutely. They are good or bad in context.
And it's as important to satisfy your mind as it is to satisfy your body. For me personally, if my mind wants chocolate, no amount of mango (which I love) or light soy drink is going to satisfy it. So I just have to make room in my diet to fit in those calories while still getting everything else I need. That's all there is to it.23 -
padawan2302 wrote: »Technically you are all correct - you lose weight by having a calorific deficit. But to encourage people to continue eating unhealthily is denying the obvious health benefits from eating more of a healthy diet. The benefits for your heart, liver, blood pressure, diabetese etc, etc. from cutting out less healthy food are there for all to see. It's somewhat dangerous to encourage someone to eat what they want as long as its in the right amount. That's like saying if I ate nothing but cheese burgers for a year i'd be ok as long as I was lighter. Probably have serious heart disease, good chance of a stroke or liver failure as well, but what the hey, I've lost some weight.
We aren't technically correct. We are literally correct. You can lose weight eating any food you want. "Losing weight" and "optimal health" are different goals, although they often go hand in hand.
Nobody encouraged anybody to eat an unhealthy diet. Just confirmed that you can lose weight eating any food. We're all adults here, I'm not going to assume that because OP wants to eat a treat every day that means they don't understand the difference between "lose weight" and "be healthy".
I'll add that if you are an obese person eating nothing but cheeseburgers, and you eat less cheeseburgers to lose weight until you are at a healthy weight, but still eat nothing but cheeseburgers, you will still be healthier than you were. Not as healthy as you could be, but still an improvement. And some people have to get to that point before taking the next step to change their diet.
Obviously, OP is already aware of the correlation between diet and health since they are concerned that eating a treat every day might be a problem. Is there some reason you assume OP wants to eat an entirely unhealthy diet?19 -
padawan2302 wrote: »Technically you are all correct - you lose weight by having a calorific deficit. But to encourage people to continue eating unhealthily is denying the obvious health benefits from eating more of a healthy diet. The benefits for your heart, liver, blood pressure, diabetese etc, etc. from cutting out less healthy food are there for all to see. It's somewhat dangerous to encourage someone to eat what they want as long as its in the right amount. That's like saying if I ate nothing but cheese burgers for a year i'd be ok as long as I was lighter. Probably have serious heart disease, good chance of a stroke or liver failure as well, but what the hey, I've lost some weight.
How do you get from the OP’s question of if it’s possible to eat “A” treat every day and still lose weight, to eating “nothing but cheeseburgers for a year”?
Straw Man much?
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With relatively little to lose set a realistic goal of .5lb/week loss.
Absolutely budget for treats. As anything you implement will be long term and sustainable, implementing absurd changes brings nothing but unnecessary suffering.
Five years at maintenance and I focus on those trigger foods - everyone is different, but mine is chips. I don't eliminate these, but I sure watch them closely.
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One of the things that attracted me to MFP was that I didn't have to swear off treats, and I could eat anything I wanted -- as long as it stays within the overall calorie budget.
And while I still indulged in the occasional Ben & Jerry's ice cream or cake or whatever, I also discovered some treats that were easier to fit in my plan.
A sampling:
Spongebob Squarepants popsicles: How can you not smile and eat this? It's 100 calories!
Halo Top - High protein ice cream? Yes, really! Not quite Ben and Jerry's but you can eat the whole PINT for a hit of 280 calories.
Rice Crispy Treats: You can get prepackaged ones to keep portion size controlled.
Bacon: Seriously, it's not that hard to fit.7 -
My goal is to lose fat. I love sweet food. I feel cutting out this completely will lead to binging or something else. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I tired low carb, carb cycling in the past and they never worked. Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. But I’m scared this will cause a plateau. Wat do I do? Please advice me?
I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day? If I do this, will it affect progress?
Perhaps you were over-restricting the other times you tried to lose weight and that led to binging and then failure?
With only 15 pounds to lose, do set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week.
This is what can happen with an overly aggressive calorie deficit:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/7
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