Do I have to eat healthy all the time to lose weight?
Replies
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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.
Saying you don't have to eat ONLY healthy food to lose (or to have a healthy diet, even) is not telling people to continue eating unhealthfully. That's a really odd takeaway on your part.
No one is suggesting eating nothing but cheeseburgers in a year (who would even want to do that?), so that's a total, and bizarre, strawman, but in fact although NOT recommended or a good diet, eating only cheeseburgers for just one year while also losing is very unlikely to lead to "serious heart disease, stroke, or liver failure." I wouldn't do it, and if someone did I hope they'd take a multivitamin, but you grossly exaggerate the likely effect.9 -
Nm0
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i think we are having cheeseburgers tonight for dinner.
with potato chips.
and i will have ice cream after that.
life is good. enjoy it.15 -
No, you only need to have a calorie deficit as others have pointed out. You could eat KFC or chocolate only in your diet as long as you ate within your calorie deficit and you would lose.
But of course you want your body to be working great in 10, 20, 40 years from now and the adult part of your life to extend as long as possible before you become frail and elderly. The better the choices you make the more likely you will have less problems down the line. Everyone's body fails eventually but you can be your best healthiest you if you make good food choices and do some exercise.
I find the macro and nutrition graphs really helpful when filling out my diary and reviewing my day. There is room for improvement like my calcium intake and it has helped me get my sugars down to the right level. I wish it was even more extensive actually because I find it interesting.0 -
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?
I don't assume OP wants to eat an unhealthy diet. If you all read it properly, it wasn't referring to OP at all, but to a lot of peoples advice about "eating what you want, as long as you are in a calorie deficit". I would even suggest that eating a healthy diet and being slightly overweight has better health benefits than eating crap and being underweight. I was only pointing out that it's dangerous to suggest to someone to literally eat what they want to lose weight. If you read the initial replies they all suggest this. Apologies for sounding blunt or pedantic.0 -
padawan2302 wrote: »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?
I don't assume OP wants to eat an unhealthy diet. If you all read it properly, it wasn't referring to OP at all, but to a lot of peoples advice about "eating what you want, as long as you are in a calorie deficit". I would even suggest that eating a healthy diet and being slightly overweight has better health benefits than eating crap and being underweight. I was only pointing out that it's dangerous to suggest to someone to literally eat what they want to lose weight. If you read the initial replies they all suggest this. Apologies for sounding blunt or pedantic.
This assumes you have to do one or the other. I'd argue that a "healthy" diet can include some stereotypically "unhealthy" foods. And I don't think I've ever met an adult who didn't realize that in order to achieve good health, you can't eat nothing but junk food.
OP didn't ask for a lecture on how to be healthy, just asked if he could eat a daily treat and still lose weight. I think if you read the forums here more extensively, you'll see we often help people figure out how to eat healthily while still enjoying their diet. But no, we don't read the "healthy diet" lecture into every single thread regardless of the question asked.9 -
padawan2302 wrote: »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?
I don't assume OP wants to eat an unhealthy diet. If you all read it properly, it wasn't referring to OP at all, but to a lot of peoples advice about "eating what you want, as long as you are in a calorie deficit". I would even suggest that eating a healthy diet and being slightly overweight has better health benefits than eating crap and being underweight. I was only pointing out that it's dangerous to suggest to someone to literally eat what they want to lose weight. If you read the initial replies they all suggest this. Apologies for sounding blunt or pedantic.
To add to Kimny's PP:
I'd also observe that all the way back on page 1 of the thread, there were people referencing good nutrition as a desirable part of the picture (I was one).
Not one person has advocated "eating crap and being underweight".
It's not necessary for everyone on a thread to say "yes but nutrition", as long as some people have said it, when the OP's question is literally "Now I just want to eat the same amount of macros everyday. . . . I want to have a treat everyday. Can I have one as long as this fits in my macros for the day?"
That's the question people were answering.
OP wants to meet her nutrional goals, but also have a treat. That's it.12 -
padawan2302 wrote: »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?
I don't assume OP wants to eat an unhealthy diet. If you all read it properly, it wasn't referring to OP at all, but to a lot of peoples advice about "eating what you want, as long as you are in a calorie deficit". I would even suggest that eating a healthy diet and being slightly overweight has better health benefits than eating crap and being underweight. I was only pointing out that it's dangerous to suggest to someone to literally eat what they want to lose weight. If you read the initial replies they all suggest this. Apologies for sounding blunt or pedantic.
Why does it always have to be an "either or"...?10 -
padawan2302 wrote: »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?
I don't assume OP wants to eat an unhealthy diet. If you all read it properly, it wasn't referring to OP at all, but to a lot of peoples advice about "eating what you want, as long as you are in a calorie deficit". I would even suggest that eating a healthy diet and being slightly overweight has better health benefits than eating crap and being underweight. I was only pointing out that it's dangerous to suggest to someone to literally eat what they want to lose weight. If you read the initial replies they all suggest this. Apologies for sounding blunt or pedantic.
Given that being slightly overweight has better health outcomes than being underweight (especially for the elderly), all things being equal, this isn't much of a claim.8 -
I will add that I think it is a total waste of time to eat 100 percent nutrient dense foods. I believe all you are doing is making more nutrient rich urine. I subscribe to an 80/20 mindset and I would imagine that even it probably results in fortified urine.7
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