Initially weight loss

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hamburger100
hamburger100 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there, I've recently watched a few things by Giles Yeo, (Cambridge geneticist), who said that if we ate sensibly and stuck to healthy, wholesome foods, we would probably lose weight naturally. However I wonder if we should get down to our goal weight (by calorie counting) before we can consider eating healthily, which I imagine would be close to maintanence calories. Any thoughts?

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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,401 Member
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    I think it's very individual. I can gain weight on lots of fruit, or wholegrain bread because I love both so much! Add a nice cheese from an artisan cheese maker and I'm in heaven.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,343 Member
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    Oh I could easily get fat on “healthy” food. I adore nuts, olive oil dips with homemade wholegrain bread, vegetables (jacket spuds, carrots, sweet potatoes…). I think the key is the “sensibly” word, and not everyone’s hunger signals shut off when they’re full. I wasn’t massively overweight when I joined MFP but I’d put on a stone of fat over 2 years by eating just a bit more than my maintenance. Probably put on c 1lb a month by eating mostly healthy wholegrain food before I stopped myself.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,634 Member
    edited August 2023
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    You can lose weight just fine without eating “healthy and wholesome food” as long as you have a consistent weekly calorie deficit. What he probably means is eating non ultra processed foods can be more satiating and cause fewer calories to be eaten however this isn’t always the case as many foods considered “healthy” are highly caloric, especially if someone is drinking calories.

    To be successful in any weight loss program you need an eating plan that you can stick with pretty much for life otherwise you’ll most likely put the weight back on. Totally eliminating foods you enjoy is a recipe for failure in the long run.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
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    This made me think of one of those pictures I saw recently that someone posted online. It was a shot of a crowded beach in the 1970's. Everyone in swimsuits, packed beach, not a single overweight person in the shot. Everyone was a healthy weight.

    I'm sure its a comment on the processed junk we eat today, but if we all just not only focused on the quantity of our food but the quality of our food, we would probably all be in a better place.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 909 Member
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    "if you ate sensibly" is probably the significant part for many of us. i used to eat a super healthy diet - no processed foods, whole grains, almost all organic, fully vegetarian, very few snacks, and i was at least 60 pounds overweight.

    i weigh less now even though i eat lots of protein bars, pre-made dressings, chocolate, and so on simply because i eat less calories. eating less healthy foods hasn't impacted weight loss one way or the other. and then there's my ex. he lived on candy bars, hot dogs with ketchup and onions (ew!), soda, bags of chips, fast food burgers and occasional delivered pizza, and he was quite thin but he was super active. i don't think he ate anything with a vegetable, whole grain or unprocessed fruit or vegetable on it in the years i knew him.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,178 Member
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    hamburger100 wrote: »
    Hi there, I've recently watched a few things by Giles Yeo, (Cambridge geneticist), who said that if we ate sensibly and stuck to healthy, wholesome foods, we would probably lose weight naturally. However I wonder if we should get down to our goal weight (by calorie counting) before we can consider eating healthily, which I imagine would be close to maintanence calories. Any thoughts?

    First bolded is a key word. I think many people will find less-processed foods more filling than more-processed ones, generically speaking. That may result in weight loss.

    Second bolded: You're thinking we have to be eating at/near maintenance to be eating healthily? I don't think so. If we're substantially overweight, a calorie deficit is a healthy way of eating, even though the deficit does create some physical stress. Being overweight creates health risks in itself. It's good idea to get good overall nutrition, and eat foods we find filling, whether we're losing weight or maintaining weight. (Even people who need to gain weight should get good overall nutrition, but they may want to focus on foods that are less filling.)

    Of course it's not healthful to lose weight crazy fast, but the definition of crazy fast differs. The same weight loss rate isn't equally healthy for someone with 5 vanity pounds to lose, vs. someone with well over 100 pounds to lose. Totally different situation.

    I'm another person who got overweight then obese eating predominantly healthy foods. I'm a hedonist; healthy food is tasty; I don't mind feeling over-full; I don't like missing out on yummy. Voila: Weight gain.

    I ate the same range of foods when I was obese, when losing weight, and in the 7+ years of maintaining a healthy weight since. What has changed is the portion sizes, the proportions on the plate, and the frequencies of some calorie-dense foods . . . in other words, I eat fewer calories of the same foods as before. Voila: Weight loss then maintenance.
  • hamburger100
    hamburger100 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you everyone, this is really helpful😊.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,527 Member
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    briscogun wrote: »
    This made me think of one of those pictures I saw recently that someone posted online. It was a shot of a crowded beach in the 1970's. Everyone in swimsuits, packed beach, not a single overweight person in the shot. Everyone was a healthy weight.

    I'm sure its a comment on the processed junk we eat today, but if we all just not only focused on the quantity of our food but the quality of our food, we would probably all be in a better place.
    I ate McDonald's, Jack in the Box, pizza, etc. back in the 70;s and so did my parents. It's almost the SIZES of meals that matter. A medium fries now was a large back then. We didn't have 2 cheeseburger value meals, but single cheeseburger with small fries. And drinks only went up to 20oz where now 32oz isn't uncommon.
    While eating more whole foods usually is a lower in calories and more nutritionally sound, people just eat way more than they need to today and physical movement has been dramatically reduced compared to the 70's.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    briscogun wrote: »
    This made me think of one of those pictures I saw recently that someone posted online. It was a shot of a crowded beach in the 1970's. Everyone in swimsuits, packed beach, not a single overweight person in the shot. Everyone was a healthy weight.

    I'm sure its a comment on the processed junk we eat today, but if we all just not only focused on the quantity of our food but the quality of our food, we would probably all be in a better place.
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    I ate McDonald's, Jack in the Box, pizza, etc. back in the 70;s and so did my parents. It's almost the SIZES of meals that matter. A medium fries now was a large back then. We didn't have 2 cheeseburger value meals, but single cheeseburger with small fries. And drinks only went up to 20oz where now 32oz isn't uncommon.
    While eating more whole foods usually is a lower in calories and more nutritionally sound, people just eat way more than they need to today and physical movement has been dramatically reduced compared to the 70's.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    While I agree with the points about portion size and nutritionally dense foods generally being more satiating, I wanted to also chime in on the exercise portion: in the 70's I bicycled miles to tennis lessons.
  • tasmart1796
    tasmart1796 Posts: 1 Member
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    While I agree with the sentiment say eat sensibly is a normative statement. My sensible eating got me to 270 pounds. Tracking and I fell more importantly logging my calories has me at 260 and dropping.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    We all create our own reality and justify our existence and habits.

    OP.. i can see the point of your expert. We get fat by overeating mostly bad foods and not moving enough. Move more.. and eat whole foods .. sure.. we'd all slowly melt to smaller versions of ourselves. I think calorie counting can be a crutch for those who want to hang on to hotdogs and poptarts. Let's be real. :)

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