What to do, less calories or eat more???

ValAnnR · March 27

I’m so torn between everything you read in here. Some say it’s not about a calorie deficit but about what you eat how much protein, fat, etc. I just need help with that and my menu.

TracyL963 · March 27

To lose weight its calories in vs. calories out......always. No one gets to eat calories above maintenance and lose fat. You may be able to manipulate water weight briefly, but that's not the same thing as fat loss.

Protein, fat and fiber are filling components. Choose more of these things to stay full longer on fewer calories. But, the "right" combination of components is very individual. Some people swear by high fat, but that doesn't do it for me. Protein is very important, try to always at least meet that goal. Going over on protein is fine.

I can't give you a menu. Your "personal" diet plan is better. Start with one meal at a time and make improvements where needed. If you find your current breakfast is not filling then make changes to breakfast. Many people have open diaries, you can look at those to get ideas.

In the Community (top menu) there are several categories. Under many of the categories there are stickies for "Most Helpful Posts." Check these out for lots of information.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/categories/getting-started

Leo_King84 · March 27

Calories matter more than macros.

Macros are fat, protein and carbs. You can live without carbs as seen by keep diets, you can't live without fat and protein.

Your body will use all 3 to make energy if it has to.

Fats and proteins keep you full longer.

Pick a generic macro for whatever your goal is and follow it for a few weeks and see how you feel. Then tweak it accordingly, but focus mainly on calorie counting.

rileysowner · March 27

I rarely see people who have been active here for a long time, not to mention been successful in that time, that advocate for calories not being important at all. That is usually reserved for those who have less experience and are often just repeating what some influencer stated. For weight loss, calories are vitally important. In terms of sticking with your calorie goal, what is usually called adherence, macros hold a large influence especially in terms of filling up quickly from a meal and staying satiated for longer periods of time. For me carbs, even ones with a lot of fiber fill me up quickly, but I am hunger again in less than an hour. High protein also fills me up quickly, and if I combine that with what most people would consider high fat I stay feeling full for a very long time. That is me. It is not the same for everyone. Part of learning how to lose and maintain (the harder part of all this) weight is learning what macro mix works for you in terms of helping with adherence. It will vary from person to person, but in general protein fills a person up quickly. For many fat helps with staying satiated far more than going extremely low fat. Experiment a bit and find what works for you within your calorie goals.

AnnPT77 · March 28

ValAnnR wrote: »

I’m so torn between everything you read in here. Some say it’s not about a calorie deficit but about what you eat how much protein, fat, etc. I just need help with that and my menu.

It depends on what your goal is. (You didn't say.

)

Weight loss is directly about calories: Eat fewer calories than we burn, we'll burn up mostly stored body fat to make up the difference, so lose weight.

But in order to lose a meaningful total amount of weight in a healthy way, nutrition can be important. Sub-par nutrition can spike appetite, make it hard to stick with reasonable calories; or it can cause fatigue, so we drag through the day and burn fewer calories than we would if well-nourished. (Cutting calories too much, trying for fast loss, can have some of those same down-sides.)

If your goal is health or fitness, then the nutrition side of things becomes more important. Even then, it's not some kind of universal magic spell that has to be exactly right every day or we'll fail: Pretty good nutrition on average over a few days to a week should be fine.

If the goals included fitness improvement, then nutrition is important but not sufficient: We need to add some exercise . . . ideally something that we find fun, but at least something tolerable and practical. Ideally, the exercise will challenge cardiovascular fitness and strength so both of those improve.

As far as menu, I'm a fan of gradually remodeling eating habits, using foods we actually enjoy eating. More about that here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

That won't be perfect for everyone - no one approach is - but it's an option to consider.

At the other end of the scale, there are various web sites that offer eating plans that are detailed and prescriptive. I don't like being told what to do, so I'd never use one. However, I've played with this one a bit, just to see how it works. It's one example:

https://www.eatthismuch.com/

(I don't work for them, or benefit in any way from mentioning the site. It's just an example of some of the interesting things that exist if you search. That one is "style agnostic", i.e., it will let you pick from among several common eating styles, or take more of a self-directed approach with macronutrients.) You can try it out without giving them any personal information, but to use more sophisticated features, I think you'd have to set up an account there.

Premium MFP also offers some "eating plans" that are somewhat more directive, that help you tune up your habits.

Best wishes!

springlering62 · March 28

The app and whole “loss” mentality can be overwhelming.

I couldn’t handle calories and macros at first, so I focused on calories, since experienced users here made it clear that “calories in/calories out” was key.

As I learned more, got some practice logging under my belt, , developed new tastes and put old ones aside, I was able to focus on macros, too.

Don’t lose track of the forest for the trees. Find one thing to do and do it well, then incorporate more changes.

And don’t undereat or try to cut calories too hard, too fast. 99% of people we see here doing that are One Week Wonders. As in, the “wonder” why MFP isn’t working for them, and quit.

MaeesaAHHH · March 29

What people have written above are all great things but they can be confusing if you're not used to the core "ideas" and science underpinning mfp. Both calorie counting and macros are important, for example, if you are planning to eat 1500 calories for weight loss, 1500 calories of burgers, chips and junk food is not the right way to go. It also depends on your own body, how it processes certain foods better or worse, your gender and medical conditions. For example if you're a woman, sometimes you will fluff up for no good reason and your weight will fluctuate no matter how well you eat or train. If you have pcos, thyroid disease, diabetese or you are mid-30s+ you will see that eating more fat and sugar would make it more difficult to lose weight. This app will surprise you, you will have to allow yourself a few months of trial and error and learn what works for you, use the results to go forward from there.

ddsb1111 · March 29

*Calories matter for weight loss/maintaining/gaining

*Macros matter for nutrition (many of us never look at macros)

*Exercise matters for health

Here are a few more 😊

Food timing doesn’t matter. Eat whenever you want, but stick to your calorie goal

Starvation mode is a myth

You can eat 1 meal a day or 6, it doesn’t matter. 3 meals a day became popular during the Industrial Revolution to sell more food. Do what works best for you.

You don’t need to eat diet food, keto, vegetarian, vegan, atkins, or any diet at all really. You can eat food that fits your culture and lifestyle, in the calories that fit your goal. (Health conditions aside).

You burn less calories at the gym than the machine tells you. They inflate it by quite a bit. Many choose to eat back 1/2 or none of their exercise calories. You’ll have to test that yourself.

What we think we do and what we really do can be two completely different things. Many people swear they eat 1200 calories and ARE NOT messing up, but are gaining weight. People just eat more than they think, and facing the music is hard. But, the scale won’t lie if you watch the weight trend. Best bet is logging everything honestly until you can trust eyeballing it. Some never can.

If you’re confused read the stickies at the top, they have important information and debunks a lot of the noise. Also, ask specific questions so it can be cleared up quickly. People are very helpful here.

What to do, less calories or eat more???

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