Confused About Conflicting Information

You will lose weight if you have a caloric deficit. It kind of doesnt matter what you eat. The you should eat this vs you shouldnt eat that, has more to do with your protien/fat/carb/sodium... intake.

I hope that clears things up, and you also get feed back from other users.

There really are few "right" answers. Everyone is different and no one approach works for 100% of the population. There's a ton of information at our fingertips, thanks to the Internet. Some of it is well thought out and well researched with scientific methods...some of it, not so much.

There are some things that are agreed on by many experts. For example: Eat whole foods (less processed stuff) as much as possible. Include fruits and vegetables, whole grains (less "refined" carbs/sugars), lean proteins, and low-fat dairy to your eating plan (I hesitate to say diet). Drink water. Move more. Treat yourself within moderation. Get a good night's sleep.

You really will have to "experiment" to find what works best for you. Good luck!

If you like running as a hobby (not just as a workout you feel you HAVE TO do or you won't keep it up) Interval is the fastest way to get more results faster, but you shouldn't be focused so much on losing weight fast rather than looking for a lasting solution to weight loss.

Nut butters are high in calories. Everything is fine in moderation, if you enjoy them, have them. But realize how many calories you are inputting into your body. You always want to have less calories going in than what your burning throughout the day.

Fish is great protein, if you enjoy eating it.. Have it.. But remember moderation, its easy to get bored of a certain food.

Whey protein won't help you lose weight, but is a good substitute if you are not getting enough protein for your day. Not having enough protein can hinder your ability to build muscle and keep your body working.

Calories in being less than calories burned in a day means weight loss.

Lifting heavy is fine for people who know how to do it without hurting themselves, I always recommend starting with high reps low sets of a lower weight, but at the end of about 15 reps, you do want to feel like you cannot lift another one without a break, and then do it again.

Sit ups are great, but you always have to be sure to be putting stress on your body in order to see change. Doing 15 sit ups everyday will eventually not help you at all.

I hope this helps!

To add to previous posts, lifting heavier weights is anaerobic exercise and will help you build muscle more, whereas lifting lighter weights is more akin to an aerobic exercise. Going heavier is generally better.

Since you have done some research and are finding out that everyone has a different opinion on what works... the main thing about losing weight (to me) is finding a program that keeps you motivated to stay with it long enough to see results. Whether you do the 'Eat right for your type' system, Atkins/South Beach Diet system, Mediterranean diet, mono diet, etc. any long term success story with any of those diets has to include STAYING WITH THE PROGRAM. If losing weight was easy we wouldn't have more than a couple of diet authors out there; the market has so many dieting systems because people can't sick with the program they choose and need to find something else. If you choose to lose weight and keep it off you will have to adapt your lifestyle to include making the program's suggestions a permanent part of your routine until it is second nature. I'm sure that the advise each program gives works within that program and that there is a doctor somewhere that supports that program's eating routine being effective but just as the medical community can't make up their minds whether whole eggs are healthy or not (ever notice the opinion switches every 5 years or so?) there will be someone out there with a degree to say the opposite.

Losing weight honestly is the easy part. I've been a pro at it. I've probably lost around 400lbs in my life. The problem is maintenance is the hardest pat.

So here's my best advice for people looking for long-term weight loss.

Day one of your "diet" should actually be day one of your new lifestyle. If you see a diet as a quick fix, then it will also be a short fix.

The way you choose to increase your activity needs to be something you like to do, otherwise eventually you will quit and gain weight back.
*I recommend trying a bunch of different activities, from strength training to zumba to just going for daily hikes. Anything you choose to do will increase your calorie output.
* For arguments sake, strength training will give you better long-term affects, as it pumps up the right hormones and the process of building muscle increases metabolism after your done working out. Even if you just strength train once a week for 30 minutes it will give you a benefit.

Then comes to diet. Forget everything you read, no food is ALL bad. Even "junk food" serves a purpose and can help you lose weight by providing you an emotional boost.
The above posters are correct, calories are what really matter. 6 meals a day does not give you a metabolism boost, and you can most definitely eat before bed and even have a large dinner if you are within your calorie goals.

This is liberating because you can customize your lifestyle to the way you like to eat.

Like I said about exercise, the plan you choose for weight loss also needs to become your long-term eating lifestyle. Or there's a good chance you will fall into the same dietary traps as before. This is why no food should be off limits. If you feel deprived or miserable, then there's a good chance it won't last long.

While it is calories in versus out, I recommend having protein and fiber with each meal as it will keep your hunger away.

Thanks for the replies. It's just so stressful trying to figure this all out, and I know that isn't healthy at all.


About the calories in vs. calories out....that confuses me a bit.


I was told I should eat 1780 calories on days I work out at and least my BMR (1562) on days I don't. So does this mean I need to find a way to burn every calorie I eat each day? Or...what?


Also...some of the information I've been using I got from my trainer when I used to go to a gym (aka...when I could afford to). That helped...and some of the things I remember doing where drinking a protein shake every day and eating peanut butter. I don't know if it's good to go on old information or not...I was in my teens/early 20's at the time (I'm 27 now).

Do different things effect your body differently during different times of your life?

MFP will create a caloric deficit - just plug in your data, how much you want to lose, and it will tell you the calories you need to eat (without exercise) to lose weight. I would suggest going with the recommended amount of 1lb a week. If you exercise, you should eat most of those calories back, so add your exercise to your diary and then MFP will factor those in. You could have a TDEE of 2000 and exercise to make it 2300 and eat 1800 in food total and create a 500 calorie deficit for example. I would also suggest (unless your exercise calories are calculated with an accurate HRM) that you leave a little bit of wiggle room as exercise calories can be grossly overestimated.

Originally MFP put me at 1200 calories a day, which everyone told me was too little. So I got some advice and changed it. I calculated my TDEE and it gave me 2410...so I don't know how the other person came up with 1780. If I subtract 500 from that it would be 1910 @_@; Than again...I also wanted to know what to do for days when I don't work out as hard as others (like when I was having a problem with my back...I walked instead of ran) and that puts me at 2138/1638. So maybe 1780 is the happy medium?

Should I adjust my calorie intake each day depending on my activity level?

And I'm still confused on how many calories I need to actually burn via exercise/daily activity each day.

Try to eat the minimum amount of calories you can without feeling hungry and making sure you get your protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals you need daily. 1,200 calories is usually thought as the lowest we can go while satisfying our needs.

If you are trying to lose weight It makes zero sense to force feed calories if you don't need them. So you give yourself a range, say 1,200-1800, then eat to how you feel.

Some people will tell you to eat more to stay out of "Starvation Mode", but the problem with that logic is; if you eat back exercise calories you will still be in a caloric deficit. So you have done nothing to avoid starvation mode and you just ate more when you didn't really want to which is going to result in less fat being burned. The only way to naturally spike metabolism and send leptin back-up, is to overfeed with a Spike Day.

You should set your activity level to sedentary and just log your activity if you're worried.

Personally I have just set my calorie intake to be basically what a person who is at my goal weight would eat at maintenance. I am now focusing on building strength and less on doing a bucketload of cardio just for the sake of burning enough calories to put me at a huge caloric deficit.