Calories are calories, but ...
CallmeSbo
Posts: 611 Member
How much am i jeopardising my diet? I am a bit of a carb junkie. I eat lots of vegetables and 3servings of fruit daily. But i have to have my 70 to 100calories of wine gums or jelly tots everyday. How will this affect my weightloss? For now it has not. I am guaranteed of 0.7kg weightloss everyweek. This is my 10th week on MFP.I know i cant continue this way forever. I still have already lost 16kg altogether.
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Replies
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It's better to give in to a few cheats than to risk over eating from cravings where you deny yourself a little treat. As long as you count it and hit your daily mark of calories, your OK. No particular food, including sugar is an enemy, it's too much of certain foods that cause the trouble so don't over do it and don't worry. Some experts believe that constant or to much stress can lead to an over-abundance of cortisol which increases glucose production which can increase fat storage. Simply put... Don't sweat it! Enjoy the litte things. Your doing great keep it up! Hope this helps0
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I'm actually running into this problem now. I've lost 31lbs and I too LOVE carbs and need sugar almost every day but now I'm at a plateau and I'm thinking its the carbs that are doing it because my work outs are still consistently 6 days a week and I also change up my work outs. I'm going to try to cut down on my carbs/sugar this week and see how it goes. Obviously you aren't having any issues now, so I say go with it for as long as you can...I went almost 4 months with no issues, but now here I am, stuck! And I still have 20lbs to loose
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It's better to give in to a few cheats than to risk over eating from cravings where you deny yourself a little treat. As long as you count it and hit your daily mark of calories, your OK. No particular food, including sugar is an enemy, it's too much of certain foods that cause the trouble so don't over do it and don't worry. Some experts believe that constant or to much stress can lead to an over-abundance of cortisol which increases glucose production which can increase fat storage. Simply put... Don't sweat it! Enjoy the litte things. Your doing great keep it up! Hope this helps
^ Yes. Calories are calories.. there is no "but." Some foods are healthy, some not so healthy, but a calorie is a calorie, plain & simple. It doesn't take any longer to burn off 300 calories of donut than it does 300 calories of lettuce (though that'd be a hell of a lot of lettuce...).0 -
**sigh** now i feel so much better. Yes, i make sure i budget 100calories and spread them through out the day for my sugar fix.It's better to give in to a few cheats than to risk over eating from cravings where you deny yourself a little treat. As long as you count it and hit your daily mark of calories, your OK. No particular food, including sugar is an enemy, it's too much of certain foods that cause the trouble so don't over do it and don't worry. Some experts believe that constant or to much stress can lead to an over-abundance of cortisol which increases glucose production which can increase fat storage. Simply put... Don't sweat it! Enjoy the litte things. Your doing great keep it up! Hope this helps0 -
100 calories of junk carbs is nothing.
Anyways you can eat junk carbs just fine as long as they don't cause you to overeat past your limits. But for many of us we have to greatly restrict them to keep the cravings down.0 -
If energy expenditure is higher than the energy (calories) consumed, a high carbohydrate diet will still result in weight loss just like any other diet.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11320614
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0804748
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/293/1/43.short
I would suggest you make sure you get adequate protein and fats
Protein: 1 gram per 1 lb LEAN body mass
Fat: 0.35-0.45 grams per 1 lb BODY weight
And I treat these as minimums.0 -
It's better to give in to a few cheats than to risk over eating from cravings where you deny yourself a little treat. As long as you count it and hit your daily mark of calories, your OK. No particular food, including sugar is an enemy, it's too much of certain foods that cause the trouble so don't over do it and don't worry. Some experts believe that constant or to much stress can lead to an over-abundance of cortisol which increases glucose production which can increase fat storage. Simply put... Don't sweat it! Enjoy the litte things. Your doing great keep it up! Hope this helps
^exactly!0 -
Not all calories are created equals...100 calories of broccoli is not the same as 100 calories of sugar. Different types of food send different messages to our body. Sugar should be avoided as much as possible. Maybe you should try to eat your sugary treats only once a week or so, so pretty soon you will not feel the need to eat sugar anymore.0
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When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.0
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I agree with the posts above. The only opinion I could give you is to try to have your sugar before 5pm.
You're supposed to burn it more that way (this recommandation comes from my fitness teacher, the same goes for fat apparently, you should try to have most of your fat intake before 5pm).
Hope this helps
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I agree with the posts above. The only opinion I could give you is to try to have your sugar before 5pm.
You're supposed to burn it more that way (this recommandation comes from my fitness teacher, the same goes for fat apparently, you should try to have most of your fat intake before 5pm).
Hope this helps
It actually makes no difference. Your body doesn't stop the ability to process foods (carbs, fats or whatever) once the clock strike 5 pm.0 -
In the end you know you best. If you are asking opinions-completely objectively from my point of view, I can't imagine trying to lose weight while eating candy every day, even if it was measured amounts.
If you have found a way of losing weight that will work for you long term, then do it. If you are solely weight oriented, than calories may just be calories, but if you are wanting to eat healthier, then I do think it matters where the calories come from. Sugar from candy as opposed to sugar from fruit are two different things. Eating a potato and eating a potato chip are also two different things. In the end, I believe strongly in listening to our bodies. We are all different, what works for one person might not work for another.0 -
I agree with the posts above. The only opinion I could give you is to try to have your sugar before 5pm.
You're supposed to burn it more that way (this recommandation comes from my fitness teacher, the same goes for fat apparently, you should try to have most of your fat intake before 5pm).
Hope this helps
100% myth. Your body doesn't know, or care, what time you eat anything. It burns calories based on a 24 hour time frame, when you eat anything in those 24 hours is irrelevant.0 -
As long as you're getting sufficient protein and fat, you're in the clear for anything else you want to eat.0
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I agree with those who said as long as the sugar intake does not stimulate your cravings, you are ok with a small amount even every day.
However, for some of us that small amount sets us up to crave more and more and more.....so it's best for us to steer clear.0 -
Personally I try to cut out processed sugar wherever possible as it leaves me feeling like cr*p and craving more a while afterwards. I'll have fruit instead and a dessert about every fortnight-month. Mind you, I've never had too much of a sweet tooth.
If you factor it into your daily cals then it shouldn't affect your weight loss! x0 -
I'm just going to complete, and try to clarify my answer, the 5pm thing comes from the principles of chrono-nutrition, and is also applicable more for those of us who work out in the morning, not late afternoon - night time.
It's just stemming from the fact that if your activity is going to decrease at night you should eat less at night. (and your metabolism does decrease while you're sleeping, even if just a little- and before that as I said it depends on your level of activity, and whether it varies from the rest of the day).
Of course your body can process food the same all day long but apparently you tend to store more fat depending on what you eat starting late afternoon.
Again this coming from my teacher, your dinner should only represent 25-30% of your daily calorie intake.
But eveyone finds their own ways of losing weight, and what works for some might not work for others.0 -
When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.0 -
I agree with the elsalilys post, that's what iv always believed true. good statement0
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If you're worried about it, then try changing it. Basically what most people said is very true--calories are calories. However, it sounds to me like you are questioning whether or not you might get better results by eating more healthily as well as watching your caloric intake, so why not give it a try?
As someone else stated, no one food or food group is the enemy. I go over my recommended amount of carbohydrates and sugar almost every day because I eat so many fruits and veggies. I also, however, go over in protein even though I'm a vegetarian. I've had successful weight loss nonetheless.
If you're concerned about those little snacks you enjoy every day, try weening yourself off them. If you are miserable without them, by all means allow yourself those treats!
My motto is "Enjoy treats, but not cheats." Treats are foods you both enjoy and can afford because you have calculated them into your day (or week, as I tend to save them up for once or twice a week). However, cheats are things that make you go over your caloric goal when you did not intend to do so that day. When you go to a birthday party, you know you want to celebrate and have cake, and thus, you calculate that "treat" into your day/week so that you can have it and enjoy it. However, when you show up to work on a Tuesday to find that someone put leftover cake in the break room and you take a slice on a whim despite the fact that you have already met your caloric goal... that's a cheat. Generally, if you feel guilty about it--it's a cheat, not a treat, because you're only cheating yourself.
In the end, you have to decide what you want out of your weight loss journey... is it the ability to eat delicious foods every day and not gain weight or is to be strict about every morsel you put in your mouth and only eat highly nutritious foods? For me, it's somewhere in the middle.0 -
I'm just going to complete, and try to clarify my answer, the 5pm thing comes from the principles of chrono-nutrition, and is also applicable more for those of us who work out in the morning, not late afternoon - night time.
It's just stemming from the fact that if your activity is going to decrease at night you should eat less at night. (and your metabolism does decrease while you're sleeping, even if just a little- and before that as I said it depends on your level of activity, and whether it varies from the rest of the day).
Of course your body can process food the same all day long but apparently you tend to store more fat depending on what you eat starting late afternoon.
Again this coming from my teacher, your dinner should only represent 25-30% of your daily calorie intake.
But eveyone finds their own ways of losing weight, and what works for some might not work for others.
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat, regardless of what time it is. Eat 300 calories for breakfast and sit at a desk for work, and what few calories you used to get you there get burned, and the rest get stored as fat until later in the morning when you need them. So anyone who says you have to eat "x" food at "x" time so it doesn't get stored as fat, always seems to me to be somebody who is uniformed on how the human body actually functions. Fat storage is a 24/7 event, fat is constantly being stored and retrieved for various reasons and body functions.0 -
My best advice to you would be to enjoy them but do so post weight workout, that way they can at least be put to good use replacing glycogen stores. I have learned the last 2 months that not all calories are created equal and its more important to know what the body does to said calories taken in that makes a difference.0
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If you're worried about it, then try changing it. Basically what most people said is very true--calories are calories. However, it sounds to me like you are questioning whether or not you might get better results by eating more healthily as well as watching your caloric intake, so why not give it a try?
As someone else stated, no one food or food group is the enemy. I go over my recommended amount of carbohydrates and sugar almost every day because I eat so many fruits and veggies. I also, however, go over in protein even though I'm a vegetarian. I've had successful weight loss nonetheless.
If you're concerned about those little snacks you enjoy every day, try weening yourself off them. If you are miserable without them, by all means allow yourself those treats!
My motto is "Enjoy treats, but not cheats." Treats are foods you both enjoy and can afford because you have calculated them into your day (or week, as I tend to save them up for once or twice a week). However, cheats are things that make you go over your caloric goal when you did not intend to do so that day. When you go to a birthday party, you know you want to celebrate and have cake, and thus, you calculate that "treat" into your day/week so that you can have it and enjoy it. However, when you show up to work on a Tuesday to find that someone put leftover cake in the break room and you take a slice on a whim despite the fact that you have already met your caloric goal... that's a cheat. Generally, if you feel guilty about it--it's a cheat, not a treat, because you're only cheating yourself.
In the end, you have to decide what you want out of your weight loss journey... is it the ability to eat delicious foods every day and not gain weight or is to be strict about every morsel you put in your mouth and only eat highly nutritious foods? For me, it's somewhere in the middle.
i really agree with this too.0 -
Some experts believe that constant or to much stress can lead to an over-abundance of cortisol which increases glucose production which can increase fat storage. Simply put... Don't sweat it! Enjoy the litte things.
So that's why I got fat. Lol. Among other things.
A little bit of a good hing won't hurt you. It's no different to someone having a couple of pieces of chocolate etc.0 -
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat
I am sorry but this is bullcrap, I am living proof of that using the program I am currently using I easily eat well over my daily caloric limit but have yet to gain fat from said calories.0 -
When it comes to weight loss: Calories are calories. No buts.
HOWEVER, people generally lose weight for reasons beyond a number on a scale, and eating healthful foods is going probably help with their fitness goals and body composition goals more than eating a deficit consisting of 0 fruits and vegetables and all simple carbohydrates. Not saying people won't lose weight on it and not saying it should be cut from the diet (I eat it semi-often), but it obviously shouldn't compromise the entire caloric allowance.
You should google "the Twinkie diet." A university professor of nutrition ate nothing but snack cakes, chips, and convenience store junk food, along with 1 protein shake, a multivitamin, and a can of vegetables. He stuck to a caloric deficit, lost nearly 30 pounds and all of his health markers (body fat, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) improved. Losing weight is much more Important for overall health than specific food choices. Obviously the ideal is healthier food while losing weight, but that's not always totally practical for everybody.0 -
Just personal experience I was doing the same and stopped loosing weight... I craved it so much it drove me crazy. I decided to cut it out. It was really hard at first, but now I don't crave it at all. Maybe one a month at most, and I continued loosing weight. I believe the less you eat it the less you will want, even if its hard at first. X0
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I'm just going to complete, and try to clarify my answer, the 5pm thing comes from the principles of chrono-nutrition, and is also applicable more for those of us who work out in the morning, not late afternoon - night time.
It's just stemming from the fact that if your activity is going to decrease at night you should eat less at night. (and your metabolism does decrease while you're sleeping, even if just a little- and before that as I said it depends on your level of activity, and whether it varies from the rest of the day).
Of course your body can process food the same all day long but apparently you tend to store more fat depending on what you eat starting late afternoon.
Again this coming from my teacher, your dinner should only represent 25-30% of your daily calorie intake.
But eveyone finds their own ways of losing weight, and what works for some might not work for others.
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat, regardless of what time it is. Eat 300 calories for breakfast and sit at a desk for work, and what few calories you used to get you there get burned, and the rest get stored as fat until later in the morning when you need them. So anyone who says you have to eat "x" food at "x" time so it doesn't get stored as fat, always seems to me to be somebody who is uniformed on how the human body actually functions. Fat storage is a 24/7 event, fat is constantly being stored and retrieved for various reasons and body functions.
In my experience, what time I eat makes no difference. I don't know the science behind it, but I do know the reality of it. I eat a healthy snack every night before bed (and often it contains glucose, although not from refined white sugar but that's just because I try to limit my intake in general). In fact, I'd rather eat a 400 calorie snack before bed than be under my caloric goal by 400 calories because I think that would be FAR more detrimental to my weight loss.
So maybe in some laboratory where they observe isolated test subjects in a controlled environment, they find that metabolically speaking things are processed differently while you sleep (which would make sense because everything is processed differently when you sleep)... but in the real world of scales and measuring tape where there are no microscopes... it doesn't seem to make a difference.0 -
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat
I am sorry but this is bullcrap, I am living proof of that using the program I am currently using I easily eat well over my daily caloric limit but have yet to gain fat from said calories.
Do you have some magic, invisible bag that stores the energy you eat until it is used? Do you think it sits in your stomach and waits for you to need it? It's stored as body fat in adipose tissue. THAT'S WHAT ADIPOSE TISSUE IS FOR.0 -
If you aren't IMMEDIATELY using the food you eat, it is stored as fat
I am sorry but this is bullcrap, I am living proof of that using the program I am currently using I easily eat well over my daily caloric limit but have yet to gain fat from said calories.
It must mean that you're expending more calories than you thought. The calories don't just disappear.0
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