Same effect if I eat "bad" food but stay under my cal limit?

matchbox_girl
matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I find myself still eating fast food on occasion for dinner (or ice cream, sugary snacks, etc.) Yes, I know....eventually I'd like to cut them out completely! However, when I KNOW I'll have a high calorie meal or dessert later on, I eat very lightly during the day so I stay inside my calorie limit. Will weight loss still be in effect as long as I stay under my daily calorie goal, or is this food sabotaging even that?

Thanks for your help, guys!

Replies

  • strawberrie_milk
    strawberrie_milk Posts: 381 Member
    As long as you're under your calorie goal, you will lose weight. Now satiety/mood/etc may be affected by the types of food you eat, but weight loss will be the same. Be sure to eat enough protein in order to preserve as much LBM as possible though.
  • GumbyAnne
    GumbyAnne Posts: 130 Member
    I think that as long as you are under your calories you will still lose weight, it's just that it is SO MUCH HARDER to really stay under calories on bad food.

    Like, say you are trying to stay under 1400 calories per day. You could eat a Big Mac for lunch and another one for dinner and be at your daily limit (without any fries or drink, and no breakfast or snacks all day). If you really did this, you would spend most of your day feeling hungry.

    But for the same calories you could eat oatmeal or greek yogurt for breakfast, a mid morning apple, a turkey sandwich and cottage cheese for lunch, some nuts in the afternoon, and some fish and veggies for dinner. You could eat all that for the same calories and feel satisfied all day.

    My point is: it takes a lot more will power to REALLY stay under your calories while including bad foods, and I bet most of us didn't get fat in the first place by having awesome will power in this area.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    Thanks for the help ladies :D
  • richmondlady
    richmondlady Posts: 27 Member
    yes, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie.
    Good Luck!!
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    To prove this, a guy ate nothing but Hostess Twinkies, cupcakes, and so on for a couple of months to prove that as long as you stay under the right number of calories, you can eat whatever you want. He lost weight, even though he ate nothing but junk. I believe he took a protein supplement.

    Link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    Obviously, I'm not recommending this, but it helps support your question.

    Now, fast food does have a LOT of sodium, so while you can still lose weight, you'll also retain water (which can throw your weight off and make you puffy). It's also not good for you in general. But you know that already. ;) I just notice that when I do indulge, I gain 3-4 pounds overnight from all the water retention. It takes me a few days to "cleanse", so I try to limit my junk food intake.
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
    as long as your under your goal, just remember all that sodium will retain water weight...
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