So it really doesnt matter what you eat.........

"aslong as you burn more calories then you consume"

this saying is absolutely true (atleast for me it is ). Right now im trying to figure out what my maintnance calories are and apparently 1650 is too little for me since i lost a pound >< but anyways i eat like ive allowed myself to eat cookies and bread, carbs and fast food ( the fast food once in a while as a treat) while also eating healthy (fruits veggies water chicken etc) and i still lose weight..so yeah it really doesnt matter what you eat if u wanna lose but its better to eat healthier for the vitamins and the nutrition :)

Sweet, aint it? :p

That's not entirely true. Do you really think you can eat Taco Bell every night and loose weight? I don't think so. Especially when you get a little older, the metabolism slows a bit. You must watch the amount of fat and sugar in what you eat.  You have to get fiber and water in there too. Keeping you calorie deficit 500-800 below what you burn in a day.

BG

Actually, bgerding.. it is true. Yes, you can eat Taco Bell every night and lose weight, as long as you're eating less than you burn.

But we SUGGEST you work on eating a healthier diet, because it's all-around better for you. It's also to eat "Enough" calories when you don't eat at places like Taco Bell. They tend to be high in calories.

OK, if this is true, then why did I gain weight while working too much to cook dinner and eating out every night? I was burning the same amount of calories and eating the same foods, just gaining weight. I can't imagine loosing weight eating mostly fat for dinners. Where's the protien, fiber, fruits? This seem crazy to me.

BG

maybe because u werent burning more calories then you consume????????????? ^^ lol

Could be weight gain due to salt. Could be that's not true for you. I dunno. That's a good question to ask your doctor or a professional :)

In my first few months on Calorie Count, I focused only on the calorie number, not the rest.  I didn't care much about fat, sodium, carbs, or whatever.  If it fit in my allotment, I ate it.

I lost 20 lbs.  Probably a chunk of that was water weight, but some was real weight.

However, if you cut down on the fatty things, you usually get more calories.  High fat is usually high calories.  So cut the fat, you cut the calories, you can eat more.

Then you throw in exercise.  The more you workout, the more calories you burn, the more you have to eat. 

Yes, my weight loss was full of ways for me to eat more while staying low calories.

Eating more I understand. Eating bad foods I don't. I could eat 50 carrots, yes I believe that. I just find it hard to believe, if I eat nothing but nacho's bella grande I'll loose weight. How can you eat that many empty calories for dinner, that much fat, no fruit or vegs (to speak of) burn 1000 calories and not gain any weight? I'm sorry, but I just can't see it.

BG

i agree with BG, sort of. The saturated fat will glue to your body if thats all its getting as your body will want to store what food it gets. Bad food will make you fat, regardless of calories

if you ate chocolate at 9am, and worked out at 6pm. you will have stored some fat from the chocolate before hand as the choc causes sugar rush does it not? what happens if that sugar rush is not used as energy witin 20 mins? its stored as fat. And the exercise you do later, wont move that new stored fat.. just help a bit.

I can explain better with diagrams and such but its a bit hard on here!

i guess it works for some people.....me included :)

that's a tough question. my brother ate dominos pizza every day and he still lost weight while i gained. it's cos' that's the only thing he ate the entire  day. however, i heard you can't get fat from fruit and veggies. what do ya say?

you might be able to lose weight eating crap as long as you burn more calories, but you shouldn't assume that you're actually any healthier than a fatter person who eats whole, nutritious foods

If all you care about is looking thinner - you're good.

If you care about being healthier, not having high blood pressure, not developing diabetes, not having strokes or heart attacks, then the quality of the food you eat does matter. It matters a lot.

It would be hard to gain weight from most veggies because they are so low calorie, but with fruit it is very easy. I you go out of your calorie allowance, you will gain wieght. If you ate 5 small bananas a day on top of your maintenance, you would gain approx 1 lbs a week.

no more excuses is right, as long as you stay in your calorie allowance, you will loose weight... however you may develop health problems from lack of nutrition etc.. what excuses said. Also your skin and hair would not look to great either.

 BG, you could eat nothing but tacos all day! but you would only be allowed to have about 3 depending on the kind and thats it for the day!! When you eat healthier foods you definatley get more bang for your buck. Plus, you would feel like crap if all you ate was crap.

amberr, techinically that is true, but I don't know of a single person that overate on fruit -- it's simply because fruit is filling and fruit is satisfying.

the point has been well-made -- if all you care about is being thin, then go for it.

but, in my opinion, if all you care about is being thin, then you are very foolish.  No, I'll go ahead and say it, outright stupid. 

Your health, once lost, may not be regained, or only regained at a very high price.  your health is a priceless gift -- don't trample on it.

just because you can't see the health problems unhealthy eating is causing, doesn't mean it's not happening. 

i'm a firm believer in calories in = calories out, regardless of where the calories come from. how many skinny people have we seen who eat crap food all the time?

my bf eats no fruits, veg, or ANYTHING healthy, and he can't weigh more than 130lbs. is he healthy? god no, i wouldn't think so, not by any stretch of the imagination... but does he eat ALL bad foods and never gain weight...

yes. sigh. because his calories in =< calories out.

I believe that research will eventully prove that not all calories are created equal. Unfortunately, I can't back up that belief with anything concrete at the moment.

 I just remember reading an article about omega 3's and how the body utilizes them compared to other fats that was quite intriguing. The research seemed to indicate that people on a diet rich in omega 3's could eat a few hundred more calories compared to the control group, while still losing weight.

The study was done by Harvard university,  but now I can't find it.... and I'm leaving shortly so don't have time to google around. :-(

But if further research bears this out, I don't see why it can't also be true of other types of foods.

    It matters what you eat if you want to life a long healthy life.

I found the article - I misrembered it a bit though. However, it's quite intriguing and worth a read:

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/10.2 3/03-lowcarb.html

jen thats really interesting! ..never thought about that

i eat around 1600 a day.  If i want a cookie or donut one day, i eat it.  i just factor it in to my intake.  I don't suggest doing it everyday though.  I has been working for me, i lost 25 pounds since november.