I knew better!

OMG! So I have read hundreds of time on how important it is to count your calories. Well I thought I was pretty good at estimating plus I really don’t eat that much, BUT I always knew in the back of my head that it was what I ate not how much I ate. And that’s how I got to 2.383 calories in ONE day.

Breakfast:

Jack/Box Sausage, egg, & cheese biscuit -586

Lunch:

Burger king Whopper no cheese or onions - 678

sm fries - 387

Dinner:

2 Ballpark franks 380, 2 buns 240, Cheese 112

Grand total: 2383

Calorie burn for the day, (including lifestyle & Cardio) 2236

That was on Monday, I haven’t gained but it certainly explains why I maintain.

Does anyone know how long it takes for weight gain/loss to show up on the scale?

Example: if I burn 1750 in 2 days will the loss (1/2 pound) show up on the scale right away?

for one stop eating such crappy quality food. if you put crap in, you'll get crap results in return. depending on fast food chains for more than half of your daily means is not a good diet plan.

I might not show up right away due to water weight/digestion.

I was told by someone I trust that it was between 3 to 5 days for the gain to completely show up.  Dunno if that's true.  The other thing you may see is that you're getting a fairly high sodium intake as well (I suspect), so you may see a fair amount of water retention.

And +1 on not eating so much crap.  :)  Even at Burger King, McDonald's, and where-ever, there's better options. 

Clint

I have to agree with the two before me that says to stay away from the fast food joints. Some of the stuff they sell can't even pass as food anymore. I stopped eating fast food 2 years ago and I must say my body feels much better about it.

I think it takes like 3 days for your body to put the reserves in the adipose tissue but take a bit longer for it to show up on the scale cause of the gradual nature of how it's done. I have no evidence to back this up and I am no scientist.

I only drink one diet coke a day & about 50 oz of water, I rarely snack or eat anything sweet. I usually don’t have the fries with my burger but I did that day. And I hardly eat veggies which I’m currently working on changing. I get lazy about my food choices. Big mistake!

I discovered that I eat a lot of carbs, understanding how my body uses carbs before fat as fuel I decide to limit those along with my calories.

I was dumbfounded by the amount of calories in my food I ate. Never again!

Eww, those foods sound so gross!

My personal opinion... It's not the lack of veggies or too many carbs that's going to cause you grief with that day you posted.  It's the amount of fat and salt.  That sausage/egg/cheese biscuit had 55g of fat (17g of saturated fat), and 1430mg of sodium.  And it shows up in the CC database as 740 calories... Not sure if you used a different item than I did, though.  The Whopper I looked up showed as 24g of fat (10g sat), and 900mg of sodium.  The medium fries shows up as 20g of fat (4.5 sat) and 380mg of sodium for the unsalted (590 for the salted).  And the Franks were 32g of fat (12g saturated), and 1120mg of salt (for the two of them).  Cheese, well, it's hard to tell since you don't say if it's cheese slices or what.  But two slices of Kraft Singles are 9g of fat (5g sat), and 500mg of salt.

Total fat intake was 140g of fat (48g saturated).  At 9 calories per gram, thats 1260 calories in just fat (more than half your total for the day).  4330mg of sodium.  So even though you were only 100 calories more than your maintenance calories, you had more than double the daily recommended fat intake (65g recommended), more than double the amount of saturated fats (20g), and not quite double the amount of salt (2400mg).

Sorry, not meaning to be harsh, but just honest.  So even if you would have cut out one of the frank/buns/cheese combo's and met your maintenance calories, it would still not be good dietary choices.  That's all I'm saying.  It's not JUST about calories.

Clint

Thanks Clint

No offense taken that’s why I posted to be accountable for my choices.

There has been much debate about calorie vs nutrient of calories and so far no hard evidence one way or the other (I haven’t searched extensively). Although nutritious foods are better for you a calorie is still just a calorie (regarding fat loss). That being said I would rather consume nutritious calories for my over all health. Sodium has always been a problem for me. I come from a family of obese people so making good food choices is not really second nature to me. I have a husband who eats whatever he wants, and trust me I say he eats all day & maintains at 175, plus he cooks. So when you combine those factors I have to make an effort to be healthy. I’ve lost 23 lbs but I know I could be doing a whole lot better, lifestyle wise.

BTW I got the calories from the restaurants website.

Original Post by healthystriver:

Um, stop going to Jack n the Box, Burger King and eating ballpark franks.  Good God, you could have pigged out ALL DAY on foods that are good for you instead! 

I know, I usually average about 1400 a day & am only hungry close to meal time.

That’s what was so alarming to me, the few meals I let go by without consideration.

Not making excuse but Monday I didn’t have any food in the house & thought well it’s been a while seen I stopped at Jack, by lunch time I seriously forgotten what I had already had for breakfast. Dinner still no food in the house & busy went to a game & had the hotdogs.

Oh I forgot to mention that I was having a hard time consuming as many calories as I was suppose to and that contributed to my mistake.

I know I have to plan these things out.

Original Post by azule08:

There has been much debate about calorie vs nutrient of calories and so far no hard evidence one way or the other (I haven’t searched extensively). Although nutritious foods are better for you a calorie is still just a calorie (regarding fat loss).

Absolute utter crap.  Sorry.  You could be skinny as hell because you only eat one BK Whopper a day, but you're not healthy and will probably have a heart attack or some other side-effect of horrendous nutrition before any overweight person who is overeating healthier foods. 

Obviously neither are good options, you need a balance of nutrition and activity, but anyone who thinks they can just eat LESS crap (and ONLY crap) and be "healthy" is doing them selves a huge disservice. 

This wasn't an attack on you BTW, just the concept in general.  It's rampant around the forums and I just needed to throw my 2 cents in. 

Original Post by thesuperbex:

Original Post by azule08:

There has been much debate about calorie vs nutrient of calories and so far no hard evidence one way or the other (I haven’t searched extensively). Although nutritious foods are better for you a calorie is still just a calorie (regarding fat loss).

Absolute utter crap.  Sorry.  You could be skinny as hell because you only eat one BK Whopper a day, but you're not healthy and will probably have a heart attack or some other side-effect of horrendous nutrition before any overweight person who is overeating healthier foods. 

Obviously neither are good options, you need a balance of nutrition and activity, but anyone who thinks they can just eat LESS crap (and ONLY crap) and be "healthy" is doing them selves a huge disservice. 

This wasn't an attack on you BTW, just the concept in general.  It's rampant around the forums and I just needed to throw my 2 cents in. 

I think in terms of weight loss, weight maintenance or weight gain a calorie is a calorie.  In terms of health, a calorie is not just a calorie the nutrients behind it are important.  Define your system of your argument.

Original Post by azule08:

Original Post by healthystriver:

Um, stop going to Jack n the Box, Burger King and eating ballpark franks.  Good God, you could have pigged out ALL DAY on foods that are good for you instead! 

I know, I usually average about 1400 a day & am only hungry close to meal time.

That’s what was so alarming to me, the few meals I let go by without consideration.

Not making excuse but Monday I didn’t have any food in the house & thought well it’s been a while seen I stopped at Jack, by lunch time I seriously forgotten what I had already had for breakfast. Dinner still no food in the house & busy went to a game & had the hotdogs.

Oh I forgot to mention that I was having a hard time consuming as many calories as I was suppose to and that contributed to my mistake.

I know I have to plan these things out.

 Just a suggestion, but when you find yourself looking for somewhere to eat out in a hurry, places like Extreme Pita and Subway offer relatively healthy options.  Something like a chicken breast pita or sandwich.  For breakfast, they both offer an egg sandwich.  Much healthier overall, cost is about the same, and they're equally fast.  The hot dogs... Well, when you're at a ball game, what are you going to do? :)

Clint

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

Original Post by thesuperbex:

Original Post by azule08:

There has been much debate about calorie vs nutrient of calories and so far no hard evidence one way or the other (I haven’t searched extensively). Although nutritious foods are better for you a calorie is still just a calorie (regarding fat loss).

Absolute utter crap.  Sorry.  You could be skinny as hell because you only eat one BK Whopper a day, but you're not healthy and will probably have a heart attack or some other side-effect of horrendous nutrition before any overweight person who is overeating healthier foods. 

Obviously neither are good options, you need a balance of nutrition and activity, but anyone who thinks they can just eat LESS crap (and ONLY crap) and be "healthy" is doing them selves a huge disservice. 

This wasn't an attack on you BTW, just the concept in general.  It's rampant around the forums and I just needed to throw my 2 cents in. 

I think in terms of weight loss, weight maintenance or weight gain a calorie is a calorie.  In terms of health, a calorie is not just a calorie the nutrients behind it are important.  Define your system of your argument.

You're 100% correct.  for weight loss, management, and gain a calorie is a calorie.  but for overall health, a calories is not JUST a calorie.  I went through a phase where I lost 20lbs just eating LESS crap.  Now that I've gained it back (and lost half again.. ughh!) I'm realizing that the bad foods just don't make me feel as healthy food... the less processed, the better!  I wish weight loss in general was more about being healthy and nourishing our bodies than being super skinny and starving which is how many people on this site approach it, with unrealistic goals and unhealthy techniques... :\

Hey Azule08,

well done for looking into what you're eating. First steps are the most important ones as they're the ones that put you on the right path.

Best wishes in finding a better way to look after yourself.

A