Quality vs. Quantity

I have a question for everyone.

Let's say 2 people aim for 1500 calories a day to maintain their weight.

Person 1 eats 1500 calories a day from Krispy Kreme donuts.

Person 2 eats 1500 calories a day from lean meats, vegetables, whole grains and fruits.

Which person do you think will feel better and look better? I think most people would agree that person 1 would feel terrible and would probably have a nutrient deficiency.

I'm new here, so I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I get the impression that a lot of people are more concerned with the numbers instead of the quality of food. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm not trying to be confrontational, I just want to hear people's thoughts on the matter. Thanks!

Ideas?

i agree, somewhat.

i think there are many many dedicated people on this site that are working so hard towards lifestyle changes and not just on a temporary "diet". i also think there are other who are just like "person 1".

but in 20 years, all the "person 2"'s will still be healthy and a healthy weight, while the "person 1's" will be overweight, unhealthy, sick, malnourished and more.

Well, for weight loss, quantity is more important.  If you're eating 4000 calories a day when your body is only burning 2500, you're going to be gaining weight even if you are eating only unprocessed all natural foods. 

That's not to say that quality isn't important as well.  As you pointed out with your example, the person is likely to feel sick from nutrient deficiencies, which could affect weight loss as well.

Personally, the number of calories is the most important to me, and I do sacrifice quality for flavor and personal enjoyment.  But I try to eat somewhat healthy.

I think more people are closer to me than either of your examples, but there are probably people on both ends of the spectrum. 

I'm interested in quality over quantity.  In fact, I started losing more successfully when I stopped counting calories.  When I eat healthy and only when I'm hungry and need fuel, I just end up within a reasonable calorie range naturally.  That said, I am totally supportive of calorie counting I did count calories religiously for about 5 years, so if I need to do some quick math in my head to see where I am for the day, I can be pretty accurate.

It's pretty much a no brainer, the one consuming the deep fried, sugary, white flour donuts will be not doing so well.  There's nothing wrong with having a treat once in a while.  No one got fat by eating one krispy kreme doughnut.  The key to successful weight loss is moderation.  No one should deprive themselves of food.  It's important to eat a well balance diet, including healthy fats.

The average American diet is an unhealthy one.  We eat large portions, foods that are engrossed with high fat and starches, processed quick fix meals (hamburger helper type), high sodium and of course there is the fast food market too.  We live such busy lives that people don't take the time to prepare healthy homecooked meals any longer.  Everything in our society has to be "instant". 

We also want to lose weight "instantly."  We look for quick weight loss fixes thinking thinking it's going to be the answer to all our weight loss problems.  We all look for the FDA to come out with some magic pill that we can take that will melt our fat away without watching what we eat or exercising.  We certainly didn't get fat overnight so it's unreasonable to think we'll lose it all overnight as well.  We all need to eat more healthful, exercise and enjoy life a little more.  We need to be patient as the scale slowly moves it's way down because afterall, if we're doing our part, at least it will be moving down and not up.

Counting calories is not forever.  Eventually you know in your head what something is worth (calorie wise) and you know what a normal portion is.  It's just a way of teaching ourselves the true caloric value of something that we're about to put into our mouth.  I think all fast foods & restaurants should list the caloric value of each item sold next to the price.  It would be a true eye opener for many of us.

i agree with the "a calorie is a calorie" number wise but not food wise. Just because you CAN eat it doesn't mean you always SHOULD eat it. Lean meats, veggies, fruits are so much better for you then a piece of chocolate cake. The healthier foods you pick should be the ones you want to eat. I agree with everything in moderation. Basically i think that its okay to eat crap food every once in a while but don't try to save calories so you can eat that chocolate cake every day. If you look hard enough you can almost always find a healthy alternative to any junk food.

I agree.  I think in both cases though, obsessing over numbers is not really building a healthy relationship with food.  The difference is that long after Person #1 has stopped counting calories, he or she will not know anything about nutrition, exercise, or portions.  Person #2 has a better shot at lifelong health because they can tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy food.

The "I can eat anything I want as long as I count it" mentality doesn't make any sense to me.  Counting calories is one tool among many tools designed to help you understand what your body's nutritional demands realistically are, quantitatively and qualitatively.  Alone, it's no better than any other fad diet that takes one facet of nutrition, blows it up, and people temporarily lose weight following it religiously.  (Low carb, no carb, liquid diets, etc.)

I did a little experiment once. I ate balanced meals 4 times a day with one snack (usually at lunch) which was a sugary snack. Calories were at 2000-2200 a day. Being highly active, I usually burn about 3000-3500 calories a day.  However, I was gaining weight like crazy. NINE pounds in one week.

So, I started eating three meals a day, each having 500-600 calories each, plus one snack in the evening, usually about 200-300 calories. This time, I ate NO sugary snacks. Only healthy snacks. So, I was still consuming roughly the same amount of calories.

I lost SIX pounds in two weeks.

So, for me personally, sugar has a HUGE affect on my weight. I just wonder if some people might not realize that they sabotage their diet efforts by eating sweets, even if it's in their alloted daily caloric intake.

I realize that sugar doesn't have this effect on everyone, but it you're counting calories and have reached a plateau, it might be time to reevaluate what's in your diet.