Does it all come down to calorie intake?

I was on a diet for a while where calories werent counted but complex carbs and sugar were off limits, I lost about 7 pounds and now I've sort of cheated and am eating cereal, granola, whole wheat bread etc, all still healthy and I'm adding up calories and am eating less cals than I was before but more of them come from carbs etc... will this slow down my weight loss? Is it possible to gain weight even if your eating less cals than you burn when they come from worse foods? I cant tell.

Sat. Nov 19, 2:38am

I don't think it comes down to only calories- or at least it shouldn't. Food is more than just calories- so much more goes on as far as your food interacting with you and your systems, that at least health, goes farther beyond just calorie intake/output.

I'm losing wieght and inches in the right spots, and I don't count calories. But there's alot of foods I won't touch, and don't even want to touch anymore, because of what they do to me. Personal recommendation: look into the blood type diet.

I think focusing only on input/output of calories, detracts from the importance of overall health. Skinny people get sick too, so excess wieght isn't the only reason for poor health.

Link

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 4:11 AM

It's not all calories -- a lot depends on how your body regulates blood sugar. Some of that is genetic, of course. But it also depends on how much you sleep -- if you get enough sleep, your body regulates blood sugar better. I think high-protein, no-carb diets like Atkins work for people who are somewhat sleep-deprived, but a lot of folks could get the same result from insisting on their 8 hours and eating more carbs.

Anyway, it's not all exercise and food -- sleep is the other leg of the energy-regulation tripod. I wish Peertrainer included space for that in the log, as well!

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 9:26 AM

Absolutely not. Calories are not all created equal. The fiber ration and the fat content contribute to how your body will digest and assess foods and how they react ot your body. I totally agree with the above poster that sleep is very important.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 10:23 AM

YES

FEWER INGESTED AND GREATER EXPENDED = WEIGHT LOSS

It's that simple, yet very complex. You still have to be able to enjoy food within the framework of your personal, cultural and social preferences. No matter what type of diet you ultimately chose, even if it's purportedly related to carbs, fats, blood type, yadayada; if you want to lose, your NET calories must be a certain amount to lose weight. (and that varies according to your current weight and energy output.) ALL SUCCESSFUL DIETS involve some form of "move more, eat less" Good luck!! Just by thinking about the issues and joining this site, or any other motivator, you are making positive choices which will result in positive results. Hooray for you! debs

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:35 PM

PS to "Yes'

this doesn't mean you have to count calories, however....debs

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:37 PM

I totally agree regarding sleep. It is extremely important.

But as to eating I think in the end it does come down to calories. I think the reason some diets have you avoid carbs is because carbs make you crave more carbs, so you wind up eating too many calories. Also, if you eat nothing but empty calories you won't last very long because your body will crave the nutrients it needs.

So, yes, it's all about calories in the end. But I don't think you actually need to count calories. I gave that up decades ago. And if you care about your health, you'll pay attention to more than just calories.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 9:24 PM

I don't see any way to edit my earlier comment, so I'll have to post another. I just wanted to add that the low-carb diets go on the theory that carbs will make you crave more carbs. I disagree in that I don't believe that complex carbs are a problem. But I do believe that most diets have the ultimate goal of causing you to eat fewer calories. Hope that makes sense.

-Nancy

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 9:30 PM

your system plays a role as well. What you eat will affect your hormones and other parts of your system [i]that affect how many calories you burn,[/i] and how efficiently your metabolism works.

It's like a sportscar- sure, it will run on lower octane gas, but it runs better on high octane gas. What you eat, can be just as if not more important than how much you eat.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 9:40 PM

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