gang, this morning on MSN is an article about running and weight loss. in the article it talks about weight loss being strictly about a calorie deficit and that is the absulute truth.
is that really truth?
throughout my 20’s i had it beat into my head that where the calories come from matter more than calories in and of themselves. in other words, if I ate 1500 calories a day of all cookies, i would not loose weight. but, 1500 calories of a lean diet would result in weight loss (lean being more like a bodybuilding diet–very lean proteins and vegetables)
i have a hard time believing that 1500 calories coming from a poor diet results in the same weight loss as 1500 calories coming from a healthy diet. i even have a hard time believing that 1500 calorie starchy carbohydrate diet results in weight loss, whereas a 1500 lean protein and veggie/fruit diet would. but perhaps i’ve got it all wrong.
maybe I’ve been too brainwashed by bodybuilding diets in the past.
so, based on your experience/knowledge, does weight loss really happen with a calorie deficit, regardless of where the calories come from?
It is absolutely true. If you burn 2500 Calories in a day, and eat 1500 calories of Cheetos, you’ll lose weight.
The problem is, you’ll be in a very poor spot nutritionally. It will make you feel like crap. It’s not hard to exceed your daily calorie need on cheetos. You won’t have the energy for exercise. Without excercise, in a calorie deficit, your metabolism will slow down.
I’m definitely not a dietician, and didn’t stay in a Holiday Inn Express, but my experience is that the calorie deficit is the key to loss. That said, you must get the proper nutrients in to fuel your training, and too large a deficit will cause one to lose energy for exercise, and metabolism to drop. I feel the high protein diets are not the key, as I fuel with a very large number of carbos, and plenty of chips, premium ice cream, and high test beer!
Energy in - energy out = energy left to store or burn as fat.
Energy in easy to figure, but the energy out is a bit tricky, cause your body does not convert all you consume so not only do you lose some to working out ectt. but some goes down the drain. The next sweetners may have long molecular chains so the body cant digest them, and they pass on through.
But for the most part it does not matter where it comes from as far as weight loss. But someone living on 2K calories a day of pure sugar is not going to be the healthiest person around.
i did have a friend once who ate nothing but 2 snickers per day up until her wedding. they had to alter her dress once or twice. (but I believe she was taking ephedra at the time so i thought that was why she lost so much weight…she was and is crazy).
Yes, it’s pretty simple. Where it gets complicated is when you consider nutritionally what your body needs/prefers besides just calories and also, what “bad” things might be in food.
<< so what about all of this “high insulin, low insulin” stuff. it’s all BS? >>
Not necessarily. High insulin response = low blood sugar in a couple hours = need to eat more (and usually with an intense sugar craving). If you constantly spike your insulin with poor food choices, you’ll constantly be eating. It becomes very hard to keep calorie intake down. Once it goes up, you store the extra as fat.
However I think there is a big difference if you are talking about “healthy” weightloss… Then I think the generally accepted version is to satisfy your basic metabolic requirements and “create the defecit” through exercise…
The effect of Insulin on fat storage, CHO utilization, and protein degradation is fairly complex, but, yes, this can be important for some folks to achieve results.
As a Gyn specialist you can imagine I spend a lot of time w/ ladies looking for that “magic bullet” for wt. loss. Everyone wants something for nothing, blames their poor metabolism or thyroid for their wt. gain., etc. Americans love to place accountability somewhere far away from their own zip code.
Bottom line, as has been pointed out, is create a caloric deficit and you will lose weight. Best to do it through increase in aerobic exercise and building/maintaining lean muscle mass. Pretty simple, but requires you to get off your duff…
From what I’ve read, it’s what happens to with the excess calories that counts. They’re all laid down as fat on your body but they have to be converted to bodyfat, a fat calorie converts to bodyfat more effeciently than a carb or protein calorie, therefore more bodyfat will amass. I’m not sure how the body decides which kind of calories or convert, though. Perhaps it goes for the easiest.
lol, yeah, don’t you just love the “thyroid” excuse. that is a favorite of an aquaintance of mine…all the while she’s eating half of an entire cake with ice cream and syrup on top. but, whatever.
At the core of any diet plan - take your pick - is calorie control. They control portions. The only diet plan that works is where you burn more than you take in. Personally, I don’t see how an endurance athlete can excel on a low carb diet so I stay away from those. Good complex carbs are essential to health and energy.
However, what most people don’t realize is how many calories are in ‘Junk’ food.
My wife and I took a close look at what we were putting in our bodies last summer and we was amazed! For instance a Wendy’s #2 meal (double burger, fries and a coke) contains 1,000 calories! Forget the fat that is in meal, it takes alot to burn 1,000 cal. On the other hand, a home cooked marinated and grilled chicken breast with rice and a salad dinner contains less than half that.
Calories are easy to come by in our junk foods because they have lots of fat, and sugar.
At 38yo I too struggle w/ maintaining my awesome (cough) physique. My problem is my ungodly work schedule that often disallows a regular training program.
But, after a very active triathlon background in the late 80’s-early 90’s, I finally found myself an out-of-shape chief resident and swore to get back into the game. In 2003, working a 100 hrs a week, I fought back…lost that 25#…and went to Kona 2003.
My training was VERY unconventional. I rode a trainer in my call room in the hospital…sometimes for 3-4 hrs as my junior residents did the scut work. I ran a lot on the treadmill…and swam when I could. But, most important, I stopped EATING WHEN I WASN’T HUNGRY!!
I tell my patients that if they could just STOP putting food in their mouths after dinner, they will lose weight. It worked for me. Nothing PO after dinner!!
Yup. If all you care about is what the scale says, just create a caloric deficit.
Burn 3500 more calories (roughly) than you take in and you’ll lose a pound. Just look at all those hard-core Atkins folks that lost huge weight eating bacon wrapped in cheese. Not healthy calories, but they ate less total calories throughout the day then they normally did.
Now if you care about your health, performance, energy levels, etc. etc. etc., then it matters where those calories come from.
