weight loss

Well yeah, there have been studies like this one that shows that processed foods can lead to weight gain despite being equal in calories to unprocessed foods. But for someone just starting to lose weight, it really does come down to calories in and calories out. There's a lot of funky information out there and it's easy to get confused and overwhelmed. But if you take a few steps back and think about it, you realize that it's really very simple.

People try and make up all these crazy ass diets when you really don't need to complicate things so much. To quote Michael Pollen, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

I duno what these fools are talking about I just eat whatever I want and never gain a pound :bigsmile:

thanks for the help everyone

I did go on that website and it says my goal is 1272 calories a day.

I understand about the eating healtier, and I really am motivated and capable of giving up junk to achieve my goal all except one thing...

cheese. I love cheese. Seriously, I write I love cheese over all my notebooks and such....and my boyfriends. and chalkboards. And dry erase boards. and ocasionally my shoes. and jeans.

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Originally Posted by shion

cheese. I love cheese. Seriously, I write I love cheese over all my notebooks and such....and my boyfriends. and chalkboards. And dry erase boards. and ocasionally my shoes. and jeans.

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So eat it, just in moderation. Sprinkle some shredded cheese over a salad, or something like that. I love cheese as well to be honest, and though again it's not ideal, it won't kill you to eat some here and there, or greatly hinder your weight loss goals. The only problem with dairy is if you start consuming a lot of it regularly. One of the best ways to gain weight is to drink lots of milk everyday. Great if you're looking to buid muscle mass and get stronger, not so great if you want to get leaner.

I'm also going to reiterate once again that I don't necessarily agree with everyone recommending you count calories, particularly if your looking to keep things simple. I don't think it can get any simpler than making better food choices and listening to what your body is telling you. Once you start taking it into the realm of measuring out portion sizes then it becomes more work and complicates things since you're always trying to keep track of what you've eaten, and how big a portion you can have of something else.

If after a while you plateau in your weight loss or start to gain rather than lose, then it can become beneficial to keep a food log, measure portion sizes, and count calories, but just starting out you should have no problem seeing results from simply making better food choices and it will be a lot easier to stick with early on as you get used to doing it. The simpler and easier your diet plan the better so you don't fall into old habits right away, and by simply making it a matter of learning to make smart food choices before anything else, you'll learn what you should be eating in any situation you find yourself in.

gain wt? lift weights
lose wt? lift weights
female? calcium. LOTS OF IT
can you deadlift a baby? bench a baby? outrun a child? carry a child? squat a child? bench a child? no? there's a fitness goal for you.

my friend can do 50 body mass squat reps and bench 40 lbs. I'm like O_o joanne can't even do 20 lbs to which said friend pointed out that babies grow up fast.

on topic if you eat nutritionally empty foods you will be incapable of many fun things that are good for you. the specifics of how much you eat is irrelevent - you cannot overeat on a clean diet