Does eating extremely light meals help lose weight?

[Foxhound3857]

And now I'm getting confused. All I'm trying to do is lose the weight safely, not perfect my eating habits. This is what I have a multivitamin for.

 

[HelenePA]

And now I'm getting confused. All I'm trying to do is lose the weight safely, not perfect my eating habits. This is what I have a multivitamin for.

you need to read up on multivits... and what you need to eat for it to actually absorb into your body

You need to eat lean cuts of meat.. there is nothing to be confused about.. bacon = fat boneless, skinless chicken breasts = little fat

 

[Free4Life11]

There is 12 weeks until Christmas:

Based on your height/weight/age your BMR is about 1750, so if you consume 1200 calories of each day you will lose 1 pound per week just from dieting. So just by dieting you can lose 12 pounds by Christmas.

If you can burn an extra 500 calories a day, that's another pound per week, so 24 pounds. If you can burn an extra 1000 calories a day, that's another pound per week, so 36 pounds.

You absolutely MUST do strength training or you will lose fat AND muscle and trust me, that's not attractive. I recommend lots of high intensity cardio!

Your goal is achievable but it will be very very difficult! Good luck!

 

[Wishing on a star]

I understand!

But, if it were that easy, we would all be thin!!!

Honestly, there is no 'pill' or substitute for healthy foods.

Sorry!!!!

 

[RadioNate]

Ok - now I'm thinking we are just being played with. If you are serious, I'll second sparkpeople.com or an app like LoseIt

In theory at 1200, no matter what that consists of you should lose weight however, I have found over and over throughout the years that eating 1200 of empty calories isn't as effective as eating 1200 of quality calories.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I agree about the vitamins.

Almost every one of these that you buy off the counter at WalMart are more processed, synthetic, toxic....

I am sensitive, and many of them would actually make me physically ill and upset my stomach.

I take an all natural supplement by PureEssence ( Life Essence )
They have changed their formulas, so we went online and found the Multi that we have always been using and ordered a couple big bottles.

Hopefully the new formulas ( I think they have men's and women's now) are just as good. But I don't know for sure.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Ok - now I'm thinking we are just being played with. If you are serious, I'll second sparkpeople.com or an app like LoseIt

In theory at 1200, no matter what that consists of you should lose weight however, I have found over and over throughout the years that eating 1200 of empty calories isn't as effective as eating 1200 of quality calories.

That's not what I'm saying. Of course I'm making an effort to eat healthier and such, but you guys are telling me that I still need to up my caloric intake, which is what I'm doing. But if I have to start obesessively watching what I put into my body as a result and having to double-check if something is nutritional or just empty calories and having to find replacements all the time, I'm going to start losing motivation really fast.

I don't want the process to be extremely complex and confusing.

 

[HelenePA]

Ok - now I'm thinking we are just being played with. If you are serious, I'll second sparkpeople.com or an app like LoseIt

In theory at 1200, no matter what that consists of you should lose weight however, I have found over and over throughout the years that eating 1200 of empty calories isn't as effective as eating 1200 of quality calories.

I'm thinking we are being played too... may as well just add some fried chicken skin to your salad if your going to add bacon

 

[Foxhound3857]

I'm thinking we are being played too... may as well just add some fried chicken skin to your salad if your going to add bacon

I don't like hearing that people think I'm a troll, because I'm not. I'm just trying to get myself on the right path without having to make it too complicated. I'm a simple guy.

 

[Free4Life11]

That's not what I'm saying. Of course I'm making an effort to eat healthier and such, but you guys are telling me that I still need to up my caloric intake, which is what I'm doing. But if I have to start obesessively watching what I put into my body as a result and having to double-check if something is nutritional or just empty calories and having to find replacements all the time, I'm going to start losing motivation really fast.

I don't want the process to be extremely complex and confusing.

In that case, count calories. Don't worry about anything else. All you need is a calculator, add them up. No more than 1200 a day! But you have to exercise and start moving to increase your calorie burn if you want to lose more than 12 pounds.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I guess I'll try to stay away from the processed fats and empty carbs then.

 

[Wishing on a star]

That's not what I'm saying. Of course I'm making an effort to eat healthier and such, but you guys are telling me that I still need to up my caloric intake, which is what I'm doing. But if I have to start obesessively watching what I put into my body as a result and having to double-check if someone is nutritional or just empty calories, I'm going to start losing motivation really fast.

I don't want the process to be extremely complex and confusing.

Nope, you are mis-reading!!!!
What we are saying is that a 50-60 calorie bowl of spinach may not be enough calories as a mini-meal to keep your body fueled.

THAT, I believe, was your original question.

But, now that we have gone deeper here.
I will give you big analogy...

Here is a serving bowl that holds XXXX calories....
Now, let's throw in a handful of chips... High fat and calorie content... The bowl is already now half filled....
Lets throw in some empty carbs now... Okay...
Now the bowl is 3/4 filled....
That leaves only 1/4 of the bowl, or a precious few ounces, of healthy and body fueling proteins, vitamins, etc....
The picture seems very easy to see here.

We are only trying to help!!!!

 

[Poohforyou]

And now I'm getting confused. All I'm trying to do is lose the weight safely, not perfect my eating habits. This is what I have a multivitamin for.

Are you just playing with people here or do you really want advice?

Croutons are nothing but empty calories (again simple sugars not much different than that vitamin water). Bacon bits are just processed sodium filled junk (i.e. empty calories). If you want crunch sprinkle on some chopped nuts. If you want some meat try some chopped chicken or even some sliced lean beef. Heck, even some crumbled real bacon would be better than the fake stuff.

Try to remember that the more processed the food the less nutritionally beneficial it is.

A great and easy snack you can keep on you are 100 calorie packs of nuts. Another easy snack, but requires refrigeration, is a hard boiled egg.

 

[HelenePA]

you need to cut down your fats plain and simple... bacon bits are nothing but fat and grease, you need to stay away from chips, anything fried, non low fat cheeses, I'd stay away from pizza for awhile.. You need to look at lean cuts of meat.. you cant survive on tomatoes and spinach for the next 12 weeks... sooner or later your going to fall hard off that wagon.. it doesn't need to be complicated... lean cuts of meat the size of your palm (not hand your palm) are the way to go along with lots of veggies and fruits. No more vit water, its a waste of calories. Plain water with lemon for taste.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Are you just playing with people here or do you really want advice?

I AM NOT playing with people, and I DO appreciate the advice. I'm just very new to this. I've never had to dedicate myself to weight loss like this before and it's very new and confusing to me. That's all.

 

[Coconut36]

And now I'm getting confused. All I'm trying to do is lose the weight safely, not perfect my eating habits. This is what I have a multivitamin for.

Oh dear...I would urge you to do some research. Multi vitamins are not a substitute for healthy eating at all and most often don't provide a fraction of what you really need.

If you want to safely lose weight you do indeed need to perfect your eating habits or you will have no success and damage your body in the process. If you continue to eat unhealthy meals or make poor food choices and think that swapping out a big meal for spinach is going to help you are not going to have great success.

You need to understand what your body needs...croutons..no. A lean protein..yes (for example). Skipping a meal or subbing some spinach for a meal is not healthy or beneficial. Having healthy, smaller sized meals every few hours..better for you and your desire to lose weight.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Oh dear...I would urge you to do some research. Multi vitamins are not a substitute for healthy eating at all and most often don't provide a fraction of what you really need.

If you want to safely lose weight you do indeed need to perfect your eating habits or you will have no success and damage your body in the process. If you continue to eat unhealthy meals or make poor food choices and think that swapping out a big meal for spinach is going to help you are not going to have great success.

You need to understand what your body needs...croutons..no. A lean protein..yes (for example). Skipping a meal or subbing some spinach for a meal is not healthy or beneficial. Having healthy, smaller sized meals every few hours..better for you and your desire to lose weight.

That clears up a lot. Thank you very much.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I AM NOT playing with people, and I DO appreciate the advice. I'm just very new to this. I've never had to dedicate myself to weight loss like this before and it's very new and confusing to me. That's all.

Great!!!

Take this as a stepping stone...
Learn and do some research...

And, yes, we DO realize that this can be harder to stick too than it sounds on paper.

It seems a lot easier for my DH than it is for me!!!

 

[Foxhound3857]

Great!!!

Take this as a stepping stone...
Learn and do some research...

And, yes, we DO realize that this can be harder to stick too than it sounds on paper.

It seems a lot easier for my DH than it is for me!!!

Exactly! I thought all I would have to do was lower my caloric intake and exercise more and that would be it. I had no idea I had to change my eating habits so much though in order to maintain my health. That's the part that is making my head spin. =(

I guess I'd better do it while I'm young though, right? Thank you very much for your knowledge btw.

 

[Coconut36]

That clears up a lot. Thank you very much.

I really urge you to check out www.sparkpeople.com. It will suggest meals for you that give you the nutrients and such you need and help you manage your calories to succeed in losing weight. When I started tracking my food intake I was shocked to see I took in very little protein..far less than I needed (proteins by the way help fuel your body and leaving you feeling full longer) and how high my carb intake was. It went a long way towards helping me make better food choices.