First, an update on my own weight loss efforts – two pounds this past week by a combination of  daily physical activity and less calories while going out to restaurants to eat three times, eating most of a triple fruit pie (a regular recipe without low calorie ingredients) that I personally baked, and having a daily cocktail. Am I eating healthy? What does this mean? Why did I lose weight?

I guess what most people mean by “Eating Healthy” is avoiding “junk” food (my pie and alcohol?) with its refined contents, sugars, chemicals, pesticides,  and preservatives, and other “empty” calories plus avoiding trans fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol and replacing these with non processed (non refined) and ”organically” produced foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grain cereals, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, seafoods as opposed to meats, less caffein, and perhaps taking vitamins and other “health improving” additives or supplements. It’s the same old refrain replace  ”bad” foods with “good” foods – “bad” calories with “good ” calories.  A lot of individuals are doing this to a more or less degree. Are they “healthier” because of this? Most definitely. Are they losing weight? Most are definitely not. Why? Because a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, “bad” or “good.” An ounce of high fructose corn syrup’s  ”bad” carbohydrate has the same number of calories as an ounce of the “good” carbohydrate in whole grain cereal – an ounce of  saturated or trans “bad” fat has the same number of calories as an ounce of the “good” monounsaturated fat in olive or peanut oil. An eight ounce glass of regular soda pop has the same number of calories as a glass of orange juice. Is the orange juice healthier? Of course it is! Will substituting a glass of orange juice for a glass of pop help you lose weight? Of course not because they’re calorically equal! Getting the picture?

Now, back to me. I lost weight while eating out a lot, eating home made pie, drinking alcohol - eating in a way most would consider “unhealthy” – because I consumed less calories than I needed to maintain my weight. Therefore, for me it was the quantity (total number) of calories not the type (good vs. bad) of calories which made the difference. Yes, I also performed daily physical activity but really no more than I had done before I decided to lose those pounds.

Remember, your “eating healthy” will result in weight loss only if, by “eating healthy” you are actually eating less calories than you need to maintain your weight!

I’ll discuss how we can easily calculate our daily calorie needs in my next post.

Tags: Controversies in Lifestyle Management, Dieting, Dr George S Motto MD, Good food vs. Bad food, HMR Program, Lifestyle, Principles, Weight Loss

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