Has anyone got fat eating only healthy foods?

[kistanbul]

I’m sitting here eating nuts thinking about the number of times I’ve heard fruit, nuts etc are bad for you.

But all the larger people I know eat lots of processed foods. No judgment - it’s quick and easy and it’s hard to only eat a super fresh diet. I don’t believe that a diet high in potatoes, fruit and nuts that excludes processed food like bacon, bread and refined sugar has ever made someone an unhealthy weight.

Are there any bigger people out there who just eat a lot of the healthy stuff?

Nuts are healthy but if you eat too many you will put on weight.

Depends how you are defining 'healthy' - bread and bacon are fine in moderation.

So are dried fruit and nuts, they're also highly calorific.

I put on weight quickly in my first trimester because I was suddenly eating a lot more carbs and dairy. I didn't eat chocolate or sweets, did eat crisps but not excessively.

Contrary to popular belief (on Mumsnet..) you can be fat and not stuff your face with processed crap. I can't be arsed to explain to the ignorant however, but if truly interested there is plenty of information out there as to the many reasons why people become fat.

Well yes, if you go over the recommended calorie allowance then you will gain weight.

Crap food is just higher in calories so the weight gain is quicker.

for example if you’re on a calorie defecit diet

mcdonalds small fries (roughly 100g)is roughly 300/400 calories

100g of pistachio is 500 calories

if you’re on a calorie defecit of 1500 and are on 1200 for the day, you will probably gain weight eating the pistachios rather than the fries (in an everyday circumstance, not a one off thing obviously

Well it's about quantity isn't it. I was a size 16 with no alcohol, very little sweet stuff, no fast/fried/processed food etc. My diet was basically lean protein, salad etc,. The issue was grazing - a handful of nuts adds on a lot of calories!

People are hung up on calorie numbers. This is so outdated. There is now plenty of research and studies that debunks these statements.

500 calories of fast food has such a different impact on the body than 500 calories of single ingredient nutrient rich food (like nuts).

Fast food = bad sugar and fat. Briefly and simply, the body clings to this, doesn't process it, and maintains your blood sugar at a level that later has an impact on your energy and hunger levels.

If you eat more calories than you burn off you'll gain weight.

We make everything from scratch. Mostly home grown including meat. I'm very fat.

You gain weight by eating too many calories, regardless if the calories are made up of apples or Mars bars

Of course, otherwise no-one would ever have been overweight before the invention of ultra-processed foods. Look at Henry VIII...

That doesn't change the correlation between a modern diet heavy in UPFs and obesity, though.

Of course you can. Not every obese person is making domino’s pizza smoothies and chocolate dipped bacon. Overeating, no matter what you are eating, will make you put on weight.

I know loads of very overweight vegans and vegetarians. For the most part they aren’t ‘junk food’ vegans either. Their diets are low in UPF, but when we have been housemates- I have noticed constant grazing, lots of bread and calorie dense foods ‘snacks’ like smoothies with lots of plant milk, nut butters and maple syrup. Lots of nuts and dried fruit like banana chips. ‘Healthy’ baking with agave syrup and mashed banana instead of sugar- but then nailing that entire traybake after we’ve eaten dinner.

It doesn't matter what the food is you eat! If you eat more calories than you burn then you'll put on weight.
A person could eat 3000 calories worth of fruit and only burn 2000, that extra 1000 will be stored as fat

Portion sizes can and do make a difference, l eat nuts as a snack as they're nutritious but like with anything if you eat loads of them then yes it adds a tonne of calories to your daily intake. That said personally I find I don't want/crave large amounts of nuts, I wouldn't sit and eat loads yet foods specially made to be appealing to us such as chocolate it's much easier to work your way through a lot of calories and with less benefit. Lots of people presume healthy food equals low calories too which is obviously not true; thinking of the elaborate overnight oats or similar which can reach hundreds and hundreds of calories.

I eat lots of fruit (and nuts) and veg. No booze. No junk.

And I’m heavier than bloody Trump (I learned this week). BMI 33

Fecking menopause.

No its basic science.. i didnt say its better but its a simple matter of calories in vs calories burnt which is very simple.

I eat at least 100 grams of nuts per day (pecan, macadamia, walnuts and pine nuts). Also eat lots of cheese and olives, but I’ve never gained weight eating them to excess. Mind you, I don't eat refined carbs and workout everyday.

I find it I eat what I need, and no more, and have a diet that has no processed food in it at all, the weight drops off, and I feel loads better in myself. I dont eat low fat versions of anything, and I don't use sweeteners either. Full fat makes me less hungry and less inclined to overeat.

@Covetthee I'm saying that basic science now discredits this notion of 1 calorie of X = 1 calorie of Y

Calories in vs calories burnt as a way to lose weight may work for some because you select healthier food to eat as much as you can within your 'limit' but a person eating 1500 calories of mcdonalds vs 1500 calories of vegetables and protein will NOT lose weight at the same rate.

I’m not sure any food is Inherently “healthy”. I think a diet can be healthy or u healthy based on the mix of foods included. So I find it hard to understand what you’re asking. I guess if you eat moderate amounts of a wide range of fresh and unprocessed foods you are likely to be more healthy than someone eating tons of processed packaged foods.

My dad used to be overweight and he ate tons of nuts. Not saying that was the cause but I suppose any high calorie food (‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’) has the potential to make you gain weight if eaten in excess.

Yes I'm a fat vegan, cook from scratch lots from the polytunnel. Portions sizes are my downfall x

I agree. Zoe provides some excellent advice and information about this. It's made a huge difference to my life. Before I was calorie counting and not losing weight. Now I eat clean, no processed food,and eat full fat versions, and I've lost loads of weight.

@ilovemydogmore was just about to post something similar but you beat me to it. Basically, the healthier the food (i.e. unprocessed) the less you are likely to overeat due to the way the food works in your body. A handful of nuts vs a packet of crisps - possibly around the same calories; however, the handful of nuts will keep your blood sugar levels stable due to less of a spike in insulin.

In addition, it is easier to overeat ultra processed foods as they are foods which we can feel like eating even when we are not hungry which is not the case for something healthy.

I understand the theory of eating more calories than you use, but I’ve never known anyone in real life who has become overweight by eating only a lot of very healthy things.

I know lots of overweight people who eat a lot of healthy food, but they also eat a lot of unhealthy food.

I was wondering whether there were people out there who avoided all processed food (like bread, cheese and so on) and were overweight.

You can be overweight by eating too many carbs even if you generally eat healthily.
Things like too much rice with your healthy bean stew, or too many potatoes with your roast chicken and veg.
Many people are overweight (perhaps from pregnancy) and maintain quite well but find it hard to cut down to lose the weight.

They're not all gorging on crap.

I don’t know anyone who is overweight who just eats unprocessed foods. I suppose because if you’re eating that kind of diet it is likely to be harder to over eat and you might not get cravings in the way people eating processed foods might.