To think I can eat junk and not gain weight?

[CherryPeakerr]

Ok so say if I was 9stone and I needed 1,300 calories to main that weight (not lose or gain).

What if I ate:

6 x McDonald's chicken nugget (300 calories)
1 x medium fries (300 calories)
2 x chocolate bar (400 calories)
1 x soda (100 calories)
1 x bag of crisps (200 calories)

That's 1,300 so surely I'd stay the same weight despite having a poor diet?

disclaimer these calories are not accurate

In theory, but most people can't stick to that. It's the kind of food that doesn't fill you up long so you start eating again soon after.

You might not put on weight but your health would be atrotious. You'd feel shit constantly, sleep poorly and have no energy. And tbh you probably wpuld gain weight, yes. I would eating that

In theory yes. However you will be missing key nutrients and would start craving certain other foods

I lived on wine and crisps in my 20s and didn't gain weight!

I'm not sure it was the healthiest way to live though.

Now I'm older I have to be more careful with carbs though

Yes, but you would be starving.
Have you heard of the term "skinny fat?" This describes people who eat like this and are slim on the outside, but have visceral fat.
Possible? Yes.
Advisable? No.

Agree with pp - in theory yes but i imagine if thats all you ever ate your skin would be vile and you would be very podgy even if still a size 8 or w/e

I'm not sure it's as simple as that - on a diet like that, you wouldn't be getting enough vitamins, so you'd probably be tired meaning you moved about less and used less energy. There's also very little fibre so you could find yourself painfully constipated.

Well, ignoring that the calories aren't accurate, I think anyone trying to follow that diet would be starving very quickly as there's nothing filling and would feel generally a bit shit as the food is so poor, both of which would be likely to lead to additional eating and therefore more calories and thus weight gain.

But, in the simplest of terms to answer your question, yes, you can eat crap and stay slim. Unhealthy, but slim.

yes but in theory thats one meal (nuggets, fries and soda) plus 3 snacks (2 chocolate bars and a packet of crisps) so likely to be consumed by the afternoon leaving you feeling very hungry

I know slim people with appalling diets so yes of course you can do it.

Yes you could but you'd feel like shit!

Calories measure energy not nutrition. There are no good or bad calories but you're diet would be seriously lacking in nutrients.

That's the kind of diet you tend to have in your teens/early 20s. I loved on Rice Crispies for a good year when I was 19. Couldn't afford anything else.

actually 6 nuggets, medium fries and a medium coke is 840 calories so you were under not over!

Yeah you could lose weight eating that

Of course you can. A poor diet in most cases won't catch up with you until you're older.

So if the nuggets and fries were your lunch would the chocolate bar be breakfast and bag of crisps your dinner? I'd be starving on that.

100% this:

It's the kind of food that doesn't fill you up long so you start eating again soon after.

Having said that, I do see where you're coming from though, OP.

So if the nuggets and fries were your lunch would the chocolate bar be breakfast and bag of crisps your dinner? I'd be starving on that.

I'd have said that a couple of months ago too, but I've been dieting rather strictly and have pretty successfully shrunk my stomach (I mean the amount it takes for me to be hungry).

Weight loss is about calories in to an extent - possible to lose weight without any exercise and by eating old crap up to a calorie limit.

Weight maintenance is more complicated than that. Your metabolic rate reduces when you eat crap or don't exercise (hence skinny fat people).

I have a day like that once a week. Usually a McDonalds cheeseburger, some cake or biscuits or chocolate and maybe a sandwich. To be fair I do usually manage to squeeze some fruit and a salad in too.

so you'd probably be tired meaning you moved about less and used less energy.

I'm basing this on BMR. Therefore doing zero exercise.

Chocolate bar and crisps for lunch.

McDonald's for dinner and then chocolate bar for dessert.

I wouldn't do this but that would be enough that I wouldn't be hungry. I never have breakfast either, or if I do it's a cup of black coffee.

Yes you could still lose but I don't think you'd last long before you were hungry & needed a decent meal

You'd get scurvy

To maintain on 1,300 you'd have to lie in bed all day trying not to move too much