Too many healthy calories?

[travellingturtle]

Doing 16:8 IF which is great for me as a lot of my weight gain is because of boredom-eating in the evenings.

I know in theory I still need to be watching my calorie intake (no good restricting your eating window if what you're eating is three chocolate cakes ) but I do like to 'fill up' on healthy things.

For example, I just had lunch of a full head of roasted broccoli with garlic and harissa, dipped into a cucumber raita. It wasn't a big broccoli head, but it's still made me wonder –should I be portion-controlling at the same time as IF?

For my other meals today I had a boiled egg and a coffee for breakfast, and later I'll have yesterday's leftovers of baked aubergine in tomato sauce with feta, and a kiwi and some nuts as a snack before I start my fast at 7.

If they're 'healthy' calories, am I shooting myself in the foot?

Too many calories is too many calories I guess.

I saw a programme where a large patient had had her metabolic rate tested & went through a whole load of tests to see why she couldn’t lose weight.

She asked the consultant if it could be because she ate her calories in cream cakes instead of healthy food. The consultants face was

Overeating by a large banana, rather than a chocolate digestive, doesn’t make any difference in terms of impact calorie wise but obviously it’s healthier to have a banana than the biscuit.

You do need to keep an eye on calories, but that does not necessarily mean eating tiny portions. I regularly eat a vast bowl of salad/veg for lunch, with a few prawns on top. I'd think nothing of eating an entire broccoli head. What I am careful with is the amount of oil I use, or cheese I scatter on top, or nuts/seeds I add. Those can add up fast.

Almost all weight loss depends on calories in vs calories out. People still put on weight by eating too much of anything - healthy or not. Maybe it would be helpful to log what you eat just for a month to make sure you're getting the right amounts for you? Your intake today doesn't look overly high in calories though.

Calories in v calories out - yea you need to keep an eye on it if IF, but I doubt a head of broccoli will too you over the edge:)

I try to keep an eye on the fat content as well as calories. If you're eating 150 calories worth of apple with zero fat or 150 calories of chocolate with 6 grams of fat then there is a big difference here. This has helped me when I felt I was coming to a stand still with weight loss

@Brackenandbramble

I try to keep an eye on the fat content as well as calories. If you're eating 150 calories worth of apple with zero fat or 150 calories of chocolate with 6 grams of fat then there is a big difference here. This has helped me when I felt I was coming to a stand still with weight loss

Right - I think this is where I'm getting a bit confused!

It feels like a lot to keep track of every time I want to eat something. I've never counted calories in my life before so don't really know how many calories anything has.

Bit by bit, though, right?

I personally found it a pain in the beginning but I quickly got to know roughly how many calories and fat was in most of the food I normally ate so then didn't have to think about it too much. My friend swears by My Fitness Pal app which calculates the nutrients in whatever food you enter on to it but I haven't used it.

@Brackenandbramble

I try to keep an eye on the fat content as well as calories. If you're eating 150 calories worth of apple with zero fat or 150 calories of chocolate with 6 grams of fat then there is a big difference here. This has helped me when I felt I was coming to a stand still with weight loss

150 calories is 150 calories (I mean, there are scientific arguments that say not all calories are created equal, but for general purposes it's easier to assume they are.)

In terms of fat, fats are calorie dense, so if you are comparing 150g of apple to 150g of chocolate there is a world of difference in the calories due to the fat content of the chocolate.

As far as fat itself is concerned, it is not always the enemy. The precise mix of what you eat depends on the person. I do best on a high protein, high fat and relatively low carb diet (not keto or Atkins or anything like that, but eating a lot of carbs (especially sugary carbs) ramps up my appetite whereas eating protein and fat does not. And in my case there are no health issues to worry about with the fat content of my diet. But that's something everyone needs to experiment with a bit, to find what works best for them.

@Brackenandbramble

I try to keep an eye on the fat content as well as calories. If you're eating 150 calories worth of apple with zero fat or 150 calories of chocolate with 6 grams of fat then there is a big difference here. This has helped me when I felt I was coming to a stand still with weight loss

This isn’t exactly true-in terms of calories there is no difference between 150 calories from apple or chocolate, it’s still 150 calories and you need to be in a deficet to lose weight-what those calories are made up of is technically irrelevant. Fat has more calories than fibre/apples per gram but 150 calories of fat is the same as 150 calories of fruit/veg. However it’s better to eat the apple (more nutrients) as you’ll feel fuller due to the fibre/eating more volume of food than eating a small portion of chocolate. So you’ll be more full and eat less overall that day most likely if you eat the apple instead of chocolate

Download the nutracheck app.
I’ve found this a great help.
Never counted cals before but it’s easy with this app

Try not to demonise fat. Incorporating fat, protein and fibre into every meal or snack where possible will keep you satisfied for longer, and it wouldn't be hard to keep that within an ideal amount of calories.

I’d weigh out the feta and nuts because you’d be surprised at the calories even for fairly small portions.

Last night I weighed out 15g of m&s king walnut halves and they were 106 calories. That was about 7 or 8 halves.

I always take less calories food and also taking so much of fiber rich food in my daily food diet. This will help me to keep the body weight under control. I also not take the junk food items.