Anonymous wrote:PP, I am absolutely serious (and ignorant on this): why is low-carb leading to obesity? Is it better to have moderate amounts of carbs? Does the type of carb make any real difference?

They misspoke, so to speak. They meant low-fat.

PP, I am absolutely serious (and ignorant on this): why is low-carb leading to obesity? Is it better to have moderate amounts of carbs? Does the type of carb make any real difference?

Anonymous wrote:The first thing to realize is healthy nutrition and losing weight are two different things. Weight gain or lose boils down to a very simple formula: Calories In != Calories Burned.

It doesn't matter what you eat or drink. If Calories In > Calories Burned you will gain weight. And if Calories In < Calories Burned you will lose weight.

Nutrients are the basic vitamins and minerals your body needs. Healthy nutrition requires eating foods that will give your body the vitamins and minerals it requires. Calories on the other hand are just fuel. Fat is just stored calories.

The formula is simple. What needs to happen to lose weight is simple. Doing something simple is sometimes hard.

Good Luck.

This is not true. Read Gary Taubes or see the movie Fed Up. Fat storage is regulated by the hormone insulin. Insulin is triggered by eating carbohydrates. The human body's metabolism is not regulated in the tidy mathematical formula of "calories in vs. calories out."

Low-carb diets were a fad and a truly bad idea that has driven our obesity epidemic.

OP here. Thanks everyone! This is all super helpful. Deff. trying to eat more chicken and fish and try to fill my plate with lots of veggies. Thankfully I really like vegetables so I'm hopeful I can make it work

My husband lost weight eating simple foods- baked fish, chicken, etc. the key was to fill the plate with veggies and keep the protein portions simple and within the serving size.

If you're like my husband and tend to get *hungry* fix a veggie platter before dinner. You can buy a low fat dip and precut veggies. Nibble before you sit down to eat. It helps take the edge off of the hunger so you're able to stay within the serving size.

Eating out was a major problem for us- we had to cut way back on eating out and getting take out. It's unbelievable how much fat/salt/calories are in restaurant and take out.

I have always liked the Cooking Light magazines and cookbooks. You can see the serving size, cholesterol, salt etc. of each recipe. I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of my favorite foods are not as unhealthy as I imagined. Cooking Light seems to depend on seasoning vs. fat- so many of their dishes have a lot of flavor without the calories and cholesterol.

We keep it simple, grilled or baked chicken with a starch and veggies. Or lightly breaded and baked fish. There are plenty of tasty seasonings at the grocery store. Or how about a burger with lettuce in place of the bun. Instead of pasta we use a spiralizer and make noodles out of zucchini. It only takes a few minutes to saute and it's delicious whether you use marinara or pesto sauce. The Weight Watchers site has some good recipes that are also easy and tasty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low fat isn't necessarily the way to lose weight.

Count calories on an app like MFP or go paleo, but doing fat free cream cheese on a bagel isn't going to help.

You don't need to go paleo, that's not a healthy diet.

You're right. Meat and veggies will kill you.

Paleo may be an idiotic conceit, but the diet seems quite healthy to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low fat isn't necessarily the way to lose weight.

Count calories on an app like MFP or go paleo, but doing fat free cream cheese on a bagel isn't going to help.

You don't need to go paleo, that's not a healthy diet.

For some people it is, for others it isn't. People I know who went paleo from a previous junk food diet ate more fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds than they had in their prior diet. They didn't eat as much junk and restaurant food. I think that's healthier, don't you?

But it's not the fact that it's "paleo" that makes their new diet healthy - it's cutting out the junk. You can cut out the junk without going paleo, and it can be just as healthy (or more so).

I've also known people who "go paleo" and spend all their time eating bacon, burgers from the local fast food joint (but they removed the bun, so it's ok), and other high-fat stuff with virtually no produce. That's not healthy.

In short, "paleo" is neither healthy nor unhealthy by definition - what matters are the individual food choices, whether one is paleo or not.

I have the same issue, btw, with people who go gluten free "in order to eat healthier", then load up on potato chips and ice cream. Celiac or gluten intolerances are different, but don't kid yourself that a gluten free diet is necessarily any healthier than a gluten-filled one.

Obviously that is not the Paleo diet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low fat isn't necessarily the way to lose weight.

Count calories on an app like MFP or go paleo, but doing fat free cream cheese on a bagel isn't going to help.

You don't need to go paleo, that's not a healthy diet.

For some people it is, for others it isn't. People I know who went paleo from a previous junk food diet ate more fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds than they had in their prior diet. They didn't eat as much junk and restaurant food. I think that's healthier, don't you?

But it's not the fact that it's "paleo" that makes their new diet healthy - it's cutting out the junk. You can cut out the junk without going paleo, and it can be just as healthy (or more so).

I've also known people who "go paleo" and spend all their time eating bacon, burgers from the local fast food joint (but they removed the bun, so it's ok), and other high-fat stuff with virtually no produce. That's not healthy.

In short, "paleo" is neither healthy nor unhealthy by definition - what matters are the individual food choices, whether one is paleo or not.

I have the same issue, btw, with people who go gluten free "in order to eat healthier", then load up on potato chips and ice cream. Celiac or gluten intolerances are different, but don't kid yourself that a gluten free diet is necessarily any healthier than a gluten-filled one.

I totally agree with you, actually. I also know some vegetarians who eat nothing but French fries and bagels. So it's not the dietary choice itself, but the way one chooses to implement it. And ultimately, whole unprocessed foods will prevail.