Planning to Go on a Diet? One Word of Advice: Don’t

[PhoenixofMT]

I don't diet, I monitor my calories and use it to temper my appetite. Knowing that I only have "116 calories left" helps me know that my evening snack should maybe be a granola bar, and not a bag of microwave popcorn. 

Read this article and discuss.

[SophieGymBeast]

i agree, but also i think pick foods that have some nutritional value and not progressed, a pear has lower calories than a bar anyway

[youngWerther]

As both granola bar and popcorn, being dry food, have similar calorie densities of around 4 kcal/g, what is the advantage of one compared to the other?

[PhoenixofMT]

The granola bar only has 100 calories, I thought a bag of Redenbaucher's movie theatre butter popcorn had about 400. I guess the food database is wrong or I made a mistake entering it (wouldn't surprise me) because according to the box it's about 120. Bad example. Maybe granola bar vs a double cheesburger would be better.

[josephz2va]

You want to avoid big bagging popcorn. 315 to 1700 empty calories depending on the brand you're eating. 100 cal bags for portioned control.

[James_R]

If you want to see real improvement in overall health and weight loss you really need to look at the nutritional values of the foods you eat and not worry too much about the calories. 

To put this in perspective, I'm into bodybuilding and my current daily intake is 3000-4000 calories. However, because I choose my intake based on nutrition (high protein and complex carbs) I'm seeing the muscle gains I want whilst only gaining limited fat. I could 'dirty bulk' on junk, but my body fat percentage would skyrocket. 

Calorie counting does work to an extent, but is rarely enough on its own to help you reach those long term goals. 

As for the difference between popcorn and granola, at a basic nutritional level (assuming the popcorn isn't covered in something or the granola jammed full of nuts) there is very little difference between the two. Both can fit into a healthy diet. 

[dancefoxtrot]

Agree with choose healthy foods and snacks only. It is what our cells have to build and repair themselves with. I don't want to fed them junk when they need macro & micro nutrients. Chronic disease will be our lot if we don't take good care of ourselves. We get to choose to a large extent.

Barbara 

[PhoenixofMT]

Well here's my perspective. I'm into being a couch potato. I eat pretty much what I want, when I want, while being informed about how much I need vs want. I got started with fitbit to see what kind of exercise I'm getting from the ~1.5 miles I walk every morning on a paper route. (It turns out not a lot.) I eat McDonald's or Taco John's or Arby's almost daily and I'm on my way to what I used to consider my "resting" weight. Several years ago, before a lot of stress and depression, it seemed like whatever I did, my weight would hover around this point. It's still considered "obese", but I've maintained it before without a lot of fuss, so we'll see how much effort it takes. Last time I counted my calories like this I did pretty well with what I called the Apathy Diet. It was based on the premise that I would rather endure hunger than go to the trouble of getting somethnig to eat. Alas, recently I've been unable to do this much because hunger pains are excruciating anymore and often accompanied by lightheadedness. It's a bit frustrating as I'm supposed to fast twice a week, but every man has his own struggles, eh?