nutrition facts...

[theghost]

hey how do I read the thing...you need like a phd to understand that..

 

anyways...

how does soda make you fat?..it doesn't have fat in it.

how does sugar make you fat?

how do calories exactly make you fat?

[Beec]

Well, the guy who wrote the South Beach Diet would tell you about how your blood chemistry gets shot to crap with sugar and your insulin goes way up and your body reacts by storing that energy as fat, while it takes the fats and does a slow burn or gets rid of what it does not need.

[RayKay]

Excess calories of ANY kind (be they sugar, fats, proteins) will have you gaining weight - your body does need different types of fuels for different things, but excess calories of any sort will end up being stored. Goes back to our days when we never knew when our next meal would be.

 

As long as you take in less calories (or equal to) than you expend, you will maintain or lose weight. But don't take in too much less, or your body will go into starvation mode and store calories.

 

There are a few resources out there to figure out your basal metabolic rate (amount of calories you burn just to survive every day as a lump on couch) plus figure out all the additional calories you need for activity. For example, by BMR would be about 1600-1800 for light activity...I do a lot of bike training, and yoga everyday, and can need anywhere from that 1800 to literally in the upper thousands on a very heavy training day to a huge event - at 24 Hour events, I have to eat all the time and will STILL have a huge deficit. I have a deficit nearly everyday as is due to the inability to eat SO darn much! On days like that, I need sugars (simple carbs) like those found in sodas or power gels, etc for the energy as long as I also eat some more complex stuff too to not "bonk". Someone not doing too much will not need all those excess simple carbs.

 

To lose 1 pound a week, you need a calorie deficit of about 500 calories a day (o 3500 a week). You can easily start by cutting out some of the sodas and second helpings, etc.

 

There are a lot of "special" diets out there, and it is true some foods are better for you than others, but the best thing to do is eat healthier, cut down on simple sugars UNLESS you are doing a lot of heavy exercise and need the boosts every now and then while exercising, eat a balanced diet, more complex carbs, lots of veggies, fruits, lean proteins. It is a change for LIFE, not for a month or two, so do something you can live with!

[theghost]

you seem to know a lot...

 

if I cus back on sugar and carbs, I be alright?