You’re eating healthy, but you aren’t losing weight. In fact, you’re gaining weight. And now you’re wondering what’s wrong… and questioning the $47.65 you spent on Bolthouse Farms juices… and convincing yourself the kale in your fridge is stale, even though there’s no evidence supporting said conclusion… and inhaling Arby’s curly fries in order to [...]
You're eating healthy, but you aren't losing weight.
In fact, you're gaining weight.
And now you're wondering what's wrong… and questioning the $47.65 you spent on Bolthouse Farms juices… and convincing yourself the kale in your fridge is stale, even though there's no evidence supporting said conclusion… and inhaling Arby's curly fries in order to cope with being a flabby failure.
Don't get too down on yourself. There's a reason you're gaining weight even though you're eating healthy: You have a damaged metabolism.
Just kidding.
Scared you, didn't I?
Here's the actual reason you're gaining weight despite eating healthy:
Healthy foods make you fat.
Body fat is a reservoir of excess energy. (If the previous sentence reads like rocket science, you best digest this.) Healthy foods aren't void of energy, which means they'll make you just as fat as junk food if eaten in abundance.
Here's the kicker:
It's really easy to overeat healthy foods… maybe not as easy as overeating junk foods, but, still, it's pretty easy. Here's a recent example from my life:
I like eating a dessert after dinner. My meals need to end with something sweet. I blame my mom. She used to bake cakes for a living. My lunch usually consisted of licking the leftover icing off the beater. Freud would approve of me blaming my mom for my (selective) sweet tooth.
So I have this (selective) sweet tooth, but, at the same time, I don't want to eat cake and candy every day. You don't have to be R2-D2 to know cake and candy shouldn't be dietary staples. Here's my compromise: After dinner, I eat some oats topped with a banana and peanut butter. This is my “healthy” dessert.
And, yes, I’m insecure about calling this a “dessert.” The first time I put peanut butter on oatmeal, I lurched like a cat hacking up a hairball. I was only sixteen. I didn't even like the taste of oatmeal. Thankfully, my taste buds have evolved. I like oatmeal. I like peanut butter. I like bananas. I find these three flavors quite tasty when they Captain Planet together. It's no carrot cake, but it does the trick…
I eat this “dessert” daily to satisfy my sweet tooth. It's healthier than most Frankenstein sweets. Oatmeal is better for you than cake, right? Bananas are better for you than brownies, right? Peanut butter is better for you than ice cream, right?
RIGHT?
Can you feel the suspense building?
When I eat this “dessert,” I don't weight or measure my proportions. I try to be conservative, but I'm not an idiot. I know I underestimate how much peanut butter I eat more than Darth Maul underestimated Qui-Gon Jinn. The few times I found the courage to count calories, I landed in this neighborhood:
- 1 banana
- ~100 calories
- 1 cup oats
- ~ 300 calories
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- ~ 300 calories
My “healthy” dessert contains 600-700 calories.
I'm better off eating ice cream.
Seriously. One cup (8oz) of Belmont Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream contains 460 calories. (Don't tread on my Aldi brand ice cream.) My oat, banana, and peanut butter concoction is certainly more nutritious than ice cream, but, from a calorie standpoint, I'd probably be better off eating the Belmont ice cream (as long as I managed my portions).
Don't get seduced by the halo of “healthy.” Just because a food is “healthy” doesn't mean you can forget about calories.
Most people do.
For instance, most people would say you're better off eating a salad instead of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Maybe.
A “normal” bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains around 250 calories. What's in your salad? Cheese? Croutons? Salad dressing? There are 130 calories in two tablespoons of ranch dressing. How much ranch dressing do you put on your salads?
Another example:
You're at a hotel breakfast buffet, deciding which tiny cereal box you're gonna devour. You rreeeaalllllyy want to eat the French Toast Crunch, but you're trying to be healthy. You eat Raisin Bran, instead.
Wrong choice.
This isn't to say you shouldn't eat healthy.
Eating less processed “healthier” foods is never not a good idea. Healthy foods have benefits highly processed Frankenstein foods usually don't.
Junk foods usually aren't nutritious. Nutrients are important. If you don't believe me, Google “kwashiorkor”. Junk foods are also manufactured to be overly palatable, which makes them tougher to eat in moderation. If you don't believe me, eat one potato chip and only one potato chip.
But.
Eating healthy isn't a hall pass. You're still shackled to thermodynamics.
May the Gains be with you,
Ant
ps
The difference between “healthy food” and “junk food” isn't as obvious as everyone thinks it is. Some think Raisin Bran, granola, and protein bars are “healthy.” These people also breathe through their mouths.
If you're eating healthy and not losing weight, there's also possibility you aren't eating nearly as healthy as you think you are. But, in the end, it doesn't matter whether or not you're eating “healthy foods” or “junk foods,” the premise remains: You still need to keep an eye on how many calories you consume.