Is losing fat more eating healthier or eating less...

[kollarism]

Hi, how ya doing? I m 18 years old about 5'10 170 muscular/athletic build. I'll post a pic later. Anyway, the only real fat on my body is around my stomach...it's not much that most people would care about, but I was going to try and lose it and see if I could maintain it and a 6pack would show. My questions is...Is eating less or eating healthier the best way to lose that?
I work 10-6 so I wont be posting until then. Thanks in advance.

[napalm9]

both

no sugar (unless post work out) or trans fat ever
and
no gorging ever

[halodrol]

Hi, how ya doing? I m 18 years old about 5'10 170 muscular/athletic build. I'll post a pic later. Anyway, the only real fat on my body is around my stomach...it's not much that most people would care about, but I was going to try and lose it and see if I could maintain it and a 6pack would show. My questions is...Is eating less or eating healthier the best way to lose that?
I work 10-6 so I wont be posting until then. Thanks in advance.

go on a calorie deficit of maximum 500 per day..since ur not fat, that shld keep most muscle provided you lift

yeah u can eat less like 1.7kcal per day or ****..but make sure u get those vitamins and minerals and protein in so u dont suffer from malnutrition

[CrimsonGolem]

I'd say eating better. If you check my sig I was at 230 once. When I started out, not really knowing what I was doing I def ate more food when I was dropping fat then beforehand. I just ate smarter, lots of sandwiches and cereal. No more fast food, chips, snacks, pop,etc.
But that's coming from 230lbs of fat.
Now that I'm 160lbs I'm eating healthy all the time, bulk or cut. So it's more eating less calories now. This is where you are at so I'll say lower your calories and just eat smart.

[Shorty]

Eating clean is a big part of it.

Eating less isn't really the right way to say it... we don't know how much you eat now! Maybe you should be eating more?

The important part is caloric intake, and with that you need to watch what types of food are making up those calories.

You'd want to eat a certain number of calories (whatever corresponds to your daily requirement of calories minus about 500), and then make sure you are getting a good split between protein, carbs, and fat.

Of course you want the fat to be the smallest percentage of that, 10-20%, with the carbs and protein being about equal, or maybe a little higher on the protein side.

[kollarism]

Here are song pics...
As you can see in the front flex, you can see my abs somewhat, but I want to slim down so you can see all 6.

Front Normal:
http://i5.tinypic.com/14bhwfd.jpg

Front Flex:
http://i5.tinypic.com/14bhyjn.jpg

Side View:
http://i6.tinypic.com/14bhysl.jpg

Side View 2:
http://i5.tinypic.com/14bhz03.jpg

[smooth9825]

Eating less is DEF more important. You can get fat eating "good" foods no problem. What matters is the amount of calories your eating.

[kollarism]

any other suggestions or input?

[ABaby]

I'm not sure your body distuingishes from clean foods and dirty foods as far as AESTHETIC APPEAL is concerned. If you can get your exact caloric requirements for cutting from fast food then go for it if you don't have regard for things like heart health :]. It's really about eating right, regardless of whether it's brown rice and chicken or THE exact serving of chicken nuggets and a hamburger. Low and high GI foods don't contribute greatly IMO as the amount of fat and protein in my meals greatly slow the rate of absorption.

[2pounds]

eating less is more important

You can eat mcdonalds if you want as long as you run a calorie deficit

[15600Squats]

Hi, how ya doing? I m 18 years old about 5'10 170 muscular/athletic build. I'll post a pic later. Anyway, the only real fat on my body is around my stomach...it's not much that most people would care about, but I was going to try and lose it and see if I could maintain it and a 6pack would show. My questions is...Is eating less or eating healthier the best way to lose that?
I work 10-6 so I wont be posting until then. Thanks in advance.

Eating healthier.

Everyone likes to talk about 'Calories in vs. Calories out' and yes, there are laws of physics (the 2nd law of thermodynamics comes to mind) that sets some unbreakable rules. You can't eat nothing and maintain your weight.

But, it's really, far, far, far more complicated than that. Looking at calories alone is like looking at how many miles is on a car and deciding that the fewer miles it has the better car it is.

Your body is just loaded with all sorts of chemicals and horomones that respond to the food you eat. Hell, even scientists can't fully agree on how it all plays together.

So yes, there is some truth to 'eat less, lose weight' and it's especially true for fat people who are eatting an excessive amount of food anyway; but that's really ignoring a lot of the issue.

Eat healthy foods 4-5 times throughout the day, and whenever you are hungry. You won't get fat. The truth is, it's really hard to over-eat on healthy food. It's not like a pizza, where you can just eat and then pause and realise 'WOw, I ate 2000 calories' - I mean - try to eat 2000 calories of whole wheat bread or oats sometime.

[IronManXXX]

Both are important. But eating healthier is more important.

Eating healthier is more about body composition. Eating less for losing weight.

You can't get a 6 pack eating ice cream, even if you only have 1500 calories a day.

And if you eat an uncontrolled amount of healthy food, (which is almost impossible for most people) you could gain fat.

NO ONE EVER GOT FAT FROM TOO MANY VEGETABLES IN THEIR DIET.

[Swivel]

both

no sugar (unless post work out) or trans fat ever
and
no gorging ever

This word, "ever" is inaccurate and misleading.

[justagirl]

to lose fat, you MUST be on a calorie deficit. you have to eat less

to maintain muscle (which keeps your metabolism in check) and make fat loss easier you need to eat clean

you don't NEED both, but the combination fo the two will give you the best results

[Swivel]

to lose fat, you MUST be on a calorie deficit. you have to eat less

to maintain muscle (which keeps your metabolism in check) and make fat loss easier you need to eat clean

you don't NEED both, but the combination fo the two will give you the best results

Word!

[rmhildeb]

Both are important. But eating healthier is more important.

Eating healthier is more about body composition. Eating less for losing weight.

You can't get a 6 pack eating ice cream, even if you only have 1500 calories a day.

And if you eat an uncontrolled amount of healthy food, (which is almost impossible for most people) you could gain fat.

NO ONE EVER GOT FAT FROM TOO MANY VEGETABLES IN THEIR DIET.

What he said.

i understand your goal to be 'ripped' and athletic looking, so i'd suggest doing both.

go ahead an go to McD's if you want, run your calorie defecit, and you WILL lose weight. Now, whether that weight is muscle or fat, that's what we're concerned about.

if you have a solid diet, good clean foods, enough protien, and eat less then you burn etc. and you time your nutrients ideally, you'll keep your hard earned muscle (or gain more) and lose the fat.

i challege all that said "just go to McD's and run a cal defecit" to try it, test body comp before and after, and let us all know what happens, i'm sure not willing to try it though.

[kollarism]

Ive read all your replies and I've taken them in. Thanks for everyone responding.

My next question is...I am italian and I like pasta lot. So are carbs ok to eat? pasta, rice, etc?

[rmhildeb]

Ive read all your replies and I've taken them in. Thanks for everyone responding.

My next question is...I am italian and I like pasta lot. So are carbs ok to eat? pasta, rice, etc?

dont over do it, but at the same time, dont cut out carbs entirely. if you have a choice between getting carbs from rice/pasta or getting them from fruit or veggies, you're better off with the f & v. if you do have to have rice or pasta though, go for brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

another thing to remember is that the macronutrient ratios for cutting are different from bulking. get protein with every meal (5-6 of em equally spaced per day) and dont ever have a massive plate of pasta, your body simply does not need that many carbs. A commonly suggested split is 40/40/20 (carbs, protien, good fats) where those percentages are the total calories. 1g of carbs or protein is 4 cals, 1g of fat is 9cals. I found it easiest to set up an excel spreadsheet with everything so it does the math for me, i just plug in what i eat and make sure it balances out roughly.

will you lose weight if you cut out carbs altogether? yep. that's why atkin's works, but once all those poor suckers get OFF atkins, they usually put on a bunch of weight (not to mention that you feel really low energy when not taking in carbs).

read up about post workout nutrition. its really important to get carbs in there, something quick digesting (protien too, obviously). this wont hinder your fat loss progress, and will help your muscular gains subtantially.

[haiz69]

NO ONE EVER GOT FAT FROM TOO MANY VEGETABLES IN THEIR DIET.

Amen Brother@!

[974g63awd]

, but the combination of the two will give you the best results

^^^

End of thread.

[Buffpothead]

Split meals up Protein and fat, Protein+carbs never eat fat with carbs. Carbs only during and after working out. Eat more food then you normally would eat 6 meals a day..so that your BMr is higher. eat a lot of veggies and fruit. take flax oil. take a ECA or just caffiene. google Dr. john beradi read his stuff i can send you one of his nutrition books its a PDF so if you give your email i can send it too you.

[ABaby]

Both are important. But eating healthier is more important.

Eating healthier is more about body composition. Eating less for losing weight.

You can't get a 6 pack eating ice cream, even if you only have 1500 calories a day.

And if you eat an uncontrolled amount of healthy food, (which is almost impossible for most people) you could gain fat.

NO ONE EVER GOT FAT FROM TOO MANY VEGETABLES IN THEIR DIET.

Well that's because you don't meet your macro nutritional requirements. If I needed say 250g carbs, 250g protein, 60g fat, and I got met all of those requirements perfectly on hamburgers and chicken nuggets from McDonalds, then it would be the same as eating those values in brown rice and chicken.

[Buffpothead]

Well that's because you don't meet your macro nutritional requirements. If I needed say 250g carbs, 250g protein, 60g fat, and I got met all of those requirements perfectly on hamburgers and chicken nuggets from McDonalds, then it would be the same as eating those values in brown rice and chicken.

Yeah thats not true at all not all protein fat and carbs are equal... what about the kinds of fat, the glycemic index, fiber....that statement you just said is ignorant read more before talking out your butt. If it was that easy why would we be eating such bland crap all the time?

[ABaby]

Yeah thats not true at all not all protein fat and carbs are equal... what about the kinds of fat, the glycemic index, fiber....that statement you just said is ignorant read more before talking out your butt. If it was that easy why would we be eating such bland crap all the time?

Ehhh, I'm not saying they are equal, what I should of said is that that's what we would use as our case study. This guy was using 1500 calories of ice cream in comparison. I know that the two aren't equal for the reasons you said, 10g of trans fat for example isn't as good as 10g of Omega-3's.

[Buffpothead]

whatever this kid jsut need s to change his diet alittle bit i went from fat to almost having a six pack in 2months it jsut takes determination.... I eat crap i hate all day. i love carbs to deaht it is what my diet used to consist completely of now i eat maybe 30 a day max.... i hate vegetables but yet now i eat them with every meal.. jsut workout kid and youll probably get your six pack...f cardio thats not the way to a 6 pack thats the way to being 155 pounds like half the people on this website lift eat vegetable eat more protein and good fats and more often thats probably all you need. I eat more than 3000 calories and the weight is coming off to fast to be honest with you..i used to eat this much but between 3 meals of carbs with little protein and what did that get me 220 with 18% bodyfat so if you truely want a six pack and for girls to drool just read things on here and other better lifting websites which i cant say and have a little bit of will power. And im writing this while i eat a bland can of tuna which i despise which some flax oil which tastes like crap....so dont be a pussy get a six pack and then when you are done with that get some muscules