Why healthy eating is not recommended?

[JohnDoe40]

The advice I see here seems to strongly sway towards eating a caloric deficit but not so much for eating healthier. For me eating healthier makes me eat less and keeps me fuller for longer plus its good for your since it has all those nutrients your body needs. So why isn't health eating recommended over "if it fits in your caloric budget then eat it".

[ClenTrenAnavar9]

The advice I see here seems to strongly sway towards eating a caloric deficit but not so much for eating healthier. For me eating healthier makes me eat less and keeps me fuller for longer plus its good for your since it has all those nutrients your body needs. So why isn't health eating recommended over "if it fits in your caloric budget then eat it".

Eat healthy is great for getting shredded but not all healthy foods are low in calories for example nuts, cooking oil, natty peanut butter and salmon are all healthy foods that are good for you but those foods are also high in calories so if you eat too much of those foods its going to be difficult for you to get shredded.

The same rule apply to junkfood there are some junkfood that are low in calories for example ice cream, mini pizzas, potatoes chips.

Ultimately the best way for you to get shredded is to find a nutrition plan that you can stick to forever and if that means have alittle bit of junkfood on your nutrition plan to make it easier for you to be shredded year round than that great.

[TolerantLactose]

The advice I see here seems to strongly sway towards eating a caloric deficit but not so much for eating healthier. For me eating healthier makes me eat less and keeps me fuller for longer plus its good for your since it has all those nutrients your body needs. So why isn't health eating recommended over "if it fits in your caloric budget then eat it".

Healthy eating and eating for fat loss are two different things. The recommendation isn't against healthy eating. It's focusing on what matters for a very specific goal.

[AdamWW]

The advice I see here seems to strongly sway towards eating a caloric deficit but not so much for eating healthier. For me eating healthier makes me eat less and keeps me fuller for longer plus its good for your since it has all those nutrients your body needs. So why isn't health eating recommended over "if it fits in your caloric budget then eat it".

The two concepts don't need to be mutually exclusive, and I suppose we generally assume most people know that it's bad to be eating 90% crappy food...

I guess it should be second nature (I hope) to eat a primarily whole foods, nutrient-dense diet while also eating in an energy deficit if the goal is weight loss.

[air2fakie]

Because this is the "Losing Fat" forum.

[CommitmentRulz]

The advice I see here seems to strongly sway towards eating a caloric deficit but not so much for eating healthier.

Because you can get FAT while eating "healthy".

[happy06maker]

It depends on your priorities. Being leaner and shredded then, definitely eat healthy.

[MrCarrot]

It depends on your priorities. Being leaner and shredded then, definitely eat healthy.

Being lean and shredded isn't much to do with eating healthy, it's to do with being in a calorific deficit.

I would suggest the reason people say not to eat healthy, is because your average person thinks that eating healthy involves living off plain chicken breast, brown rice and vegetables, and never eating McDonalds (or whatever "unhealthy" food you love). Which isn't sustainable long term, and isn't required to build muscle or lose fat.

[Tommy W.]

It depends on your priorities. Being leaner and shredded then, definitely eat healthy.

My buddy I used to train with was in just incredible shape and ate at McDonalds every day for lunch so there's that....
Get in your protein and hit your calorie target and you're good to go.

[MTCC]

From what I've seen on this sub, the majority of people giving advice are incredibly disciplined and have their lifestyle diet dialed in. They've devoted a lot of focus and dedication to this and in turn, its yielded a diet that allows them to eat whatever they want and maintain a desired level of leanness. They have a very clear understanding of portions and their bodies in general.

With that being said, for the average person coming on here who struggles losing weight, finding a lifestyle diet, and looking for general advice. My personal opinion for advice that should be given would be different. I would never just blindly say, "eat whatever you want as long as it fits your caloric goals", not because it is incorrect, but because that statement is wayyyy to clumsy and is often interpreted much differently than its intent. What has worked for me in finding the balance is:

1. Figure out the foods you enjoy, write them down
2. Of the foods you enjoy, find staples for protein, carbs/fiber, and fat that your body works well with and contain a variety of micro nutrients
3. Figure out a rough estimate of the portions of these you need to get enough protein/cals each day
4. Now the most difficult and important part, be consistent
5. Tinker diet, repeat step 4

Losing fat is more psychology than anything in my opinion. Every day you need to have an intention to control portions and be mindful of portions with whatever it is you're eating.

If you're looking to get lean, this will generally result in about 85+% of your diet being "healthy" foods.

[dexter249]

The advice I see here seems to strongly sway towards eating a caloric deficit but not so much for eating healthier. For me eating healthier makes me eat less and keeps me fuller for longer plus its good for your since it has all those nutrients your body needs. So why isn't health eating recommended over "if it fits in your caloric budget then eat it".

I don’t think anyone is saying this. What people might say is CICO calories in/calories out. That ultimately is what affects weight to a larger degree; however, that doesn’t mean it is healthy. A diverse diet with micronutrients is healthy but if you eat it in a surplus you will gain weight. As you pointed out many healthier foods tend to less calorie dense and filling, which is helpful so you don’t feel like you are starving all the time, but it is nice to have the flexibility to eat some of the foods you like as well for compliance.