#11: Eating Unhealthily Whilst On Calorie Deficit

If you are in a caloric deficit, regardless of the type of food you’re eating, you will most likely lose weight. This was already tested with the infamous ‘Twinkie Diet’ that saw nutrition professor Mark Haub lose 12 kg in 10 weeks munching on Twinkies every three hours but limiting himself to 1,800 calories per day (prior to that he consumed 2,600 calories).

Regardless, some experts - and I count myself among them - believed that things are a little more nuanced than that.

People find it easier to create and maintain a calorie deficit if they eat certain foods. For example, some foods make you feel more full than others. That feeling of fullness is called “satiety.”

Protein and fiber tend to make you feel full. And when you feel full, you're less likely to eat extra food you weren't planning to eat.

Six hundred calories of pizza is not very satiating. You'd feel fuller if you ate 600 calories of chicken breast, sweet potatoes and vegetables.

That said, calories are not the be-all, end-all. Your body needs other things from food, like protein, vitamins, and minerals. A typical greasy pepperoni pizza doesn't have a lot of those essential nutrients. So sure, you might lose weight eating 600 calories of pizza for dinner every day, but you likely won't be getting enough important nutrients, and your body will suffer a bit.

Not to mention, your body will probably cry out in agony for starving itself through the consumption of empty calories with absolutely no nutritional value. The same reason why Haub discontinued his Twinkie Diet.

In conclusion, I suppose you could snag in the occasional treat every now and then. So long as it is every now and then. I mean, we have to live a little, don’t we? But for Heaven’s sake, please don’t download a calorie counter and fill it with junk food. In the end, I believe it may have potentially dire consequences on your health.