My GM died at 39 around 1945. She was a large lady and had huge legs swollen from edema. She looked uncomfortable and I am almost sure this woman never sat down a moment in her life. My GF was a very slight man. Obviously he would eat the same things she did that she cooked for them.

Originally Posted by Mad Donnelly:
I actually think I end up eating less volume if I eat something which fills me up quickly and keeps me feeling sated longer by not pinging my blood sugar. And the calculating thing is exactly why the answer of calories in, calories out will always be debated. For you, it's soothing. For others, like me, it's soul killing and plays with my head. So I really have no idea calorie wise what I usually eat.

I believe, but have no empirical proof, that eating healthier will translate to the body finding an equilibrium of a healthy weight. Now, it may not be the weight we WANT; but most of us are usually guilty of wanting a too-slim shape anyway. I am still trying to prove this, though, as I still have a bit too much actual fat. I keep saying I need to tone -- and one of these days I will -- which is probably what will eventually do it for me as I have stopped losing and can't seem to jumpstart it again quite yet.

You may be surprised to find out that the intuitive eating methods would agree with this theory :)

Originally Posted by hhm6:
I guess I am a little confused, but why did the Twinkie diet work if it wasn't just calories in and calories out?

I always gain when I eat more processed food of the same calories but I always figured it was because of the high salt and carbs which hold onto water. I always thought this was true, but literally my friends at the gym literally just convinced me of calories in vs calories out and I feel like I just wrapped my head around that, but apparently it isn't true anymore?

I guess I'm just feeling out of it because I started cooking on my own recently and I eat fairly clean but my weight has been going up and it's a little depressing! I felt like my lean cuisine and diet soda worked a lot better but I know it isn't the ideal situation at all, blah.

If you lost more w/ diet sodas & Lean Cuisines it was probably because you had less calorie "play." When you cook your own meals, it's much more difficult to calculate the calories, and the temptation is there to eat more. If you eat pre-packaged meals, your portion is your portion, so there's less of a temptation to pick, taste, add a second helping to your plate, etc.

I am not a proponent of pre-packaged meals, but I can see why people use them, and to be honest, if someone is obese and needs to get some weight off quickly, it's better for them to go the pre-packaged route initially than to keep the weight on, IMHO.