Not all food is created equal, right?

So, when you're trying to lose weight, everyone always talks about the importance of the quality of the food you take in, right? Like, don't eat refined sugars, white rice, and white flour, and sweets and goodies and whatnot, right?

I mean, I make a real effort and have totally revamped much of the way I eat because I want to be healthier and I want to lose weight. I always thought the two goals were interconnected.

Until I read about this guy. I mean, a Twinkie diet. Could anything be worse for you? NO redeeming nutritional value whatsoever, right? As refined a carbohydrate as you can get.

That's when I started thinking more about the total number of calories I was eating. I had been following the ideas of eating more vegetables and lean protein and nuts. The hubs and I try to eat a Paleo diet or Zone Diet plus dairy. (Plus plenty of donuts to just even things out, ya know?) And I thought that on that plan, even though I wasn't watching how many calories a day I was getting, I'd be golden in the weight loss department.

Oh contraire. I was still not losing weight, really. It was that Twinkie guy that made realize that it's legit to count calories. Sure, not all foods are created equal. The Twinkie diet is plain stupid for your health. But it does work for weight loss (or at least it did for him) because of the restriction on calories.

So, no. Don't go do the Twinkie Diet. But do go out and eat healthy foods while restricting calories. That way you can lose weight AND you can enjoy the many, many, many health benefits from eating foods that give you the nutrients your body needs to function, prevent cancer, feel good, regulate your insulin, protect your fertility, live longer, etc.

Now if I could just kill the cravings for donuts, I'd really be golden...