Nutrition question regarding calories and losing weight

This has got reality show (and heartburn) written all over it!

Would you maintain your weight? Sure. Would you maintain your health?...methinks not.

You know, now that you mention it, I thought there was some show about 30 days eating McDonalds. But I didn't see it so not sure what it was about, whether it was about losing weight or heart attack or what.

A documentary called Fast Food Nation.  The guy ended up with a lot of potential health problems.

There's an alternate film where somebody ate McDonald's for an extended period of time while watching calories and lost weight without any health issues.

Do you know what it is called?

I wish I did. It obviously got less press than Supersize Me.

Of course, it was SuperSize Me, not Fast Food Nation (now, I can't remember what that one was about).  Ignore my post above.  If I remember correctly, the guy ate all McDonalds for 30 days and gained weight and became very tired.  He was monitored by a doctor throughout the experiment and the doctor advised him to stop because of health concerns.

I would be interested in knowing what the other movie was.  The one where the person did not develop health issues.  If you remember the name of it, let us know. 

Not sure it was made into a film, but here is a story about the guy - lost 15 pounds.  Was apparently covered by today show and Rachael Ray

Thanks for the link. 15lbs in 30 days is not bad. He looks great.

Simple weight loss is simple: take in fewer calories than you expend. Really. That's it. Yes, you can eat only big macs. You could eat straight up lard out of a tub or on a popsicle stick or blended up like a smoothie. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you WILL lose weight (barring some fairly rare medical disorder).

Problem is, our bodies are nowhere near simple. Healthy eating is very, very different than simply eating fewer calories than you burn. Balancing fat, carbs, and protein, getting appropriate nutrients in appropriate quantities, and...oh yeah...being willing to shove whatever it is you are trying to consume past your taste buds all factor in to our eating.

That said, when I set out to lose 50 pounds (which I did in about 11 months), I found out that I could quite comfortably have a Wendy's cheeseburger and fries. I had to be diligent about what else I ate that day, particularly in sat fat consumption, but I had no problem downing one every week or so and still lost about a pound a week. And I can just about say that I was on the Wendy's every day forever plan, since that was far and away my former spouse's go-to choice for calorie consumption any time of day or night. I thanked my lucky stars on a regular basis that at least she was obsessed with a fast food place that had healthy stuff, too.