Is losing weight all about keeping track of calories? What about the other things on nutrition facts?

They say the key to losing weight is just calories. Burn more than your intake and you will lose weight. So if I eat a hamburger that is 700 calories (junk food, full of fat, greasy, etc) but burn more calories than i ate at the end of the day, then i should basically lose weight still right? I am not sure how this works.

When I calculated how many calories i need to maintain weight, it said i need 2,200 calories a day to maintain weight. 1,400 to lose a lot of weight. Well it is almost the end of the day, and so far i have only eatin 530 calories. So if i ate a burger tonight and end up with 1400 calories today, wouldnt i still lose weight?

No i am not going to eat a burger btw, im going to the gym in about an hour lol. Just asking so i can make sense of this.

yes that's right. the most important thing when it comes to just losing weight is that you don't eat much and it doesn't add up to more calories than you can burn off in a day. i have lost weight eating goldfish crackers and chocolate and gained it eating (too much of) salads, broccoli, and apples.
at the same time, it's not HEALTHY. i mean yeah you can lose weight eating nothing but hamburgers and fries as long as you don't over-do it, but your heart won't be happy about it after a while, so it's really not a good idea. if you eat few calories and they're made up of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, you will not only lose weight but have energy and a pleasant mood kind of like the pleasant mood exercise can give, on a regular basis.
so basically yes you can lose weight eating junk, but it will do your body more favors to eat healthy foods instead.

The whole eating a burger tonight thing would make you gain a little bit of weight overnight, but you're right--if you were to only eat junk but in small amounts, you would lose weight. I don't eat total junk but I don't exactly eat the healthiest, and I've lost quite a bit of weight. I don't recommend it though.

yes, even if you eat junk, if your calories are under 1400 then you will lose. but there are other bad consequences, like your body doesn't get the nutrition it needs. most people underestimate their serving sizes and stuff so make sure to weigh/measure things. you should have at least 15% of your calories from oil/fat or it will be harder to lose.

Yes, you'll still lose. If someone wanted, they could basically eat nothing but chocolate and still lose ... so long as they didn't eat over their calorie allowance.

Okay, let's start with the basics:

- Yes, other nutrition info is important, BUT start with calories and work your weight up.
- If you're a girl, don't eat under 1400 calories, especially if you're under the age of 22.
- If you're a boy, stick above 1500.

First off, don't get into the whole burning calories to get a negative calorie. Not how it works.

Your body needs calories to survive. So let's say you weight 180 pounds and want to drop to 160. That's 20 pounds. Let's say you're also eating 2500 calories each day. Cut that down to 1800 calories, and you have a net loss ALREADY of 700 calories. Do that each day for 7 days, and you're up to 4900 calories that you haven't consumed. That's over a pound you've just lost!

Now, exercise is tricky. You'll build muscle, meaning you'll gain weight, but you'll lose fat. It's better, but don't think that just because you're gaining weight that it's bad.

Also with exercise, don't do the whole calorie subtract method. You know - I ate 1400 calories today and I burned 1500.

1) Not healthy - you're going to not learn the new lifestyle
2) You'll start making substitutions - "Well, since I burned 700 calories, it's okay to have that second piece of pie..."
3) You don't really get into exercise. Enjoy exercise, don't be so consumed with how many calories you just lost

Also, don't eat your calories like you have today. The biggest meal should be at the beginning, for breakfast. Unless you plan to work out at night, you don't need 700 calories before bed.