This Woman Ate A Cookie Every Day And Here's What Happened

When it comes diet fads on Instagram, we’ve pretty much seen it all: from meal prep hacks, to weight loss teas to celebs spruiking appetite suppressant lollipops (cough, Kim Kardashian) – if it promises a body transformation, there’s no doubt someone on Instagram has the pics to prove it.

Which is why we were so intrigued to stumble across this bikini selfie by Shannon Eng. The California-based fitness influencer ate a cookie every day for a week and documented what happened next – and it’s safe to say, we were pleasantly surprised. 

“Nothing really happened,” she admitted in the caption. 

“I didn’t gain weight. The only thing that happened here is that I was so excited about cookies that I perfected my booty shake.”

“Am I advocating that you eat a cookie every day?” she continued. “Maybe, if that’s your thing! Can you fit it into your macros? Absolutely! My point is this: I ate a cookie every day, it only added 130 calories per day and on a 1800 calorie/day plan it’s a very small part overall! If you ate something that’s perceived as not healthy, that’s okay! One cookie doesn’t change your diet plan all that much.”

“So can you maintain your weight or lose weight even if you eat a cookie every day? Of course, you can. Moderation and balance is key.”

Shannon also weighed in on the restrictive diets we’re used to being bombarded with on social media, and how difficult these are to maintain. 

? You’re a smart cookie, so let’s talk about cookies! And lumped into that category are all the other foods: ? , ?, ?, etc. that get a pretty bad rep. Most people tell you eating them will make you fat. And living on a diet of cookies and cookies alone won’t make for a very healthy person; you won’t be getting all of the essential nutrients your body needs, like protein, healthy fat, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. But remember that eating a single cookie once in a while won’t make you gain weight. _ So what does make you gain weight? ??‍♀️ A calorie surplus. That means eating more calories than the amount required to stay at your current body weight. When you consistently eat more than you burn, your body either builds muscle ?? or stores extra energy as fat. Having a calorie surplus + a great workout plan with both weights and cardio has helped me to store the extra calories as muscle! _ What makes you lose weight? Having a calorie deficit, meaning eating less than what’s required to maintain your current body weight. _ So how exactly do you know how many calories to maintain your current weight? Well, that’s where the TDEE comes in, abbreviated for total daily energy expenditure. That accounts for the amount of energy your body burns a day, and it also accounts for energy burned when working out. So when I say I eat 1900 calories for maintenance, that is how many calories I need to eat per day to maintain my current weight including all of the activities I do: eating, sleeping, talking, exercising, pooping, running from restrictive diets, etc. etc. ? lol _ Not sure how to get your TDEE? I have a YouTube tutorial in the bio there! _ Not sure if you should eat a cookie? No YouTube tutorial needed, you can def fit it into the macros for your day! #iifym #treatyoself #cookie #macrocounting #ifitfitsyourmacros #dietadvice #dietplan #healthymeals #healthylifestyle #eatsmarternotless #mealplan #mealprep #mealprepideas #weightlosssupport #weightlossideas #foodfacts #eatingwell

A post shared by Shannon Eng (@caligirlgetsfit) on

“They’re not sustainable,” she explained. “Let’s say that cookies are my favourite not so healthy thing to eat. And I decided to restrict myself from eating them. One day I’m just going to give into my craving or a friend is going to offer me some cookie and I’m going to go bananas and binge them!”

In short: we can all agree it’s important to eat a balanced diet – but indulging in your sweet tooth every once and a while isn’t going to do much… except potentially bring on a booty shake.

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