Negative cal foods

CJsf1t
CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am new to weight loss and MFP. While reading about nutition and calorie counting, I am frequently coming across 'superfoods' or negative cals food. Do they really work so or are they just a new fad?

Replies

  • jonathanrlewis
    jonathanrlewis Posts: 3
    Negative calorie foods refer to a food that requires more energy (calories) to digest and process than what it provides. Examples might be things like celery, lettuce and spinach. Beyond high water-weight foods I'd be wary of believing claims that eating more of anything will result in losing weight, unless you're eating more meth.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    No such thing as negative calorie foods.

    If you read some of the things on the list.....fruit....fruit is not that low calorie to begin with. Our bodies are much more efficient than that, when it comes to digestion.

    Super foods are just supposed to be really nutritious. If you like them, great, add them to your diet.
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    Ok got it thanks :)
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    No such thing as negative calorie foods.

    If you read some of the things on the list.....fruit....fruit is not that low calorie to begin with. Our bodies are much more efficient than that, when it comes to digestion.

    That is what I was wondering!
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    bcomingfitmom wrote: »
    I am new to weight loss and MFP. While reading about nutition and calorie counting, I am frequently coming across 'superfoods' or negative cals food. Do they really work so or are they just a new fad?

    Fad...

  • jklavenga
    jklavenga Posts: 8
    Good to know, as I was just handed a list of super foods for my blood type. Thank you.
  • djprice_69
    djprice_69 Posts: 115 Member
    There IS such a thing, such as celery, but you would have to eat a LOT of celery and your 'negative' effect is very, very, very small. It is akin to drinking ice water knowing that your body will burn calories just by heating the ice water up to body temperature. The effects are so minimal that it is hardly noteworthy.
    The true benefits of mixing in super foods such as celery, spinach, kale, etc, are that they're loaded with great stuff for our bodies, very low in caloric value, and tend to replace high-carb value items on your plate such as bread, potatoes, or rice. Making one or two carb-to-veggie choices per day can add up to several hundred calories per week. This is where these super-foods shine.
  • agal129
    agal129 Posts: 215 Member
    no such thing as negative food.
  • Unknown
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  • jonathanrlewis
    jonathanrlewis Posts: 3
    ChunkeeMonkee48 wrote: »
    jonathanrlewis wrote: »
    Negative calorie foods refer to a food that requires more energy (calories) to digest and process than what it provides. Examples might be things like celery, lettuce and spinach. Beyond high water-weight foods I'd be wary of believing claims that eating more of anything will result in losing weight, unless you're eating more meth.

    There is no such thing...lol...

    Thanks for the warranted, reasoned response.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited October 2014
    It's actually not true. None of the foods that are said to have negative calories actually do. This misconception comes from the fact that the body spends a certain amount of calories digesting food. Now because celery and the like are very low in calories, it was thought that the body burns it off just through digestion. This is not true. Only a certain % of the calories are burned through digestion, so even though celery is low in calories, the amount of calories burned digesting it is even smaller.

    Now certain foods do indeed use up more of the body's energy to digest, mainly protein. Fat requires the least effort and carbs fall somewhere in between. Alcohol intake with food tends to make the body work harder to digest, effectively increasing that %, but it would not be a great way to aid dieting since alcohol itself is high in calories.

    The only exception to this is ice water, but the amount is very small, not enough to make a dent in a diet.

    Really, people just like to over-complicate things and bend over backwards to burn an extra 10 or so calories somehow. Move a little more during the day and you will burn that much and more without having to be lost in details.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    jonathanrlewis wrote: »
    Negative calorie foods refer to a food that requires more energy (calories) to digest and process than what it provides.

    Sounds like that stuff could kill you


  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Doesn't exist, sorry.
  • cranberrytape
    cranberrytape Posts: 29 Member
    There is no such thing as a negative calorie food. If your body burns 1500 calories a day on its own, and then you eat 1500 calories plus 20 calories in celery, you will still gain 20 calories in fat.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    The "blood type" diet thing was debunked several years ago. No science backs it up. For good, balanced nutrition information go to Harvard School of Public Health's "NutritionSource."
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    no such thing but if you can eat enough broccoli to actually gain fat i will be impressed
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,982 Member
    People who are spouting that negative calorie foods exist aren't very well versed in physiology. ALL foods have a TEF value, so what's next..............counting net calories after TEF?
    Keep it simple. Just burn more than you consume to lose weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    It's actually not true. None of the foods that are said to have negative calories actually do. This misconception comes from the fact that the body spends a certain amount of calories digesting food. Now because celery and the like are very low in calories, it was thought that the body burns it off just through digestion. This is not true. Only a certain % of the calories are burned through digestion, so even though celery is low in calories, the amount of calories burned digesting it is even smaller.

    Now certain foods do indeed use up more of the body's energy to digest, mainly protein. Fat requires the least effort and carbs fall somewhere in between. Alcohol intake with food tends to make the body work harder to digest, effectively increasing that %, but it would not be a great way to aid dieting since alcohol itself is high in calories.

    The only exception to this is ice water, but the amount is very small, not enough to make a dent in a diet.

    Really, people just like to over-complicate things and bend over backwards to burn an extra 10 or so calories somehow. Move a little more during the day and you will burn that much and more without having to be lost in details.

    This seems reasonable! Thanks for the Information.:)

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    edited October 2014
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Really, people just like to over-complicate things and bend over backwards to burn an extra 10 or so calories somehow. Move a little more during the day and you will burn that much and more without having to be lost in details.

    Agree. We tend to over-simplify the complicated science of fat loss while at the same time overcomplicate the practice of it...

    We also tend to major in the minor...

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