True or False? A Calorie is a Calorie is a Calorie.
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Don't call it a sugar calorie, call it a carb calorie. Candy bars have fat, so that's comparing bad to worse. Is a carb calorie better than a fat calorie? That depends. If it's bad fat (bacon) you risk high cholesterol. But there is good fat in lean chicken and nuts. If it's refined sugar (soda) you risk diabetes. But there is good sugar in fruit. It's all about the choices you make!
So it begs the question, is excess sugar calories better than excess fat calories? Or does the end result make no difference? I'm only asking because I wondered if there is less risk if I blow the diet and eat a candy bar instead of an extra slice of pizza. Not that I'm planning to do either one.
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I am not big on soda, but candy bars are very good
Do I have to say in moderation every time? 0 -
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A calorie is a calorie because it is a unit of measurement and nothing more
nobody asks if a centimeter is a centimeter or a kilogramme is a kilogramme, it's all just units of measurement.
It's how that calorie is obtained, used or not used that's important.
But is a unicorn a unicorn?
No apparently a unicorn is a woman who is on the 3-5 crazy scale and 9-10 hotness scale...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuI6GTY9eVc 0 -
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True and False.
True, because a calorie a unit of measure. It is a measure of the energy it provides your body. A calorie of coming from chicken doesn't have more energy than a calorie from spinach, any more than a ton of bricks weighs more than a ton of feathers.
But also false, because the sources of calories - protein, fat, carbohydrates - do serve a different purpose in the body (putting aside any argument that carbs are totally unnecessary). While you won't die if you massively restrict one two sources, you probably won't be optimally healthy either. They aren't perfectly fungible.
Ultimately, however, people who argue about whether 'a calorie is a calorie' are missing the 800lb gorilla in the room. Eat a balanced, varied diet, and consistently eat less than you need to function on an average day, and you'll lose weight and be pretty healthy. Counting calories is the easiest way to manage the latter part, but isn't essential if you can learn good portion control by eye.
Until you've learned portion control and balance, worrying about the finer points of how protein, fat, carbs are digested and metabolized is like worrying about how you'll take your little ma & pa convenience store international. Sure, maybe one day it'll be necessary knowledge for you to progress, but for now you can make real improvement through much smaller, easier steps.0 -
a calorie is a unit of measure.
If a calorie is not a calorie- than a tape measure is not equal to another tape measure. period.
Exactly my dear Watson!!
A calorie is a measurement of heat/energy needed to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. We get so wrapped up in the source of the heat that we miss the point of calorie counting and make losing weight so much more dramatic and confusing. If you 3000 kcalories made up of vegetables every day, you would gain weight.
Is a dollar still a dollar even if it's made up of 4 quarters or 10 dimes or 100 pennies? Yep!
What will make you FULL longer with eating less total calories is the trickier question.
Your friendly Dietitian0 -
A calorie is probably not just a calorie: different foods have different metabolic effects. But the information available now is so imprecise that unless you are willing undergo a strict study of your eating habits with appropriate measurements it is easier to look at overall calorie count and basic macros.0
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LOL Bailor was destroyed by the fitness commuintyprettykitty1515 wrote: »Read it and weep, calorie counters.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FviIXAvUj_U<-very educational from Layne Norton
http://ca.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding/why-calories-count-2.html
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One review ( quick google ) http://carbsanity.blogspot.com/2012/07/is-it-possible-smarter-science-worse.htmlprettykitty1515 wrote: »Read it and weep, calorie counters.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/00622673370 -
True, all calories are the same, but it's the other stuff sugar, fat etc that will make 100calories of broccoli and 100calories of candy different. At least, that's what I heard.0
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Yes. I agree. Macro and micronutrients are different depending on the food. I like to eat a variety of foods. I try to keep the calorie dense foods in moderationNikkiBubbleGum wrote: »True, all calories are the same, but it's the other stuff sugar, fat etc that will make 100calories of broccoli and 100calories of candy different. At least, that's what I heard.
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johnnylakis wrote: »
Don't call it a sugar calorie, call it a carb calorie. Candy bars have fat, so that's comparing bad to worse. Is a carb calorie better than a fat calorie? That depends. If it's bad fat (bacon) you risk high cholesterol. But there is good fat in lean chicken and nuts. If it's refined sugar (soda) you risk diabetes. But there is good sugar in fruit. It's all about the choices you make!
So it begs the question, is excess sugar calories better than excess fat calories? Or does the end result make no difference? I'm only asking because I wondered if there is less risk if I blow the diet and eat a candy bar instead of an extra slice of pizza. Not that I'm planning to do either one.
This thread is dying for a Mean Girls quote.0 -
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I like. Especially the part where they show that an updated version of one of the book's "sources" completely contradicts the whole premise.
One review ( quick google ) http://carbsanity.blogspot.com/2012/07/is-it-possible-smarter-science-worse.htmlprettykitty1515 wrote: »Read it and weep, calorie counters.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337
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This thread is dying for a Mean Girls quote.Gretchen: Why should Caesar just get to stomp around like a giant while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar, right? Brutus is just as smart as Caesar, people totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar, and when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody because that's not what Rome is about! We should totally just STAB CAESAR!
Is butter a carb?0 -
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I've loved reading all of these posts and spent years arguing that a calorie was indeed NOT a calorie. Seems silly now. MACROS!!!!! You all are awesome and have given me something to chew that won't cause weight gain! WOoOoOoOOHOOOOoOoOoO!
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I believe a calorie is a calorie however how and/or if your body absorbs them should maybe be taken into consideration. Saying all calories are the same is a bit misleading. I know (for me) what I eat affects how my body looks and how I feel (bloating, fatigue, etc.). Yup I lost weight eating whatever I wanted BUT to get the flatter tummy and lose those last few pounds, it was all about the type of food I was eating.
Here is a brief summery of an article I found in regards to this.
"In Brief. Almost every packaged food today features calorie counts in its label. Most of these counts are inaccurate because they are based on a system of averages that ignores the complexity of digestion.
Recent research reveals that how many calories we extract from food depends on which species we eat, how we prepare our food, which bacteria are in our gut and how much energy we use to digest different foods.
Current calorie counts do not consider any of these factors. Digestion is so intricate that even if we try to improve calorie counts, we will likely never make them perfectly accurate."
If you want to read the full article this is it. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-reveals-why-calorie-counts-are-all-wrong/0 -
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Digestion is part of the outside of the energy balance equation and where most people get side tracked because it's not as simple as calorie counting what you eat, we basically can be fairly accurate. Everyone's body will metabolize, digest and burn calories differently based on their lifestyle and genetics with individual hormonal balances thrown in to confuse the issue further and for this reason trying to examine how calories are utilized on the outside of the EBE is frustrating and why people believe a calorie isn't a calorie.....well, they're just confusing 2 totally different issues and this argument will never end, e.v.e.r.I believe a calorie is a calorie however how and/or if your body absorbs them should maybe be taken into consideration. Saying all calories are the same is a bit misleading. I know (for me) what I eat affects how my body looks and how I feel (bloating, fatigue, etc.). Yup I lost weight eating whatever I wanted BUT to get the flatter tummy and lose those last few pounds, it was all about the type of food I was eating.
Here is a brief summery of an article I found in regards to this.
"In Brief. Almost every packaged food today features calorie counts in its label. Most of these counts are inaccurate because they are based on a system of averages that ignores the complexity of digestion.
Recent research reveals that how many calories we extract from food depends on which species we eat, how we prepare our food, which bacteria are in our gut and how much energy we use to digest different foods.
Current calorie counts do not consider any of these factors. Digestion is so intricate that even if we try to improve calorie counts, we will likely never make them perfectly accurate."
If you want to read the full article this is it. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-reveals-why-calorie-counts-are-all-wrong/
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a calorie is a unit of energy ..eat too much, gain weight; eat too little, lose weight; eat at maintenance and you maintain…
from a weight loss standpoint quality of calorie does not matter…
unless of course one has some kind of medical condition ..
and in…because these threads are always fun ...0
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