Is A Calorie Really A Calorie?
MaiLinna
Posts: 580 Member
My boyfriend and I were stating to debate the age old question: is a calorie really a calorie? In his argument, he used my body as an example. If a calorie were truly a calorie, I would have gained weight in the past month. I only logged for about a week, and prior to that I would eat whatever I wanted. It wasn't unhealthy except for the sweets, but otherwise I was eating far too many calories over maintenance.
However, because I was eating lots of fruits and vegetables and healthy fats, etc, I didn't gain weight. In fact, I was the same weight as I was before I got on the plane a month ago. (Except I probably weigh less now because when I weighed myself a day ago I was *excuse me* rather bloated, gassy, and hadn't used the restroom properly in 2 days so I was a bit backed up and may have had excess weight.)
He went on to explain that calories are energy produced when a substance is burned, and our bodies don't work quite the same way, but they are similar. He noted that my fear of calories restrains some of my healthier choices, like eating avocados or slamming down an extra banana and apple because my stomach's growling.
He believes in quality of food, not quantity. His food choices, however, are naturally pretty low in calories until he makes a stir fry. He loves sesame oil, and will easily throw down 3-4 tablespoons of the stuff. His normal day consists of: coffee with cream and sugar in the morning, a frozen burrito/samosa, a Starbucks Frapp during his work break, dinner either at home or out which will usually be a rice/asian pasta dish with vegetables and tofu, then he'll commonly have a second serving or if he's out order a couple sushi rolls, and during his after dinner 2 mile walk he'll get more Starbucks, then late at night he'll either have more dinner leftovers or cook up a plate full of rice. If he's still hungry, he'll slam half a bag of tortilla chips.
He is not the healthiest of eaters, and he always commends me on my healthy eating except for my sugar/chocolate addiction. He doesn't eat much during the day, but at night he slams it down. He's practically vegan because all he eats are rice and vegetables, but he always varies the vegetables and preaches about eating a rainbow and such.
I'm just not sure anymore. I tried to point out what he eats is normally low calorie but then he reminded me of all the junk he eats at night.
However, because I was eating lots of fruits and vegetables and healthy fats, etc, I didn't gain weight. In fact, I was the same weight as I was before I got on the plane a month ago. (Except I probably weigh less now because when I weighed myself a day ago I was *excuse me* rather bloated, gassy, and hadn't used the restroom properly in 2 days so I was a bit backed up and may have had excess weight.)
He went on to explain that calories are energy produced when a substance is burned, and our bodies don't work quite the same way, but they are similar. He noted that my fear of calories restrains some of my healthier choices, like eating avocados or slamming down an extra banana and apple because my stomach's growling.
He believes in quality of food, not quantity. His food choices, however, are naturally pretty low in calories until he makes a stir fry. He loves sesame oil, and will easily throw down 3-4 tablespoons of the stuff. His normal day consists of: coffee with cream and sugar in the morning, a frozen burrito/samosa, a Starbucks Frapp during his work break, dinner either at home or out which will usually be a rice/asian pasta dish with vegetables and tofu, then he'll commonly have a second serving or if he's out order a couple sushi rolls, and during his after dinner 2 mile walk he'll get more Starbucks, then late at night he'll either have more dinner leftovers or cook up a plate full of rice. If he's still hungry, he'll slam half a bag of tortilla chips.
He is not the healthiest of eaters, and he always commends me on my healthy eating except for my sugar/chocolate addiction. He doesn't eat much during the day, but at night he slams it down. He's practically vegan because all he eats are rice and vegetables, but he always varies the vegetables and preaches about eating a rainbow and such.
I'm just not sure anymore. I tried to point out what he eats is normally low calorie but then he reminded me of all the junk he eats at night.
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Replies
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Is an inch really an inch?0
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Yes a calorie is a calorie, a carb is a carb, a protein is a protein and a fat is a fat. Doesn't matter where they come from, chemically speaking they are identical.0
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If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.0
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Weight loss/gain-wise, yes. Nutrition-wise, no.
/thread0 -
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Use the search function and read the 2000 other threads on this. It'll save a lot of people retyping their answers0
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If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.0 -
A calorie is really just a calorie. However, they are a near limitless number of things going on inside the human body that can drastically effect what "maintenance" is.0
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If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
Are you sure about that? Or were you guys just guessing at the amount you took in? Also, it's possible your maintenance is higher than 2200.
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Calories are important and good tools of course, but I'm not so sure they're the end all be all anymore. Measuring food is inaccurate. Maybe calories aren't 100% accurate for every food in the first place.0
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The only way it makes sense is if the extra calories helped you be more active and burn even more than the extra calories. Otherwise, yeah, it doesn't make sense and about the only way that could even appear to happen is due to the short term weight fluctuations that happen no matter what. It absolutely won't happen over a longer term. Odds are overwhelming that you're just accounting incorrectly for the calories.It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
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If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
Guessing after the fact is never accurate.0 -
How do you know what you were eating if you didn't log?
A calorie is a calorie, but there is some small variation on the calorie out side of the equation depending on your macro and micro breakdowns. Ie, TEF for protein is 25% of the calories. Fiber binds to food and allows it to pass undigested through you. Some foods are less efficient at being broken down by your body then others. But, these differences are not going to allow you to "eat clean", but 250+ calories over maintenance a day. I think (If I remember correctly), we are talking under 10% difference.0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
Are you sure about that? Or were you guys just guessing at the amount you took in? Also, it's possible your maintenance is higher than 2200.
My maintenance should be 1825 give or a take a few. I had it written down in a google doc because I was (still am) obsessing over my belly. I was trying to avoid coming back to MFP because I start to obsess over EVERYTHING to the point where I can't go anywhere or do anything without my phone because I have to look up the calories over everything and check how long we've been walking and how fast and how many miles...etc. I'm trying to find a way around obsessing over this because he wants me to stop. He says it's unhealthy and I shouldn't feel bad for eating fruits and vegetables just because I didn't eat 3 packs of tofu first.0 -
While that is true that nutrition facts for what you are eating may not be that factual - the underlying principle still is.
Likely your assessment of what you used to eat isn't accurate.
But if you had a general what you'd consider a healthy diet that you'd like to maintain with - all you needed to do was pick some amount daily that you would not eat - pick 250 calories of something and leave it out.
Then you don't even need accurate numbers, you are eating less than you were that used to cause you to maintain.
In addition, if you picked some increase to your daily activity that would burn on average 250 more daily - then you could be losing about 1 lb weekly.
250 exercise isn't the amount that would likely cause many body changes, but also not that increase in weight from exercise.0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
Are you sure about that? Or were you guys just guessing at the amount you took in? Also, it's possible your maintenance is higher than 2200.
All of this.
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shadow2soul wrote: »If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
Are you sure about that? Or were you guys just guessing at the amount you took in? Also, it's possible your maintenance is higher than 2200.
My maintenance should be 1825 give or a take a few. I had it written down in a google doc because I was (still am) obsessing over my belly. I was trying to avoid coming back to MFP because I start to obsess over EVERYTHING to the point where I can't go anywhere or do anything without my phone because I have to look up the calories over everything and check how long we've been walking and how fast and how many miles...etc. I'm trying to find a way around obsessing over this because he wants me to stop. He says it's unhealthy and I shouldn't feel bad for eating fruits and vegetables just because I didn't eat 3 packs of tofu first.
How did you come up with 1825?
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Your boyfriend is saying things he wishes was the case.
You werent logging and were eating mostly high vol/weight & low calorie foods accrding to you.
The reasonable explanation for you not gaining is you weren't eating as many calories as you thought.
The alternative explanation for you maintaining despite being in a caloric surplus (belief) is you have harnessed the powers of magic/supernatural via certain foods or combinations of foods.
I cant imagine why anyone would want to believe the latter. Well, yes I can imagine why that explaination has appeal.0 -
Well if hes such a smart guy he has a bright future, can go ahead and write some papers and it will surely get him the Nobel prize for science. Lol' the validity of your data, truly test conditions.0
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shadow2soul wrote: »
This big calculator thingie on one of the other posts. Something something flat belly something. I dunno.0 -
1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.
That.0 -
Or under.1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.
That.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
Or under.1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.
That.
No way in hell. All the rice I was eating? I started logging and the amount I ate went from big plate to tiny bowl.
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Yes a calorie is a calorie sigh.....0
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shadow2soul wrote: »If you weren't logging during that period, you have no way of knowing how many calories you were eating. So the example is bad right from the beginning.
Except we went through and looked at what I was eating and it was over 2200 a day almost every day. That should have added up.
It just doesn't seem right that eating a 100 calorie snack pack over an avocado with lime juice on top is better for losing weight. I've lost 25lbs, but I lost more when I was allowing myself more calories per week and that just doesn't make sense.
Are you sure about that? Or were you guys just guessing at the amount you took in? Also, it's possible your maintenance is higher than 2200.
My maintenance should be 1825 give or a take a few. I had it written down in a google doc because I was (still am) obsessing over my belly. I was trying to avoid coming back to MFP because I start to obsess over EVERYTHING to the point where I can't go anywhere or do anything without my phone because I have to look up the calories over everything and check how long we've been walking and how fast and how many miles...etc. I'm trying to find a way around obsessing over this because he wants me to stop. He says it's unhealthy and I shouldn't feel bad for eating fruits and vegetables just because I didn't eat 3 packs of tofu first.
I understand what he's saying about 'unhealthy obsession'
If I can't go to my moms and have a coffee without measuring the cream myself......if I can't go to a restaurant with my best friend without tons of research first.....if I debate calling in sick to work because we are having a potluck lunch and learn ......then (as usual) I've crossed some line from healthy to obsessive and I need reeled back in.
If bf has noticed your tendency to obsess to the point of zapping the joy from your life, I might pay him some mind......reevaluate a bit.
Cheers.
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Then what's your explanation?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Or under.1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.
That.
No way in hell. All the rice I was eating? I started logging and the amount I ate went from big plate to tiny bowl.
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shadow2soul wrote: »
This big calculator thingie on one of the other posts. Something something flat belly something. I dunno.
Those are just a guide to start. Your supposed to start there and after a few weeks, adjust up or down as needed based on actual results. Those calculators give me a couple hundred under my maintenance unless I pick that I do more exercise than I do. For example, I'll use Scooby's Accurate Calorie Calculator:
3-5hrs a week of moderate exercise is about right for what I do
The calculator gives me 2117 for a TDEE
Based on 5lbs lost over the last 30 days:
30 Day average intake:1875
30 Day average deficit based on loss: 583.3333xxx
30 Day average TDEE = 2458
So right now my TDEE about 2458.
5-6 hrs a week of strenuous exercise on the calculator gives me: 2356
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