Calorie Prioritization - Yes, a calorie is a calorie….

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Seeing the whole calorie is not a calorie thing come up a few times in this forum, so just wanted to lay out some thoughts on the subject for everyone.

From an energy standpoint, all calories are created equally; however, this does not mean that all calories are nutritionally the same.

So while 100 calories of carrots = 100 calories of cookies from an energy standpoint, they are not nutritionally the same.

What this means when one is bulking is that one should prioritize calorie intake into three tiers.

Tier One = make sure that you eat nutritionally dense foods like vegetables, fish, rice, etc, so that one gets adequate micronutrients (nutrition)
Tier Two = deals with macronutrients and making sure that one is hitting protein and fat minimums.
tier three = filling in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods to make sure that one is getting into a caloric surplus. The recommendation is that after one gets micronutrients and protein and fat minimums, that the rest of your day should be filled in with carbs.

So over the course of the day one should be meeting micronutrient goals, hitting macronutrients, and then fill in with calorie dense foods to get into a surplus.

This does NOT mean that I am saying eat 2500 calories of pizza or donuts, as it would then be impossible to get adequate nutrition and hit macros.

enjoy the bulking!
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Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Seeing the whole calorie is not a calorie thing come up a few times in this forum, so just wanted to lay out some thoughts on the subject for everyone.

    From an energy standpoint, all calories are created equally; however, this does not mean that all calories are nutritionally the same.

    So while 100 calories of carrots = 100 calories of cookies from an energy standpoint, they are not nutritionally the same.

    What this means when one is bulking is that one should prioritize calorie intake into three tiers.

    Tier One = make sure that you eat nutritionally dense foods like vegetables, fish, rice, etc, so that one gets adequate micronutrients (nutrition)
    Tier Two = deals with macronutrients and making sure that one is hitting protein and fat minimums.
    tier three = filling in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods to make sure that one is getting into a caloric surplus. The recommendation is that after one gets micronutrients and protein and fat minimums, that the rest of your day should be filled in with carbs.

    So over the course of the day one should be meeting micronutrient goals, hitting macronutrients, and then fill in with calorie dense foods to get into a surplus.

    This does NOT mean that I am saying eat 2500 calories of pizza or donuts, as it would then be impossible to get adequate nutrition and hit macros.

    enjoy the bulking!

    That makes me sad...



    But good post.

  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    Excellent points!! Can we also make the point that, no matter how you look at it...one pound of anything DOES weigh exactly the same as one pound of anything else? That argument just drives me NUTS!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Seeing the whole calorie is not a calorie thing come up a few times in this forum, so just wanted to lay out some thoughts on the subject for everyone.

    From an energy standpoint, all calories are created equally; however, this does not mean that all calories are nutritionally the same.

    So while 100 calories of carrots = 100 calories of cookies from an energy standpoint, they are not nutritionally the same.

    What this means when one is bulking is that one should prioritize calorie intake into three tiers.

    Tier One = make sure that you eat nutritionally dense foods like vegetables, fish, rice, etc, so that one gets adequate micronutrients (nutrition)
    Tier Two = deals with macronutrients and making sure that one is hitting protein and fat minimums.
    tier three = filling in the rest of your day with calorie dense foods to make sure that one is getting into a caloric surplus. The recommendation is that after one gets micronutrients and protein and fat minimums, that the rest of your day should be filled in with carbs.

    So over the course of the day one should be meeting micronutrient goals, hitting macronutrients, and then fill in with calorie dense foods to get into a surplus.

    This does NOT mean that I am saying eat 2500 calories of pizza or donuts, as it would then be impossible to get adequate nutrition and hit macros.

    enjoy the bulking!

    That makes me sad...



    But good post.

    ha! well I am not saying that you could not do that…. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    Excellent points!! Can we also make the point that, no matter how you look at it...one pound of anything DOES weigh exactly the same as one pound of anything else? That argument just drives me NUTS!

    In the argument of calorie prioritizing, this doesnt matter or even relate.


    One thing i would probably add to the discussion at hand is the various effects of macronutrients

    Protein - aids in muscle development, increases satiety and high thermal effect of food (aka - increased calories burned through metabolism)

    Fats - aids in hormone regulation, and can increase satiety in some people (low TEF)

    Carbs - provides energy, creates anitcabolic environment to promote muscle growth, and moderate TEF.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
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    Excellent post
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Nice.

    I still started my day with a Dulce De Leche doughnut though. Hope I'm doing it right.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    good advice all around, not just for bulking. Well stated.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Where do fruits and vegetables sit on this ranking? Sure they are carbs but does it make a difference if the carb budget is filled with doughnuts instead of salads?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Where do fruits and vegetables sit on this ranking? Sure they are carbs but does it make a difference if the carb budget is filled with doughnuts instead of salads?

    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Seeing the whole calorie is not a calorie thing come up a few times in this forum, so just wanted to lay out some thoughts on the subject for everyone.

    From an energy standpoint, all calories are created equally; however, this does not mean that all calories are nutritionally the same.

    So while 100 calories of carrots = 100 calories of cookies from an energy standpoint, they are not nutritionally the same.

    What this means when one is bulking is that one should prioritize calorie intake into three tiers.

    Tier One = make sure that you eat nutritionally dense foods like vegetables, fish, rice, etc, so that one gets adequate micronutrients (nutrition)

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    AAha. Got it. My priority is protein first (and fat seems to come along for the ride), carbs from veggies, then everything else. I love my carbs so I never have trouble fitting them in.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Seems like reasonable advice for those trying to lose or maintain as well (except for the surplus). cheers. Good thread.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Where do fruits and vegetables sit on this ranking? Sure they are carbs but does it make a difference if the carb budget is filled with doughnuts instead of salads?

    that would be included in tier one as one gets micronutreints from vegetables and fruits...
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Great post! It's my opinion that most people over exaggerate their micronutrient "needs."
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I agree that micro-nutrients, as long as we're eating a balanced diet, tend to find their way all on their own. Because I had Bariatric surgery however, absorption of micro-nutrients is a concern. I had a NSV victory last week. My nails got overly long without splitting or peeling. They are noticeably stronger than a month ago. My new supplement regimen is working!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    I agree that micro-nutrients, as long as we're eating a balanced diet, tend to find their way all on their own. Because I had Bariatric surgery however, absorption of micro-nutrients is a concern. I had a NSV victory last week. My nails got overly long without splitting or peeling. They are noticeably stronger than a month ago. My new supplement regimen is working!

    congrats!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    bumping because I can ….
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
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    This post makes me happy :)
  • JoshLibby
    JoshLibby Posts: 214 Member
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    It's funny that you think you're getting all your nutritional needs when most of the time you're getting upwards to 1000 calories from alcohol and food with high sugar. Hard to take what you say serious when you don't practice what you preach at all. Nice journal.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    JoshLibby wrote: »
    It's funny that you think you're getting all your nutritional needs when most of the time you're getting upwards to 1000 calories from alcohol and food with high sugar. Hard to take what you say serious when you don't practice what you preach at all. Nice journal.

    so now we are diary shaming?

    that is funny coming from someone with a closed diary.

    and if you are looking at Thanksgiving weekend, yea, my macros and micros were off, but I am not worried about a few days here and there...







  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited November 2015
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    It's funny that you think you're getting all your nutritional needs when most of the time you're getting upwards to 1000 calories from alcohol and food with high sugar. Hard to take what you say serious when you don't practice what you preach at all. Nice journal.

    so now we are diary shaming?

    that is funny coming from someone with a closed diary.

    and if you are looking at Thanksgiving weekend, yea, my macros and micros were off, but I am not worried about a few days here and there...







    Only 1000?? Lightweight. I had that much alcohol and pie before 3 pm this weekend.

    Of course, only a fool would take a couple days over a holiday, and assume one eats like that every day.