Are all calories created equal?
NA1979
Posts: 223 Member
Hello everyone, I'm sure this has been answered a million times before, but is a calorie a calorie? Would I lose the same weight eating 2000kcal of burger king a day compared to 2000kcal of healthy foods?
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Replies
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Yes but you would not feel as good. You would probably have more cravings and not have the same energy then if you ate a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables not only fried potatoes.0
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You may want to check out the Nutrition and Fitness Debate area -- we've discussed this a great deal over there.0
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Yes - you would lose the same amount of "weight."
It's all about calories for weight loss. Healthy vs. not is about ....health. When you reduce the number of calories you eat, it's important to make more of them count.
Calories that "count" keep me full, provide protein and/or healthy fats. Calories that count provide fiber and micronutrients. A decent amount of protein is one of the things that helps me keep existing lean muscle mass (while eating at a deficit). I want fat loss, not just weight loss.
I don't have to be perfect to lose weight, but I do need improvements. I still make room for treats, but I'm mindful to get protein, fats and fiber in my daily diet. If it fits your macros is popular around here.0 -
I lost over 50lbs eating fast food 2-3 times a week, gobs of frozen 'diet' dinners, snacks/sweet treats, diet coke by the gallon etc. But along with all of that, I also eat my veggies, whole grains, fish, nuts etc. Pretty much-I eat everything I like and I haven't cut any foods I enjoy out.
Besides losing the extra weight I also improved my blood panels across the board, including getting my glucose number from the pre-diabetic range, down to the normal range (2012 it was creeping into the high teens/since 2013 it's been in the 80s). My cholesterol numbers are pretty fantastic as well.
I've been maintaining the loss now for a while too (with some bumps in the road here and there, but overall doing good/current bmi is 21.5). My doctor is happy with where I'm at and she's told me to keep doing what I'm doing
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A calorie is a measureable unit.
It can differ no more than an inch can.0 -
Hey NA1979, please read the book "Always Hungry?" by Dr. David Ludwig. He explains what our bodies do with a calorie of fat, a calorie of protein, and a calorie of carbohydrate. Good Luck!0
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I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?0
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I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Depending on what you mean by "dirty," we have members here who regularly eat foods that are labeled as "dirty" and have bodies that are incredible.
I don't think you can tell by looking at someone's body whether they eat "clean" or not.0 -
I'll have a quick look @vikinglander0
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janejellyroll wrote: »I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Depending on what you mean by "dirty," we have members here who regularly eat foods that are labeled as "dirty" and have bodies that are incredible.
I don't think you can tell by looking at someone's body whether they eat "clean" or not.
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!0 -
Hello everyone, I'm sure this has been answered a million times before, but is a calorie a calorie? Would I lose the same weight eating 2000kcal of burger king a day compared to 2000kcal of healthy foods?
"Burger King" is pretty ambiguous. What are you ordering for those 2,000 calories?0 -
This question is a lot like "which weighs more, 100 pounds of bricks or a 100 pounds of feathers?"0
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janejellyroll wrote: »I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Depending on what you mean by "dirty," we have members here who regularly eat foods that are labeled as "dirty" and have bodies that are incredible.
I don't think you can tell by looking at someone's body whether they eat "clean" or not.
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
I think you mean decent macros and progressive lifting routines. Diet can impact a person's body composition, but not because a calorie is a calorie or eating clean gives better results. Your body doesn't care if the protein came from McD's or a homemade burger as long as you're getting enough and doing some kind of resistance work to preserve the muscle.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Depending on what you mean by "dirty," we have members here who regularly eat foods that are labeled as "dirty" and have bodies that are incredible.
I don't think you can tell by looking at someone's body whether they eat "clean" or not.
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
No, I don't think that's it at all. These people track their intake (that is, eat at a deficit to lose weight or eat as much as they burn to maintain their weight) and tend to be really into fitness (resistance training especially). They aren't lucky -- they just understand that "clean" and "dirty" are pretty meaningless designations for food. We have macronutrient goals we have to meet -- that is important. But "clean" versus "dirty" doesn't mean much.
If I eat too much sweet potato (that is, if it puts me over my calorie goals), it's going to impact me just as it would if I eat too many french fries. And, as long as my nutritional needs are met, my body isn't going to look better just because I don't eat certain things.0 -
Very interesting to gauge people's opinions on this!0
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I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Would all equivalent calorie intakes have equivalent results? No. Eating the same macros would have virtually identical results though. Hormonal reaction to fast food and "healthy" food of a similar macronutritent profile is more alike than the macros of the food used:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-fast-food-meal.html/
All calories are equal in the same way all inches are equal. Not all foods, nor macros are the same, however, particularly in terms of composition influence.0 -
Yes, a calorie is a calorie. This has nothing to do with the nutrition of individual items though.
And I wish I had good genetics. Lol0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Depending on what you mean by "dirty," we have members here who regularly eat foods that are labeled as "dirty" and have bodies that are incredible.
I don't think you can tell by looking at someone's body whether they eat "clean" or not.
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
Very few people have a large difference in their basal metabolic rate. 96% of people fall within less than +/-300 calories of that average, and that's 96% of all adults, men, women, tall, short. Most differences in weight come down to activity and calories in.0 -
Hello everyone, I'm sure this has been answered a million times before, but is a calorie a calorie? Would I lose the same weight eating 2000kcal of burger king a day compared to 2000kcal of healthy foods?
Yes, basically, but that doesn't mean a food is a food or that protein is a carb, of course. People pretend to misunderstand this all the time, in order to confuse the discussion.
As others have said, a calorie is a unit of energy, and how many you take in (and your body can actually access) vs. how many you use (calories out) will determine whether you add or subtract from your overall mass.
There are important differences in nutrition and macros (a diet very low in essential fats or protein is going to kill you over time, but of course almost no one is a society with access to food is going to accidentally have such a diet, even if they eat all BK, which has lots of fat and protein available). A bigger grey area is that protein intake could affect whether you lose more fat or more muscle, although other factors (how much fat you have, how big your deficit it, whether you are active/doing strength training) are going to make more of a difference, especially if you have a normal protein intake (i.e., within a broad range).
Also, what you eat can make it harder or easier to stick to 2000 (or whatever), although IMO that's a separate issue from the question you asked.
There are small differences in the amount we burn digesting and using calories (added to calories out), but in comparing normal diets with mixed macros, that won't make much of a difference. I think meat, higher fiber foods, nuts are some foods that are possibly overstated in how many calories they have or which at least some people tend to obtain fewer calories from them (there's a variation on this, but it has to do with obtaining fewer calories than the max, not more than. Foods can't magically be more fattening than the number of calories they contain, as when people claim they'd gain weight on 1200 calories of cookies. They'd be unhealthy, but lose.)
Arguably, it's easier to overestimate calories if eating lots of low cal and filling foods and easier to underestimate when eating lots of less filling high cal stuff, especially things from restaurants or made by others -- I think this is one part of why people sometimes do better switching away from lots of cookies and cakes and restaurant food (although simply not being able to stick to the deficit is likely a bigger part).0 -
Everyone who has responded to me certainly knows what they are talking about, everything sounds plausible and everyone is very knowledgeable!0
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I suppose though, although a calorie is a calorie, depending on what look you go for aesthetically, surely it must matter, if I wanted to lean out to say 10% bodyfat looking like a muscular athlete, than the type of food I eat should matter or shouldn't it? So someone who worked out and ate clean, would they look any different from someone who worked out and ate dirty but the same calories?
Nope. If you eat at a deficit, your body fat % will go down. Anyone with a low body fat % will look muscular, even if they're not particularly strong.
A calorie is a calorie for weight loss. But they can be quite different for things like how bloated you get, how hungry or satisfied you are throughout the day, which nutrients you get, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc.
I could lose weight and get down to 10% body fat eating nothing but Snickers Bars (In theory). Of course I'd be hungry and miserable all the time because that volume of food wouldn't be satisfying or filling enough to me.
I don't eat veggies because they're "clean" I eat them because they have nutrients I need and they fill me up without using up my daily calories.0 -
Here's the thing about
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
Here's the thing about metabolism... The more you weigh, the faster it is. You want to speed it up? Gain weight. It doesn't matter if it is from fat or muscle. This is the reason why it gets harder to lose weight near the end of your goal. You have to eat even less or work harder.0 -
Hello everyone, I'm sure this has been answered a million times before, but is a calorie a calorie? Would I lose the same weight eating 2000kcal of burger king a day compared to 2000kcal of healthy foods?
Also, once that burger is down you're going to be hungry again cause you ate the bun and the carbs and the calorie count of that burger is probably going to be more than half of what you can have in a whole day? So.....what do you think now? I heard on TV recently that if you eat 80% food-that-your=body-knows-what-it-is and 20% indulgences, then you're doing pretty good.0 -
Here's the thing about
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
Here's the thing about metabolism... The more you weigh, the faster it is. You want to speed it up? Gain weight. It doesn't matter if it is from fat or muscle. This is the reason why it gets harder to lose weight near the end of your goal. You have to eat even less or work harder.
I don't think that is true. My metabolism was faster when I was younger. Now that I'm 67, it takes me 4 hours to metabolize a little Benadryl tablet (I know when it starts cause it begins to make me sleepy). Years ago, I'd get sleepy at 30 min and I weighed 80 pounds less.0 -
Here's the thing about
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
Here's the thing about metabolism... The more you weigh, the faster it is. You want to speed it up? Gain weight. It doesn't matter if it is from fat or muscle. This is the reason why it gets harder to lose weight near the end of your goal. You have to eat even less or work harder.
If you're a man, then you've got it over all us ladies. God designed it so that it's harder for us to lose weight cause he thinks we gotta keep from starving just in case we have a baby. Yea, us...sigh...0 -
Here's the thing about
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
Here's the thing about metabolism... The more you weigh, the faster it is. You want to speed it up? Gain weight. It doesn't matter if it is from fat or muscle. This is the reason why it gets harder to lose weight near the end of your goal. You have to eat even less or work harder.
I don't think that is true. My metabolism was faster when I was younger. Now that I'm 67, it takes me 4 hours to metabolize a little Benadryl tablet (I know when it starts cause it begins to make me sleepy). Years ago, I'd get sleepy at 30 min and I weighed 80 pounds less.
You're confusing absorptive processes with energy metabolism.
You might have a lower metabolism now than at a younger age but it would be based on total lean body mass and, yes, weight - not on how fast you absorb diphenhydramine.
Because of your age, you should not be using this drug, please discuss with your physician at the earliest possible date for a different antihistamine. It is on the Beers List.0 -
Hello everyone, I'm sure this has been answered a million times before, but is a calorie a calorie? Would I lose the same weight eating 2000kcal of burger king a day compared to 2000kcal of healthy foods?
Also, once that burger is down you're going to be hungry again cause you ate the bun and the carbs and the calorie count of that burger is probably going to be more than half of what you can have in a whole day? So.....what do you think now? I heard on TV recently that if you eat 80% food-that-your=body-knows-what-it-is and 20% indulgences, then you're doing pretty good.
I find a burger fills me up quite nicely. Your blanket statement is not true for everyone.
Also, you body knows what all the foods it ingests are.Here's the thing about
Damn them people and their good genetics and fast metabolisms!
Here's the thing about metabolism... The more you weigh, the faster it is. You want to speed it up? Gain weight. It doesn't matter if it is from fat or muscle. This is the reason why it gets harder to lose weight near the end of your goal. You have to eat even less or work harder.
I don't think that is true. My metabolism was faster when I was younger. Now that I'm 67, it takes me 4 hours to metabolize a little Benadryl tablet (I know when it starts cause it begins to make me sleepy). Years ago, I'd get sleepy at 30 min and I weighed 80 pounds less.
The pharmacokinetic properties of a drug has nothing to do with dietary related metabolism.0 -
This all sounds far too complicated for a casual website.
From a straight thermodynamic perspective, yes, a calorie is a calorie. Yes, you can lose all the weight you want if you eat nothing but fast food at a caloric deficit. You can also get scurvy that way. Or severe muscle cramps. Or diabetes. Which are nowhere near the same severity, but all deal with specific nutrients you don't necessarily get from a "crap" diet.
Find the diet and exercise regimen that works best for you, and roll with it.0 -
Yes although what you eat is important, and make sure to exercise. My friend counts calories while eating junk and not exercising. She's thin and soft. To the person who claimed that calorie reduction will make you look muscular, um not always lol.0
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mjrkearney wrote: »This all sounds far too complicated for a casual website.
From a straight thermodynamic perspective, yes, a calorie is a calorie. Yes, you can lose all the weight you want if you eat nothing but fast food at a caloric deficit. You can also get scurvy that way. Or severe muscle cramps. Or diabetes. Which are nowhere near the same severity, but all deal with specific nutrients you don't necessarily get from a "crap" diet.
Find the diet and exercise regimen that works best for you, and roll with it.
Really? This guy http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-lose-weight-eating-only-mcdonalds-2015-10 lost 60lbs and had saw an improvement in his blood work. Not all fast food is nutritionally empty.0
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