Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.
Is a calorie equal to a calorie?
Options
Replies
-
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
Not much of this makes sense but the one that I have to challenge is the notion that lettuce is filling?
These extreme comparisons are so unhelpful. No one eats only one kind of food - and has to choose between lettuce and peanut butter, why can't a person eat both? Why always a false dilemma?10 -
JerSchmare wrote: »A calorie is a calorie. Like an inch is an inch and a pound is a pound.
A calorie is a calorie ( A unit of energy)
Just like a gallon is a a gallon ( a unit of volume ).
Athough your car probably runs smoother on a gallon of high quality gas, instead of cheap gas mixed with water & particles. Runs smoother, runs longer, doesn't clog up the system, doesn't damage parts.
And your body is the same.
Your body runs better on nutritious fuel, instead of empty calories.
Your cardio-vascular system works better, your digestive system works better, metabolism works better, less disease, less stress on all the parts, etc etc etc.
16 -
Pound is a pound . It's a unit of weight.
But the there's VALUE of the item isn't strictly based on it's weight .
Example ~ Most of us would value a pound of gold, more than a pound of manure.
14 -
Again, do people imagine that anyone is making the argument that foods are all identical or that nutrition does not matter? That suggests that you did not read the thread and are (insultingly) assuming that others are arguing something silly that no one is arguing.
But calories don't have nutrients; foods do.
No one has said "a food is a food." "A calorie is a calorie" does not imply that, or that nutrition does not matter.
I wonder how many times that has been said in this thread.
Also, that your body runs better if given enough nutrients (which is true) is NOT the same thing as saying that your body will be hurt by or not adequately fueled if some of the sources of calories are basically just providing calories. For example, if I am doing a marathon and consume a gel or some jelly beans (because straight sugar is basically all I am going to be able to digest), will that fuel me worse than, say, some salmon and brussels sprouts? No, it will not, quite the opposite.8 -
stanmann571 wrote: »
Calories are calories
Calories are calories
Calories are calories
Calories are calories
2 -
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
What difference do you suppose there would be in 2kg of either of them being dropped on your head? Other than the size of the mass being dropped upon you?14 -
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
What difference do you suppose there would be in 2kg of either of them being dropped on your head? Other than the size of the mass being dropped upon you?
Packed densely enough, the feathers could break your neck.12 -
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
What difference do you suppose there would be in 2kg of either of them being dropped on your head? Other than the size of the mass being dropped upon you?
This. I'd rather not have 2kg of anything dropped on my head. The feather are still 2kg so the exact same weight. Just because they're feathers doesn't negate how much they weigh? One of the weirder analogies I've seen on MFP.9 -
VintageFeline wrote: »Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
What difference do you suppose there would be in 2kg of either of them being dropped on your head? Other than the size of the mass being dropped upon you?
This. I'd rather not have 2kg of anything dropped on my head. The feather are still 2kg so the exact same weight. Just because they're feathers doesn't negate how much they weigh? One of the weirder analogies I've seen on MFP.
indeed. Height also matters.
A box containing 2 kg of feathers dropped from 10 ft will do more damage than 2 kg of lead shot dumped from 2 ft.
5 -
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...5 -
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...
You would be better off with 1000 calories of apple pie or Bacon cheeseburgers.10 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...
You would be better off with 1000 calories of apple pie or Bacon cheeseburgers.
Indeed...
0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...
You would be better off with 1000 calories of apple pie or Bacon cheeseburgers.
Cue the comments saying "the CICO crowd says you should eat nothing but cheeseburgers and apple pie"
18 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
Not much of this makes sense but the one that I have to challenge is the notion that lettuce is filling?
These extreme comparisons are so unhelpful. No one eats only one kind of food - and has to choose between lettuce and peanut butter, why can't a person eat both? Why always a false dilemma?
How dare you introduce common sense to this line of thinking...4 -
Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...
I logged 5900 g of romaine lettuce, and it was actually surprisingly well rounded. Lower on fat than I would want (although 1000 cal will do that), but not bad for protein on that low a cal diet, and with that much, all 9 amino acids were covered.
But who can eat 13 lbs of romaine lettuce? It's absurd, and not healthy for the reasons monodiets are generally not a good idea. And possibly that that insane amount would have other bad effects, of course.
(Only spinach is better, nutritionally and in terms of amount, but again over 9 and a half lbs would be a struggle, and a completely insane and stupid diet that would no doubt leave you feeling poorly.)
I really am curious why people think the lettuce vs. peanut butter comparison is meaningful. Yeah, they are different, but not because one is clearly better on its own (different diets may be better with the addition of one or the other or both, depending), and -- back to the topic -- not because their calories are different or distinct or have special properties depending on where they come from.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...
I logged 5900 g of romaine lettuce, and it was actually surprisingly well rounded. Lower on fat than I would want (although 1000 cal will do that), but not bad for protein on that low a cal diet, and with that much, all 9 amino acids were covered.
But who can eat 13 lbs of romaine lettuce? It's absurd, and not healthy for the reasons monodiets are generally not a good idea. And possibly that that insane amount would have other bad effects, of course.
(Only spinach is better, nutritionally and in terms of amount, but again over 9 and a half lbs would be a struggle, and a completely insane and stupid diet that would no doubt leave you feeling poorly.)
I really am curious why people think the lettuce vs. peanut butter comparison is meaningful. Yeah, they are different, but not because one is clearly better on its own (different diets may be better with the addition of one or the other or both, depending), and -- back to the topic -- not because their calories are different or distinct or have special properties depending on where they come from.
The quantity of vitamin K would also be a concern even for someone with otherwise normal coagulation factors and a relatively sedentary lifestyle.3 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Calories are calories
Weight is Weight
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers?
Just like weight calories are calories, but eating 1000 calories of lettuce vs 1000 calories of peanut butter is a big difference. Lettuce has fibre, is filling and the volume of lettuce you have to eat for that many calories is insane.... In comparison it is less than 200mg of peanut butter.
If I only ate 1000 calories of lettuce I would be extremely malnourished...
I logged 5900 g of romaine lettuce, and it was actually surprisingly well rounded. Lower on fat than I would want (although 1000 cal will do that), but not bad for protein on that low a cal diet, and with that much, all 9 amino acids were covered.
But who can eat 13 lbs of romaine lettuce? It's absurd, and not healthy for the reasons monodiets are generally not a good idea. And possibly that that insane amount would have other bad effects, of course.
(Only spinach is better, nutritionally and in terms of amount, but again over 9 and a half lbs would be a struggle, and a completely insane and stupid diet that would no doubt leave you feeling poorly.)
I really am curious why people think the lettuce vs. peanut butter comparison is meaningful. Yeah, they are different, but not because one is clearly better on its own (different diets may be better with the addition of one or the other or both, depending), and -- back to the topic -- not because their calories are different or distinct or have special properties depending on where they come from.
I don't get why people always choose these ridiculous mono diet examples to make a point.
No adult that I know eats a mono diet, so it's a ridiculous illustration of what they're trying to say.
And what they're trying to illustrate misses the mark anyway.
It's just so patently absurd no matter how you look at it.
It's also quite obvious that people keep chiming in who have not read the thread with their brilliant insights. That's pretty funny in and of itself.
ETA: I wonder how doable the 9 pounds of spinach would be cooked down. That stuff is notorious for disappearing into practically nothing when you wilt it for a long enough time. FTR, I won't be trying this experiment any time soon. Spinach and I don't play very well together. I love it, but need to limit my consumption of it.5 -
My favorite analogy is that your calories are like your fiscal budget.NorthCascades wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I’m just curious if anybody has any links to a scientific article or journal talking about calories in terms of if 100 calories of apples is equal to 100 calories of oreos.
Of course they're not the same. You have the Oreos with milk and the apples with peanut butter.
A calorie is like a dollar, you can get it and spend it different ways and some are better than others, but it has the same buying power.
you have 50$ this week. You can buy lipstick and wine- or you can buy food and gas for your car.
You can put it on credit and do both. If you do that once in a while- it's fine. if you constantly put it on the CC- you're going to find yourself in a hole.
Same with food- you can make good choices. or bad choices. and sometimes you can do both. And it's no big deal. But if you constantly make bad choices- you're going to have a bad time.
6 -
But would you rather have 2KG of lead dropped on your head or 2KG of feathers
lol whut?
no- this is like saying what's heavier- 1 pound of lead or 1 pound of feathers. NEITHER- it's a pound. One's just going to take more space than the other because it's LESS DENSE.
You're dead either way.
Don't be ridiculous.7 -
The iron, I think, in spinach makes my teeth feel funny if cooked. So no to eating mountains of it.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 388 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 916 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions