Are all calories equal?

ercarta

Breakfast: Flan w/ coffee light & sweet

Lunch: Frappuccino w/ cake pops

Dinner: Deli meats with melted cheese on a roll and an OceanSpray drink

Supper: Beef lo mein w/ a Coke

So long as I stay under my caloric allowance I’m good to go, right?

What say you?

Eric

psuLemon

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

zeejane4

psuLemon wrote: »

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

This.

kathryn1391

What PP said! And that's how you end up at 11pm craving anything in sight because you haven't eaten things to help actually fuel your body.

OooohToast

Have there been any indicators that you may have or are heading towards, issues with insulin management ? If all okay on that front and you are low risk, as above, regarding nutrition and satiety, you would probably feel better for some changes.

psuLemon

I would also note, that a diet like what you are describing will more than likely leave you deficient in protein and could lead to some good muscle loss.

Terytha

Your digestive system won't thank you for that diet, and it sounds like a path to malnutrition, but you will lose weight.

texasredreb

A calorie is a calorie. BUT, what the others have said is also true. The foods you are eating a calorie dense but not nutrient dense.

lemurcat2

psuLemon wrote: »

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

This. I'd be concerned that the amount of protein doesn't support muscle maintenance while losing weight, and I'd likely be hungry on that diet on weight-loss calories, but assuming sticking with it is not a problem and you are under your maintenance calories, you will lose.

I'm into nutrition for overall health reasons, although a nutrient-dense diet is not required for weight loss and depending on how much you have to lose/test results weight loss may be the most significant thing you can do for health (you don't look that overweight from your photo, though). Because of that, I think vegetables are really important, also fruit, and try to get a good variety of nutrient-dense foods and healthy fats (including from fatty fish). But that's a separate issue from weight loss. (Exercise is also at least as important as diet for health.)

vollkornbloedchen

ercarta wrote: »

What say you?

Agree with this:

psuLemon wrote: »

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

And because of this you will (probably) lose weight, for a week or so ...
... and then get it all back because of a massive binge-attack

The whole point of this (MFP-) system is to make staying in deficit as easy as possible.
Your diet makes it hard as hell to go beyond day three ... not even trying to think of years ...

amusedmonkey

If you're just starting, this looks fine. Energy-wise, calories are indeed equal, and if you don't want to change too much too soon it's completely understandable and commendable to do exactly what you're doing.

As you progress, however, things may start to change. You may start feeling hungrier, so you will find yourself eating fewer calorie dense options than usual, without even meaning to, just because subsisting on flan and cake pops is no longer sustainable within calories.

As dieting becomes less exciting, you may also find yourself caring about other things, like nutrition, and may want to start introducing more nutrient dense options. Muscle mass could become a concern because you don't want to look fatter at your goal weight, so you could start watching your protein. There is a whole world of possibilities between being obsessively restrictive and being completely uninterested in health.

So back to the question, are all calories equal. Yep. Are all foods equal? Not really. Do you need to obsess about nutrients in every morsel? Of course not. Is it a good idea to take nutrients in your overall diet into consideration? Of course!

kimny72

psuLemon wrote: »

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

This.

I would add, if this is just one random day and not the way you usually eat, then it's totally fine. Your diet is a summary of all the things you eat over days, months, years. One day eating nothing but cake or whatever is not a big deal in the context of an overall nutritious diet. But if that's a typical day, while you may lose weight if you manage to stick to your calorie goal, there will be a price to pay in terms of hunger and health over time.

PrincessMel72

I'd work some good proteins and fiber in for satiety otherwise you'll be starving by 9 or 10pm!

MelanieCN77

Make some room for a veg and a piece of fruit.

pierinifitness

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m giving this a 2, inadequate fuel for a man your size both current and goal weight.

And, I detect a sweet tooth. Based on another post where you ask about cinnamon, do you have pre-diabetes issues?

erickirb

You will lose the same amount of weight, but if you don't get enough protein a larger % of your loss may come from muscle.
Not to meniton, you may become malnourished if you don't get enough vitamins and minerals, and could have a lack of energy.

So for weight loss yes a calorie is a calorie, but for healthy, you should also try to hit minimum macros (fat and protein) and micros (vitamins and minerals)

ercarta

pierinifitness wrote: »

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m giving this a 2, inadequate fuel for a man your size both current and goal weight.

And, I detect a sweet tooth. Based on another post where you ask about cinnamon, do you have pre-diabetes issues?

@pierinifitness no pre-diabetes here man. Asking the questions and reading through the responses keeps me on a war-footing is all. When I start getting all lax about my diet, these are the things I'll be thinking about. Just recorded another 2lb loss this morning and my energy is up. All is good in the 'hood currently. :-)

Regarding the cinnamon tea, I've been making it and while it tastes great not sure about the health benefits. I've even read in "large" quantities can be toxic due to the coumarin content. Wanted to know if anyone had tried it and had any experiences to share there.

Eric

almostsuperpowered

amusedmonkey wrote: »

If you're just starting, this looks fine. Energy-wise, calories are indeed equal, and if you don't want to change too much too soon it's completely understandable and commendable to do exactly what you're doing.

As you progress, however, things may start to change. You may start feeling hungrier, so you will find yourself eating fewer calorie dense options than usual, without even meaning to, just because subsisting on flan and cake pops is no longer sustainable within calories.

As dieting becomes less exciting, you may also find yourself caring about other things, like nutrition, and may want to start introducing more nutrient dense options. Muscle mass could become a concern because you don't want to look fatter at your goal weight, so you could start watching your protein. There is a whole world of possibilities between being obsessively restrictive and being completely uninterested in health.

So back to the question, are all calories equal. Yep. Are all foods equal? Not really. Do you need to obsess about nutrients in every morsel? Of course not. Is it a good idea to take nutrients in your overall diet into consideration? Of course!

This is very wise.

You're doing great, keep it up.

psychod787

psuLemon wrote: »

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

AMEN!

ogtmama

It actually sounds like a lot of calories regardless...and the salt from the lo mein and prepared meats would make you retain water

lynn_glenmont

psuLemon wrote: »

Equal in terms of energy, yes. But nutrition and satiety, no.

That is, calories are measures of energy so yes, they are all equal. Just like all inches and miles and watts are equal. Units of measurement that aren't equal to themselves are pretty useless (barring those that are logarithmic, such that the nth unit does not equal the nth + 1 unit).

But the foods that the calories come in are not equal in nutrition and satiety. Like a driving a mile on a beautiful country road on a weekend afternoon isn't the same experience as driving a mile in the city during rush-hour.


ETA: I notice there isn't a single serving of vegetables or fruits in your menu, or any other whole plant foods, so I'd be constipated in two or three days myself. And I'd worry about micronutrients.
Sure, you can take a multivitamin, but they're always discovering new things about phytonutrients and some studies suggest some nutrients are better utilized if obtained from food, so I prefer to try to get mine from food.

Susieq_1994

ercarta wrote: »

Breakfast: Flan w/ coffee light & sweet

Lunch: Frappuccino w/ cake pops

Dinner: Deli meats with melted cheese on a roll and an OceanSpray drink

Supper: Beef lo mein w/ a Coke

So long as I stay under my caloric allowance I’m good to go, right?

What say you?

Eric

Something you didn't make clear is whether you're planning to eat like this every day or if it's just a one-off treat day that you managed to keep within your calories and want to know if it will affect your weight loss.

If it's the first... I concur with everyone else that a better focus on nutrition would be beneficial. You will still lose weight in a caloric deficit, but you may find that you don't feel your best eating that way.

If it's the latter, enjoy! One day of treats isn't going to hurt anyone. Just try to focus a little more on nutritious foods for the next few days.

ercarta

Susieq_1994 wrote: »

ercarta wrote: »

Breakfast: Flan w/ coffee light & sweet

Lunch: Frappuccino w/ cake pops

Dinner: Deli meats with melted cheese on a roll and an OceanSpray drink

Supper: Beef lo mein w/ a Coke

So long as I stay under my caloric allowance I’m good to go, right?

What say you?

Eric

Something you didn't make clear is whether you're planning to eat like this every day or if it's just a one-off treat day that you managed to keep within your calories and want to know if it will affect your weight loss.

If it's the first... I concur with everyone else that a better focus on nutrition would be beneficial. You will still lose weight in a caloric deficit, but you may find that you don't feel your best eating that way.

If it's the latter, enjoy! One day of treats isn't going to hurt anyone. Just try to focus a little more on nutritious foods for the next few days.

I actually don’t eat this way. Just kept reading “all calories are equal” so I was looking for clarity. Got that in abundance! 👍🏼

AnnPT77

If not looking for advice, but just opinions, I'd suggest posting in the Debate part of the forum.