Can a calorie be more fat than some other calories?

suziblues2000

If I ate a bowl of ice cream that equaled 350 calories would those calories be the same as a bowl of, say: lettuce, equaling 350 calories also? (thats a LOT of lettuce!)


In other words, When it comes to losing weight; are the calories from fattening foods going to act the same way to your body as calories from non-fattening foods?

I know the calories from the non-fattening foods are probably much healthier for your body...but are they any different when it comes to just losing weight?

THANX,
sue

cmriverside

Nutrients.

Macros.

No. Eat the lettuce. And some lean meat, and some dairy and some fruit. :huh:

Ashalahn_LMT

In a generic sense calories are the same. But it's the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and carb/fat/protein ratios that make the difference in the foods. So if your calorie limit is 1500 for the day, you certainly could fill that with candy, soda, and junk. But I guarantee you'll be over your carb ratio, most likely over your fat ratio, and far below your protein ratio. It's just not healthy to eat that way even if you are within your calorie goals.

joamarelo

In a generic sense calories are the same. But it's the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and carb/fat/protein ratios that make the difference in the foods. So if your calorie limit is 1500 for the day, you certainly could fill that with candy, soda, and junk. But I guarantee you'll be over your carb ratio, most likely over your fat ratio, and far below your protein ratio. It's just not healthy to eat that way even if you are within your calorie goals.

It's call empty calories vs. the good calories

Elizabeth_C34

In a generic sense calories are the same. But it's the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and carb/fat/protein ratios that make the difference in the foods. So if your calorie limit is 1500 for the day, you certainly could fill that with candy, soda, and junk. But I guarantee you'll be over your carb ratio, most likely over your fat ratio, and far below your protein ratio. It's just not healthy to eat that way even if you are within your calorie goals.

This.

When I first started, I wanted to continue eating my usual junk food but less. Because it wasn't that filling, I was starving by the end of the day and over my calorie limit. Now, I'm eating a lot more protein and half the carbs that MFP set for me. I cut out most "empty" foods (chips, pastas, most breads, potato products) and replaced them with veggies that I really like (corn, peas, green beans, celery, carrots, broccoli etc.). I also made an effort to include more protein (meats in my case) than before. I sometimes go over on fats but not by much. Seems to be working so much better for me. Weight loss has been much more steady and no plateau this time, plus I feel full and satisfied all day long.

You can lose weight eating junk food, but I couldn't do it. I had to change the way I ate so I stuck to it.

NightOwl1

Calories are the same. Studies have been done where people who eat nothing but junk food and stay within their calories still lose weight.

There are two things: losing weight and getting healthy. You can still lose weight eating crap, but it won't make you healthy. So better food choices are important.

erickirb

If I ate a bowl of ice cream that equaled 350 calories would those calories be the same as a bowl of, say: lettuce, equaling 350 calories also? (thats a LOT of lettuce!)


In other words, When it comes to losing weight; are the calories from fattening foods going to act the same way to your body as calories from non-fattening foods?

I know the calories from the non-fattening foods are probably much healthier for your body...but are they any different when it comes to just losing weight?

THANX,
sue

No lettus calories would come from carbs mostly whereas the ice cream would come from fat, protein and carbs. oil calories are100% from fat

Angela_MA

Google Twinkie diet and you will see a man who lost weight eating 2 twinkies a day and then having a dinner. Now, the thing is he felt like crap because the diet (as the other posts state) contained empty calories. Balancing your macro is key in giving you energy, making you feel good and loosing the weight!

jrueckert

Ice cream has the most fat per calorie of any dessert I've seen. It's definitely not the same as lettuce!

humblemonkey

When trying to lose weight you can to think of more than just the calories. Yes, calories are the main thing to look at...but if you are eating 1200 calories but all carbs your body isnt going to lose...same with a high amount of sodium...

TheKitsune6

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't matter what form it is or when you eat it. You want to balance the macro nutrients so make sure to eat different things (and not just different flavors of ice cream). Fat macronutrients are more dense calorically than say.... a carbohydrate but if all you are doing is counting calories then that's already considered in the nutrition information.

I use the method of never denying myself what I want - just eating less or even a different version. Just yesterday I had cold stone ice cream and kept it under 200 calories

Egger29

By literal definition a Calorie ( or KCal as we're talking about in regards to food), is the amount of energy required to raise 1 kg of water by water by 1 Degree.

So in that sense, 350 calories is 350 calories (A Calorie is a calorie as you'll often hear people say).

That being said, Nutritionally speaking, a calorie is NOT a calorie. You can fill your diet with beer and chips if you so choose, and be "under your calorie goal" but you will not be nutritionally sound.

Conversely, you can have chicken and rice with vegetables instead, injesting complete proteins and high vitamin content in your meal, which will be far better for you in terms of overall bodily health.

While "a calorie is a calorie" may be true in the literal sense.....the Quality of the calories you're ingesting is the main factor which is so often overlooked!

Cheers!

hooma

I think you want to know from vanity's perspective, instead of from health's perspective. To that end, even though the "Twinkie Diet" does allow people to lose weight, I wonder if you'll be losing muscle mass because of a lack of nutrients. Then you'll be skinny fat

So it's still not worth it!

Grabercj

I completly agree with LIFEBLOOMs comment. Its the fat and nutrients other then calories that will be out of wack if you eat "bad calories" instead of "healthy calories". Alot of people misunderstand that "calorie counting" is a way to loose weight. There are other aspects to nutrican that need to be addressed to loose weight.

If you eat your daily "1200" calories all in carbs rather then eating the proper protien and veggies, ect. you WILL continue to gain weight because your ratios are all out of wack. Thats why the FDA made the food pyramid. To help us balance those dietary needs. I think its a great question.


Eating healthy isnt a diet, its a lifestyle.

Lleldiranne

A calorie is a measure of energy. Technically speaking, 1 cal is the energy required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. Just that, nothing more.
What we call a calorie is actually 1000 Cal as described above (imagine trying to calculate your daily calories the other way, yikes! )

Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are all ways that living things have of storing calories (just energy, remember). 1 gram of carbohydrate and 1 gram of protein each store 4 calories (nutritional calories), 1 gram of fat stores 9. That is why the body converts everything to fat - it's actually the most efficient way to store the extra calories. (Ok, so I'm not going to go into how the body breaks these down into usable energy for your cells, lol I don't think you want all those details).

So, as far as weight loss, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't matter if it comes from lettuce or pork rinds. If you take in more calories than your body uses for maintenance and exercise, your body has to store them somewhere, and it converts them into fat. If you take in fewer calories then your body has to loose them from somewhere, and will start to pull from the fat stores you have.

Of course, there's more to a healthy body than the amount of calories you take in or how much fat you have stored. So you want to make your calories count and get as much nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc) as you can with the amount of calories you eat. Plus, you'll get filled up a lot more on 350 calories of salad than you will on 350 calories of pork rinds.

lclarkjr

a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Just as a pound is a pound is a pound. 350 calories from ice cream has the same amount of calories as a 350 calorie serving of lettuce. Just like a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. It still weighs a pound. But when it comes to carbs, fats, and proteins, one gram of each has different caloric content:

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories

So a gram of fat has over twice as many calories as protein or carbs. So a serving size of 350 cals of ice cream is A LOT smaller than 350 cals of lettuce.

DianaPowerUp

By literal definition a Calorie ( or KCal as we're talking about in regards to food), is the amount of energy required to raise 1 kg of water by water by 1 Degree.

So in that sense, 350 calories is 350 calories (A Calorie is a calorie as you'll often hear people say).

That being said, Nutritionally speaking, a calorie is NOT a calorie. You can fill your diet with beer and chips if you so choose, and be "under your calorie goal" but you will not be nutritionally sound.

Conversely, you can have chicken and rice with vegetables instead, injesting complete proteins and high vitamin content in your meal, which will be far better for you in terms of overall bodily health.

While "a calorie is a calorie" may be true in the literal sense.....the Quality of the calories you're ingesting is the main factor which is so often overlooked!

Cheers!

This, exactly!

cupotee

Yeah, unfortunately . Calories in ice creams comes almost completely from sugar, milk fat, and milk protein ( chemically, they would be forms of C6H12O6 and triglycerides with a mix of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid chains. Protein would be amino acid chains)

The few calories from vegetables comes from their stored sugar (C6H12O6) and starch (chains of sugar). And again, protein and some fat (same as above)

One notable difference would be that the vegetables are a lot bulkier. THe fiber pushes the food through your GI track, so there's less time for absorption to take place. You would not absorb as much of the 350 cals in lettuce as you would in 350 of ice cream. However, if you DID absorb the same for each, the compounds are the same.