why does it matter where calories come from? calories are ca

abbylove08

ive been reading in other threads about how 500 calories in twinkies are a lot worse for weight loss than 500 calories in, say, broccoli. While I understand that twinkies are loaded with sugar and they are processed, i don't understand how 500 calories of twinkies are worse than 500 calories of something unprocessed. aren't calories just calories? i.e. as long as you meet your net calorie goal every day, shouldn't you lose weight, despite WHERE the calories come from?

side note: i am NOT meeting my net calorie goal by eating all of my cals in twinkies, ho-hos, cookies, cake, etc. i'm just curious about why (and if) it truly matters where the calories come from, as long as you are meeting your net goal. hypothetically, if i WERE to eat all of my daily calories in twinkies and other processed foods, how would that effect my weight-loss, and why?

lots of questions, i know. im just confused!:grumble:

abbylove08

ive been reading in other threads about how 500 calories in twinkies are a lot worse for weight loss than 500 calories in, say, broccoli. While I understand that twinkies are loaded with sugar and they are processed, i don't understand how 500 calories of twinkies are worse than 500 calories of something unprocessed. aren't calories just calories? i.e. as long as you meet your net calorie goal every day, shouldn't you lose weight, despite WHERE the calories come from?

side note: i am NOT meeting my net calorie goal by eating all of my cals in twinkies, ho-hos, cookies, cake, etc. i'm just curious about why (and if) it truly matters where the calories come from, as long as you are meeting your net goal. hypothetically, if i WERE to eat all of my daily calories in twinkies and other processed foods, how would that effect my weight-loss, and why?

lots of questions, i know. im just confused!:grumble:

1Corinthians13

I am definitely no expert, but I do know that in order for your body to function properly, it cannot survive healthfully off of twinkies and ho-hos. If it isn't functioning properly, you may lose weight at first, but after awhile you're going to plateu if not begin to gain. Besides, if most of your calories are from fat, then it stands to reason that you're going to gain fat.

TamTastic

The thing about food is there are things that are healthy and good for you and things that are not.

Broccoli is good for you and twinkies are not because of the nutritional value.

Yes, a calorie is a calorie and enjoying a treat here and there is fine as long as you are getting all of your nutritional needs met. And certain foods will fuel your body and keep you running and your blood sugars level and others won't. And trust me, when trying to lose weight, keeping yourself fueled and feeling "satisfied" will help you reach your goal.

For example, if I eat a bowl of honeycomb cereal, I will be hungry in an hour. However, if I eat a whole grain english muffin with egg white and a little salsa, the combo of good carbs and lean protein will keep me going for awhile and I won't feel the need to snack.

nataliamay

500 calories of any vegetable contains vitamins and fiber that`s going to help all your body functions, plus fiber is going o help your digestive tract to work properly and your metabolism to go faster.

Calories in candy or such things are called "empty calories" cause the don't contribute to your body functions or to your metabolism, they are slowly process in you digestive tract, and this don`t help at all to your weight loss, as you may know the more food stays in your digestive tract the worse it is for your weight loss goal.

So, they may be the same 500 calories but the way your body process them and the impact they have in your metabolism are definetly not the same...

PS: I hope my answer can help you a little and was clear enough, see english is not my first language so if there is any horror in the writting I hope you can forgive me...

schoonmp

Good answer.

songbyrdsweet

In terms of fat loss, it doesn't really matter. You can lose fat eating 1200 calories of whole foods or 1200 calories of M&M's.

In terms of health, it DOES matter. 1200 calories of whole foods will provide you with a spectrum of nutrients. 1200 calories of M&M's will provide you with very little nutrients and a TON of sugar, thereby most likely causing insulin resistance at the very least, but more likely diabetes. Not to mention that you'd die in a couple months from vitamin B deficiency once your nerves stopped functioning.

GTOgirl1969

I think that's why my weight loss has slowed to a crawl. I meet my calorie goals every day, but sometimes the foods I eat within those calories aren't the best for me. I'm trying to get more vegetables and lean protein into my diet, that's my goal for the month.

bishop7705

Two words: Nutrient Density

abbylove08

thanks for all the insight!
it's been a question in the back of my mind...

and again, i'm def not eating all my calories in junk. i don't even REMEMBER the last time i had a twinkie!! but i def am going to cut back on the processed foods and up my fresh fruits and veggies!
thanks again!

yellow_pepper

Abstract:
The trouble with "empty calories" is that they don't stop you from eating more later.

Full content:
Before you eat 500 calories in broccoli, which is 3 1/3 frozen bags, by the way...

Think moderation. There IS something wrong with eating 500 calories in broccoli - in one sitting. If someone finds him/herself doing that, it begs the question: WHY AM I STUFFING MYSELF?

In a way, it's psychologically healthier to eat 500 calories in dessert... That's one rich slice of cake right there. Or pie a la mode. If you do it every now and then, who cares? Enjoy your life!

The only problem is this: A lot of us can't stop at 500 calories of dessert... It makes us crave more and more. And it doesn't fill you up! There's a reason why dessert should come at the end of a meal!

I think the main trouble with "empty calories" is that they don't stop you from eating more later. Not that they are bad themselves. But that still doesn't mean you should have 500 calories of broccoli, unless you want to be in the bathroom most of the day.

usedtobeme

this was really helpful

crystal_sapphire

this was really helpful

i agree. very informative.

Anna_Banana

The other thing that has been proven that would matter if you eat twinkies or healthy foods is, that the more level your insulin levels stay, the more weight you can lose. That's why eating something like eggs is good for you to eat for breakfast. It breaks down slowly and your insulin will stay more level. I read an article on this once and it made lots of sence.

Anna_Banana

Here is some info I found

The Insulin and Weight Loss Connection

The connection between insulin and weight loss is the subject of a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (J.A.M.A.).

A team of researchers from the Children's Hospital Boston, conducted a study on 73 obese young adults (aged 18 - 35) and found that those subjects who had high insulin levels (high insulin secretion) lost significantly less weight than those with low insulin levels when placed on a low-fat diet.

However the reverse was true when both groups were placed on a low-carbohydrate diet.

So for overweight and obese people, a blood test to determine insulin levels could help determine which weight loss procedure will work best for them.

After reviewing this landmark study, Dr Mercola, on his web site Mercola.com commented on the insulin and weight loss connection explaining that insulin is the central part of the weight loss equation and the reason 200 million Americans are overweight is because they have impaired insulin receptor sensitivity.

He goes on to state that people with impaired insulin receptor sensitivity makes them hypersecrete insulin to compensate for this low receptor sensitivity and:

"Once your body releases insulin it immediately starts to inhibit your fat-burning hormone called hormone-sensitive lipase. This hormone is responsible for releasing fat into your bloodstream to be utilized as fuel. Once this enzyme is inhibited, your body is unable to burn fat and will then begin utilizing amino acids from your muscle and carbohydrates as fuel.

This will cause you to become abnormally hungry, which further feeds this vicious cycle.

The key is to have LOW levels of insulin so your body can produce large amounts of hormone-sensitive lipase and burn fat all day so you can look thin and slim."

The insulin resistance and weight loss connection is further explained by Dr Mercola who maintains that many people have impaired insulin receptor sensitivity simply because of lack of exercise and over-eating, especially processed foods and refined carbohydrates.

Anna_Banana

Here's something else about it

Diets often fail or leave you flabby because most diet plans are designed to burn either protein or carbohydrate calories, while ignoring fat tissue. By simply consuming foods that manipulate the production of insulin, your body can double the number of fat burning calories it gets rid of, leaving you with much more lean muscle mass.

Insulin is a hormone released into the bloodstream after every meal. Its' job is to transport newly eaten calories into the muscle cells, so that these calories are converted into energy. However, when too much insulin is released into the bloodstream and too many calories are transported into the muscle cells, the body begins to transport these extra calories into the fat cells. They are now stored as fat tissue. This results in flab. The more insulin that gets released after each mean, the fatter you will be. Likewise, the less insulin, the more fat you will burn and the thinner you become.

The secret is in adopting a diet that contains food which will minimize the release of insulin into the blood stream after each meal so that insulin levels stay low and do not become stored as fat tissue. If you are careful to do this, then you will find losing weight and weight maintenance much more effective. Also, be sure to add exercise and weight lifting. This will enable you to get away with little splurges (everyone loves chocolate!) It will also help you firm up and burn calories even while at rest. If you do these things, you will be able to lose the weight and keep it off.

To learn more about the connection between insulin and weight loss find more information at The Insulin and Weight Loss Connection Website For free diet tips, check out the very popular website, http://Populardietplans.com

yellow_pepper

If you've got 500 calories left in your "allowance" for the day, use your hunger to decide what to eat.

If you're ravenously hungry and need a lot of volume to feel full, go for the broccoli.
If you're not hungry, but you'd like a tasty treat, go for the dessert.

Ironically, it's the person who ate the broccoli who'll weigh more the next morning from all that broccoli!

arewethereyet

some really great info!

Thanks everyone who posted, and Anna for the articles!

jeannie

looovely_x3

Well I don't know what Twinkies are or Ho-hos but ts not healthy to eat just one sector of food. It's called under-nutrition in the non-scientific terms, Im sure a Twinkie is pretty much not going to meet your requirements for alot of the nutrients/vitamins yadda yadda, so e.g if your lacking in vitamin A then your epithelium is going to look bleak after a while, but you wont even be able to see that if you get really well at being under-nutritioned because your probably be suffering from a nice bit of blindeness(xerophtalmia), and your skin would go nice and hard and flaky, which I guess could be useful because you would have a portable looofah. You'd probably lack in calcium, even if you werent, I doubt you would have enough vitamin D to absorb the stuff so you would have a nice bit of osteomalacia maturing in your bones. A lack of vitamin C messes up your hydroxylase so scurvy symptoms possibly. I can't be bothered with the rest of them but you need a balance of carbs, proteins, lipids, nutrients, minerals. So getting calories from just a certain type of food isn't going to fufil all 5 of the essential nutrients you need so your diet will be unbalanced and not good in the long run foryour health.

Oooer and then theres Amino acids, the Essential ones that youre body only gets from your food, because your body can't make them, they're good for you.