Healthy food calories vs unhealthy food calories

Rewinds

Are all calories equal?

Would over eating 500 calories of my daily allowance each day for a week of health foods (fresh veges for example) still cause the same weight gain (fat %) as eating 500 calories a day of high fat+sugar foods? Or does it depend on each person.

I'm just a bit confused...>.<

Edit; I have been conditioned to thinking that eating fatty calories = weight gain and eating healthy does not. However does eating too much of anything in general just cause the gain ;_;

Pebble321

I think calories are calories as far as weight gain or loss is concerned, but there will be a difference in your health over a longer period.

You might see differences in weight from eating different kinds of food but this is quite likely to be due to higher sodium in certain foods causing you to retain more fluid.

So, in terms of actual weight gain/loss over a longer period of time - calories are calories but health is the difference.

chicklidell

It makes no diference, your body doesn't know a calorie from a candy bar from a calorie from a carrot..it comes down to nutrion and how healthy those calories are that are fuelling your body...but to answer your question...if you eat 500 extra calories from chocolate or 500 extra calories from veggies, if at the end of the week, you are not in a deficit, you will gain weight.

Rayman79

Yes and no

I think the easiest way to sum this up is:

Yes, a calorie is a calorie (for the purpose of acting as a unit measurement of energy), therefore the same energy will be consimed from a 500calorie cheesburger as it would from 500 calories of vegetables.

Where the difference lies is in the nutritional content. The body needs a certain abount of nutrients (think calcium, iron etc), as well as a reasonable balance of macronutrients (fat, carbs and protein) to function well. Though you will have consumed the same number of calories by eating the burger, your body will not have all the necessary fuel to function optimally.

I hope that makes sense.

heybales

Are all calories equal?

Would over eating 500 calories of my daily allowance each day for a week of health foods (fresh veges for example) still cause the same weight gain (fat %) as eating 500 calories a day of high fat+sugar foods? Or does it depend on each person.

I'm just a bit confused...>.<

Edit; I have been conditioned to thinking that eating fatty calories = weight gain and eating healthy does not. However does eating too much of anything in general just cause the gain ;_;

Sure they would be the same.

As to what your body does with them, they might end up different places depending on what is going on right then.

If you have exercised and have some glucose stores to top off, 200 cal of sweets or fruit or vegetables would kick in the insulin and store the sugar there.
If you had no exercise and no immediate energy needs for it, then stored as fat.

If you had something protein/fat about 200 cal, no insulin spike, fat would be used for immediate energy needs (majority of fat for those needs) and protein for any repair.

Either way, it's getting stored, and current stores of fat won't be used for energy needs instead.

The bigger thing is, what does it make you want to do in 2 or 3 hrs? Hungry again, or still satisfied? More likely to kick off cravings, or just enjoy what you had?

Rewinds

The bigger thing is, what does it make you want to do in 2 or 3 hrs? Hungry again, or still satisfied? More likely to kick off cravings, or just enjoy what you had?

This is the problem I have every meal :P

Thanks for the responses ^_^ Clears some misconceptions up.

heybales

This is the problem I have every meal :P

Thanks for the responses ^_^ Clears some misconceptions up.

You have so little to go on your goal, if you set your weight loss goal to aggressive, MFP probably suggested goal calories under your BMR. That would leave you hungry, up until your body slows the metabolism down to compensate, and then weight loss would stall too.

Just confirm when you are this close your net calories is above your BMR. You really don't want your metabolism slowed down now.

If every meal has you with cravings pretty quick, you may have a problem with insulin spikes because of too many carbs for you.

Try eating the protein and fat before the carbs in a meal (and make sure each meal has them). See if that helps.
If so, that was it, and workaround found.
If not, you still may be over reacting to those carbs no matter when you eat them.

futiledevices

Are all calories equal?

Would over eating 500 calories of my daily allowance each day for a week of health foods (fresh veges for example) still cause the same weight gain (fat %) as eating 500 calories a day of high fat+sugar foods? Or does it depend on each person.

I'm just a bit confused...>.<

Edit; I have been conditioned to thinking that eating fatty calories = weight gain and eating healthy does not. However does eating too much of anything in general just cause the gain ;_;

Sure they would be the same.

As to what your body does with them, they might end up different places depending on what is going on right then.

If you have exercised and have some glucose stores to top off, 200 cal of sweets or fruit or vegetables would kick in the insulin and store the sugar there.
If you had no exercise and no immediate energy needs for it, then stored as fat.

If you had something protein/fat about 200 cal, no insulin spike, fat would be used for immediate energy needs (majority of fat for those needs) and protein for any repair.

Either way, it's getting stored, and current stores of fat won't be used for energy needs instead.

The bigger thing is, what does it make you want to do in 2 or 3 hrs? Hungry again, or still satisfied? More likely to kick off cravings, or just enjoy what you had?

But does this apply if you are eating a a deficit? Sorry if that seems like a stupid question, I just might not be as familiar with all this as you are.

heybales

Are all calories equal?

Would over eating 500 calories of my daily allowance each day for a week of health foods (fresh veges for example) still cause the same weight gain (fat %) as eating 500 calories a day of high fat+sugar foods? Or does it depend on each person.

I'm just a bit confused...>.<

Edit; I have been conditioned to thinking that eating fatty calories = weight gain and eating healthy does not. However does eating too much of anything in general just cause the gain ;_;

Sure they would be the same.

As to what your body does with them, they might end up different places depending on what is going on right then.

If you have exercised and have some glucose stores to top off, 200 cal of sweets or fruit or vegetables would kick in the insulin and store the sugar there.
If you had no exercise and no immediate energy needs for it, then stored as fat.

If you had something protein/fat about 200 cal, no insulin spike, fat would be used for immediate energy needs (majority of fat for those needs) and protein for any repair.

Either way, it's getting stored, and current stores of fat won't be used for energy needs instead.

The bigger thing is, what does it make you want to do in 2 or 3 hrs? Hungry again, or still satisfied? More likely to kick off cravings, or just enjoy what you had?

But does this apply if you are eating a a deficit? Sorry if that seems like a stupid question, I just might not be as familiar with all this as you are.

Yes.

The only difference is the fat mainly being used for energy anyway, is not being replaced by your eating.

The glucose and protein usage would all be about the same.