Calories are calories, but ...

ahinski

Not all calories are created equals...100 calories of broccoli is not the same as 100 calories of sugar. Different types of food send different messages to our body. Sugar should be avoided as much as possible. Maybe you should try to eat your sugary treats only once a week or so, so pretty soon you will not feel the need to eat sugar anymore.

This is broscience at it's finest. 100 calories of broccoli is exactly the same as 100 calories of sugar. Both are 100 calories. Sure, broccoli has much more of a health benefit, but you'll find out soon that if you try to avoid foods that you love completely, you'll be miserable and you won't be able to control yourself around them. There is no food that is innately horrible, but there are some that have more nutrients than others.

I found that by completely avoiding those foods that I used to love and replacing them with healthier options that I also happen to enjoy, I feel freaking fantastic and am somewhat repulsed by the foods that I used to enjoy.

grinch031

Not all calories are created equals...100 calories of broccoli is not the same as 100 calories of sugar. Different types of food send different messages to our body. Sugar should be avoided as much as possible. Maybe you should try to eat your sugary treats only once a week or so, so pretty soon you will not feel the need to eat sugar anymore.

This is broscience at it's finest. 100 calories of broccoli is exactly the same as 100 calories of sugar. Both are 100 calories. Sure, broccoli has much more of a health benefit, but you'll find out soon that if you try to avoid foods that you love completely, you'll be miserable and you won't be able to control yourself around them. There is no food that is innately horrible, but there are some that have more nutrients than others.

I found that by completely avoiding those foods that I used to love and replacing them with healthier options that I also happen to enjoy, I feel freaking fantastic and am somewhat repulsed by the foods that I used to enjoy.

Yes there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that removing addicting foods is better than keeping them around. Same goes for smoking, alcoholism, and every drug addiction out there.

ahinski

Exactly, calories are not created equally. Your body treats empty calories differently than nutritional calories. Empty calories (particularly those from yeasts or alcohol) will put your bodies use of other calories on hold. Alcohol calories from beer, act in the body on the order of 4 times as many calories as what they consume.

Calories from healthy fats also aid the body in knowing not to store energy as fat.

It is true that burning more calories than you eat will result in weight loss. There are foods such as Grapefruit that breaks down fats, and aids in this process. There are also sugars such as sugar cane that are not nutritional.

If this is your opinion than that's fine, but if you're stating a fact then you need to back it up with scientific evidence (not a blog or an article that's not peer review in study). I haven't found any scientific studies that show sugar from a candy bar is broken down any different than sugar from fruit. Please enlighten us.
And as mentioned, alcohol can't be stored by the body so it does get used first for energy, however I don't think people here are drinking alcohol as meal replacements.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

You are right, according to science, the body cannot tell the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates. According to my experience, however, when I eat refined sugar, I gain weight (and feel like crap). When I eat fruit, I lose weight (and feel amazing).

So go ahead and read all the medical journals you want. Find all the studies that have proven you can live off of twinkies or french fries or whatever ridiculous food some mad scientist wanted to torture his body with. I will probably agree with all your findings, but it's not going to make me want to change my diet--I feel way too good to stop eating healthily...ever.

I would think that as a personal trainer you would encourage people to use food as fuel and explain to people that there is low-grade fuel and high-grade fuel and although both will make your engine run, only the best fuel will make your engine run at its optimum performance. I'm shocked that someone who insists on finishing all of their posts with their credentials, still defends mediocre diets (that yes, will still yield weight loss results, but at an unfortunate cost).

I personally would never higher a personal trainer who defended unhealthy diets.

grinch031

Exactly, calories are not created equally. Your body treats empty calories differently than nutritional calories. Empty calories (particularly those from yeasts or alcohol) will put your bodies use of other calories on hold. Alcohol calories from beer, act in the body on the order of 4 times as many calories as what they consume.

Calories from healthy fats also aid the body in knowing not to store energy as fat.

It is true that burning more calories than you eat will result in weight loss. There are foods such as Grapefruit that breaks down fats, and aids in this process. There are also sugars such as sugar cane that are not nutritional.

If this is your opinion than that's fine, but if you're stating a fact then you need to back it up with scientific evidence (not a blog or an article that's not peer review in study). I haven't found any scientific studies that show sugar from a candy bar is broken down any different than sugar from fruit. Please enlighten us.
And as mentioned, alcohol can't be stored by the body so it does get used first for energy, however I don't think people here are drinking alcohol as meal replacements.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

You are right, according to science, the body cannot tell the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates. According to my experience, however, when I eat refined sugar, I gain weight (and feel like crap). When I eat fruit, I lose weight (and feel amazing).

So go ahead and read all the medical journals you want. Find all the studies that have proven you can live off of twinkies or french fries or whatever ridiculous food some mad scientist wanted to torture his body with. I will probably agree with all your findings, but it's not going to make me want to change my diet--I feel way too good to stop eating healthily...ever.

I would think that as a personal trainer you would encourage people to use food as fuel and explain to people that there is low-grade fuel and high-grade fuel and although both will make your engine run, only the best fuel will make your engine run at its optimum performance. I'm shocked that someone who insists on finishing all of their posts with their credentials, still defends mediocre diets (that yes, will still yield weight loss results, but at an unfortunate cost).

I personally would never higher a personal trainer who defended unhealthy diets.

Great point. If someone is hungry all the time, too tired to exercise, but managing their 500 calorie deficit because 'a calorie is a calorie', what good is it?

ninerbuff

You are right, according to science, the body cannot tell the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates. According to my experience, however, when I eat refined sugar, I gain weight (and feel like crap). When I eat fruit, I lose weight (and feel amazing).

So go ahead and read all the medical journals you want. Find all the studies that have proven you can live off of twinkies or french fries or whatever ridiculous food some mad scientist wanted to torture his body with. I will probably agree with all your findings, but it's not going to make me want to change my diet--I feel way too good to stop eating healthily...ever.

I would think that as a personal trainer you would encourage people to use food as fuel and explain to people that there is low-grade fuel and high-grade fuel and although both will make your engine run, only the best fuel will make your engine run at its optimum performance. I'm shocked that someone who insists on finishing all of their posts with their credentials, still defends mediocre diets (that yes, will still yield weight loss results, but at an unfortunate cost).

I personally would never higher a personal trainer who defended unhealthy diets.

Lol, I don't worry about you not hiring me...........
Listen, I personally eat 80% well and 20% whatever I feel. I've NEVER said to eat nothing but junk. You're just assuming that's my stance. All I did was debunk information that ISN'T correct and you took it personal. Why? Is it because you CAN'T do it in moderation? If that's the case then keep doing what you're doing, but don't be irresponsible and spew misinformation. That's all I did was refute the information you were providing.
And as for "best" fuel to keep you running, you could carb up on the best fuel, eat the best proteins, consume the best fats, and still have a crappy day. Mental toughness and self confidence will carry you on here. And THAT'S where I exceed with clients. Getting them over the hump they couldn't do themselves.
I don't disagree about eating better, but I won't stand by when misinformation is trying to be spread.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

CallmeSbo

first i'm confused as to why you would post this unless you are feeling a need to change the behavior. if you feel prompted to stop eating the gummies and sugar snacks, then STOP. dont' rely on posts from others to decide what is best for your body.

second, i don't believe all calories are equal. i guess it depends on what your goals are. my goal is to live a healthier lifestyle (compared to what i did before, not compared to others) and for me, it means giving up sweets almost exclusively. (VERY rarely will i have something sweet.) for someone else, their goal might be to eat a certain number of calories per day and as long as they are losing weight, they don't care what the content of those calories is.

for myself, i believe that 100 calories of fresh veggies and chicken (for example) is a far better choice than 50 calories of candy, gum, soda, etc. that is a personal choice of mine. i have no clue how my body burns it, whether it "sees" these calories as different, but I DO. i feel better when i choose healthy whole foods over sugary processed ones, no matter what the calorie intake might be.

good luck with your choices

You obviously missed my question. Not ONCE did i ask to be told what to eat. My question was, "does a 100calories of sweets jeopardise my weightloss efforts in anyway"? I asked because i did not know the answer and thought this forum will have more people knowledgable on the subject, if not atleast spark a debate. Which it has, and i am grateful for that. This is my body, at the end the decision is mine as to whether to continue my ways or not. You seem and come across as very high and mighty. Good luck with your 100%clean eating.

missikay1970

first i'm confused as to why you would post this unless you are feeling a need to change the behavior. if you feel prompted to stop eating the gummies and sugar snacks, then STOP. dont' rely on posts from others to decide what is best for your body.

second, i don't believe all calories are equal. i guess it depends on what your goals are. my goal is to live a healthier lifestyle (compared to what i did before, not compared to others) and for me, it means giving up sweets almost exclusively. (VERY rarely will i have something sweet.) for someone else, their goal might be to eat a certain number of calories per day and as long as they are losing weight, they don't care what the content of those calories is.

for myself, i believe that 100 calories of fresh veggies and chicken (for example) is a far better choice than 50 calories of candy, gum, soda, etc. that is a personal choice of mine. i have no clue how my body burns it, whether it "sees" these calories as different, but I DO. i feel better when i choose healthy whole foods over sugary processed ones, no matter what the calorie intake might be.

good luck with your choices

You obviously missed my question. Not ONCE did i ask to be told what to eat. My question was, "does a 100calories of sweets jeopardise my weightloss efforts in anyway"? I asked because i did not know the answer and thought this forum will have more people knowledgable on the subject, if not atleast spark a debate. Which it has, and i am grateful for that. This is my body, at the end the decision is mine as to whether to continue my ways or not. You seem and come across as very high and mighty. Good luck with your 100%clean eating.

wow! you completely misread my post. i am not "high and mighty" and i don't eat 100% healthy, i just TRY to get as close as i can. what i was trying to point out is that if you were totally fine with your daily sweets, you probably wouldn't have posed the question. if you are losing weight, then i think you already have the answer to your question, NO it won't interfere with YOUR results. i was just simply saying that for me, eating sweets every day wouldn't be a change for me. that's what i did before and got to the point of being overweight. so just personally, for myself, i don't think i could eat 100 cal of candy each day (even if i lost weight) and could feel good about myself. that doesn't mean i look down upon anyone who does that. i know plenty of people who eat anything and everything and they lose weight and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, its just not for me. i know the choice is yours, that's why i put a smile and said, "good luck with your choices" you seemed in the OP to be conflicted about eating the sweets every day, and i was just trying to be supportive. sorry you took it the wrong way.

as for the "not all calories are equal" that is just my opinion for how I feel when i consume certain foods. as i stated, i don't know how my body actually responds to the differences in sugar from candy vs. sugar from a banana, but i do know the way I feel and that was just my expression of that. didn't mean to offend you at all.

bcattoes

Calories are calories is not always a true statement. You have to listen to your own body because different people react differently to different foods. If you are eating these things now and losing and you enjoy them, then why worry about it. If you are concerned that you'd lose faster without them, then give that a trial run. If you do lose faster, ask yourself if the quicker loss is worth giving up these things you love. That's a question only you can answer.

CallmeSbo

first i'm confused as to why you would post this unless you are feeling a need to change the behavior. if you feel prompted to stop eating the gummies and sugar snacks, then STOP. dont' rely on posts from others to decide what is best for your body.

second, i don't believe all calories are equal. i guess it depends on what your goals are. my goal is to live a healthier lifestyle (compared to what i did before, not compared to others) and for me, it means giving up sweets almost exclusively. (VERY rarely will i have something sweet.) for someone else, their goal might be to eat a certain number of calories per day and as long as they are losing weight, they don't care what the content of those calories is.

for myself, i believe that 100 calories of fresh veggies and chicken (for example) is a far better choice than 50 calories of candy, gum, soda, etc. that is a personal choice of mine. i have no clue how my body burns it, whether it "sees" these calories as different, but I DO. i feel better when i choose healthy whole foods over sugary processed ones, no matter what the calorie intake might be.

good luck with your choices

You obviously missed my question. Not ONCE did i ask to be told what to eat. My question was, "does a 100calories of sweets jeopardise my weightloss efforts in anyway"? I asked because i did not know the answer and thought this forum will have more people knowledgable on the subject, if not atleast spark a debate. Which it has, and i am grateful for that. This is my body, at the end the decision is mine as to whether to continue my ways or not. You seem and come across as very high and mighty. Good luck with your 100%clean eating.

wow! you completely misread my post. i am not "high and mighty" and i don't eat 100% healthy, i just TRY to get as close as i can. what i was trying to point out is that if you were totally fine with your daily sweets, you probably wouldn't have posed the question. if you are losing weight, then i think you already have the answer to your question, NO it won't interfere with YOUR results. i was just simply saying that for me, eating sweets every day wouldn't be a change for me. that's what i did before and got to the point of being overweight. so just personally, for myself, i don't think i could eat 100 cal of candy each day (even if i lost weight) and could feel good about myself. that doesn't mean i look down upon anyone who does that. i know plenty of people who eat anything and everything and they lose weight and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, its just not for me. i know the choice is yours, that's why i put a smile and said, "good luck with your choices" you seemed in the OP to be conflicted about eating the sweets every day, and i was just trying to be supportive. sorry you took it the wrong way.

as for the "not all calories are equal" that is just my opinion for how I feel when i consume certain foods. as i stated, i don't know how my body actually responds to the differences in sugar from candy vs. sugar from a banana, but i do know the way I feel and that was just my expression of that. didn't mean to offend you at all.

in that case, thanks alot for the support.

CallmeSbo

Calories are calories is not always a true statement. You have to listen to your own body because different people react differently to different foods. If you are eating these things now and losing and you enjoy them, then why worry about it. If you are concerned that you'd lose faster without them, then give that a trial run. If you do lose faster, ask yourself if the quicker loss is worth giving up these things you love. That's a question only you can answer.

thats a great idea. I think i ll try that trial run to see how they affect me.

amymeenieminymo

How much am i jeopardising my diet? I am a bit of a carb junkie. I eat lots of vegetables and 3servings of fruit daily. But i have to have my 70 to 100calories of wine gums or jelly tots everyday. How will this affect my weightloss? For now it has not. I am guaranteed of 0.7kg weightloss everyweek. This is my 10th week on MFP.I know i cant continue this way forever. I still have already lost 16kg altogether.

Why not? This is a lifestyle change......can you really go the rest of your life eating nothing but fruit, veggies and water? Not likely. I still eat everything I love, I drink pop, eat fast food....the key is moderation and keep moving.