A Calorie is a Calorie - Lost Weight Eating Anything

Egger29

Such a great blog post in today from Coach Calorie that I had to come pass it on. I've seen so many people completely miss the mark focusing too much on counting the number of calories, with no thought at all given to the QUALITY of calories.

"A Calorie is a Calorie – Lose Weight Eating Anything - Written by Coach Calorie

You might have heard that a calorie is a calorie, and that might be true on some level. There have even been experiments to test this theory. For example, the all Twinkie diet was one where a man ate nothing but Twinkies, Oreos, and other junk food, but ate within his calorie limits and lost 27 pounds in 10 weeks – “proving” a calorie is a calorie. Can this really be true?

First Law of Thermodynamics - The first law of thermodynamics basically states that energy (calories) can neither be created nor destroyed. It means that calories in equals calories out. In other words, you will lose weight as long as you burn more calories than you consume. This is not a theory. This is fact – a law of chemistry.

Based on this first law of thermodynamics then, you should be able to eat whatever you want and still lose weight as long as you stayed within your calorie limits. While I have never tested this “theory”, I can tell you that it is true – you will lose weight; however, your FAT LOSS will not be the same as a healthy diet. Weight loss and fat loss are not the same thing.

All Calories are NOT Created Equal - There are studies all over the place that show how weight loss was the same whether the individual ate a junk food diet or a healthy diet, as long as the calories were the same. However, none of these studies measured body fat levels, hormones, or the general effects on their health – like cholesterol, triglycerides, or even mental health.

I include mental health because even though you could lose weight eating junk food, it is not as easy as you might think to eat so few calories with such calorie dense junk food. These foods will give you a quick “high” as you feed your cravings, and then you will be starving until your next “meal”. Junk food makes it harder to diet on every level.

A calorie is a calorie on a purely chemistry level. However, a calorie is just a measurement of energy – it does not take into account the nutritional profile of food. A Twinkie will have almost zero nutritional value, while a chicken breast with broccoli and some fish oil will be packed with protein, essential fatty acids, and all kinds of vitamins and minerals – even though they will have roughly the same calorie content.

So, as the title says: A Calorie is a Calorie – Lose Weight Eating Anything You Want. However, if I were to have rephrased it as: A Calorie is a Calorie – Lose Fat Eating Anything You Want, it would not have been true. Fat loss occurs when you mix the right macro-nutrients, eaten at the right time, and in the correct amounts.

There are no shortcuts to fat loss. It takes hard work. If you are only concerned about losing weight, and have no concerns about losing that muscle you worked so hard for, or the negative effects on your health, then go ahead and eat whatever you want. However, if your goal is to be healthy, lower your body fat, hold onto your muscle, and improve your mental well-being, then eat real food – not fake man-made “products”.

Colofit

Great post...I get frustrated when people on these posts get all excited when they find a "low calorie" snack food that is still nothing but crap! The whole point of this journey we are all on is changing our eating to become healthy lean and fit...can't do that on empty calories! Keep more of these posts coming!! In health, Michelle

HMonsterX

Why do i feel this should end up with "For more information, buy my new book!"

Don't forget, not everyone's goal is to become ultra fit and healthy. I don't want, and never could be, healthY. I just want to be healthIER. The key to that is sustainability. If i had to cut the "empty" calories, there is no way i would have stuck to it. So, i took the IIFYM approach. Made sure i kept my calorie deficit, hit my macros, lifted heavy, exercised hard, and the results speak for themselves. I have never felt fitter, stronger, healthier, and feel i could carry on like this forever.

So, for me, yes, a calorie IS a calorie.

Egger29

I find that responses like that leave me dismayed. Why? Because while results might be there, the question remains "Are they Optimal?"

No where in the original post did it claim that everyone's goal is to be ultra fit and healthy. It's simply stating that the quality of food choices is directly linked to the fuel your body is getting, and the results that follow.

Consider this:

The cells that make up your body thrive off what you put in it, and become made up of the things you ingest. A blood cell lasts 60-120 days. In 6 months almost all the proteins in your body die and are replaced, even the DNA of your genes. In a year all your bones and even the enamel of your teeth is replaced, constructed entirely out of the nutrients that you eat.

So, when you find yourself pounding that Big Mac at 3am–drunkenly or sober– just remember that the cells and proteins within your body will be doing their jobs with the golden arches hindering them from working optimally. That being said, quick fixes in your diet won’t show up for 6 months or longer. Fad diets do not work. If you want to change the way you feel and optimize how your body works to help you train and compete at your best, you have to work at your nutrition. And continue working at it.

I continually find it amazing that you can change the entire makeup of your body in just 6 months. Think about it.

Navallez

Great post..this is what helps me understand this journey to being healthy..I am morbidly obese..started with 338 lbs in August of last year and now I am at about 280 lbs..for me it wasnt only the calorie intake or the quality of food but also the way I was eating. To be as big as I am I dont eat an enormous amount of food like most people think that obese people do. By no means am I saying I was a healthy eater but at my house fruits and vegetables have always been a priority and as far as fried foods :sick: (not because I dont like them mind you but because the smell of burnt oil just makes me sick so I dont cook fried food..well I would not have breakfast because I was never hungry in the mornings ever....couldnt stand the taste of anything let alone having an actual breakfast..so maybe I would have lunch if I was working(fast food) if I was at home sometimes not even lunch maybes something here and there..so my actual meal of the day would be dinner...at times this was all I would have..needless to say that was very unhealthy and very bad for my metabolism. Well not eating and my poor food choices..(empty calories.) and me just dong housework and watching T.V all day added up to being unhealthy..

One day I saw a sign for my local Curves(gym for women) and decided I would go..signed up the next day..did 30 minute workouts 5 times a week, after the second week I decided I would start walking around the park a few times a week, by the end of that month I was doing my 30 minute workout, walking a mile a day, and doing 30 minutes of Zumba.. eating sometlhing for breakfast having lunch and dinner and best of all I was 20 lbs lighter...now I go to another gym get on the treadmill, rowing machine, elliptical,bike, circuit training, and just started an Aqua Zumba classs..I make sure I have breakfast, lunch and dinner..not super healthy choices all the time..carbs are big in my family...but I feel very good that I do make better food choices...a calorie is a calorie..but why would I want to put eat just for eating, why would I want to JUST be withing my calorie goal for the day...beats the purpose of this journey to a healthy or healthier life...like I said I am still learning and trying to make better choices..but at least I am trying...now I am 50 lbs lighter and feel great...

Colofit

Keep the post coming Egger, I'm right there with ya (add me if you like, I may even get your book...hahaha) ...and Nav, you have reached the point now where your really are understanding what purpose food is to our bodies and how your body reacts to real "live" food as well as exercise! Our bodies are designed to move and it loves it!! Keep up the good work my friend!!!!!!!!!!!