A calorie is a calorie, but not always the same.
d2footballJRC
Posts: 2,684 Member
A calorie is a calorie is thrown around a lot on these forums. If you get to the nitty gritty base of it all, then yes, a calorie is a calorie no matter where it came from. What does matter is how it became a calorie. Hear me out!
In losing weight calories in vs calories out is king and the major piece of the puzzle. That doesn’t mean it’s the only piece of the puzzle though. Our bodies are all different and we process different foods which themselves are not calories but provide calories. It is key to learn how our bodies process these foods and everyone’s bodies process them differently.
Some people can get away eating under calories and eating pure junk food. I’m someone who can not. Some reason if I eat over 150g of Carbs I will not lose weight. I do know that carbs will make your body take on an extra 3-4g of water per carb but that isn’t the only factor. There has been times in the past (looking back just under a years worth of data) that I’ve ate higher carbs (around 200g daily) and over the month didn’t lose any weight. Several months like that actually. Even eating always at a deficit. I may have an insulin issue of some sort, though the blood work has never shown any. I’ve learned over time what my body can and can’t respond to. Adjusting to that I’ve allowed myself to lose just over 100 pounds since August 1st. There has been times it’s slowed down and those times almost always have been a higher carb consumption. Now I’m not saying.. LOW CARBS and etc.. I’m saying learn how your body reacts to the foods you eat. I can eat high protein and go over on calories and not gain a lick and even lose. Just how my body reacts to it. There is many other factors but it comes down to our bodies are different.
This mainly goes out as advice to those who are stuck on a long plateau; advice is usually eat more, which sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Change up your macros next time, shock the system, see if maybe your body utilizes food differently. What do you have to lose?
A Calorie is a calorie is the back bone of all diets but don’t be so blind that you don’t look at other factors. Just some food for thought on a long Monday morning!
In losing weight calories in vs calories out is king and the major piece of the puzzle. That doesn’t mean it’s the only piece of the puzzle though. Our bodies are all different and we process different foods which themselves are not calories but provide calories. It is key to learn how our bodies process these foods and everyone’s bodies process them differently.
Some people can get away eating under calories and eating pure junk food. I’m someone who can not. Some reason if I eat over 150g of Carbs I will not lose weight. I do know that carbs will make your body take on an extra 3-4g of water per carb but that isn’t the only factor. There has been times in the past (looking back just under a years worth of data) that I’ve ate higher carbs (around 200g daily) and over the month didn’t lose any weight. Several months like that actually. Even eating always at a deficit. I may have an insulin issue of some sort, though the blood work has never shown any. I’ve learned over time what my body can and can’t respond to. Adjusting to that I’ve allowed myself to lose just over 100 pounds since August 1st. There has been times it’s slowed down and those times almost always have been a higher carb consumption. Now I’m not saying.. LOW CARBS and etc.. I’m saying learn how your body reacts to the foods you eat. I can eat high protein and go over on calories and not gain a lick and even lose. Just how my body reacts to it. There is many other factors but it comes down to our bodies are different.
This mainly goes out as advice to those who are stuck on a long plateau; advice is usually eat more, which sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Change up your macros next time, shock the system, see if maybe your body utilizes food differently. What do you have to lose?
A Calorie is a calorie is the back bone of all diets but don’t be so blind that you don’t look at other factors. Just some food for thought on a long Monday morning!
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Replies
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Good advice. Many people forget that calories are simply needed for weight loss while macronutrients largely dictate body composition. Macronutrients definitely need more love on this site.
Also, I believe in low-fat and high-fat phenotypes, meaning people who do better on higher fats and lower carbs and vice versa.0 -
Good advice. Many people forget that calories are simply needed for weight loss while macronutrients largely dictate body composition. Macronutrients definitely need more love on this site.
Also, I believe in low-fat and high-fat phenotypes, meaning people who do better on higher fats and lower carbs and vice versa.
Thanks for the comment!0 -
You share the best information with your friends. Thank you. I agree with it 100%. The system shocking has been working wonders for me.
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A calorie is a calorie is thrown around a lot on these forums. If you get to the nitty gritty base of it all, then yes, a calorie is a calorie no matter where it came from. What does matter is how it became a calorie. Hear me out!
In losing weight calories in vs calories out is king and the major piece of the puzzle. That doesn’t mean it’s the only piece of the puzzle though. Our bodies are all different and we process different foods which themselves are not calories but provide calories. It is key to learn how our bodies process these foods and everyone’s bodies process them differently.
Some people can get away eating under calories and eating pure junk food. I’m someone who can not. Some reason if I eat over 150g of Carbs I will not lose weight. I do know that carbs will make your body take on an extra 3-4g of water per carb but that isn’t the only factor. There has been times in the past (looking back just under a years worth of data) that I’ve ate higher carbs (around 200g daily) and over the month didn’t lose any weight. Several months like that actually. Even eating always at a deficit. I may have an insulin issue of some sort, though the blood work has never shown any. I’ve learned over time what my body can and can’t respond to. Adjusting to that I’ve allowed myself to lose just over 100 pounds since August 1st. There has been times it’s slowed down and those times almost always have been a higher carb consumption. Now I’m not saying.. LOW CARBS and etc.. I’m saying learn how your body reacts to the foods you eat. I can eat high protein and go over on calories and not gain a lick and even lose. Just how my body reacts to it. There is many other factors but it comes down to our bodies are different.
This mainly goes out as advice to those who are stuck on a long plateau; advice is usually eat more, which sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Change up your macros next time, shock the system, see if maybe your body utilizes food differently. What do you have to lose?
A Calorie is a calorie is the back bone of all diets but don’t be so blind that you don’t look at other factors. Just some food for thought on a long Monday morning!
You probably have what they call a protein bodytype, meaning you need less carbs but more protein to lose weight. I am the same and when I stick to that simple rule, providing I stay within my daily calorie allowance, the weight comes off.
Some people are suited to more carbs and less protein.
Good thread!0 -
A calorie is a calorie is thrown around a lot on these forums. If you get to the nitty gritty base of it all, then yes, a calorie is a calorie no matter where it came from. What does matter is how it became a calorie. Hear me out!
In losing weight calories in vs calories out is king and the major piece of the puzzle. That doesn’t mean it’s the only piece of the puzzle though. Our bodies are all different and we process different foods which themselves are not calories but provide calories. It is key to learn how our bodies process these foods and everyone’s bodies process them differently.
Some people can get away eating under calories and eating pure junk food. I’m someone who can not. Some reason if I eat over 150g of Carbs I will not lose weight. I do know that carbs will make your body take on an extra 3-4g of water per carb but that isn’t the only factor. There has been times in the past (looking back just under a years worth of data) that I’ve ate higher carbs (around 200g daily) and over the month didn’t lose any weight. Several months like that actually. Even eating always at a deficit. I may have an insulin issue of some sort, though the blood work has never shown any. I’ve learned over time what my body can and can’t respond to. Adjusting to that I’ve allowed myself to lose just over 100 pounds since August 1st. There has been times it’s slowed down and those times almost always have been a higher carb consumption. Now I’m not saying.. LOW CARBS and etc.. I’m saying learn how your body reacts to the foods you eat. I can eat high protein and go over on calories and not gain a lick and even lose. Just how my body reacts to it. There is many other factors but it comes down to our bodies are different.
This mainly goes out as advice to those who are stuck on a long plateau; advice is usually eat more, which sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Change up your macros next time, shock the system, see if maybe your body utilizes food differently. What do you have to lose?
A Calorie is a calorie is the back bone of all diets but don’t be so blind that you don’t look at other factors. Just some food for thought on a long Monday morning!
You probably have what they call a protein bodytype, meaning you need less carbs but more protein to lose weight. I am the same and when I stick to that simple rule, providing I stay within my daily calorie allowance, the weight comes off.
Some people are suited to more carbs and less protein.
Good thread!
Exactly, which is why I think people sometimes need to pay more attention to what their body type is. Especially if they feel they hit a plateau.0 -
you are all unique little snowflakes0
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I agree!!! I am dealing with trying to figure this out now.0
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Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!! I really do need to learn more about macronutrients....0
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I agree. I see much better results eating more fruits and veggies as apposed to bread and crackers. Same calories, but not the same result.0
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Thanks! More info to learn about... can't say what type of body I have, but now I'm armed with more understanding.0
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you are all unique little snowflakes
Just remember, you are unique and different. Just like everybody else!
It is true, though that different people react differently to different balances of intake.
It's also true that most people can actually train their body and adjust their body's preferred intake (such as people taking up diets like Atkins, where you actually convert your intake from a moderate-to-high-carb diet to a low-carb diet).
The human body is a remarkably flexible thing. There are so many ways to lose weight that it's sometimes tough to find one that works for each person. Fortunately, any of them work for MOST people, with varying degrees of difficulty and effectiveness.0 -
you are all unique little snowflakes
Some of us are more like pieces of hail than snowflakes. Pretty sure I just sink like a rock and not float down anywhere :-D0 -
I didn't know that about eating more carbs could be a stall trigger in losing weight. Thanks for the note. This might explain why I don't seem to lose when I eat a bunch of cracker-type snacks. I was still under or close to my daily MFP number but gaining a little. I'm going to watch that carb number closer. Thanks again.0
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A calorie is a calorie is thrown around a lot on these forums. If you get to the nitty gritty base of it all, then yes, a calorie is a calorie no matter where it came from. What does matter is how it became a calorie. Hear me out!
In losing weight calories in vs calories out is king and the major piece of the puzzle. That doesn’t mean it’s the only piece of the puzzle though. Our bodies are all different and we process different foods which themselves are not calories but provide calories. It is key to learn how our bodies process these foods and everyone’s bodies process them differently.
Some people can get away eating under calories and eating pure junk food. I’m someone who can not. Some reason if I eat over 150g of Carbs I will not lose weight. I do know that carbs will make your body take on an extra 3-4g of water per carb but that isn’t the only factor. There has been times in the past (looking back just under a years worth of data) that I’ve ate higher carbs (around 200g daily) and over the month didn’t lose any weight. Several months like that actually. Even eating always at a deficit. I may have an insulin issue of some sort, though the blood work has never shown any. I’ve learned over time what my body can and can’t respond to. Adjusting to that I’ve allowed myself to lose just over 100 pounds since August 1st. There has been times it’s slowed down and those times almost always have been a higher carb consumption. Now I’m not saying.. LOW CARBS and etc.. I’m saying learn how your body reacts to the foods you eat. I can eat high protein and go over on calories and not gain a lick and even lose. Just how my body reacts to it. There is many other factors but it comes down to our bodies are different.
This mainly goes out as advice to those who are stuck on a long plateau; advice is usually eat more, which sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Change up your macros next time, shock the system, see if maybe your body utilizes food differently. What do you have to lose?
A Calorie is a calorie is the back bone of all diets but don’t be so blind that you don’t look at other factors. Just some food for thought on a long Monday morning!
Good post. I'm the same way. I didn't start loosing til I hit over 100g protein/day, and cut my carbs to "anything that isn't bread" for 90% of my diet. Once in a while I'll sneak in some brown rice, but that's a treat.
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I agree. I see much better results eating more fruits and veggies as apposed to bread and crackers. Same calories, but not the same result.
Excellent observation. That has more to do with the glycemic index of the food than body type.
Refined/processed sugars give you a quick energy boost but raise your blood sugar quickly. This causes an insulin response in the body, which damps the sugar response, and the sugars that aren't burned up quickly get rapidly converted to fat and stored. So you don't gain any metabolic/long term energy gain from them, and when the sugar high runs out you feel hungry.
Natural sugars tend to be less concentrated and more complex, so they burn longer, meaning your body actually has a chance to use them up before they go to long-term storage (and it also means you are more energetic, longer, so your metabolism stays up and burns more calories for a longer period). They also often come with nutritional benefits (vitamins and minerals) that make the sugars worth having.
When engaging in long-term moderate exercise (hill climbing, etc), I find that very small amounts of sugar seem to start some sort of energy reaction that lasts - I suck on a lifesaver candy and it'll raise my energy levels for over an hour of hard climbing. So there's some other reaction going on there that I don't quite get, maybe the high glycemic index is actually giving my body enough energy to convert some fat, then it gets the ball rolling.
But during my sedentary days, sugars just give me a little boost and leave me feeling hungry when the boost runs out. Fruits, not so much.0 -
You said that so well and so true! Congrats on your loss and even bigger congrats on learning to pay attention to YOUR body!0
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you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.0 -
Awesome post!!! Thank you!!!0
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really? I chuckled.......Don't think it's anything serious or anything that makes him seem like a jerk.....Maybe some people are very sensitive?you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.0 -
Great post!!! Thank you!!0
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you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.
"seem like?"
I clearly haven't been working hard enough.0 -
A calorie is a calorie is thrown around a lot on these forums. If you get to the nitty gritty base of it all, then yes, a calorie is a calorie no matter where it came from. What does matter is how it became a calorie. Hear me out!
In losing weight calories in vs calories out is king and the major piece of the puzzle. That doesn’t mean it’s the only piece of the puzzle though. Our bodies are all different and we process different foods which themselves are not calories but provide calories. It is key to learn how our bodies process these foods and everyone’s bodies process them differently.
Some people can get away eating under calories and eating pure junk food. I’m someone who can not. Some reason if I eat over 150g of Carbs I will not lose weight. I do know that carbs will make your body take on an extra 3-4g of water per carb but that isn’t the only factor. There has been times in the past (looking back just under a years worth of data) that I’ve ate higher carbs (around 200g daily) and over the month didn’t lose any weight. Several months like that actually. Even eating always at a deficit. I may have an insulin issue of some sort, though the blood work has never shown any. I’ve learned over time what my body can and can’t respond to. Adjusting to that I’ve allowed myself to lose just over 100 pounds since August 1st. There has been times it’s slowed down and those times almost always have been a higher carb consumption. Now I’m not saying.. LOW CARBS and etc.. I’m saying learn how your body reacts to the foods you eat. I can eat high protein and go over on calories and not gain a lick and even lose. Just how my body reacts to it. There is many other factors but it comes down to our bodies are different.
This mainly goes out as advice to those who are stuck on a long plateau; advice is usually eat more, which sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Change up your macros next time, shock the system, see if maybe your body utilizes food differently. What do you have to lose?
A Calorie is a calorie is the back bone of all diets but don’t be so blind that you don’t look at other factors. Just some food for thought on a long Monday morning!
I agree with you 100% - I spent a lot of time watching every calorie - not really paying attention to macros and I would exercise out the wazooo...and weight would come off but sooooooooooooooo slowly...it was a never ending cycle of gaining and loosing the same 5 lbs....and me getting frustrated of why the heck am I watching every little calorie and exercising and not seeing any results...
I started reading and reading and removing things slowly from my diet...once I got down to eating clean about 85% of my food source and seeing the scale budge a little better but not as much as I would like...I started reading all about nutrients and how fats, carbs and protiens all react within your bodies...(which I am not going to even attempt to explain)...and how a lot of conventional wisdom is really misguided (i.e. fat is the enemy...yes there was a time I was all worried about the fat grams of something...I wouldn't eat things like Avocados because they were too high in fat - oh how stupid I was) - I found that cutting things out sort of lead me to the Primal/paleo lifestyle and within that eating style I adjusted my intake so my carb load is under 85G most days (note you dont' have to be Primal/Paleo to go lower carb - I ate the lifestyle before tweaking it to lower daily carbs)...by doing that (lower carbs) i have been having a steady decline for the past few months...still slow going but a lot better progress than before...still eating the same amount of calories - exercising about the same....but better results overall...
So I firmly believe that while straight calories in - calories out may work for a segment of the population...for another segment they may have to watch thier macros to see weight budging....0 -
you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.
"seem like?"
I clearly haven't been working hard enough.
Your snark is just a tad off. Are you coming down with a cold or something?0 -
you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.
"seem like?"
I clearly haven't been working hard enough.
Your snark is just a tad off. Are you coming down with a cold or something?
I've been trying to move toward a more effective, targeted snark. I may reconsider the carpet-bombing strategy.0 -
I think he very elegantly expressed a sense of frustration with people who make fitness overly complicated by believing they their body somehow defies the laws of physics. Of course weight loss is all about carbs, it has nothing to do with caloric intake and caloric expenditure. We have these magical engines in our bodies that produce energy from the ether! Someday we will harness this energy and fly to the stars! Weeee!you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.0 -
Not sure I agree with the premise of the OP's comment, but the underlying advice I whole-heartedly approve of. All the science in the world doesn't mean jack **** in practice if you can't get it to work. If you can't get something to work, confirm that you're doing it right and that you've given the change enough time to take affect. If it's still not working, try something else.0
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I think he very elegantly expressed a sense of frustration with people who make fitness overly complicated by believing they their body somehow defies the laws of physics. Of course weight loss is all about carbs, it has nothing to do with caloric intake and caloric expenditure. We have these magical engines in our bodies that produce energy from the ether! Someday we will harness this energy and fly to the stars! Weeee!you are all unique little snowflakes
You usually have such valuable input to add, even if I don't always agree, but things like this...they make you seem like a real jerk.
I never said it was all about carbs. I said the body processes stuff differently. It's funny enough that bb.com and am.com used to be filled with the arrogant people that killed the boards but more and more they've found their ways to these boards. It's funny when you go to bb.com and am.com to get away from people who have very little reading comprehension and think that the main post was all about go low carb or how someone things their body defies the laws of physics. God forbid someone may have an intolerance that is causing inflammation or something. You want to make something simple that there can be other factors. Glad you are someone who can have things simple, it doesn't work for everyone.
Well back to the bro scientist on am.com at least they are funny when they to shoot something down
Add in things such as hormones which get off balance from trying to lose the weight, insulin levels and more and that can greatly effect the calories out/burnt. That is why it's key to find out how your body works. Might do you some good to read up on some Layne Norton or Lyle McDonald.
At this point what I found is working for me, it might work for others. May feel like somehow that is an insult and that I'm breaking the rules to the calorie in vs calorie out but whatever works to get to the end goal my friend.0 -
To add to that..
Numerous scientific studies show that small caloric changes have almost no long-term effect on weight. When we skip a cookie or exercise a little more, the body’s biological and behavioral adaptations kick in, significantly reducing the caloric benefits of our effort… As a recent commentary in The Journal of the American Medical Association noted, the “small changes” theory fails to take the body’s adaptive mechanisms into account.0 -
Just FYI, I wasn't talking about you in particular. There is just a heavy trend towards mystical thinking on these boards that gets in the way of people's progress.I never said it was all about carbs. I said the body processes stuff differently. It's funny enough that bb.com and am.com used to be filled with the arrogant people that killed the boards but more and more they've found their ways to these boards. It's funny when you go to bb.com and am.com to get away from people who have very little reading comprehension and think that the main post was all about go low carb or how someone things their body defies the laws of physics. God forbid someone may have an intolerance that is causing inflammation or something. You want to make something simple that there can be other factors. Glad you are someone who can have things simple, it doesn't work for everyone.
Well back to the bro scientist on am.com at least they are funny when they to shoot something down.
Thought experiment: Bob is eating at a 500 calorie daily deficit. He has been doing so for 3 months, and has not lost a single pound, even though he should have lost over 10! Which is more likely:
1) Bob processes food differently than other people, and has entered starvation mode, where his body needs less food than a normal human's to survive.
2) Bob is counting his calories wrong, and has actually been eating at his TDEE for the last 3 months.
Many people here seem to lean towards #1. I personally think #2 is more likely.
I just want to help people achieve their fitness goals. Believing in magical thinking doesn't do that.
Edit: too many quotes0 -
Excellent observation. That has more to do with the glycemic index of the food than body type.
Refined/processed sugars give you a quick energy boost but raise your blood sugar quickly. This causes an insulin response in the body, which damps the sugar response, and the sugars that aren't burned up quickly get rapidly converted to fat and stored. So you don't gain any metabolic/long term energy gain from them, and when the sugar high runs out you feel hungry.
Natural sugars tend to be less concentrated and more complex, so they burn longer, meaning your body actually has a chance to use them up before they go to long-term storage (and it also means you are more energetic, longer, so your metabolism stays up and burns more calories for a longer period). They also often come with nutritional benefits (vitamins and minerals) that make the sugars worth having.
"Natural sugars" like fruit sugar (fructose) aren't polysaccharides, therefore they cannot be complex. Fruits are "natural" yet "give you quick energy boost."0
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