is a calorie just a calorie?

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  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    hit macros/cals. Eat a variety of foods to cover micronutrients.

    All good :smile:

    ^^ This. You don't need to eat lettuce leaves all day to be healthy. If you want a muffin for 200 calories that's fine, just don't eat muffins to make up your whole calorie goal.
  • earlyxer
    earlyxer Posts: 240 Member
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    Not really, when does it get stored as fat in a hypocaloric state and your assertion that complex carbs are better for weight loss doesn't appear to be true. Low GI carbs are associated with being more complex, right? Well.

    I don't agree - while broccoli, which I think I eat at least twice a day (and is the first veg I mentioned in my initial post) has a GI of 15, right at the bottom of the GI scale with all the others ( beans, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach). However, the point I am making is that they are fibrous AND they have a low caloric density. You can eat a ton of broccoli and not risk exceeding your calorie goal for the day (or meal). Try doing that with a high density food, like bacon.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Not really, when does it get stored as fat in a hypocaloric state and your assertion that complex carbs are better for weight loss doesn't appear to be true. Low GI carbs are associated with being more complex, right? Well.

    I don't agree - while broccoli, which I think I eat at least twice a day (and is the first veg I mentioned in my initial post) has a GI of 15, right at the bottom of the GI scale with all the others ( beans, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach). However, the point I am making is that they are fibrous AND they have a low caloric density. You can eat a ton of broccoli and not risk exceeding your calorie goal for the day (or meal). Try doing that with a high density food, like bacon.

    “There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.”
    ― Hippocrates
  • earlyxer
    earlyxer Posts: 240 Member
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    Acg - tell me you got those abs of yours on The Twinkie Diet.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Acg - tell me you got those abs of yours on The Twinkie Diet.

    He could have as long as his calorie intake didn't go over his TDEE granted he consumed enough protein also to retain LBM.

    Burning fat is about eating a deficit under your TDEE. Energy in vs energy out. The sooner you realize this, the better off you'll be.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Acg - tell me you got those abs of yours on The Twinkie Diet.

    No, I don't really like Twinkies. I did eat Ben and Jerry's 4-7x a week though
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
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    No ! A calorie is absolutely not just a calorie ! If somebody consumes 1200 calories of fast food, processed foods, sugary snacks and soda ~ vs ~ somebody whom consumes 1200 calories of nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean meats and fish ... I guarantee you the person with poor diet choices will not feel the benefits of a healthy diet. With that being said ... Can you lose weight eating like that ??? Sure ... But you will never get that lean look and have a healthy lifestyle. Not only does your body thrive on nutrients ... But it's just not about the fat or weight loss. Your brain power, heart,, cardiovascular health, hair, nails, skin, muscles ... All depend on healthy choices. When we eat crap ... We generally feel like crap !

    Go ahead .. Test the theory ... See how good it feels to fuel a machine ( your body ) with optimum performance foods ... There is no better feeling in the world than knowing your running on prime nutrients !

    I am not saying you can't splurge ... Enjoy your favorites ... Just be certain to have a nice mix .... Like the perfect cocktail !

    I may be out numbered by the folks who say ... " a calorie is just a calorie " ... But I ask you to just try to implement more " one ingredient " foods in your menus and see the difference in how you feel !

    Best of luck my friend ... Cheers to choices ! :drinker:
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    No ! A calorie is absolutely not just a calorie ! If somebody consumes 1200 calories of fast food, processed foods, sugary snacks and soda ~ vs ~ somebody whom consumes 1200 calories of nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean meats and fish ... I guarantee you the person with poor diet choices will not feel the benefits of a healthy diet. With that being said ... Can you lose weight eating like that ??? Sure ... But you will never get that lean look and have a healthy lifestyle. Not only does your body thrive on nutrients ... But it's just not about the fat or weight loss. Your brain power, heart,, cardiovascular health, hair, nails, skin, muscles ... All depend on healthy choices. When we eat crap ... We generally feel like crap !

    Go ahead .. Test the theory ... See how good it feels to fuel a machine ( your body ) with optimum performance foods ... There is no better feeling in the world than knowing your running on prime nutrients !

    I am not saying you can't splurge ... Enjoy your favorites ... Just be certain to have a nice mix .... Like the perfect cocktail !

    I may be out numbered by the folks who say ... " a calorie is just a calorie " ... But I ask you to just try to implement more " one ingredient " foods in your menus and see the difference in how you feel !

    Best of luck my friend ... Cheers to choices ! :drinker:

    Again, since people are having a few issues reading correctly. In fact, I'll use CAPS so everyone can see.

    A CALORIE IS A CALORIE IN TERMS OF WEIGHT LOSS.

    This was the entire argument. Of course no one is going to eat nothing but chocolate bars all day, every day and not have health problems down the road, but that person will in fact lose fat AND muscle if he did as long as he ate a deficit...therefore LOSING WEIGHT. Tada!

    Why oh why can't people READ and UNDERSTAND this!? I'll never know.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
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    Mygrl -

    As counterintuitive as it may seem, fruit is actually not very good for fat loss.

    You need to understand there are no "bad foods" for fat loss while in a calorie deficit. We ALL are counting calories here. That's why we are here.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    No ! A calorie is absolutely not just a calorie ! If somebody consumes 1200 calories of fast food, processed foods, sugary snacks and soda ~ vs ~ somebody whom consumes 1200 calories of nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean meats and fish ... I guarantee you the person with poor diet choices will not feel the benefits of a healthy diet. With that being said ... Can you lose weight eating like that ??? Sure ... But you will never get that lean look and have a healthy lifestyle. Not only does your body thrive on nutrients ... But it's just not about the fat or weight loss. Your brain power, heart,, cardiovascular health, hair, nails, skin, muscles ... All depend on healthy choices. When we eat crap ... We generally feel like crap !

    Go ahead .. Test the theory ... See how good it feels to fuel a machine ( your body ) with optimum performance foods ... There is no better feeling in the world than knowing your running on prime nutrients !

    I am not saying you can't splurge ... Enjoy your favorites ... Just be certain to have a nice mix .... Like the perfect cocktail !

    I may be out numbered by the folks who say ... " a calorie is just a calorie " ... But I ask you to just try to implement more " one ingredient " foods in your menus and see the difference in how you feel !

    Best of luck my friend ... Cheers to choices ! :drinker:

    Again, since people are having a few issues reading correctly. In fact, I'll use CAPS so everyone can see.

    A CALORIE IS A CALORIE IN TERMS OF WEIGHT LOSS.

    This was the entire argument. Of course no one is going to eat nothing but chocolate bars all day, every day and not have health problems down the road, but that person will in fact lose fat AND muscle if he did as long as he ate a deficit...therefore LOSING WEIGHT. Tada!

    Why oh why can't people READ and UNDERSTAND this!? I'll never know.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    I wish people would be a little less condescending.
  • earlyxer
    earlyxer Posts: 240 Member
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    Again, since people are having a few issues reading correctly. In fact, I'll use CAPS so everyone can see.

    A CALORIE IS A CALORIE IN TERMS OF WEIGHT LOSS.

    This was the entire argument. Of course no one is going to eat nothing but chocolate bars all day, every day and not have health problems down the road, but that person will in fact lose fat AND muscle if he did as long as he ate a deficit...therefore LOSING WEIGHT. Tada!

    Why oh why can't people READ and UNDERSTAND this!? I'll never know.

    Because a calorie is not a calorie in terms of weight loss - carbohydrate, fat and protein calories are indeed equal by definition in terms of their energy content, but the body processes each in a distinct way, and these differences have real implications for weight management.

    More energy is required to process protein than carbs, and more energy is required to process carbs than fat. What this means effectively is that a 2,500-calories-a-day high-protein diet adds fewer calories to the body than a 2,500-calories-a-day high-carb diet, which in turn adds fewer calories to the body than a 2,500-calories-a-day high-fat diet.


    http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/nutrition/a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie.aspx
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    I apologize in advance if people take anything I say as being rude.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Again, since people are having a few issues reading correctly. In fact, I'll use CAPS so everyone can see.

    A CALORIE IS A CALORIE IN TERMS OF WEIGHT LOSS.

    This was the entire argument. Of course no one is going to eat nothing but chocolate bars all day, every day and not have health problems down the road, but that person will in fact lose fat AND muscle if he did as long as he ate a deficit...therefore LOSING WEIGHT. Tada!

    Why oh why can't people READ and UNDERSTAND this!? I'll never know.

    Because a calorie is not a calorie in terms of weight loss - carbohydrate, fat and protein calories are indeed equal by definition in terms of their energy content, but the body processes each in a distinct way, and these differences have real implications for weight management.

    More energy is required to process protein than carbs, and more energy is required to process carbs than fat. What this means effectively is that a 2,500-calories-a-day high-protein diet adds fewer calories to the body than a 2,500-calories-a-day high-carb diet, which in turn adds fewer calories to the body than a 2,500-calories-a-day high-fat diet.

    It does not matter if protein and carbs have a higher TEF when you calculate TDEE for the entire day or for the week. TEF is included in your TDEE. TDEE is composed of your BMR + TEF + NEAT + EAT. You still eat the deficit, you still lose the weight. If you don't track anything and don't know your TDEE or how much energy you burn in a day then one might say, "well maybe I shouldn't eat as much fat because since fat is 9 calories per gram, this might make me end up eating a surplus...I'll just stick with protein, carbs, and naturally occurring fats instead."

    The argument is:

    TDEE: 3000 calories
    Calories Consumed: 2500 calories
    Meals: Snickers Chocolate Bars

    Will I lose weight still? The answer is: Yes.

    Will I lose both fat and muscle? The answer is: Yes

    Why will I also lose muscle? The answer is: Because you are not getting enough protein to retain the LBM.

    Will I be healthy? The answer is: Probably not in the long run because of the lack of not only macronutrients,, but micronutrients as well.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    @chrisdavey didn't you tell me recently on my wall that you're leaning towards a lower carb approach, that you're getting better results for cutting doing that?

    @sidesteal, i am just curious. You told me a while ago about your cutting diet. You said you'd hit maintenance once a week. The other days, what was your deficit? was a standard 20% deficit, or was it lower or what?

    I missed the last 3 pages because I had to quote this but I'll go back.

    I just ate 2 pop tarts, 500ml of ice cream & protein pancakes before bed. No, not low carb at the moment!

    As I said man, hit minimum P&F and have an overall deficit for steady weight loss. Carbs are good for energy & gym performance but they're the least important of the 3 macros so when you want to cut cals it makes sense to me to take them from carbs first.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    @chrisdavey didn't you tell me recently on my wall that you're leaning towards a lower carb approach, that you're getting better results for cutting doing that?

    @sidesteal, i am just curious. You told me a while ago about your cutting diet. You said you'd hit maintenance once a week. The other days, what was your deficit? was a standard 20% deficit, or was it lower or what?

    I missed the last 3 pages because I had to quote this but I'll go back.

    I just ate 2 pop tarts, 500ml of ice cream & protein pancakes before bed. No, not low carb at the moment!

    As I said man, hit minimum P&F and have an overall deficit for steady weight loss. Carbs are good for energy & gym performance but they're the least important of the 3 macros so when you want to cut cals it makes sense to me to take them from carbs first.

    Bro can you take over this argument for me? I'm hungry and want to go eat ice cream and drink chocolate milk.

    Thanks =)
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

    Actually you can eat Twinkies all day and lose weight. Yes in terms of weight loss a calories is a calorie. Healthwise not as much.
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    A calorie is a calorie (a measure of energy), but just like a hundred pounds of feathers and a hundred pounds of bowling balls both have the same number of pounds... the effect of dropping them from above a crowd of people will probably be different.

    A hundred calories of one food may be much more satisfying and/or more nutritious than one hundred calories of another food.
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
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    I believe that the body processes certain foods differently, so not all calories are the same.. as long as your putting healthy food into your body.. I stick to "michi's ladder", so pretty much veggies, fruit, lean protein (NO PORK FOR ME! body has freaked out every time I eat it, ever since I was little).. brown rice, sometimes i will eat wheat bread... although I do enjoy the sweets every now and then :-)

    spot on what i believe.... right down to the no swine. :-)
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Bump, so I know where to start reading from when I come back later. :laugh: