A calorie is NOT a calorie

mmapags

Some are always trying to make weight management and health out to be some secret formula. It's pretty easy to determine what are nutrient dense foods and what are not. The whole "eating clean" thing is so subjective that it is almost impossible to define in any universal way. It seems ever more subjective when some starting attributing "eating clean" as being responsible for all these improvements in appearance and health based on thier personal anecdotal experience. It get's even more ridiculous when people start demonizing foods like Ice cream and pizza. I mean, does anyone really eat a diet of only pizza and ice cream? If you lack common sense enough to do this on a regular basis, an article on eating clean isn't going to help.

It's just not all that complicated.

dap1217

Thanks.. bump for later

CyberEd312

The definition of "Eating Clean" can have such a broad range of examples depending on the individual and what there diet consist of Vegan, Vegetarian, those with meat diets.... It really comes down to your interpretation and I for one consider pizza and ice cream in my diet to be part of my meal plans. When I started they were considered trigger foods (you don't push 560 lbs. and they are not) so I tended to avoid them until such a time that food no longer had control over me and that I had control over it. Now I eat Pizza and Ice cream at least once a week (normally on the weekends) and the rest of the week I concentrate on Chicken, Fish, Lean meats, veggies, etc, etc.. I enjoy a few meals of this variety and do not consider them to be bad (carb loading definitely but not bad) just a part of my food intake (that yes taste pretty darn good too) and I have managed to lose a few pounds eating this way... But again to each their own do what you believe works best for you and your situation... Best of Luck

FootballManaic

Nice article.

hesn92

I think eating clean is more for your health and well-being than it is for weight-loss.

Juliann4k9

bump

magerum

A calorie is a unit of measurement as it applies to the laws of thermodynamics, period. Quality of the calorie is a different story. What's next? An inch isn't an inch? A watt isn't a watt?

AnvilHead

Here's the best explanation of it yet:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/is-a-calorie-a-calorie.html

tigersword

A calorie IS a calorie, in much the same way a mile is a mile.

Running a mile uphill requires more effort than walking a mile down a gentle grade. But it's still... a mile.

That's an interesting analogy. So which calories are "uphill" and which calories are "downhill"?

Doesn't matter.... I don't think of any of them as good or bad. They all have a place in my life. :happy: I get adequate protein and fat, and let the carbs fall where they may.

Wasn't thinking in terms of good or bad. I was wondering if some required more "work" which I think might have been the original point of this thread. I really don't know. I mean I enjoy running up hills. It's harder to do but I get more out of it.

None of them really take that much more work. You're talking about a difference of a few calories a day. Approximately, for 100 calories of carbs it takes about 10 calories to digest. For protein, 100 calories takes about 20 calories to digest, so if you replace 1000 calories of carbs with 1000 calories of protein in your daily diet, you'd burn about 100 extra calories a day. 100 calories of fat takes roughly 3 calories to digest, because it doesn't really need to be broken down or converted to be stored.

So really, the whole argument about the thermogenic effect of food is much ado about nothing, as it's impossible to add 1000 calories of protein without adding some fat, and since fat burns less calories in digestion than carbs, it offsets a lot of the difference. Like I said, it's all about a difference of a few calories a day.

HappyStack

I was always under the impression that the so-called "quality" of the calorie is unimportant, it's the macro profile that is most important.

i.e As long as you're getting a sufficient quantity of proteins, carbs and fats from the food you eat per lb or kg of body mass, your body neither wonders nor cares where you get it from or whether it's labelled as junk food or not. The protein you get from a block of tofu (processed in the sense of being 'man made') is all the same as you would get from a pork chop [not in quantity, just in quality; protein is protein].

pkw58

Ok, I believe that MFP is not just for losing weight, but a integral part of my choice to live a healthy lifestyle. A calorie is not just a calorie to me just like the number on the scale is not just a number to me anymore. It's a guideline.

With that said, I believe my skin, hair, energy level all improves at my current weight I want to maintain if I eat more calories from the "super foods" list vs another baskin robbins run. So if I choose avocados over ice cream, I am making a better choice for me. Choose salmon over prime rib, I am making a better choice for me.

Not saying you can't maintain a weight or ability to lift weights on ice cream, but at 53, I need to invest my calories in foods that help me feel and look better.

The real point is, why does it have to be either/or? Why can't you choose both ice cream and avocados, and have salmon and prime rib? That's what balance is all about.

For me, it's all about the mindset of eating what works for me, my way. If eating both works for you, then that is your way. I feel better ditching the ice cream and prime rib. If you feel great eating those things, than eat them. I am good with my nutrition plan.

ToughTulip

Ok, I believe that MFP is not just for losing weight, but a integral part of my choice to live a healthy lifestyle. A calorie is not just a calorie to me just like the number on the scale is not just a number to me anymore. It's a guideline.

With that said, I believe my skin, hair, energy level all improves at my current weight I want to maintain if I eat more calories from the "super foods" list vs another baskin robbins run. So if I choose avocados over ice cream, I am making a better choice for me. Choose salmon over prime rib, I am making a better choice for me.

Not saying you can't maintain a weight or ability to lift weights on ice cream, but at 53, I need to invest my calories in foods that help me feel and look better.

The real point is, why does it have to be either/or? Why can't you choose both ice cream and avocados, and have salmon and prime rib? That's what balance is all about.

Exactly. I like to have a balance. I don't understand the all or nothing mentality of a lot of clean eating posts

AnvilHead

...Our body processes certain foods differently, why do people constantly want to debate that...

Here's a review of an interesting study in that regard:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html

Now read this paragraph in Lyle's summary (emphasis added):

This study basically backs up what I’ve been saying for years: a single fast food meal, within the context of a calorie controlled diet, is not death on a plate. It won’t destroy your diet and it won’t make you immediately turn into a big fat pile of blubber. And, frankly, this can be predicted on basic physiology (in terms of nutrient digestion) alone. It’s just nice to see it verified in a controlled setting.

It’s not uncommon for the physique obsessed to literally become social pariahs, afraid to eat out because eating out is somehow defined as ‘unclean’ (never mind that a grilled chicken breast eaten out is fundamentally no different than a grilled chicken breast cooked at home) and fast food is, of course, the death of any diet. This is in addition to the fact that apparently eating fast food makes you morally inferior as well. Well, that’s what bodybuilders and other orthorexics will tell you anyhow.

Except that it’s clearly not. Given caloric control, the body’s response to a given set of nutrients, with the exception of blood lipids would appear to be more determined by the total caloric and macro content of that meal more than the source of the food.

In terms of the hormonal response, clean vs. unclean just doesn’t matter, it’s all about calories and macros.

Which is what I’ve been saying all along.

lyttlewon

A calorie is a unit of measurement as it applies to the laws of thermodynamics, period. Quality of the calorie is a different story. What's next? An inch isn't an inch? A watt isn't a watt?

^^This. Like when people say generically: muscle ways more than fat. A pound is a pound.

MissFrog123

Nicely put! It's wonderful to give your body the natural, nutritious foods that it needs to run well and keep healthy... instead of harmful, damaging "franken-foods". :-)