A Calorie is a Calorie?

...But vitamins/minerals are for the most part "good enough" items, once you've met your daily amount, there is almost no benefit to eating more.

If you don't need the other nutrient carrier properties of the carb source, it doesn't matter; bread, pasta, candy, cereal, vegetables, have at it, carbs are carbs.

a calorie is a calorie, but to me the better quality calories, the better quality results!

i am an IIFYM girl, i have my macros at roughly 45% carbs, 25% protein and 30% fat... as long as i more or ess hit these goals i will eat what i want....

A calorie is a calorie. And different macros are important for different reasons. Carbs are a easily accessible source of energy. Protein supports muscle maintenance and growth. Fats are great for brain and organ function. Different people prefer different macros based on their physical activity and how a certain split makes them feel.

I have mine set at 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats. I try to hit over 100g of protein every day, to support my heavy lifting. I like to get a significant amount of carbs, as I run 3-4 times a week and a lower level of carbs would make me feel tired and weak. I keep a 30% fat ratio because fats make me feel fuller and keep me satisfied.

I also strongly believe in IIFYM. I try to eat plenty of nutritious things every day, but I also allow for treats. This keeps me on a plan of moderation and helps me make more long-term healthy choices.

Also, why do you think rice, pasta and bread are less healthy?

a calorie is a calorie, but to me the better quality calories, the better quality results!

i am an IIFYM girl, i have my macros at roughly 45% carbs, 25% protein and 30% fat... as long as i more or ess hit these goals i will eat what i want....

This is pretty much what I am attempting to do. I know a calorie is a calorie, but if you "spend" those calories on less filling items (white rice rather than higher fiber brown. Chocolate rather than a bowl of greek yogurt and honey) it's going to be difficult to maintain a calorie deficit. You'll just be too hungry, imo.

Per the MFP database, 1 cup of raw spinach is 7 calories and has 167 mg of potassium. 1 cup of potato (with skin) is 58 cals and has 316mg of potassium.

58 calories isn't that "high" in my opinion. And yes, spinach may offer a better ratio, but it's not very filling and you have to eat double the amount (2 cups) to get the same amount of potassium as 1 cup of potato.

The best choice? Eat some of both.

I just wanted to post this in case anyone interpreted your post as "potatoes are bad."

copy and paste from a topic i wrote

People fully don’t understand calories and macro nutrients. Some believe that if they follow a specific macro nutrient ratio they will lose more weight. To understand the link between calories and macro nutrients we first must understand what a calorie is.

calorie - A calorie equals the amount of thermal energy necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 Celsius degree, at a pressure of 1 atm.

The Calories in food were determined by putting them in a container, then they putting the container in water and exploded the food. They would then determine the temperature of the water, the higher the temperature the more calories it has. Calories is just a unit energy. It’s a measurement of how much energy is used. It’s like how we use feet or meters to measure distance, we can use calories to measure energy. I will state this now, calories in food, and calories used in science aren’t exactly the same thing. For every calorie used in science there are 1,000 food calories. Food calories are identified with a capital C, “Calories”. The ones used in science are lower case “calories.” Due to the fact I am using word pad to write this, it has auto correct and capitalizes the first word of a sentence I will use calories and Calories interchangeably. I am referring to food calories in both cases.

Macro nutrients such as carbs, proteins, fats are NOT calories. They contain calories, but they are not calories. So yes, a calorie is a calorie just like a foot is foot, and a meter is a meter. If your body burns 2000 calories(energy) at rest, what would happen if you consumed 1,500 calories? Energy can’t be created or destroyed, only transformed. For your body to burn 500 calories more it has to use energy from the body, such as fats, proteins, or carbs. The energy is used to support your normal body functions. Since you’re using energy from the body it will contain less energy from protein,carbs,fats. Since you have less energy in the body you will weigh less. If you consume more energy than you burn it will be stored. The law of thermodynamics states “Energy can’t be created or destroyed, only transformed.” Turning food in to fat is a transformation of energy.

Some people do low carb for health reasons. Others do it because they think it burns more fat which will result in greater weight loss. It does burn more fat, but this doesn’t mean it will result in more weight loss. The reason is because if you're burning a lot of fat and consuming a lot of fat you're in the same spot initially, only a limited net change in body composition. So you can't out trick your body. Some low carbers shoot for ketosis. This just means the body isn’t using carbs so much as an energy source, they are using mostly fat. What some of these people fail to realize the more protein you eat the more protein you burn(prevents the body from using fat). The more fat you eat the more fat you’re storing. In the end it doesn’t make a difference. It will always boil down to calories.

A lot of people say “well I ate under my TDEE(Total Daily Energy Expeniture) and I didn’t lose weight doing x method.” How do you know what your TDEE is? Because some formula told you? Calorie tracking devices such as bodybugg, fit bit, or calculators don’t tell you anything about your metabolic situation. It can be highly suppressed. You maybe burning less calories than you think.

and a topic about health and food choices

Health and weight loss are directly proportional for the most part. Assuming you’re not dying of some type of immune disease. What are some of the greatest indicators of health? Blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol levels, insulin sensitivity, the ratio of LDL to HDL. You know what affects all these health indicators the most? WEIGHT. Lose weight and these health indicators will improve. What does weight loss have to do with the type of food you eat? NOTHING. Weight loss is about calories.

Then people try to argue the “you need your vitamins and minerals.” Go read a label on “Lucky Charms” cereal then tell me about vitamins and minerals. 11% vitamin A, 12% calcium, 12% vitamin C, 31% iron, 122 calories, 1.1g fat, 25g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 2.1g protein. Eat 10 servings, that’s 1,220 calories. Add some lean protein, and you’re set. How many of you track your vitamins and minerals and make sure you get the right amounts? If you don’t and preach “you won’t get your vitamins and minerals eating junk” then my friend, you’re a hypocrite. You’re probably not getting them either. Many authorities agree, you probably will get all your vitamins and minerals if you eat a well-balanced diet. Truth is, they also agree that no one eats a well-balanced diet all the time. They recommend vitamin and mineral supplements.

People also say “You won’t get enough protein.” Protein is also highly over rated. People don’t “BUILD” muscle. The muscles hold fluid called sarcoplasm. Most of the fluid is water. I know some pretty well built vegans. The more carbs you eat, the more carbs you burn, the more protein you eat, the more protein you burn. You think you will lose muscle if you don’t eat enough protein? You will just burn more carbs, they spare muscle. I did a self-experiment for a month. I ate noting but junk food to make a point to my friends. It’s all about calories. I lost 12lbs of fat in a month.

It’s healthier to be at a healthy weight and eat crap than it is to eat “healthy” and be overweight. There is a few caveats to what I am saying. Calorie dense foods don’t fill you up as much. A candy bar is like 200-300 calories. Try eating that much salad or broccoli. You’re probably wondering what I am ultimately trying to say. If you’re thinking I am saying “go eat junk food 24/7.” You’re missing the point. My point is junk food isn’t as bad as people think, if you eat a little, or a lot. It won’t prevent weight loss. It won’t deteriorate your health. I do agree if you do eat junk food all day it’s not “optimal.” Nothing what most of us do is “optimal.” This topic is mostly for people who think they can’t eat certain foods, if eating "bad foods" help you stick to your weight loss goals, then do it. Remember it’s healthier to be at a healthy weight and eat junk food than it is to be overweight and eat healthy food.

For weight loss a calorie is a calorie.

However most people are not interested in weight loss, they want fat loss. For fat loss, macros are important.

Protein = Building blocks for repair, recovery, and muscle growth.
Carbs = High output exercise fuel
Fat = Low output exercise/just sitting around fuel.

Almost everyone will benefit from eating more protein. The only exception are the cool kids who are already into eating lots of protein.

If you live a couch based lifestyle, carbs are no good. The more exercise you do, the more you benefit from more carbs (with one largely irrelevant for this discussion exception).