A Calorie is NOT just a Calorie

A calorie is a calorie. And what you eat matters. These are not mutually exclusive ideas. This forum really propagates some bad thinking on both extremes.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/517056-does-it-matter-what-you-eat-if-you-just-count-calories/

"Upon investigating the types of foods in the Harvard study, it probably comes as no surprise that the fattier, fried, processed and sugar-added foods contributed to weight gain, while the more commonly-perceived health foods helped people lose weight. However, the keen nutritionist would likely argue that it's not the unhealthy foods themselves that put on the extra weight. Fatty foods like potato chips and red meat naturally contain more calories than whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Overeating foods high in fat is more likely to result in consuming extra calories than foods high in protein or carbohydrates. Potatoes are high in starch, a carbohydrate that is quickly digested and used for energy. As with added sugars, these foods can leave you hungry and craving food shortly after eating."

That's exactly what my experience tells me too.

Hello, have you seen a lot a people out there (I include myself in that statement - previous over consumer).

Why did you originally join MFP, for the stimulating conversation.

Gonna cut out the rest because I don't want to destroy reality as we know it.
I joined so I can count my calories. Which I've been doing. With good results. Still eating plenty of carbs. But never ate so many
that it would fill up 2000 calories. That would be 500 grams of carbs btw.

An as you are probably burning them all great. There's nothing wrong with eating carbs and burning them if you choose to do this. The problem is over eating them.

I'm not anti carb, some of my best friend know people who eat them.

You sound like you're anti-carb though, since you don't seem to be even entertaining the thought that exactly the same can happen if you eat too much fat and protein with no carbs.

I'm not anti carb, far from it I eat about 150g a day.

Yes I agree that the same would happen if you over consumed any food.

The point of my post was there is a reason members of MFP lost weight and no it's not magic.

Yah we are in a calorie deficet.

If you eat low carb and high fat your insulin levels remain low, lipolysis occurs and you generate keytones to burn as fuel = you don't store the fat you consume as body fat.

If you take in more fat than calories you need, it will be stored as fat. The body doesn't upregulate metabolism to burn any and all dietary fat when in a carb depleted state.

Ketones are only produced to supply fuel to the brain in the absence of sufficient blood glucose. Other organs and muscles in the body can directly use fat for energy, and prefers to if possible.

But fat is not a high energy fuel and cannot fuel high intensity exercise, hence "the wall" that is reached after doing high intensity exercise for sufficiently long a period, when glycogen starts to run dry, and the "fat burning zone", exercise intensities sufficiently low that the body primarily burns fat to fuel the exercise.

Ok so the article is worth a read as there were some interesting snippets in it. but ultimately i disagree with it. I totally agree that you'll FEEL different choosing a diet based around different 'quality' of calories (if you were to have 1200 kcals of mcdonalds every day you'd probably feel tired, hungry and greasy), BUT her whole article is supposedly under the title that a calorie isn't just a calorie when in fact in terms of dropping the lbs, it is. If you eat 1200 kcals of healthy nutrient rich foods instead of 1200 kcals of junk food you'll feel much better, but you wont lose weight any quicker and as long as you stick to your calories you'll lose either way.

nothing in that article (for me) changed the basic premise that less calories = weighing less

And science people want science here you go:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/5/899S.ful

"Thermodynamics dictate that a calorie is a calorie regardless of the macronutrient composition of the diet. Further research on differences in the composition of weight loss and on the influence of satiety on compliance with energy-restricted diets is needed to explain the observed increase in weight loss with diets high in protein and/or low in carbohydrate. "

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/diet-and-weight/

"Conventional wisdom says that since a calorie is a calorie, regardless of its source, the best advice for weight control is simply to eat less and exercise more. Yet emerging research suggests that some foods and eating patterns may make it easier to keep calories in check, while others may make people more likely to overeat."



And one of my favorite quotes:

"Thus, studies using extreme diets may be useful for probing biochemical pathways, but they have no relevance to the human diet or to current consumption."

And science people want science here you go:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/5/899S.ful

"Thermodynamics dictate that a calorie is a calorie regardless of the macronutrient composition of the diet. Further research on differences in the composition of weight loss and on the influence of satiety on compliance with energy-restricted diets is needed to explain the observed increase in weight loss with diets high in protein and/or low in carbohydrate. "

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/diet-and-weight/

"Conventional wisdom says that since a calorie is a calorie, regardless of its source, the best advice for weight control is simply to eat less and exercise more. Yet emerging research suggests that some foods and eating patterns may make it easier to keep calories in check, while others may make people more likely to overeat."



And one of my favorite quotes:

"Thus, studies using extreme diets may be useful for probing biochemical pathways, but they have no relevance to the human diet or to current consumption."

You...I like you.

You know, people who argue this typically lack logging consistency or are desperately grasping at straws to make up reasons in their mind to why their loss is slower than they like. I'm 5'3.5" 119 lbs and lose 1 lb a week on 1700 calories of fast food, ice cream, pizza, etc. So, calories seem to be calories for me. Maybe I'm just a magical fairy though. I would be okay with this. As long as I got wings.

Omg, haha! This made me laugh out loud! I think I may be a fairy too! I eat whatever I want and have lost 43 pounds in 6 months!

And science people want science here you go:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/5/899S.ful

"Thermodynamics dictate that a calorie is a calorie regardless of the macronutrient composition of the diet. Further research on differences in the composition of weight loss and on the influence of satiety on compliance with energy-restricted diets is needed to explain the observed increase in weight loss with diets high in protein and/or low in carbohydrate. "

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/diet-and-weight/

"Conventional wisdom says that since a calorie is a calorie, regardless of its source, the best advice for weight control is simply to eat less and exercise more. Yet emerging research suggests that some foods and eating patterns may make it easier to keep calories in check, while others may make people more likely to overeat."



And one of my favorite quotes:

"Thus, studies using extreme diets may be useful for probing biochemical pathways, but they have no relevance to the human diet or to current consumption."

You...I like you.

:flowerforyou:

BUMP

Most people confuse their own personal results, with absolute proof and they start making fools of themselves. Switch from a very bad diet, to a somewhat bad diet, and you will lose weight. Does not mean you are now a nutrition expert!

Wouldn't lose weight if the calories were still the same count.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition