Can your body mistake calories?

2

Replies

  • DanielleAThomas
    DanielleAThomas Posts: 8 Member
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    If you swallow a cupcake whole and dont taste it, does that mean you actually ate it?
  • ndrec
    ndrec Posts: 31 Member
    Well here was my diet today. Morning- turkey sandwich on wheat 120 calories for each of 2 slices
    Lunch- Bean Burrito- 500 calories
    Dinner- 2 beef tacos, 1 chicken sandwich

    Exercise- 25 mile bike ride (mountain bike), 2 mile walk after dinner

    this is pretty useless info. divide every ingredient (EVERY) and measure it in grams. then you'll know.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    The human body is a perpetual motion machine that pulls free energy from the aether. Big Energy is hiding this truth from you so that you will continue to pay for power from their "power plants" which are not powered by oil or nuclear energy, but by millions of people who "died" in fake executions as well as plane crashes and other tragedies and are being forced to pedal specially rigged exercise bikes all day long. All those "nuclear disasters" like 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl are just part of a big cover-up to keep the sheeple convinced that we need Big Energy to power our civilization.
  • meridianova
    meridianova Posts: 438 Member
    But I guess what I'm saying is do some peoples bodies not respond to a lower calorie deficit.

    despite the flame war i'm about to start... yes. my body doesn't respond to caloric deficits the way most people's do. whether that's because of genetics, because my metabolism is low and/or incredibly efficient, or because of something else getting in the way, i don't know. what i do know is that my doctor has reviewed my bloodwork, my medical history, and my eating plan and determined that yeah, i'm doing everything that's supposed to work, but it's a much more agonizingly slow process than it should be.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Your body stores calories? So isn't that the same thing?

    Storing calories does not mean your body is able to make calories up out of thin air.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    sometimes all the right things isnt really all the right things.

    i was plateauing for a while. couldnt figure out why. i was doing all the right things. except i was estimating my calories burned, not weighing my food and estimating low, and basically, eating too much.

    im crawling out of that plateau now because... early weight loss is easy. and you start to think... wow i did this much i MUST know what i am doing... but then it gets harder because your body is not like "wow, we arent running on a billion calories a day anymore" its like... hey, we lost weight and now we live on such and such calories... "

    thats when you have to be sure that what you are logging is really what you are eating and exersizing, and that the food you are eating is really as little as you think.

    2 examples. we made pizzas tonight. serving size for the dough was two ounces. i snipped off some dough and plopped it on the scale. i thought it would be 3 oz or so. nope. 5.3 oz.

    example number 2. i walk a lot. sometimes we will be walking for 5 or 6 hours at a time while running errands. so i would estimate a 3 hour walk thinking some of that time was stopped so half should be fine. recently i got a fitbit which tells me my actual steps. and then i went downtown on a 4 hour adventure yesterday. what i would have logged as a two hour walk (half the time) was actually not many steps at all and only 117 calories burned or so. according to it.

    so... yea.

    thats that.

    everything right isnt always everything right. sometimes its some things right but not everything.

    :laugh:
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    This person is better than I am...
  • Fithealthyforlife
    Fithealthyforlife Posts: 866 Member
    OP: I've read that our bodies, when faced with perceived starvation, can conserve calories by putting out less thyroid hormone. But the effect of this would be noticeable...you'd be tired/lethargic, hardly moving, cold, etc. Of course there are various degrees of this...but science has shown us that increasing calories does increase thyroid hormone production and vice-versa. But in a normal person, these effects shouldn't sabotage weight loss, unless you're hypothyroid.

    Or, if you move so little that your deficit is no longer a deficit and is a surplus, you can gain weight.
    It's been shown in studies also that people with faster metabolism have bodies/nervous systems/habits that prefer to simply move more...and vice-versa...that's how the extra calories are accounted for.
  • fangedneko
    fangedneko Posts: 133 Member
    The human body is a perpetual motion machine that pulls free energy from the aether. Big Energy is hiding this truth from you so that you will continue to pay for power from their "power plants" which are not powered by oil or nuclear energy, but by millions of people who "died" in fake executions as well as plane crashes and other tragedies and are being forced to pedal specially rigged exercise bikes all day long. All those "nuclear disasters" like 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl are just part of a big cover-up to keep the sheeple convinced that we need Big Energy to power our civilization.

    mkMfh24.jpg
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member

    Calories are a unit of energy, just as centimetres are a unit of length.

    Thanks. I was in physical pain from the "calories are a solid thing" statement.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    I usually cheat at math. And poker. But not taxes or calories.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    But I guess what I'm saying is do some peoples bodies not respond to a lower calorie deficit.

    No.

    There are no such people.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    But I guess what I'm saying is do some peoples bodies not respond to a lower calorie deficit.

    No.

    There are no such people.
    I think some people respond with more adaptive thermogenesis than others. So their bodies don't respond as well to the same calorie reduction as others, or to the same perceived deficit. Actual deficit- no. But we don't know the actual deficit.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Well here was my diet today. Morning- turkey sandwich on wheat 120 calories for each of 2 slices
    Lunch- Bean Burrito- 500 calories
    Dinner- 2 beef tacos, 1 chicken sandwich

    Exercise- 25 mile bike ride (mountain bike), 2 mile walk after dinner

    this is pretty useless info. divide every ingredient (EVERY) and measure it in grams. then you'll know.

    Agreed. Take breakfast, for example: "turkey sandwich on wheat 120 calories for each of 2 slices."

    One slice of wheat bread is 120 calories by itself (depending on the brand). So you've got 240 calories worth of bread. But how much turkey? Did you use mustard, mayo, or some other condiment? Cheese? Lettuce and tomato (not many calories, but they do have some)?

    If you think your sandwich totals 240 calories, you're just wrong, unless your sandwich is only 2 slices of bread, and you waved a piece of turkey at it then put the turkey back in the fridge.

    Unless you measure everything carefully, you don't really know how much you're eating. Many people don't need to do that, because they maintain their weight naturally. Those of us who got fat, though, know that doesn't work for us, at least not without retraining our appetites.

    And no, there aren't people whose bodies don't respond to a calorie deficit. The response may differ in degree, based on how efficient their metabolism is, and the degree of adaptive thermogenesis, but everyone will respond.
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
    Your body cannot take in more calories than you give it. It can conserve the calories you do give it more efficiently. And if you've lost weight you might be one of those people who is very efficient. Cheer up, if there's ever a famine, you'll outlive everyone and you can have their stuff.

    ^^ Possible, so you're good for a Zombie apocalypse. :happy: Although there are great "rules" for losing weight, everyone is different and some people have bodies that are more resistent to weight loss for a number of reasons. I don't know if you've been to the doctor to rule out some of those possibilities, but if you are concerned then that's one avenue.

    However, MOST people just aren't following the rules as carefully as they think they are. OR, if you've been at this for a while, then you likely need to adjust your daily caloric intake. The less you weigh, the less you need. A lot of people forget to re-calculate every 10 lbs or so. It sucks, though, when you see your daily goal drop by 100-200 calories!!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
    Can you provide an example where 1 + 1 does not equal 2?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    im crawling out of that plateau now because... early weight loss is easy. and you start to think... wow i did this much i MUST know what i am doing... but then it gets harder because your body is not like "wow, we arent running on a billion calories a day anymore" its like... hey, we lost weight and now we live on such and such calories... "

    thats when you have to be sure that what you are logging is really what you are eating and exersizing, and that the food you are eating is really as little as you think.

    2 examples. we made pizzas tonight. serving size for the dough was two ounces. i snipped off some dough and plopped it on the scale. i thought it would be 3 oz or so. nope. 5.3 oz.

    example number 2. i walk a lot. sometimes we will be walking for 5 or 6 hours at a time while running errands. so i would estimate a 3 hour walk thinking some of that time was stopped so half should be fine. recently i got a fitbit which tells me my actual steps. and then i went downtown on a 4 hour adventure yesterday. what i would have logged as a two hour walk (half the time) was actually not many steps at all and only 117 calories burned or so. according to it.
    Love this response, and the examples are dead on the important of accurate logging and our misestimation of calories in/calories out.

    OP, our bodies react to however many calories we feed it.

    Nobody is meant to be fat, skinny, or anywhere in between. We all have the ability to consciously lose, gain, or maintain our weight. The problem comes in when we are unconscious regarding food because then we generally eat more than we realize.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
    Can you provide an example where 1 + 1 does not equal 2?

    (1 man + 1 woman) x 9 months = 3 people :bigsmile:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
    Can you provide an example where 1 + 1 does not equal 2?

    (1 man + 1 woman) x 9 months = 3 people :bigsmile:
    Also.....

    (1 female cat + 1 mail cat) x however many months =anywhere from three to ten kitty cats. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • ElliInJapan
    ElliInJapan Posts: 286 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
    Can you provide an example where 1 + 1 does not equal 2?

    That's actually true in some cases, although not what he had in mind...
    The simplest case is to think of vectors. Or for some more fancy stuff, think of non Euclidean geometries. Think of living on a sphere for a second. It's like a wonderland, you have to reconsider everything, e.g. the sum of the angles of a triangle is not pi anymore...

    But back to mundane flat Euclidean life: I'm much more curious about the "math is not even internally consistent" comment.
    Really? Do tell...
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    If you can put 2000 calories in and get the body to think it has consumed 3000, then you have created the Holy Grail of energy production and deserve a Nobel Prize. Scientists have been trying to do this for centuries. Seriously though, counting calories is not an exact science, either in or out. Somewhere along the line you are not counting properly and need to cover this properly before moving on to other theories.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
    Can you provide an example where 1 + 1 does not equal 2?

    That's actually true in some cases, although not what he had in mind...
    The simplest case is to think of vectors. Or for some more fancy stuff, think of non Euclidean geometries. Think of living on a sphere for a second. It's like a wonderland, you have to reconsider everything, e.g. the sum of the angles of a triangle is not pi anymore...

    But back to mundane flat Euclidean life: I'm much more curious about the "math is not even internally consistent" comment.
    Really? Do tell...

    Think about living on a sphere???? Do you mean that the earth is flat??? Modern science clearly has a lot of catching up to do. (I shan't ask how many turtles support the flat earth!)
  • ElliInJapan
    ElliInJapan Posts: 286 Member
    Math does no lie. If it's not working, you're doing something wrong.

    That's the beautiful thing about math. The truths are universal.

    That's not correct. The universe does not run on math, and math's foundations are based on our subjective experience. It's a useful tool for describing the universe from a very specific perspective, but it does not contain "universal truths" - hell, math isn't even internally consistent.

    1 + 1 does not always equal 2.
    Can you provide an example where 1 + 1 does not equal 2?

    That's actually true in some cases, although not what he had in mind...
    The simplest case is to think of vectors. Or for some more fancy stuff, think of non Euclidean geometries. Think of living on a sphere for a second. It's like a wonderland, you have to reconsider everything, e.g. the sum of the angles of a triangle is not pi anymore...

    But back to mundane flat Euclidean life: I'm much more curious about the "math is not even internally consistent" comment.
    Really? Do tell...

    Think about living on a sphere???? Do you mean that the earth is flat??? Modern science clearly has a lot of catching up to do. (I shan't ask how many turtles support the flat earth!)

    lol... it did occur to me that someone might get caught up on that, but still, didn't bother to explain better...
    The earth is big enough so that geometry of a flat surface is good enough (most of the time). Living on a sphere was meant more like on a planet like the little Prince's, where every theorem of flat geometry needs to be readdressed.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,585 Member
    Yesterday someone said that if you walk 35 miles, you might not even lose a pound. That's an example of your body cheating you with math.
    It depends if you eat a doughnut or slice of pizza for each of the 35 miles. :huh:
  • HeidiGrrrl
    HeidiGrrrl Posts: 81 Member
    A calorie is pretty much a solid object

    False. Actually, a calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius. Energy is not a solid object.

    The original method used to determine the number of calories in a given food directly measured the energy it produced. The food was placed in a sealed container surrounded by water--an apparatus known as a bomb calorimeter. The food was completely burned and the resulting rise in water temperature was measured. This method is not frequently used today.

    Nowadays, food manufacturers use the Atwater system, which is based on an indirect calorie estimation. In this system, calories are not determined directly by burning the foods. Instead, the total caloric value is calculated by adding up the calories provided by the energy-containing nutrients: protein, carbohydrate, fat and alcohol. Because carbohydrates contain some fiber that is not digested and utilized by the body, the fiber component is usually subtracted from the total carbohydrate before calculating the calories.

    The Atwater system uses the average values of 4 calories/gram for protein, 4 calories/gram for carbohydrate, and 9 calories/gram for fat. Alcohol is calculated at 7 calories/gram. (These numbers were originally determined by burning and then averaging.)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Yesterday someone said that if you walk 35 miles, you might not even lose a pound. That's an example of your body cheating you with math.

    Unless you weighed in excess of 300 lbs you would not be burning 100 net cal / mile walking at "normal" speeds. A 200 lb person would expend (approximately) an additional 2,100 cal walking 35 miles......no math cheating here.
  • Artionis
    Artionis Posts: 105 Member
    Too bad Bill Watterson is no longer drawing Calvin and Hobbes. Such a wealth of material here.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I'm still waiting to hear how 1 + 1 does not always = 2.