Calories in/calories out yes what if....?

A calorie is not a calorie. All calories are not created equal. Big difference between a calorie from a cookie and a calorie from saturated fat or protein.

TL;DR for the thread:

If you are normal and have no medical issues, for weight loss, all that is required is a calorie deficit.

If you are not normal due to insulin issues (like pre-diabetes, diabetes, and/or insulin resistance) calorie deficit is only part of the issue and solution. Macros need to be adjusted, like reducing carbohydrates, due to the insulin response they cause.

Normal weight loss = calorie deficit
Weight loss with medical issue = macros + calorie deficit

There ya go. I fixed MFP.
You're welcome.

DEEP BREATH.

Now, repeat after me:

NOT MY CIRCUS.

NOT MY MONKEYS.

Your using mfp so you should follow their guidelines - in your setup it establishes how much protein, carbs and fat you should intake. You can edit those criteria if you are being guided by nutritionist but otherwise i would suggest you stick to the guidelines that the tool you chose recommended.

Strongly Disagree!! It is a place to start, but the developers of MFP have to follow the RDA's that our "fine" government puts out. There is all kinds of data out there showing that the RDA's are WRONG!!!!

Below is a link to a lots of good posts on to read. It is part of a group called EAT, TRAIN, PROGRESS run by two great people that know their stuff.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

A calorie is not a calorie. All calories are not created equal. Big difference between a calorie from a cookie and a calorie from saturated fat or protein.

I think it is more accurate to say that different food items have different bioavailability of calories which aren't really well reflected in current labelling.

So, while a cookie may be listed as having the same calories as a piece of fruit it is likely that more of the calories from the cookie will be absorbed (and therefore increase the likelihood of fat storage as calories are more likely exceed energy expenditure) than from the fruit. Therefore a "2000" calorie diet made up of fresh veg and fruit actually delivers less calories than a "2000" calorie diet made up of processed / heavily refined foods and therefore less chance of weight gain.

I'm sorry, why would the human body absorb more calories from the cookie than the fruit? Could you explain the science behind that claim?

To the OP: If you have insulin issues and are Metformin, you may find keeping your carbs lower or following a low carb diet to be beneficial, however you will still need a calorie deficit for weight loss to occur. There are a few groups on this site for low carb, do a search of the groups to find them. They'll be able to give you information on low carb and insulin issues and how to do a low carb diet properly if you think that would be beneficial to you. However, if you are losing steadily with the Metformin, going low carb probably wouldn't be necessary.

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Forget calories. There is a much bigger picture. The average cookie would be higher glycemic than most fruit. Plus, that cookie most likely contains a whole bunch of other garbage if it's sold in a package. Fruits at least contain micronutrients and antioxidants. But loading on fruits isn't the answer either b/c they are also relatively higher glycemic compared to veggies, meats and fats.

Diabetes is NOT a static condition. If on an oral medication like Metformin, it actually can be reversed by reducing/eliminating insulin spikes to prevent further progression of insulin resistance. If strength training is in the picture, insulin sensitivity increases. That's correct, diabetes can be reversed with a primal diet/lifestyle of the effect on insulin. If the standard "eat whatever you want in moderation" American health mantra is employed, the same glycemic scenario exists, and there is invariable progression down the spectrum of diabetes where the patient becomes insulin dependent. It can be too late by then. It is often not too late if the patient is only dependent on oral medications.

Um, yeah, ok, the person I quoted claims that the human body absorbs more calories from cookies than fruits and vegetables, and that 2000 calories of both foods would somehow result in the body absorbing fewer than 2000 calories from the fruits and vegetables. There was no mention of diabetes in that post, and when it comes to weight loss, calories are what really matters, so I'm going to wait this one out and see if the person comes back with an explanation for their claim.

And you're right, I didn't read all of the posts on the thread... no time.