Calorie-Reducing Foods?

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bokaba
bokaba Posts: 171 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have heard that there are foods that require a large amount of energy to assimilate into the body. For example, if you ate 100g of fat, only 75g would actually be assimilated. If you ate 100 calories of celery, only 50, etc. Is this true or just "broscience?"

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  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
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    I've never heard of an actual scientific study that backs any of these claims. It's just broscience.

    Eat sensibly and don't look for magic tricks like these - they don't exist.
  • bokaba
    bokaba Posts: 171 Member
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    I wasn't planning on relying on this or even trying it.
  • marlovs78
    marlovs78 Posts: 75 Member
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    I've heard bigfoot is real.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    tumblr_m0ja4jASVO1qlkai7o1_500.png
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    calorie-reducing foods = eat less food.

    HTH.
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
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    bokaba wrote: »
    I wasn't planning on relying on this or even trying it.

    We have zero way of knowing your intent so I threw it out there *just in case* you were thinking about it. Additionally, many other people read these threads and take note of the advice given even if they never participate in the thread.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    I find eating foods with no or little carbs helps me not to over eat. I am the type who can and has eaten a big meal of carbs then follow it up by eating 2000 calories of 'desert', more carbs.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    I find eating foods with no or little carbs helps me not to over eat. I am the type who can and has eaten a big meal of carbs then follow it up by eating 2000 calories of 'desert', more carbs.

    This is irrelevant to the thread.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    edited October 2014
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    bokaba wrote: »
    I have heard that there are foods that require a large amount of energy to assimilate into the body. For example, if you ate 100g of fat, only 75g would actually be assimilated. If you ate 100 calories of celery, only 50, etc. Is this true or just "broscience?"

    There is some truth to this, but the energy involved is not nearly so large. It's called "thermic effect of food" or "specific dynamic action." The Wikipedia article is actually fairly well sourced. One study it cites took two groups and fed each of them a meal with the same caloric value. The group that ate white bread and processed cheese extracted about 10% more calories* from the food than the group that ate multi-grain (whole grain and seed) bread and cheddar cheese: Barr, S. B.; Wright, J. C. (2010). "Postprandial energy expenditure in whole-food and processed-food meals: Implications for daily energy expenditure". Food & Nutrition Research 53. doi:10.3402/fnr.v54i0.5144

    * Edited to add: I really should have said that the processed food group burned about half as many calories digesting the food than the whole food group: the whole food group burned about 19.9% of the meal's calories in the process of digesting it, while the processed food group burned only about 10.7% of the meal's calories.

    But this doesn't mean you can count on an "extra" calorie burn, because the thermic effect of food is already figured into calorie calculators as part of activity. What it does mean, though, is that if you get most of your calories from processed food, and this study turns out to be confirmed, you'll need fewer calories to maintain your weight than if you ate more whole foods.
  • crisb2
    crisb2 Posts: 329 Member
    edited October 2014
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    Tell me more about these calorie-reducing foods? I'm intrigued! Do they go into your stomach and absorb calories from everything else you've eaten? I heard Scott has a "Calorie Light Paper Towel" that absorbs calories. Maybe I should try eating some of that...
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Just eat the amt of food you need....
    What they are driving at with that stuff, is that some foods may require more energy to digest than what they have.....
    But you are better off not worrying about that and just eat in a deficit.
  • Mediocrates55
    Mediocrates55 Posts: 326 Member
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    They contain little calorie-gremlins! The gremlins go through your stomach and take away all the calories. >:)
  • crisb2
    crisb2 Posts: 329 Member
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    pincushion14 wrote: »
    They contain little calorie-gremlins! The gremlins go through your stomach and take away all the calories. >:)

    That's awesomeness right there! I've heard of the tapeworm diet, but gremlins sound much more fun.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Protein requires more energy for the body to break down than Carbs and fats, however, any food gives more energy to the body than the body requires to break it down (if in sufficient quantities)..
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    bokaba wrote: »
    I have heard that there are foods that require a large amount of energy to assimilate into the body. For example, if you ate 100g of fat, only 75g would actually be assimilated. If you ate 100 calories of celery, only 50, etc. Is this true or just "broscience?"
    It's broscience.

    Just eat the foods you like in moderation, stay in your calorie goals to either lose, gain, or maintain, and you will be fine. :)
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
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    Fat is different than carbs in the way your body processes it. First, fat is a nutrient, so any that your body uses as a nutrient is not available to be burned as fuel. Second, fat can pass through the small intestines without being used. Protein is also a nutrient that some amount of may not get burned. The problem is you can't depend on any of this to mean that you'll always get x% of free calories anytime you eat fat or protein since your body can also use every last bit of it as fuel. They both also require a bit more energy to process than carbs. With carbs, 100% of your sugar and simple starch intake will always be burned as fuel and always counts as calories in.

    So, yes, technically every calorie isn't equal to every other calorie, but we don't live in a lab. In the real world, the calories in vs. calories out actually works quite well for most people and is somewhat dependable. So, go by it and if you're lucky you may get a few extra freebies in your fat and protein and fiber calories that don't get burned, but just don't plan on it.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
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    Calorie Partitioning?

    I would read Alan Aragon's thoughts on this. :)

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