Do the TYPE of calories count?

It definitely counts. Ever heard the term "empty calories"? Basically you want to maximize nutritional value with the calories you consume. So Veggies will most definitely beat out ice cream, and ice cream will beat out beer.

It definitely counts. Ever heard the term "empty calories"? Basically you want to maximize nutritional value with the calories you consume. So Veggies will most definitely beat out ice cream, and ice cream will beat out beer.

Actually a little beer is okay for you. It's a myth that "beer gives you the beer belly" typically what it is is the foods we choose to eat once we have a few that causes the problems. Everything in moderation.

Here's a (sort of) funny story to answer your question. There's a sport that involves marathon mountain hiking - the players try to pack as light as possible to maximize speed, so naturally they want calorie dense food that's light to carry. One guy reasoned that canned frosting was the most calorie dense food he could find and tried to live only on that during the race.

I'm sure you can guess what happened to him - he collapsed less than half way into the race. Moral of the story - it's not just about calories, it's about minerals, vitamins, proteins, etc. These are the things that allow your muscles to contract and your nerves to transmit electric impulses and your brain to keep functioning. For example, a prolonged lack of carbohydrates will eventually cause holes to form in your brain.

I would sign up for that just to eat the frosting....or am I missing the point?

He missed a critical point. It takes years of training to survive on cans of frosting. How else do you think you get a body like mine? :laugh:

While it is true one pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, the quality of calories you consume are equally important to your overall progress. If you are restricting your diet by 500 calories per day, over the course of 7 days you should lose one pound of fat right? (7 days x 500 calories per day deficit = 3,500 calories).

Logically the answer is yes. If you have a calorie deficit, then unless you have an underlying medical condition or your body metabolism has grown accustom to eating the same amount of calories each day (which is why you should zig-zag your daily calories), you will lose weight.

There are countless diet solutions out there, some better than others all with the same promise…to lose weight. However, I think it goes without saying that not all calories are equal.

Suffice to say, if you were to do nothing but drink pop for your daily calories, aside from having really bad teeth among other things, your body would end up using the proteins from your muscles to feed your vital organs which would result in muscle loss.

No problem right? You lost some muscle, but you also lost some fat! If you didn’t already know this, I’ll tell you now. Muscle burns calories. Less muscle means the fewer calories you can eat each day.

To get to the point, by avoiding empty calories, such as simple carbohydrates (sugar) or ones with little or no nutritional value high in saturated fats, you will have quality calories available to build and fuel your muscles through exercise.

What I wanted to share with everyone a really handy feature here on Myfitnesspal that allows you to customize where you get your calories from which is important depending on your fitness goals.

Why would you want to change your goals?

Well, the MFP default ratios for me are: 55% Carbs / 15% Protein and 30% Fat, however I prefer the ”Zone Diet” ratios 40-30-30 which give me a boost of muscle building protein . Why do I want more protein? Because my goal is to maintain if not build muscle while I lose weight and I am strength training at the gym.

Here are some common diet ratios you can consider:
(Carbohydrate% / Protein% / Fat%)

Very Low Carb (or Ketogenic -Atkins type) = 10 / 45 / 45

Low Carb = 25 / 40 / 35

Low Fat = 60 / 25 / 15

The Zone Diet = 40 / 30 / 30 (My preference)

Moderate = 50 / 25 / 25

How do you change your ratios? Simple:

(1) Click the “My Home” Tab
(2) Click the “Goals” Tab
(3) “Change Goals” Button
(4) “Custom” and “Continue”

You may not have thought about where your calories come from but depending on your fitness goals, you may want to change where you get your quality calories from.

Basic Rule of Thumb:

Carbohydrates for Energy

Protein for Building Blocks

Fat for Function

Fat is part of every cell membrane in the body. It helps transport nutrients and metabolites across cell membranes.
Your body uses fat to make a variety of other building blocks needed for everything from hormones to immune function.

Not going to reiterate which most of what's been said, just a couple thoughts.

1. Alcohol itself does mess with your metabolism so be weary of how much you consume.
2. Why are week sugars, sweets, etc bad? This can cause your insulin production to dramatically increase which isn't good because your body doesn't metabolize fat as well and nutrients don't get shuttled to your muscles as well either. THe trick is to not spike your insulin with carbs, focus on low glycemic carbs if possible.