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A quick refresher on a calorie is a calorie ....

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Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    i would still like to know why that person thinks that hamburger is bad but salmon is good....I am pretty sure that the fat and protein content of salmon is about the same as a burger....I would guess that salmon has more fat...

    Burgers have a bad rap due to things like "mechanically recovered meat", "pink slime" etc. A burger made from ground prime grass fed beef ought to have the same status as salmon but the public perception is a way apart.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    yarwell wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    i would still like to know why that person thinks that hamburger is bad but salmon is good....I am pretty sure that the fat and protein content of salmon is about the same as a burger....I would guess that salmon has more fat...

    Burgers have a bad rap due to things like "mechanically recovered meat", "pink slime" etc. A burger made from ground prime grass fed beef ought to have the same status as salmon but the public perception is a way apart.

    I'd imagine the omega-3's between the two would still be apart even though grass fed will have more than conventional beef. Like 100 grams of raw beef having 12 grams of fat, only .088 g's of which is omega-3's versus wild salmon having 6 grams of fat per 100 grams, and 2 grams of that fat being omega-3's.
  • JoshLibby
    JoshLibby Posts: 214 Member
    Options
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...
  • JoshLibby
    JoshLibby Posts: 214 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Options
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)
  • JoshLibby
    JoshLibby Posts: 214 Member
    Options
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)

    There is plenty of evidence that goes against a calorie being a calorie. The definition is true, until applied, then what? This is why you have an argument in the first place. A cow is just a cow until it's a hamburger, a hamburger is just a hamburger until it's digested now it's a calorie. The point, a calorie is just a calorie when categorizing, after that they are not the same as we see in proteins, fats, carbs, then we dig deeper layer of layer. It's not simple.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    no one said different macros don't have a different impact on body comp and what not ..

    please try to stay on track with the topic….
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2016
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    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    Yes, as everyone agreed, foods are different. "Calorie" is a unit of measurement, not another way of saying "food."

    You are intentionally missing the OP's point.

    Eating fewer calories than they burn will cause anyone to lose weight (and can be accomplished with or without counting).

  • JoshLibby
    JoshLibby Posts: 214 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    Yes, as everyone agreed, foods are different. "Calorie" is a unit of measurement, not another way of saying "food."

    You are intentionally missing the OP's point.

    Eating fewer calories than they burn will cause anyone to lose weight (and can be accomplished with or without counting).
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    no one said different macros don't have a different impact on body comp and what not ..

    please try to stay on track with the topic….

    The topic is too broad it's open for interpretation.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    Yes, as everyone agreed, foods are different. "Calorie" is a unit of measurement, not another way of saying "food."

    You are intentionally missing the OP's point.

    Eating fewer calories than they burn will cause anyone to lose weight (and can be accomplished with or without counting).
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    no one said different macros don't have a different impact on body comp and what not ..

    please try to stay on track with the topic….

    The topic is too broad it's open for interpretation.

    maybe for you it is, but it is pretty simple….all calories provide the same unit of energy; hover, they are not nutritionally the same.

    pretty simple concept, I am sorry that you can't grasp it.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    I feel sorry for you having to copy and paste that same sentence over and over and there'll still be another person saying "But foods are different nutritionally!" anyway.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)

    There is plenty of evidence that goes against a calorie being a calorie. The definition is true, until applied, then what? This is why you have an argument in the first place. A cow is just a cow until it's a hamburger, a hamburger is just a hamburger until it's digested now it's a calorie. The point, a calorie is just a calorie when categorizing, after that they are not the same as we see in proteins, fats, carbs, then we dig deeper layer of layer. It's not simple.

    Carbs, fats and protein, when used as fuel will always be turned into ATP providing an amount of calories. the way they get turned into that is different but the end product is the same.
    So actually, they're different until they're not anymore.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.
    Why must it always come down to one or the other...?
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    Does more what? Mostly it will require your body to do more, more nitrogen excretion.

    As for what we were meant to do in life - a nihilist would agree with you. They'd also say were weren't meant to not count calories everyday either.
  • JoshLibby
    JoshLibby Posts: 214 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)

    There is plenty of evidence that goes against a calorie being a calorie. The definition is true, until applied, then what? This is why you have an argument in the first place. A cow is just a cow until it's a hamburger, a hamburger is just a hamburger until it's digested now it's a calorie. The point, a calorie is just a calorie when categorizing, after that they are not the same as we see in proteins, fats, carbs, then we dig deeper layer of layer. It's not simple.

    Carbs, fats and protein, when used as fuel will always be turned into ATP providing an amount of calories. the way they get turned into that is different but the end product is the same.
    So actually, they're different until they're not anymore.

    Wrong. you are so stuck on looking at fats, proteins, carbs you always forget the others. Fiber is a huge one. Fiber slows down the metabolic rate which uses less calories to process the food, so instead of 160 calories worth of almonds it becomes 130. As I said, it's not that simple.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)

    There is plenty of evidence that goes against a calorie being a calorie. The definition is true, until applied, then what? This is why you have an argument in the first place. A cow is just a cow until it's a hamburger, a hamburger is just a hamburger until it's digested now it's a calorie. The point, a calorie is just a calorie when categorizing, after that they are not the same as we see in proteins, fats, carbs, then we dig deeper layer of layer. It's not simple.

    Carbs, fats and protein, when used as fuel will always be turned into ATP providing an amount of calories. the way they get turned into that is different but the end product is the same.
    So actually, they're different until they're not anymore.

    Wrong. you are so stuck on looking at fats, proteins, carbs you always forget the others. Fiber is a huge one. Fiber slows down the metabolic rate which uses less calories to process the food, so instead of 160 calories worth of almonds it becomes 130. As I said, it's not that simple.

    As I told robert, if you're in a place where a 30 calorie difference is somehow fatal to your goals, you're doing something wrong.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)

    There is plenty of evidence that goes against a calorie being a calorie. The definition is true, until applied, then what? This is why you have an argument in the first place. A cow is just a cow until it's a hamburger, a hamburger is just a hamburger until it's digested now it's a calorie. The point, a calorie is just a calorie when categorizing, after that they are not the same as we see in proteins, fats, carbs, then we dig deeper layer of layer. It's not simple.

    Carbs, fats and protein, when used as fuel will always be turned into ATP providing an amount of calories. the way they get turned into that is different but the end product is the same.
    So actually, they're different until they're not anymore.

    Wrong. you are so stuck on looking at fats, proteins, carbs you always forget the others. Fiber is a huge one. Fiber slows down the metabolic rate which uses less calories to process the food, so instead of 160 calories worth of almonds it becomes 130. As I said, it's not that simple.

    We've covered almonds.

    The calorie counts--including the number of calories we actually obtain from the foods--are estimates, most are close, some may be off by more (like almonds) which will probably result in the calorie estimate being changed at some point. Once it is, will that mean that a calorie is a calorie again?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    Yes, as everyone agreed, foods are different. "Calorie" is a unit of measurement, not another way of saying "food."

    You are intentionally missing the OP's point.

    Eating fewer calories than they burn will cause anyone to lose weight (and can be accomplished with or without counting).
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    no one said different macros don't have a different impact on body comp and what not ..

    please try to stay on track with the topic….

    The topic is too broad it's open for interpretation.

    The OP lays it out clearly. You are intentionally misunderstanding. Why? Beats me.

    No one thinks foods are the same. That's not what "a calorie is a calorie" means, and pointing out that there are nutritional and other differences between foods is not an argument to the contrary.

    Also, what sense does it make to compare 100 calories of one food vs. another? Any decent diet will include more than 100 calories and many different foods that provide different benefits.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    Options
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    JoshLibby wrote: »
    "A calorie is just a calorie."

    100 calories of chicken, 100 calories of french fries. Both give energy, but the chicken does more. It's just that simple.

    It's all great and wonderful until you compare molecules and how it works in the body. It's the same energy, true, but how the body reacts to that energy is what really matters. Life isn't about a scale and counting calories everyday we were never meant to do that. But if it works for you GREAT.


    Do what works for you, but don't proclaim it will works for all, if it did the world would not have a obesity problem.

    "A mile is just a mile."
    Until you compare the terrain. It's the same distance.

    I want to see anyone walk 1 mile on flat ground. Then I want to see someone walk one mile on mountainous terrain.
    The distance was the same, but it wasn't the same situation.


    As the OP said very clearly...

    There is nothing clear in any of it. As simple as it's trying to be made to be, it's just not.

    I think if you want to make it complicated you can - there are a myriad of minutiae, with supporting scientific peer reviewed studies that can brought to bear

    But the question is 'Are they relevant to your goals?'

    The issue with not taking things back to the lowest common denominator is, as I see it, visible in many different fields of expertise .. it causes inertia

    A failure to make a decision or commit to a path because one just needs to consider this other information which will at best result in a couple of percentage points difference

    Sometimes good enough is just that

    It's good enough to achieve your goals

    (I remove elite athletes at the top of their game from this .. but only them)

    There is plenty of evidence that goes against a calorie being a calorie. The definition is true, until applied, then what? This is why you have an argument in the first place. A cow is just a cow until it's a hamburger, a hamburger is just a hamburger until it's digested now it's a calorie. The point, a calorie is just a calorie when categorizing, after that they are not the same as we see in proteins, fats, carbs, then we dig deeper layer of layer. It's not simple.

    Carbs, fats and protein, when used as fuel will always be turned into ATP providing an amount of calories. the way they get turned into that is different but the end product is the same.
    So actually, they're different until they're not anymore.

    Wrong. you are so stuck on looking at fats, proteins, carbs you always forget the others. Fiber is a huge one. Fiber slows down the metabolic rate which uses less calories to process the food, so instead of 160 calories worth of almonds it becomes 130. As I said, it's not that simple.

    As I told robert, if you're in a place where a 30 calorie difference is somehow fatal to your goals, you're doing something wrong.
    While I don't eat almonds, the funny thing is that with my overall goals, 30 calories a day may actually be significant. If I want to try to gain 0.25 lb a month, it would matter in that regard.

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