Are Calories all equal?

AsrarHussain
Posts: 1,424 Member
Are calories all equal ?
I can either have 2 slices of bread with chocolate nutella spread and a bar of snickers or I can have 3 white potatoes with cheese and a can of tuna.
I don`t like eating so the bread and chocolate is more convenient but is it equal.
Shall I eat the potato with the cheese and can of Tuna?
I can either have 2 slices of bread with chocolate nutella spread and a bar of snickers or I can have 3 white potatoes with cheese and a can of tuna.
I don`t like eating so the bread and chocolate is more convenient but is it equal.
Shall I eat the potato with the cheese and can of Tuna?
0
Replies
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The potato, cheese, tuna option would keep me satiated longer, but if I was wanting something sweet that fit in my goals I would be all over that nutella!6
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I do not believe calories are all equal. If you eat 900 calories of cake and candy, it will not have the same results as eating 900 calories of protein and healthy fats. Protein calories are less fattening than calories from carbs and fat, because protein takes more energy to metabolize. Whole foods also require more energy to digest than processed foods.8
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If the calorie amounts are equal, for fat loss you're fine either way.
The nutrition is not at all equal. Depending on what your overall diet looks like, one of those choices is probably better than the other. Definitely if you tend to be low on protein, tuna is better. If your overall diet is decently balanced and you're in the mood for it, the chocolate is better.14 -
Depends on your goals...4
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Obviously, whole foods would be a healthier choice than processed. The nutrition differs6
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All calories are equal, but some calories are more equal than others.9
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Yes. Calories are the same. The nutrition is different obviously but has nothing to do with the calories.9
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Nutritional values are different, different foods provide satiety over others..
You say you hate to eat, I would choose the highest calories for less volume of food.3 -
A calorie is a unit of energy. Asking if a calorie is a calorie is like asking if an inch is an inch or a gallon is a gallon.
Yes.13 -
Calories are equal but they do have context. Would I be full on bread and nutella vs something with more fibre and protein? Probably not. Just experiment with what works for you and leaves you satisfied.3
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Food has several different properties to it.
A calorie is one of those properties.
And so if you compare 900 calories of 1 food to 900 calories of an entirely different food, the calories are identical.
In your example, there are many OTHER food properties that are drastically different, but the calories are the same.7 -
A calorie is a calorie--it is the unit of energy required to heat 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. So from that perspective, all calories are equal. (As an interesting aside that not every knows--what we commonly call a calorie is actually 1,000 calories. A true calorie is an extremely small amount of energy, as defined above).
Now, as far as nutrition and the health and satisfaction of eating calories from different sources, that is a whole other story..........3 -
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Total calories determine what weight you will or will not use.
Satiety--feeling full--will depend on other details, like vitamins, fiber, fat, complex carbohydrate (starch) and simple carbohydrate (sugar) content.
You can get the same calories out of junk food but wind up gaining weight because the junk food doesn't satisfy your body's other parameters, leaving you feeling hungry. Then, because you are hungry, you eat too much of additional food to fill out your 'dance card' in those other categories.
For my body, I find if I eat 1600 calories (roughly my current target) of low fat, high complex carbs, at the end of the day I'm still so hungry I could eat the boxes the foods came in. OTOH if I overshoot my mfp fat target and undershoot the carb target by, say 70 grams, I am not hungry throughout the day and may spontaneously finish the day 100 or more calories under-target because I am full.
You have to experiment with your diet to find out how your body responds to these non-calorie categories, to find a diet that you can stick to that results in a calorie deficit so you can lose weight.
The only diet that works is the one you can stick to.
(I hypothesize my body's preference for a non-mediterranean diet arises out of my northern european ancestry--sausages and preserved meats would have been a staple for half the year when the world is covered in snow, with a dearth of the fruits and grains that would have been available to, say, Italians, so there may have been some natural selection for people who can tolerate fat intake. So far my cholesterol has been rock solid in the 'good' zone regardless of what I eat, though I don't want to push that too hard!)2 -
If the calorie amounts are equal, for fat loss you're fine either way.
The nutrition is not at all equal. Depending on what your overall diet looks like, one of those choices is probably better than the other. Definitely if you tend to be low on protein, tuna is better. If your overall diet is decently balanced and you're in the mood for it, the chocolate is better.
My protein intake was met. I was in the mood for chocolate later.2 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »Depends on your goals...
I am bulking.0 -
Nutritional values are different, different foods provide satiety over others..
You say you hate to eat, I would choose the highest calories for less volume of food.
I dont hate to eat. When the eating gets too much then it can become annoying. I eat around 5-6 meals a day. I am bulking so it can get annoying.0 -
AsrarHussain wrote: »Nutritional values are different, different foods provide satiety over others..
You say you hate to eat, I would choose the highest calories for less volume of food.
I dont hate to eat. When the eating gets too much then it can become annoying. I eat around 5-6 meals a day. I am bulking so it can get annoying.
In that case, eat whatever you find the least filling, will make you less uncomfortable and which you find the most enjoyable to eat2 -
As a unit of measure, yes calories are all the same. But we don't just eat calories. We eat food.
Even when of equal calories, foods vary greatly in terms of nutrition, satiety, satisfaction, energy levels, and other things of that nature.2 -
AsrarHussain wrote: »Nutritional values are different, different foods provide satiety over others..
You say you hate to eat, I would choose the highest calories for less volume of food.
I dont hate to eat. When the eating gets too much then it can become annoying. I eat around 5-6 meals a day. I am bulking so it can get annoying.
In that case, eat whatever you find the least filling, will make you less uncomfortable and which you find the most enjoyable to eat
This. If your diet is otherwise nutritionally sound and you just need to meet your calorie goal for the day, eat the Snickers and bread.6
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