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Is a calorie equal to a calorie?
Replies
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Kittens are often the harbinger of thread shutdown (I admit I brought them up
).
Better post follow-up questions or reactions fast, OP!2 -
Lies! Tim Tams are my favorite biscuits (I'm American, and call cookies by their proper name: cookies, but Tim Tams are biscuits. My brain is a strange place)
I particularly like them with opposite corners bit off, one end dunked in coffee, and suck the coffee through until you taste coffee. Then eat the whole biscuit.
Just eat it quickly. It will dissolve in your hand and look like *kitten*.
I made a friend bring me back chocolate mint Tim Tams when he went to Australia last year. I'm so glad Target started selling them here in the US.
Oreos suck. The wafer is to bitter and over powers the frosting.
That is the TimTam slam.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »
Since you are back now - do you still have questions? Does the information shared in the thread change your mind on anything, will it change your behavior?
Oreos are Vegan by the way, right?
Nope no questions. It probably won’t change my behavior.0 -
Lies! Tim Tams are my favorite biscuits (I'm American, and call cookies by their proper name: cookies, but Tim Tams are biscuits. My brain is a strange place)
I particularly like them with opposite corners bit off, one end dunked in coffee, and suck the coffee through until you taste coffee. Then eat the whole biscuit.
Just eat it quickly. It will dissolve in your hand and look like *kitten*.
I made a friend bring me back chocolate mint Tim Tams when he went to Australia last year. I'm so glad Target started selling them here in the US.
Oreos suck. The wafer is to bitter and over powers the frosting.
To the bolded: That's the way to eat Twix, too, except ends not corners. But I guess technically they're a candy bar, even though they have a cookie layer0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »
That is the TimTam slam.
Yep. Meant to mention that. Forgot.
To the bolded: That's the way to eat Twix, too, except ends not corners. But I guess technically they're a candy bar, even though they have a cookie layer
Oooooooooh. Now I have to go buy Twix.2 -
How can a calorie be just a calorie as calories are supposed to = energy
In my experience I can eat bad foods and have a lot of calories and very little energy besides constant hunger
However since changing my diet to mostly whole foods I find I have more energy less hunger on much less calories.
I had tried to lose wieght in the past with the Idea that a calorie is just a calorie and worked on cutting calories it was a constant fight and I ended up binging. Now I eat right most of the time and find still I can indulge in anything (pizza, Burgers whatever) as long as I eat good whole foods most of the time
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Carlos_421 wrote: »
Oreos are indeed vegan.
The ones in Germany say that they might contain traces of dairy.0 -
myinsbroker wrote: »How can a calorie be just a calorie as calories are supposed to = energy
In my experience I can eat bad foods and have a lot of calories and very little energy besides constant hunger
However since changing my diet to mostly whole foods I find I have more energy less hunger on much less calories.
I had tried to lose wieght in the past with the Idea that a calorie is just a calorie and worked on cutting calories it was a constant fight and I ended up binging. Now I eat right most of the time and find still I can indulge in anything (pizza, Burgers whatever) as long as I eat good whole foods most of the time
The idea that a calorie is simply a way to measure energy in a food doesn't mean that the same calorie amounts of different types of food will translate into the exact same "feeling" of energy for everyone.
"Energy" in calorie terms is different than a feeling of energy that an individual might have.
Think of it this way: if I drink a beverage with a lot of caffeine, I may feel more energy than usual (especially if I don't have it often). This doesn't mean it is a high calorie beverage -- in fact, things like coffee don't have many calories at all. If I drink a high calorie beverage with a lot of alcohol, I might suddenly feel sleepy . . . despite the fact that I just consumed a bunch of calories.
This idea, that calories somehow magically equate to a "feeling" of energy, can be profoundly misleading. The truth is that you can have sufficient energy to run your body and still feel hungry (due to nutritional factors). In fact, you can even be consuming *more* than you need, store the excess energy as fat, and still feel low energy.
It's two completely different things.11 -
stevencloser wrote: »
The ones in Germany say that they might contain traces of dairy.
It's like McDonald's french fries -- you will always want to check the ingredients for the country you're in as their vegetarian/vegan status can vary depending on country/region. I think Oreos in the US were vegan before they were in the UK (both are now vegan, I believe).0 -
I don't have the link, but I remember reading about your body spend more energy digesting the 100 cal apple( more volume, more chewing, more harder to digest fiber ect. ) than digesting 100 cal of Oreo. Therefore although the energy intake is the same your net energy gain is smaller when eating the apple.10
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janejellyroll wrote: »
The idea that a calorie is simply a way to measure energy in a food doesn't mean that the same calorie amounts of different types of food will translate into the exact same "feeling" of energy for everyone.
"Energy" in calorie terms is different than a feeling of energy that an individual might have.
Think of it this way: if I drink a beverage with a lot of caffeine, I may feel more energy than usual (especially if I don't have it often). This doesn't mean it is a high calorie beverage -- in fact, things like coffee don't have many calories at all. If I drink a high calorie beverage with a lot of alcohol, I might suddenly feel sleepy . . . despite the fact that I just consumed a bunch of calories.
This idea, that calories somehow magically equate to a "feeling" of energy, can be profoundly misleading. The truth is that you can have sufficient energy to run your body and still feel hungry (due to nutritional factors). In fact, you can even be consuming *more* than you need, store the excess energy as fat, and still feel low energy.
It's two completely different things.
Exacly, thats why a calorie is not a calorie
18 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
No, it's why "calorie" doesn't tell us everything we need to know about a food.
We'd never say that vitamin C isn't vitamin C because vitamin C doesn't meet our needs for fat, would we? It's the same way with calories.
A calorie *is* a calorie. It's incredibly useful information to have about a food when planning our diets, but it's not the only information that we need.13 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
Know how we know you didn't read the whole thread?11 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
No, it's why "calorie" doesn't tell us everything we need to know about a food.
We'd never say that vitamin C isn't vitamin C because vitamin C doesn't meet our needs for fat, would we? It's the same way with calories.
A calorie *is* a calorie. It's incredibly useful information to have about a food when planning our diets, but it's not the only information that we need.
Has anyone told you lately that you have the patience of a saint?
9 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
No, it's why "calorie" doesn't tell us everything we need to know about a food.
We'd never say that vitamin C isn't vitamin C because vitamin C doesn't meet our needs for fat, would we? It's the same way with calories.
A calorie *is* a calorie. It's incredibly useful information to have about a food when planning our diets, but it's not the only information that we need.
I found that advice had done more harm then good for me and kept me in a struggle for too long,
Now I know a calorie is not a calorie and I can sustain more energy and stay full on less and now I have lost 60 Lbs since last April. After reading an article how calorie is not really equal to a calorie. This was the first time I heard this and it changed my life28 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
I found that advice had done more harm then good for me and kept me in a struggle for too long,
Now I know a calorie is not a calorie and I can sustain more energy and stay full on less and now I have lost 60 Lbs since last April. After reading an article how calorie is not really equal to a calorie. This was the first time I heard this and it changed my life
That a calorie is a calorie isn't so much advice as a scientific fact. What you do with that information can make all the difference, but it doesn't alter that a calorie *is* a calorie whether it comes from an orange or a freshly made batch of rocket fuel.12 -
I'm going to tell my husband you said that, he'll never believe it! 8 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
You can walk 1 km over hot coals or 1 km over pillows. You probably will prefer one over the other but that changes absolutels nothing about them both being exactly 1 km, nothing less and nothing more.10 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
I found that advice had done more harm then good for me and kept me in a struggle for too long,
Now I know a calorie is not a calorie and I can sustain more energy and stay full on less and now I have lost 60 Lbs since last April. After reading an article how calorie is not really equal to a calorie. This was the first time I heard this and it changed my life
A calorie IS by definition a unit of measure, nothing more.
Definition of calorie
a : the amount of heat required at a pressure of one atmosphere to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius that is equal to about 4.19 joules —abbreviation cal — called also gram calorie, small calorie
b : the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius : 1000 gram calories or 3.968 Btu —abbreviation Cal — called also large calorie
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calorie
Once again, calories are being conflated with nutrition.7 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
I found that advice had done more harm then good for me and kept me in a struggle for too long,
Now I know a calorie is not a calorie and I can sustain more energy and stay full on less and now I have lost 60 Lbs since last April. After reading an article how calorie is not really equal to a calorie. This was the first time I heard this and it changed my life
Yeah, when you misunderstand what a calorie is (a specific unit of measurement) and what it is telling you about a food and then attempt to use that information to craft your diet without regard to your nutritional needs, it can result in harm or unnecessary struggle.
It sounds like that is what you were doing. The problem isn't with the information, it's with your misapplication of it.
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*kitten*
Page 15. Thread #456,765 about this.
I'm feeling like it's just the end of the line for me on MFP.5 -
I know that isn't earth shattering for any of you, but I'm telling myself to let all this go.7
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cmriverside wrote: »*kitten*
Page 15. Thread #456,765 about this.
I'm feeling like it's just the end of the line for me on MFP.
Well, we either had to start over or go with the kitten memes :ohwell:1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Yeah, when you misunderstand what a calorie is (a specific unit of measurement) and what it is telling you about a food and then attempt to use that information to craft your diet without regard to your nutritional needs, it can result in harm or unnecessary struggle.
It sounds like that is what you were doing. The problem isn't with the information, it's with your misapplication of it.
Not sure what you mean a calories is a unit of measure in energy
If you have 300 calories in pure suger vrs 300 calories in complex carbs you will have difrent longevity of energy
that would be like going to the Indy 500 with a beat up old car because a car is a car
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cmriverside wrote: »*kitten*
Page 15. Thread #456,765 about this.
I'm feeling like it's just the end of the line for me on MFP.cmriverside wrote: »*kitten*
Page 15. Thread #456,765 about this.
I'm feeling like it's just the end of the line for me on MFP.
But what if a page wasn't a page, did you think about that?
(Wait, I'm probably not helping here) . . .4 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
Not sure what you mean a calories is a unit of measure in energy
If you have 300 calories in pure suger vrs 300 calories in complex carbs you will have difrent longevity of energy
that would be like going to the Indy 500 with a beat up old car because a car is a car
15 -
myinsbroker wrote: »
Not sure what you mean a calories is a unit of measure in energy
If you have 300 calories in pure suger vrs 300 calories in complex carbs you will have difrent longevity of energy
that would be like going to the Indy 500 with a beat up old car because a car is a car
But a car *is* a car. It doesn't mean that all cars will have identical performance any more than it means that 500 calories of apples will have the exact same nutritional content as 500 calories of chicken.
People will want a variety of foods in their diet to meet their various nutritional needs. This doesn't mean that a calorie isn't a calorie any more than it means that vitamin C isn't vitamin C just because it doesn't tell you everything you need to know about a food.
Just like vitamin C content, calorie information tells you *one specific thing* about a food. It isn't, and was never meant to, describe everything you need to know about a food.
When I write that calories are a unit of energy, I mean exactly that. It's what "calorie" means, it's the very reason the word exists. "Calories" are a way to measure units of energy in a food (which doesn't equate to how energetic a particular food or meal may make you *feel*).7 -
This thread is like the circle of life in a totally negative way. We just keep coming back around to the beginning, reliving the pain and sadness over and over and over and over and...10
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myinsbroker wrote: »
Not sure what you mean a calories is a unit of measure in energy
If you have 300 calories in pure suger vrs 300 calories in complex carbs you will have difrent longevity of energy
that would be like going to the Indy 500 with a beat up old car because a car is a car
Having to walk 1 km over hot coals might "feel" like it's longer than 1 km of pillows, but it isn't. How energetic you "feel" is individual and says absolutely nothing.7 -
janejellyroll wrote: »6
This discussion has been closed.
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