If 7000 calories = 1kg

slicksps
slicksps Posts: 33
edited October 2024 in Chit-Chat
I've always proudly requoted that dropping roughly 7000 calories will lose 1kg in weight. MFP uses a similar calculation and I've seen it working in practice, and then I had some peanuts....

On that peanut packet, it said 100g = 604 calories.
Now if 7000 calories gives 1000g
And I am always eating exactly my burn (i.e. putting on and losing not a single gram in weight)
Then 700 calories would theoretically make me put on 100g

So in my complete equilibrium, I pig out on 100g of these nuts, after waste disposal I will have gained somewhere around 90g
Eating 1.2kg would make me put on an entire kg in weight as it would equal the magic 7000 calorie number.

Sorry this is long winded.

So I deduced that 700 calories per 100g of anything must be the absolute maximum, eating 1kg of this thing will make me gain 1kg in weight because it's all energy and no waste....

And then I reached for the vegetable oil... 884 calories per 100g

If I drink 1kg of vegetable oil (and keep it in), I will ingest 8840 calories
Given that 7000 calories is 1kg, then 8840 = 1.3kg ...

So by drinking 1kg of oil, I would gain 1.3kg in weight. Which is impossible... where would the extra 300g in weight come from? When we convert food it doesn't get lighter or heavier, we only get heavier when we put things in, and lighter when we expel them.

In other words, the 7000 calorie per kg theory can't be true...
«1

Replies

  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    *head explodes*
  • Larius
    Larius Posts: 507 Member
    Human fat has a different density. 7000 sounds off to me though...

    7716 is closer.

    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php

    Oh, and the extra 300g from drinking the oil comes from human fat having water, blood, and blood vessels in it.
  • yummy♥
    yummy♥ Posts: 612 Member
    *brain confetti everywhere*
  • mrshickey
    mrshickey Posts: 239
    hmmmm, interesting. ive been told theres 3500 calories in a pound, 2.2lbs in a kilo. so thats over 7000 calories in 1kg. maybe thats where the extra comes from?
  • Nelly_J
    Nelly_J Posts: 53
    *head explodes*

    ^^^I concur
  • Yelocake
    Yelocake Posts: 1 Member
    I have had this thought process as well. When I bring it up, I have been told not to over analyze the name of the game. If looking to lose weight, just follow the path that MFP leaves and don't look back. It has worked for many and will hopefully work for you as well. Onward we must go. ;)
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
    In other words, the 7000 calorie per kg theory can't be true...

    You're right. 1 kg is 7717 calories. And by the way, you're overthinking this.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    Oh dear gawd the math! :noway:
  • SimplyShanRunning
    SimplyShanRunning Posts: 885 Member
    You just made mah brain hurt.....**goes to lay down**
  • mrshickey
    mrshickey Posts: 239
    In other words, the 7000 calorie per kg theory can't be true...

    You're right. 1 kg is 7717 calories. And by the way, you're overthinking this.

    yh thas wt i thought, 7000 seemes a little low
  • kmeekhof
    kmeekhof Posts: 456 Member
    HUH?
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
    :explode:
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member

    If I drink 1kg of vegetable oil (and keep it in)...

    But why would you do this?
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member

    If I drink 1kg of vegetable oil (and keep it in)...

    But why would you do this?

    Because it is delicious and thirst quenching.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    The number should be 7700 calories = 1kg. It's 3500 = 1 lb. and 1 lb = 2.2 kgs. 2.2 * 3500 = 7700.
  • Rimdeker
    Rimdeker Posts: 2
    It depends on what the 1kg consists of.

    1 kcal is the energy you need to heat 1 l of water by 1 °C.

    1 g fat = 9 kcals
    1 g protein = 4 kcals
    1 g of carbs = 4 kcals

    So 1kg of oil being pretty close to 9000 kcals is actually right!
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member

    If I drink 1kg of vegetable oil (and keep it in)...

    But why would you do this?

    Because it is delicious and thirst quenching.

    No, that would be Sprite...
  • Rimdeker
    Rimdeker Posts: 2
    It depends on what the 1kg consists of.

    1 kcal is the energy you need to heat 1 l of water by 1 °C.

    1 g fat = 9 kcals
    1 g protein = 4 kcals
    1 g of carbs = 4 kcals

    So 1kg of oil being pretty close to 9000 kcals is actually right!

    And yes, it means that you need to burn 9000 kcals to lose 1 kg of fat. However, if you actually do burn 9000 kcals, you'll notice that you have lost way more than just 1 kg, because no part of the body consists purely of fat.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    Let's just say that solar flares are freakin huge.
  • yodabeaumont
    yodabeaumont Posts: 3
    Hi

    'Calorie' is a measure of the energy content of food. 'Kg' is a unit of mass. Therefore they are not interchangeable.

    Taking in 7000 calories of extra energy that the body doesn't need to function normally (that's your 2000-odd calories a day) means that this extra energy needs to be put somewhere. So the body uses the energy to make fat cells, or more specifically, make the pre-existing fat cells grow in size. So they take on water, and lipid molecules and whatever they need to grow in size. Therefore, what you are weighing is not the actual food that you have taken in, you are weighing the increase in fat cell mass, which has been provoked by taking in the extra calories.

    This is why taking in pure protein makes you put on weight too. Protein contains energy, but absolutely no fat, which is burned and used to make fat cells grow, even though it contains no actual 'fat' at all.

    The 7000 calorie to 1kg is a ratio which takes into the account the amount of fat cell growth provoked by taking in the energy contained in 7000calories.

    Hope this isnt too confusing!

    David
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    common mistake - did you forget to carry the 2?
  • whatwentwrong
    whatwentwrong Posts: 228
    ok, forgive me for this because i'm american and don't understand these "grams" and stuff, but:
    1. your body burns calories regardless- you'll only gain if you go above your basal metabolic rate + the extra calories you burn as a result from not sitting in bed all day
    2. your body doesn't work by pounds in-pounds out; it works on how many calories those pounds have. a kg of oil has 800 calories, you say, but a kg of celery has only 400. your body is breaking down that food for the calories- the actual bulk of it will leave your body as waste.
  • maab_connor
    maab_connor Posts: 3,927 Member

    If I drink 1kg of vegetable oil (and keep it in)...

    But why would you do this?

    Because it is delicious and thirst quenching.

    No, that would be Sprite...

    i know that for me, personally, i need to drink at least twice that much to feel like i've really worked towards my daily goals. also, there are so many free calories b/c you no longer actually digest anything. it's the best diet i've ever been on.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    What your doing it wrong it never works on the metric system!!!
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    smiley-think004.gif
  • aj_rock
    aj_rock Posts: 390 Member
    Ok, side-stepping the ridiculous number of hypothetical aspects of this question, the answer is, fat in human body =/= fat from a food.

    A fat cell in your body is actually only about 75-80% lard (a mix of saturated, trans, and unsaturated, about even with each other) and the rest is water/cellular materials. So assuming ALL 1kg of that oil went into fat cells. its only 75% of what you actually gain.
    1/.75 = 1.33, or what you would expect to gain in weight.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    I think the answer we are all looking for here.... is 42.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    If you drink a kg of vegetable oil, you're not keeping it in.
  • slicksps
    slicksps Posts: 33
    PMSL at some of the replies. I think the best one is early on and explained more mathematically later:

    The extra 300g from drinking the oil comes from human fat having water [] in it. That actually explains it perfectly.

    (Thanks Larius and aj_rock, it makes complete sense)

    Rimdeker: So 1kg of oil being pretty close to 9000 kcals is actually right! - Interesting thought, it is approximate after all, links on well to "'Calorie' is a measure of the energy content of food. 'Kg' is a unit of mass. Therefore they are not interchangeable." from yodabeaumont. Yes one certainly isn't a direct measure of another like gram and ounce. Perhaps in each person 1 calorie results in different amounts of grams.

    "What your doing it wrong it never works on the metric system!!!" - Sorry I forgot my US pals. 1kg = 1000g which is approximately 4 hands and a gallon ;)

    misskortney says "If you drink a kg of vegetable oil, you're not keeping it in." - Isn't there some kind of 'natural' colon cleanse like this? I met a health person in the course of my design travels and she was trying to convince me to drink a pint of some food oil with garlic or something for a complete colon reset. She warned me to stay near a toilet for 12 hours afterwards... no I didn't follow her nutritional advice, she reminds me of your stereotypical fruitarian in stature, I want to lose weight but I also want to be able to support the weight of my own head!...
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    Oh, I didn't say which direction it would come out -- I'm just saying it won't be inside you for very long!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories