Help me explain calories and weight gain/loss
SmangeDiggs
Posts: 238 Member
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
My partner and i have a cheat day every sunday...during the course of our conversation about what we had each eaten today my partner brought up his theory on weight loss/gain.
Theory as follows: Your weight gain or loss is dependant on the weight of food consumed - i.e if you ate potato chips it would be ok because they are pretty light (180g for a large bag) but if you ate a 500gm burger that would equal a 500gm weight gain.....hmmmm:ohwell:
So ive tried to explain how calories etc actually work in weight gain/loss but i cant word it well enough for me to get the point across.
Does anyone have an easy way of explaining it so i can educate my partner?
My partner and i have a cheat day every sunday...during the course of our conversation about what we had each eaten today my partner brought up his theory on weight loss/gain.
Theory as follows: Your weight gain or loss is dependant on the weight of food consumed - i.e if you ate potato chips it would be ok because they are pretty light (180g for a large bag) but if you ate a 500gm burger that would equal a 500gm weight gain.....hmmmm:ohwell:
So ive tried to explain how calories etc actually work in weight gain/loss but i cant word it well enough for me to get the point across.
Does anyone have an easy way of explaining it so i can educate my partner?
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Replies
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Water weighs 500g (about 1 lb) for every 500 ml ( about a pint) and has no calories, so his theory has to be wrong!
Calories are based on what your body can burn as energy, and there is lots of yummy fat in potato chips, and fat has approx 3 times the calories/gram than protein or carbs.
Plus of course, foods containing plenty of water will weigh heavier than dry food like potato chips!0 -
Its actually simple. Say if you need 2000 calories to maintain your weight. If you eat less than 2000 calories, you lose weight. Simple as that. You lose weight when there is a caloric deficit.0
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Not the weight of food consumed. The thermodynamic properties of the food you consume. We measure it with a unit called calories (or, more accurately, kilocalories).
Hope that helps a bit.
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you're kidding right? so drinking a quart of water would make you gain 2 pounds according to your partner?
your body burns food as fuel. You don't have potato chip cells or hamburger cells in your body. for food storage at least, you have
fat cells - everything you do burns calories that are stored by those fat cells.
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
so, having a kilogram of lard would be 9000 calories, but a kilogram of potatoes would be about 4000 calories.
make sense?0 -
Hi there,
Sorry your answers are not helpful at all.
Example, 100g food item is 25% fat = 25g fat = possible weight gain of only 25g.0 -
Hi there,
Sorry your answers are not helpful at all.
Example, 100g food item is 25% fat = 25g fat = possible weight gain of only 25g.
^^^^
this is the partner in question and no i am definately not kidding
my explaining often turns into frustration...which then turns into unwanted 'feelings'
so thought the more level headed people of MFP forums may have better luck with the explaining 0 -
A calorie (technically a kilocalorie, or kCal) is a unit of heat. The body uses food as energy, burning it for fuel. How much heat it gives off when burned (implying how much energy it provides) is noted by the number of calories.
Calories aren't equivalent to the weight of the food. For starters, fat provides more energy per gram (9 calories per gram) than carbs or protein does (4 cal per gram). So, two items of the same weight - say a 2 ounce bag of potato chips and a two ounce hamburger patty - do NOT provide the same number of calories. Why? The hamburger patty is mostly protein, and would be about 60-90 calories (depending on the amount of fat in the patty). The potato chips, on the other hand, are starch and a LOT of fat, and clocks in at about 200 calories.0 -
Maybe it would help to make some direct comparisons. For example - you could take a small apple weighing 200g or a lump or butter or lard weighing 200g - would he expect both to have the same nutritional value just because they weigh the same?
There is roughly 103 calories in a 200g apple but over 900 calories in 200g of lard . It his theory worked, we would all put on weight just by drinking water - itis pretty heavy after all! Lol!0 -
Hi there,
Sorry your answers are not helpful at all.
Example, 100g food item is 25% fat = 25g fat = possible weight gain of only 25g.
Weight gain is based on the number of calories consumed IN EXCESS of the number of calories needed to run your body. An active person may burn the entire 25g of fat; a couch potato might store the entire amount as excess weight. It makes no difference whether it is fat or not; the only factor is whether you will burn it or store it.The entire 100g (assumiong it is a mix of fat, carbs, and protein) will be converted and stored as fat if it is not used by the body.0 -
its lovely that you think that, but you're simply incorrect. you body digests the fat, the carbohydrates, etc - you're not storing that fat from the burger as 'burger fat' you're storing it as people fat. you burn some on the way, you convert it, play with it, etc - that's the whole point of your digestive system. In reality, 1 burger with 25g of fat is likely to cause you to gain LESS than 25g. Your body takes the protein and turns it into fat. The carbs from the bun? fat. The fat? fat - but it goes through a myriad of steps along the way.0
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Soooo basically you need a certain amount to be full of energy and if you put to much energy you get bigger. Like a bucket only holds so much water and if you want more water you're gonna need a bigger bucket.or paying more on a bill than is owed gives you credit for the next bill and if you don't use the credit then you have extra just sitting there. As far as the the weight of food being how much you'll gain- how would lose weight? If that's the case then I lose 2 pounds every morning.0
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So if I weighed myself then drank a litre of water (1kg) I wouldnt be 1kg heavier?
Oh thats right, I would be. Until I pee'd it out.
Heres more of an explaination of my retardation.
100g food item, 25g of fat. Calories come from the fat yes? I understand this.
When these calories are not burnt off, how does something which only weighs 25g become something which weighs more then this when stored??
It becomes fatty tissue, but how does this tissue weigh more then 25g? Where does the matter which makes up the fats extra come from?0 -
Hi there,
Sorry your answers are not helpful at all.
Example, 100g food item is 25% fat = 25g fat = possible weight gain of only 25g.
Weight gain is based on the number of calories consumed IN EXCESS of the number of calories needed to run your body. An active person may burn the entire 25g of fat; a couch potato might store the entire amount as excess weight. It makes no difference whether it is fat or not; the only factor is whether you will burn it or store it.The entire 100g (assumiong it is a mix of fat, carbs, and protein) will be converted and stored as fat if it is not used by the body.
So I could potentially gain 100g then from a 100g item?
During the conversion to fat, and also the egestion of the waste items 100g of food is stored as something heavier then when it entered the body?0 -
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Are we friends yet?0 -
It becomes fatty tissue, but how does this tissue weigh more then 25g? Where does the matter which makes up the fats extra come from?
the protein in the burger
the sugar(carbohydrates) in the ketchup
the carbohydrates in the bun
the protein / fat / carbs in the mayo.
As I said, you're not storing 'burger fat' - you're storing 'people fat' - your body takes all of that, uses what it needs at the time, and stores the rest for later as fat, since fat is the most effiecient means of calorie storage that our bodies can manage0 -
Hi there,
Sorry your answers are not helpful at all.
Example, 100g food item is 25% fat = 25g fat = possible weight gain of only 25g.
Weight gain is based on the number of calories consumed IN EXCESS of the number of calories needed to run your body. An active person may burn the entire 25g of fat; a couch potato might store the entire amount as excess weight. It makes no difference whether it is fat or not; the only factor is whether you will burn it or store it.The entire 100g (assumiong it is a mix of fat, carbs, and protein) will be converted and stored as fat if it is not used by the body.
So I could potentially gain 100g then from a 100g item?
During the conversion to fat, and also the egestion of the waste items 100g of food is stored as something heavier then when it entered the body?
and this is why i get frustrated and we go around in circles.0 -
Hi there,
Sorry your answers are not helpful at all.
Example, 100g food item is 25% fat = 25g fat = possible weight gain of only 25g.
Weight gain is based on the number of calories consumed IN EXCESS of the number of calories needed to run your body. An active person may burn the entire 25g of fat; a couch potato might store the entire amount as excess weight. It makes no difference whether it is fat or not; the only factor is whether you will burn it or store it.The entire 100g (assumiong it is a mix of fat, carbs, and protein) will be converted and stored as fat if it is not used by the body.
So I could potentially gain 100g then from a 100g item?
During the conversion to fat, and also the egestion of the waste items 100g of food is stored as something heavier then when it entered the body?
Honey, you're going to need to spend a GOOD amount of time researching some basic nutritional principles. You have a very confused idea of how any of this works. I rarely suggest people look beyond google, but I'm going to go ahead and advise you to hit up your local university library. You don't have to be a student. Call a health or nutrition professor in advance at that school, ask them for a list of books for brand new beginners with ZERO nutritional knowledge, and then hit that library with your list. It WILL help big time!
I have no doubt you're a smart person. It's just ignorance that needs to be overcome. Ignorance in the root sense of the word! Not in the mean one.
You just don't have any information. Once you have the info, I have no doubt you'll be able to grasp it.
I've spent the last 9 months mega-educating myself on nutrition and I only know a liiiiittle tiny bit but it's changed my life for the better in a dramatic way.
Have fun!0 -
It becomes fatty tissue, but how does this tissue weigh more then 25g? Where does the matter which makes up the fats extra come from?
the protein in the burger
the sugar(carbohydrates) in the ketchup
the carbohydrates in the bun
the protein / fat / carbs in the mayo.
As I said, you're not storing 'burger fat' - you're storing 'people fat' - your body takes all of that, uses what it needs at the time, and stores the rest for later as fat, since fat is the most effiecient means of calorie storage that our bodies can manage
Again,
100g item could = 100g weight gain then?0 -
[Again,
100g item could = 100g weight gain then?
IF that 100g item were pure lard and you didn't burn ANY of it as exercise? yes, though more like 80-90 - some of what you eat is lost in the digestion process and/or wasted out. I have to second what others have said - you're operating from a fundamentally incorrect premise regarding nutrition. No offense intended, but this is about like trying to explain global travel to someone who thinks the earth is flat.0 -
[Again,
100g item could = 100g weight gain then?
IF that 100g item were pure lard and you didn't burn ANY of it as exercise? yes, though more like 80-90 - some of what you eat is lost in the digestion process and/or wasted out. I have to second what others have said - you're operating from a fundamentally incorrect premise regarding nutrition. No offense intended, but this is about like trying to explain global travel to someone who thinks the earth is flat.
Wait, so what you've just said that if I burned some of the 100g of food material I'd gain less then 100g?
I understand about calories and weight gain if you dont burn them off and eating food with a higher calorific content leads to the gain of weight if you dont exercise in order to use this stored energy because it is stored as fat,
What I do not understand is where the material that produces this weight comes from.
I eat something with 150cal in it, I go for a run and burn 80cal. 70cal is left over, this leads to weight gain, but WHERE does the material which has mass come from to increase my weight?0 -
and this is why i get frustrated and we go around in circles.
Send him to a doctor or dietitian or nutritionist and get THEM to explain it step by step.0 -
Wait, so what you've just said that if I burned some of the 100g of food material I'd gain less then 100g?
I understand about calories and weight gain if you dont burn them off and eating food with a higher calorific content leads to the gain of weight if you dont exercise in order to use this stored energy because it is stored as fat,
What I do not understand is where the material that produces this weight comes from.
I eat something with 150cal in it, I go for a run and burn 80cal. 70cal is left over, this leads to weight gain, but WHERE does the material which has mass come from to increase my weight?
when you eat something with 150cal in it, some of that is stored in the liver as glycogen as a short term calorie sink, some of it goes directly into the blood stream as sugar. When you then turn around and run off 80 calories, you're using the sugar thats in the blood stream. if you start to deplete it, your liver converts the glycogen back into glucose, it enters your blood stream, and you burn it as glucose. if you run out of glycogen, then your body starts pulling fat out of cells to burn it.
The reverse also happens - you eat your 150calories. Again, some goes to the liver, and some goes to your blood stream. but this time you don't exercise. you use the glucose in your blood stream, but don't touch the glycogen in your liver. So your body says 'I can only store so much glycogen, so let me store the rest as fat' - so your liver converts the glycogen to fat, which gets deposited in your stomach, your thighs, around your heart, etc. The 'weight gain' (mass gain) comes from your body taking excess food calories, and turning it into fat.0 -
Well...
Our body burns calories like a fire.
Healthy foods are like kindling and paper, the body burns them fast and efficiently, turning them to ashes quickly.
However heavy, high calorie foods are like big, huge, green logs. The body struggles to burn them down, so it just singes the outside and leaves you with giant lumps of black coal (fat).
So the higher calorie content the food is, the denser it is and harder to burn so our bodies store it.
The lower calorie is light and easy to burn, so it quickly runs out and has to burn fat.
Ehh.
Forget it :P I'm not making sense!0 -
Just do what you've been doing and let him eat light weight foods and see who gets where in the long run.0
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So no one has an answer as to how it gains more mass when its stored?
Everyone is simply saying food is either stored or burnt.
What I want to know is how does it get heavier when stored?
Maybe I will email our Army nutritionist and put the same questions to her.
Thank you for the replies, we will continue our circular discussion at home, can a mod please close this thread.0 -
So no one has an answer as to how it gains more mass when its stored?
Everyone is simply saying food is either stored or burnt.
What I want to know is how does it get heavier when stored?
Maybe I will email our Army nutritionist and put the same questions to her.
Thank you for the replies, we will continue our circular discussion at home, can a mod please close this thread.
it doesn't get heavier when stored. I didn't think that was ever a part of the equation or question. if you eat 3500 calories (the magical number for 1lb of fat) I guarantee you that whatever you eat to get to those 3500 calories, it will weigh more than 1 pound.0 -
I guess... Because storing calories takes up more room. It combines with cells, water and sticks around. It's like putting things in cardboard boxes, they just take up more room!
But with healthy foods, they are burnt completely so they don't take up room at all.0 -
GREAT explanation!
Um... I don't know how to post replies correctly, I guess - I am referring to the explanation that talks about the liver converting things into glucose, how some goes into the blood stream, how when you don't burn up enough your body converts it to fat... I just totally butchered your explanation, since I can no longer see it to quote it, but it was quite useful I think - I could "verbalize" this better if I wasn't exhausted.
Back to my 100 calorie mini bag of popcorn, then bed so I can get up and jog before work (now that I said on here that I'd do it, I have to!)0 -
As I understand it (and boy could I be wrong), it's not just about the stored calories, but also about the process of storing them, and the waste afterwards.
If you eat 3500 calories, but the food weighs, let's say, 1 oz, then yes, for awhile, you will only be 1 oz heavier. But then you eat or drink something else, more of the mass of that next food will also be stored than would have been otherwise. Less will be released as waste.
But again, I'm no doctor, and I could have this completely wrong...0
This discussion has been closed.
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