A calorie is a calorie is a calorie????

Whats the difference in calories? I mean.. I know I cant eat 60 calories of ice cream and it be the same as a 60 calorie salad. But really is the difference?

**I KNOW "NUTRITION"  .. I AM LOOKING FOR EXACTLYS...***

amount of fat/protein/carb in it...?may be

nutrition

You aren't gonna get any Vitamin A or C out of 60 cals of Ice Cream....

You probably won't feel hungry again in 30 minutes from 60 cals of Salad....

The difference is what it can do for you.  do the calories come attached to nutrients that fuel your body to build muscle, heal damaged cells, process out toxins, etc. or just to fats and sugars that sit around and do nothing?

sorry about that first reply..didn't read your post thoroughly

I don't understand what you're asking.  60 calories = 60 calories.  The difference between ice cream and salad is nutrition.  Can you please clarify what you're trying to find out?

It just seems like one should be worse than the other, how can a calorie from fat not cause more weight gain that a calorie from salad?

Because a calorie is the measurement of the energy you get from food, not a measurement of mass or quantity.  For 1 gram of fat you get 9 calories; for 1 gram of carbohydrates, you only get 4 calories.  You can, and should, eat some fats, and the calories you get from them aren't any different than the calories you get from carbs or proteins.  It's just that because there are so many more calories in fat, it's easier to go overboard and wind up with more calories than you need ... and that's where weight gain comes from.

There is no difference in calories.  They're both 60 calories, it's the same amount of calories...

Reminds of me of that trick question, which weighs more: 60 pounds of lead or 60 pounds of feathers.  hehehe.

LOL... 

7 sftbalgirl07 May 10 2007 19:38 It just seems like one should be worse than the other, how can a calorie from fat not cause more weight gain that a calorie from salad?

Exactly... she gets it.  One has to be worse than the other...

I think ysistrata's explanation of it is good...

As some of you know I recently started eating more to get off of a "plateau".. (read my other posts for explanation)..  How can I loose more weight by eating worse?  It's just funny to me and wasn't a realistic question.. just more of a ponder.

It has seemed to work though..LOL

Thanks guys....

A calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one milliliter (one cc) of water by one degree Celsius.

A calorie, then, is a unit of energy, not a measurement of bulk or mass.

Fat, gram for gram, has more calories than either carbohydrate or protein.  It has more potential to give us energy, but is less easily used by our bodies, which readily convert carbohydrates into substances our bodies can use.

The term "empty calories" refers to the calories found in food with little or no other nutritional value, i.e. cotton candy.   (Even ice cream has some nutritional value - it has calcium and often some vitamin A - but it has a lower nutritional value than an equally calorie-rich serving of a fruit or vegetable.)  This may be where some confusion lies - a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, but some calories have nutritional benefits associated, whereas an "empty calorie" does not.  Most of us want our our food to do double-duty - provide calories for energy (fuel for our bodies), and also to give us the nutrients our body needs to maintain healthy functioning.

YAY!!!  (applauds purespark)

So wait... a fat gram wont like displace differently on your body?

Depending on the type of fat, it could affect your body differently.  You know, the old good fat/bad fat difference. Saturated vs. unsaturated. If you eat a lot of saturated, it's bad for cholestorol & such. 

You can eat a whole lot more salad in terms of volume than you can ice cream for 60 calories so you can feel more full if you have more volume and you may eat less.

However, if I only eat salad, I do get hungry.  I also like to have some protein and a little fat and it does make things taste good. 

So mix it up, but the majority of food should be healthy calories. You'll get more nutrients and feel better.