a calorie is a calorie no matter how you put it or where it comes from?

sorry i know this has proberly been asked before but i carnt find it anywhere on here and the keywords in the search box dont help either but does it matter what you eat(bad food or healthy food) as long as its within your calories you could still lose weight? im really craveing for white bread and butter at the moment and i heard its better to have what you crave or it could set you up for a binge so is it all about a calorie is a calorie no matter how you put it or where it comes from?

Yes. A Calorie is a calorie.

When eating 2,000 calories, it is our strong suggestion you eat healthy food instead of garbage. Healthy food will give you the nutrition you need, the fiber you need, etc.

It is true that if you crave something, really crave it.. it's better to give in A LITTLE, a small bit, have some of it, enjoy it thoroughly and move back on with your diet.

Sure you can lose weight. It's not necessarily as good for you.

There is at least one school of thought that the composition of your food can positively or negatively affect weight loss. I'm reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories" right now which takes a very Atkins POV and I'm also pulling some of the medical review literature but so far the evidence seems mixed at best.

I'm not adverse to the idea but so far I don't see the data to support the opinion.

 

Yes a calorie is a calorie. But feeling gross, bloated and lethargic sucks. You feel better (and fuller) when you eat healthier, non-processed, whole grains etc.

However, I've found that working a little junk food into my calorie allowance (especially around TTOM) every once in a while has helped me stick with calorie counting in the long run.

I agree with most of what HK has said. 

A calorie being a calorie depends in what context.  By definition, yes - its requires the same fuel to burn 100 calories despite what food it comes from.

Yet, some calories are empty calories while others are very nutritious and most are somewhere in between. 

Also calories of healthier foods are usually more filling then empty calories which tend to be more concentrated into smaller portions.  A 900cal double whopper may be very filling but not as likely to fill you for for lunch and dinner as having two 450cal meals will.

Most do better having a contained amount and as long as it doesnt trigger a desire to binge (as in make you crave even more), then I agree with HK.  Eat it, enjoy it but move on.

sorry i'm going off topic but i feel bad if i start another topic...i don't know why hehe.

i'm 15 and i eat around 1300 calories a day? is that enough or should i be eating more for a teen?

A calorie is a calorie, but what about the fat content and lack of nutrition that go along with that calorie?

Bloated and icky vs. healthy and happy? Hmmmm.... tough one. Not to mention, the benefits of healthy food towards good skin, nails and haior (Vain? Yes. But effective!)

please eat more, teen, 1300 calories is not enough for a growing body and organs.

Numbers wise a calorie is just that, but as for your body being able to burn those calories that is a diffrent story.  For example....If you eat a heathy sandwich (subway), a side salad, and veggies = about 600 calories...+good calories which have right balance of fats, carbs, proteins, fibers and vitamins...meanining your body will absorb the proper nutrients and dispose of the rest....If you ate a cheeseburger 600 calories alone or more...it is full of sodium (bad), fat (bad), and no good nutrients this fat cannot digest and becomes stored fat on your butt and thighs...Bad calories=stored fat and weight gain-  Good calories you can actuallly eat more and not gain weight....

Calories and nutrients are two separate issues.  Foods have both and your body needs both.  But yes a calories is a calorie, it is a unit of measure of energy.  A lot of people try to avoid eating foods that have a very high calorie count and very few nutrients. 

There are far worse things you could eat than white bread and butter.  And I believe that when you have a craving your body is trying to tell you something.  You may have an nutrient imbalance that the bread and butter will satisfy.  Or it may just be one of your comfort foods, in other words the need is psychological and not physical.  Either way indulge but use restraint, all things in moderation.

Numbers wise a calorie is just that, but as for your body being able to burn those calories that is a diffrent story.  For example....If you eat a heathy sandwich (subway), a side salad, and veggies = about 600 calories...+good calories which have right balance of fats, carbs, proteins, fibers and vitamins...meanining your body will absorb the proper nutrients and dispose of the rest....If you ate a cheeseburger 600 calories alone or more...it is full of sodium (bad), fat (bad), and no good nutrients this fat cannot digest and becomes stored fat on your butt and thighs...Bad calories=stored fat and weight gain-  Good calories you can actuallly eat more and not gain weight....

I think this is patently untrue.  Any overconsumption of calories will get stored as fat.  I'd like to see clinical data for the above.

I'm not sure how many times I have to talk about adequate dosage and relative risk here but...

Sodium is not intrinsically bad for you, in fact you wouldn't feel too good if you had severe sodium depletion.  The problem with sodium is the quantities we take it in. and it's association with a few diseases ( high-blood pressure, swelling, etc).

I agree with everyone above, and have been able to have a "treat" when I need to if I dont get crazy - there's my problem - especially re: sugar - if I have a little, I want MORE MORE MORE - seems to set something off. Dont know if that is just me (there is a lot of diabetes in my family and that scares me) or if most folks react that way.

 Ice cream has been my downfall this summer, now we are going out for some on Sundays and I am not keeping it around. So far, working better....

Kathi 

Refined carbs, like sugar, have a high glycemic index.  This means a big rush of sugar hits your blood all at once.  This triggers an insulin response from your body.  If the body isn?t able to produce enough insulin the result is diabetes.  The "low" that often follows the blood sugar surge leads to hunger.  The result is that we eat more calories than we really need and the surplus is stored as fat.  Best to try and avoid carbs with a high GI and stay with carbs that have a lower GI.  Also combining high GI carbs with fat and protein lessen the GI impact.

Kcullup, next summer, try otter pops.  Smaller dosage, same cooling effect, and much much less calories.

Do you think veggies such as lettuce, spinach, good healthy ones also get stored as fat? If so, I heard you eat them as much as you want on WW point system. What gives?

Hey, do you notice any difference in your weight w/out calorie free soft drinks like Fresca?

eating a whole bag or already prepared leaves like watercress, spinich, lettuce is only 11 calories... so you'd have to eat a heck of alot of it to start putting on weight!! That's why veggies are 0 points with WW and fruit still has points.. Fruit still has quite a few calories.

I've been losing weight by eating lots often and making all snacks 100 cals or under.. then a main meal in the evening at the most 600 cals.. if it's under that I can have a dessert.. which I make myself, something like lady fingers with summer berries and low fat greek yoghurt (again about 100 cals).

I treat myself to calorie free soft drinks like fanta, dr pepper and coke zero at the weekend, so I'm still getting my sugar fix!!

I also take a fibre supplement to up my fibre to 25g a day (the recommended amout) so I don't bloat and my digestion works properly!!

I personally do much better eating the "good" carbs rather than eating the "bad" carbs. If I eat potatoes, white bread, white pasta, and white rice, even the right amount of calories for the day, I will gain instead of losing. But if I eat no potatoes, but eat brown rice, whole grain bread, and whole grain pasta just a few times per week, same number of calories, I will lose weight. A calorie may be a calorie, but for my body, it makes a difference.

Misundastod,

I am sorry, maybe I am saying what everyone else has said... yes a calorie is a calorie. You will feel better if you eat healthy. But hell if you want 1 piece of white toast with a little butter on it, EAT IT!

1 piece of white bread is about 100 calories, 1/2 tablespoon of butter has 50 calories. I am almost sure that you aren't putting that much on 1 piece of bread. It probably equals about 120 calories (MAYBE) why is that so bad on occasion?

In my opinion I would try a piece of whole grain bread with a bit of butter just cause it's better and see if that hankers that craving. In my own opinion natural foods are better also, so butter over margarine is better because it is natural. (I don't have evidence to back my statement up, if you want it google margarine)

You don't have to eat this every day... and don't go grab a loaf of bread and a stick of butter and eat the whole thing.

Everything is okay in MODERATION!!!

I don't know where I heard this, but doesn't it take longer to burn fat calories than it does to burn carb calories?  Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about?

A cal is a cal but be careful... I see food now, after more than a half year counting, more like a fuel than anything else. I see an large apple and know that i will get not that much fuel out of it but a lot of other important nutritions. I see a bar of chocolate and see a lot of energy a lot of fuel but on the other hand literarly nothing important added. I see the number 500 within my head and realize that eating all of that rather tiny bar will end me up with having eaten 25% of my total energy need for this day. So i think twice if I eat it. The numbers also appear when buying foods, sure they are only estimates but they are close to the truth now that I count for a long time.

If you manage to eat the right stuff you will have a much easier way to stay at your cal-level you need to lose/maintain weight. I don't think anyone can live with eating only 4 bars of chocolate(about 400grams) a day and nothing else...