Is there a difference in quality of calories?

Probably a silly question...

But, is there a difference in the quality of the calories you put into your body?

Is the quality of a 200 calorie juice the same content wise as a 200 snickers bar?

Is it easier to "get rid" of the juice calories versus the snickers calories?

 

Here's the bottom line, I guess.

I switched over to more wholesome foods.

Here's a meal plan today and comparrision to "before"

New Meal Plan:

Breakfast: Whole Grain Toast, 2 pieces, Organic- no sugar added fruit spread, land o lakes butter flavored spread- soy milk- juice

Lunch: Mounds of veggies, steamed, tuna, water

Snacks: Soymilk and ovaltine, fruit, yogurt or cheese

Dinner: Lean ground beef meat loaf, brown rice, steamed veggies, salad, juice

Before Meal Plan:

Breakfast: Toaster struddels, coffee with cream and sugar

Lunch: Some sort of fast food, (Burger, Fries, Soda)

Snacks: Candy- Chocolate, Lil Debbie Snacks, soda

Dinner: Pastas typically, regular - non whole grain, alfredo sauce, brocoli, chicken, soda

 

From Figuring it up, I am eating about the same calorie content as I was before. Most days I am eating MORE than what I was eating before. If I figure up what I was eating then it was about 1,300-1,500 calories. I'm now eating around 1,600 to 1,800 a day.

But I am consistenly losing weight.

Is it a fluke? Do I need to worry with cutting back on the actual calories, or is the lack of fat and sugar good enough?

 

I'm not even going to pretend that I fully understand it, but I'm the same way. If I'm eating more "clean" calories than I normally would eat if I had junk food, I lose weight.

I think your body works more efficiently when you're feeding it the right foods or something. I really don't know but I have noticed the exact same thing.

I have even said you'll lose weight the same on 1500 cals of chocolate as you would on 1500 calories of lean proteins and grains, but I don't think it's true. I dunno

It could be that the "clean" cals generally pack a lot less sodium. Processed foods have so much more than unprocessed.

Theoretically, the cals are cals--but then there is also nurtitional content. You can be thin and malnourished or fat and malnourished because of a failure to get adequate nutrients.

Yes there is absolutely a difference. Maybe you won't notice it in terms of your weight because you are young, but once you get older you'll pack on the pounds and all the illnesses that come from abusing your insulin levels. When you eat white bread, white rice, pure sugar and junk foods you'll introduce a massive amount of glucose into your system that your body just can't handle. Your liver has to produce enough insulin to cope with all that glucose which if it hangs out in the blood long enough becomes toxic. Insulin helps to transfer that glucose from your blood to your cells. So after 20-30 years of eating high glycemic foods you'll develop insulin resistance and you will develop diabetes and heart disease. Eating whole grains slows down glucose release so the transfer is much easier.

That's interesting, I always knew eating "bad" foods could help onset diabetes but I never knew why.

It's just seems weird I'm eating more but losing... guess I shouldn't complain, lol

I have a family history of, well about everything, so I'm trying to do something now. Plus teach my daugther good eating habits as well.

I have been trying to watch the sodium intake. I had no idea sodium was so rapant in everything!

I'm just going to keep on eating the healthy food I've started on and see how the next few weeks turn out!

We'll see if I hit that plateau!

 

To this day it astounds me how the food companies manage to get all that sugar and salt into those foods. I mean really, where do they put it!? I got quite an education when I started reading labels.

Unfortunately, I also have a family history of diabetes, and my dad, despite being slightly overweight but not obese, has recently been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Thankfully he'll be able to control it with diet because they caught it early while he was young. The way I see it, it's either deal with revamping my diet now or deal with it later, and there's no time like the present.

I agree that while a calorie is a calorie in the sense that you need to expend 3500 of them to lose a pound (or consume to gain), it's not as simple as just that. There are so many other factors that go into it (sodium and sugar levels, etc). Frankly, trying to work the science of it gives me a headache, so I just eat healthier foods because I KNOW that's what's good for me and my body will thank me in the long run. I tend to think that people who hold tightly to the "a calorie is a calorie" mantra just want an excuse to eat only junk when they know well enough it's not good for them.

A calorie is just a measure of energy, so all calories are the same, but tbh, I'd much rather be getting my calories from home-made, organic, quality food than diet products with sugar substitues and heck-knows-what substituted for fat.

calories are calories, and nutrition is nutrition.  You could stay within your calorie allowance and eat candy bars, but you'd soon get sick.  It's not that hard to figure out a balanced diet.  Look up the USDA food pyramid to see the quantities and kinds of foods you should eat every day.

Sounds to me like you need to click on the Advice tab and start reading about nutrients, balanced diets and how to stay healthy.

A calorie is a calorie no matter where it came from.

That said, the fat and other nutrients that you ingest will affect your body in other ways, such as energy levels, skin condition, blood sugar, muscle mass, etc.

You WILL lose weight if you eat 1400 calories of just snickers and big macs per day. but your health will suffer and you will feel sluggish or sick because of the lack of fiber and nutrition in your diet. 

Healthy balanced diet will help keep your metabolism steady and normal.

Yes, calories are calories, but the difference lies in the nutrients within the foods.  Your body runs on glucose which is a very simple sugar (molecularly speaking).  If you eat fruit, you will ingest fructose.  This is a more complex sugar.  The body will convert it to glucose but to break it down, it needs certain vitamins and minerals to do its job.  Thankfully in fruit and natural foods, it tends to come more with the vitamins and minerals to make this happen.

If you drink regular soda, it also contains a variety of fructose from corn syrup.  Same sugar in the body but minus all the nutrients to help break it down.  Your body still needs to break it down to get rid of it so now it starts pulling nutrients out of it's stores.  This is where people get into trouble with obesity and other illnesses related to vitamin deficiencies.

As to why you have more energy and are losing weight while you are eating healthy foods goes back to the nutrient stores in your body.  At one point in my life I did a series of fasts.  Once I got past the 4 day mark, my energy level shot way up.  The reason being was my body was pulling energy from fat stores and lean muscle.  The same is true when you have proper nutrition, the body is able to take it from fat stores and convert what it needs readily.

A certain percentage of fat on your body is very healthy.  The body uses fat for hormone production, vitamin storage, energy, and a source of hydration.  With proper vitamin and mineral stores, your body will know what to do with the food it get.  Follow Jack LaLanne's advise - "If man made it, don't eat it!" and "If it tastes good, spit it out!"

No I am not an expert but I have done a fair amount of reading on this topic and I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

"If it tastes good, spit it out".... ????  From a man with a French-sounding surname that's treasonable heresy, surely?  :-)

Seriously, I've spent the last few years rejigging my diet not only so that I'm watching the portions and getting my calories from more natural foods but also so that it tastes fantastic!   A  diet made up with bland, dull food isn't going to improve my health or wellbeing.  It may be low cal, high fibre and brimming with vitamins but if it tastes like cardboard, what is the point of even eating it?  'If it tastes good, spit it out' reinforces the mistaken idea that puts so many people off a healthy diet in the first place.

They used to think calories were calories and you'd see no difference between a 100% chocolate cake diet and 100% steamed veggies, as long as the calories were equal. But studies showed that belief was flawed, because of the way that proteins, fats and carbohydrates interact with your body, you WILL gain more with a high-fat diet. And there are other factors, too, such as fiber, sodium, etc. It all counts, apparently!

Congrats on finding a system that works for you!

Original Post by bigdad:

No I am not an expert but I have done a fair amount of reading on this topic and I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

You're cracking me up!

I don't think you need to understand molecular biology.  It is simply a garbage in / garbage out system.  I had room in my calorie count last night for some peanut m&m's at my daughters soccer game.  I could hardly get out of bed this morning, much less exercise.  Now I'm going to have to make up for that today. 

I'm trying to preach this to my child athlete as she prepares and practices for games.  Sure I know it, but do I obey it?  No, because I'm human...but I'm not falling off the wagon completely.  Watching your diet is not an all or nothing game.  Moderation, moderation, moderation.

Original Post by punstress:

They used to think calories were calories and you'd see no difference between a 100% chocolate cake diet and 100% steamed veggies, as long as the calories were equal. But studies showed that belief was flawed...

Studies? Which studies?

There's a difference, but a difference rests in the secondary considerations, not weight loss. Or, rather, I've never seen anything reputable that claimed otherwise. Anecdotal, for sure, but no actual science on it.

Personally, I think there are strong (and useful) psychosomatic effects, but not any honest to goodness physiological ones.

I completely agree with the garbage in garbage out theory.

I DO spend time in the advice section as was suggested to me. Which is why I am trying much harder on eliminating the salty potoato chips and white rices and sugars.

I was very impressed the other day when I had a craving for my soy milk! *winks* That means something is working.

I know there's a difference in the nutritional value and the sodium and fat content. I was just impressed that I was eating more and losing more on my "healthy plan".

I do have to say though, I have felt better and I have had more energy.

Adjusting to the tons of water I drink has been a little hard, I feel like I'm always in the bathroom. *laughs*

It was an interesting discovery for me. And I feel much better with my eating than  did before.