Help Help! I'm new!

I have a Q about the foods you eat and their calorie count. I do not  have an ED even though this sounds very particular and like I'm obsessing -- don't worry! I am only curious is all! Okay, so lets say I have 3 apples today. Combined maybe like 240 cals. A calorie is a calorie but does the significance of them being fruit and healthy for you make any of those calories negligible? Does this make sense? I had these apples with honey and PB so far today, which brings my cal count to about 900, but I want to feel like because I also just got my fruit requirement for the day, I can almost feel okay about subtracting some of the calories. 

Maybe I'm just a cheater 

Yes and no.

It's true....calories in vs calories out....so if you constantly eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight.

HOWEVER......eating 500 calories in apples vs 500 calories in beer (or fries, I like beer haha), you won't have any nutritional value so although you would still lose weight with the beer, you would be eating away at muscle and tissue as well as fat.....so although skinnier, you wouldn't be healthy because the beer has no nutritional value to feed your muscles with.

make sense? Maybe someone can explain better.....

Also, 500 calories of chicken vs fries would fill you up much more; protein takes longer to digest and burn so the food would last longer than the fries, making you hungry 3 hours later instead of 1 or 2......same with fruits and veggies, they fill you up for very little calories.

So, quality vs quantity does matter! I have to say I USED to go by the rule, in vs out, until I started on a new plan. Now I'm always eating good stuff, rarely get too hungry....but if I do, it's ok bcuz everything was lower in cals anyway, so I usually have wiggle room!

ya know, when i did weight watchers, the biggest key was making sure that i only ate a certain number of "points" (sort of like calories) a day.  when i first started doing the diet i was all gung ho about eating healthy.  then i started to get sneaky... i started telling myself:  "well, as long as i fit this icecream into my daily points, then i can eat it.."   Once i started doing that, i stopped losing weight.  

Finding out what kind of foods work for your body is just as important as learning how to eat less and exercise more.  This will come with experience and you will start to notice what makes you stall.  In general though, eating stereotypical junk food will most likely make everyone stall.  An apple is definately better than junk food, even if the calories are the same.  

Also, junk food has lots of chemicals.  Im sure there is probably some kind of research about the effect of chemical preservatives and what not on weight loss, but when we calculate our bmr's, and how much we need to eat, we dont factor in what all these chemcial could be doing to our efforts.  Eating lots of processed food may be affecting our weight loss and we dont even know it.

You will hear a lot of people on this site tell you that a "clean" diet is essential.  That basically means that eating real food is best and not junk food, processed garbage.

GOOD LUCK!

I've returned after a while of MIA and loving the site again!! Def love it encourages u to eat clean.. I feel like a million bucks this week!

I like doing the analysis for a week... I'm a nerd and like getting staright A's so it help keep me on track... it'll DEF not be A's if u are eating poorly... as my Friday night drinks proved dropped to a B- for the day!!! basically cause my % were way off!

try that tool for a week and u'll see a difference!

Thanks!

My real question, I guess, is if i go over my calories--but with like broccoli or cauliflower-- does the calorie is a calorie thing still hold true? Like, will that make me gain weight?

Yes. The answer is plainly, that calories are calories. Your body will readily store all excess calories above and beyond what it requires to maintain your weight (ie: your RMR). There is no difference in how the body utilizes the energy (calories) from healthy foods vs junk food. Wt loss vs wt gain + cals in vs cals out...

i dont agree that calories are just calories.  i know that different foods affect bodies differently.  i have to eat low carb or i dont lose weight.  if you are insulin resistant, then 100 calories of carbs is way different than 100 calories of fat, when it comes to the way your body reacts to it.  your body doesnt just burn calories, it also releases hormones which are affected by the types of food you eat.  i have no doubt in my mind that certain foods are worse than others, even if they have equal caloric value.

but to answer your question, brocolli and cauliflower do have calories so if you go over, then yes it counts.  you cant eat excessive amounts of healthy food and not gain weight.  usually you can eat more of healthy foods and stay within your calorie target just for the fact that healthy foods usually have less calories per serving.

for example

1 small fries might be 400 calories whereas 5 lbs of brocolli may be 400 calories (these are hypothetical numbers).  while it may seem like you can eat unlimited amounts of brocolli, you cant because the calories still count.

In general terms of what a calorie is (a unit of energy), a calorie is a calorie, regardless of the source.  When looking at the differences between healthy and less healthy foods, I look at what any given food provides me with in addition to those basic units of energy.  I see vitamins, fiber, minerals and other goodies as bonuses, almost like free gifts that those foods provide.  Of course, I want to spend the majority of my caloric budget on foods that offer these kinds of added advantages.  I could get all of my calories from pure sucrose every day if I wanted to, but I would be failing to take advantage of the wonderful, healthful compounds that whole foods have to offer.

....

You ARE eating more than just three apples in a day, right?