does it matter what i eat?

as long as i stay within my calorie goal, does it matter what i eat? like if i eat 500 calories worth in peanut butter, will it cause weight gain even though i'm staying within my goal?

thanks xo

Nope. A calorie is a calorie no matter what.

Macronutrients make a difference for body composition and health. Micronutrients make a difference for your overall health. Saying that you can eat nothing but junk food if it's in a deficit and lose weight....people do it all the time. It's still calories in vs calories out....basic thermodynamics. Oh, and no a calorie is not just a calorie.

Original Post by neanderthin:

Macronutrients make a difference for body composition and health. Micronutrients make a difference for your overall health. Saying that you can eat nothing but junk food if it's in a deficit and lose weight....people do it all the time. It's still calories in vs calories out....basic thermodynamics. Oh, and no a calorie is not just a calorie.

 If the peanut butter is "natural", as in it doesn't have oil or sugar added, then it doesn't count as a junk food.  It is still calorie dense.  If you only have 1500 calories for the day, does it make sense to spend a third of it on a few tablespoons of the stuff?  You will feel healthier if you get more of a variety during the day - the "macronutrients" from the above poster.

Eh. I guess I got that one wrong then.

And I really doubt shes eating 500 calories worth of peanut butter.

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

Original Post by neanderthin:

Macronutrients make a difference for body composition and health. Micronutrients make a difference for your overall health. Saying that you can eat nothing but junk food if it's in a deficit and lose weight....people do it all the time. It's still calories in vs calories out....basic thermodynamics. Oh, and no a calorie is not just a calorie.

 If the peanut butter is "natural", as in it doesn't have oil or sugar added, then it doesn't count as a junk food.  It is still calorie dense.  If you only have 1500 calories for the day, does it make sense to spend a third of it on a few tablespoons of the stuff?  You will feel healthier if you get more of a variety during the day - the "macronutrients" from the above poster.

I wasn't referring to peanut butter as a junk food, but as a reference to micro and macro nutrient content. The junk food comment was about the fact people can eat anything and lose weight. Sorry if my post sounded confusing.

No prob, neanderthin (makes me smile just typing it ).

And luhluhlovesongs (yeah, I kinda have to sing that one '60's style), I was just going off what the OP posted originally.  Personally, I don't have a hard time eating 500 calories of peanut butter in a sandwich.  Two tablespoons of natural peanut butter is 210 calories, and it's easy to lay it on thick - easily 5 or more tablespoons.

You are right - a calorie is a calorie as far as losing weight, but you also have to make those calories "smart calories".

People realize this girl is underweight and tring to maintain a BMI of 16...right? <.< >.>

No, I foolishly did not look at her profile when answering.

Hey, purple, you know this isn't healthy, right?  You need to be trying to get to 18.5, not maintaining at 16.6.  Goodness girl...

Original Post by luhluhlovesongs:

Nope. A calorie is a calorie no matter what.

I completely agree with you - 100%! Calories are NOT created equal! Eating a HUGE FATTY PIECE OF SALMON filled wit omega-3 fatty acids will not make you FAT... but eating a HUGE FATTY PIECE OF A CINNAMON BUN full of trans fats will!

CC said that i have a healthy BMI, i might be thin, but that doesn't mean i'm underweight. i've been to the doctors and they said that i'm perfectly healthy. i wasn't asking to be scolded on about my weight, i was asking if it matters what my daily calories are made up of.

Original Post by thepurpleinyou:

CC said that i have a healthy BMI, i might be thin, but that doesn't mean i'm underweight. i've been to the doctors and they said that i'm perfectly healthy. i wasn't asking to be scolded on about my weight, i was asking if it matters what my daily calories are made up of.

 I am sorry I was percieved as "scolding".  I did not intend to "scold" - but when I looked up healthy BMI, several sites listed anything below 18.5 as underweight.  Certainly, that is between you and your doctors, but you have to understand there are a lot of people with a lot of mistaken concepts on here, and your profile said you were "maintaining at 16.6", which I assumed meant you were trying to stay in an underweight range.  Perhaps I leapt to assumptions, but that is what happens when so little information is given.  I truly do get concerned about people, even though they are strangers, and I'm sorry if I offended you.

And I did try to answer your question as far as daily calories.

Good luck in your goals.

i'm glad your intentions were good, and i'm sorry if it sounded like i was directing it towards you. i've just had so many bad experiences with this site & the people on here.

It makes a huge difference what you eat.  Your body needs nutrition.  Your calories each day should include lean protein (peanut butter could be one protein source) vegetables, fruit, complex carbs, grain.

the best thing you can do for your body is to feed it nutrition dense food and stay away from any "empty calories" also eat from all the food groups.

Original Post by luhluhlovesongs:

Eh. I guess I got that one wrong then.

And I really doubt shes eating 500 calories worth of peanut butter.

I think I probably could.  Peanut butter is my vice. I freaking love the stuff. It's like my version of catnip.

Original Post by luhluhlovesongs:

And I really doubt shes eating 500 calories worth of peanut butter.

 It's really not that hard to do. Probably about 4.5 tbsps

Make sure you have the right calorie goal....

If you enter your stats into this site http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html (5'5", 105lbs, 15 years old) you'll find that you're just about in the acceptable range for a healthy weight at that age... but only just.  

However, more important is your calorie intake target....  'Low activity' and you need 2040 a day... If you're doing any kind of exercise on top of regular moving around living your life then this rises to 2340.  In other posts you've said you eat 1700 a day so you'd be well advised to increase it in order to grow properly and continue to be healthy.

NB.. having read your profile and seeing that you're thinking of maintaining your current weight... please think again.  A weight this low is just about OK for a 15 year old but if you were still the same weight aged 16 or 17 then you'd go from 'at risk of being underweight' to 'underweight'...  So do try to be more realistic and allow your body to grow normally.