Weight-Loss Calories-cause of gaining weight

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genius2687

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According to the vast majority of nutrition and health professionals, it's calories, not carbs or fat that makes people put on weight.

So suppose I burn 2400 calories in a day. If I were to eat 2400 calories of good stuff like whole grains, vegetables, etc vs 2400 calories of sugar, fat, high glycemic foods, would I not gain any weight then?

So if you're looking to lose weight, why then avoid the bad foods if you are eating everything in the appropriate calorie range?
 
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I am not quite sure if this is a question but yes you are correct. If you eat the amount your burn you stay the same, eat less you lose, east more you gain.

Funny how complicated people make it isn't it;)
 
Perhaps it's the case that you won't gain weight if you eat only junk food? But what about your body fat percentage? Does that necessarily stay constant?
 
genius2687 said:
According to the vast majority of nutrition and health professionals, it's calories, not carbs or fat that makes people put on weight.

So suppose I burn 2400 calories in a day. If I were to eat 2400 calories of good stuff like whole grains, vegetables, etc vs 2400 calories of sugar, fat, high glycemic foods, would I not gain any weight then?

So if you're looking to lose weight, why then avoid the bad foods if you are eating everything in the appropriate calorie range?
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What you write is absolutely true, i.e. 2400 calories is 2400 calories. If you eat 3000 calories of carrots every day, and your maintenance level is 2500 calories, you will gain a pound a week.

However, there are many good reasons to watch your nutrition carefully. For one, if you are trying to lose weight, better quality food will do wonders in keeping you from getting hungry all the time. You can eat a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and nuts, and you'll be full for hours. You can eat a large bag of Cheetos, and you'll be hungry an hour later. Yet they both have the same calories.

Another reason to watch your nutrition is the process of muscle repair, which requires adeqate protein.

High fiber food will give you better digestion.

I have a feeling you knew all this already, though. . . Am I right?
 
genius2687 said:
According to the vast majority of nutrition and health professionals, it's calories, not carbs or fat that makes people put on weight.

So suppose I burn 2400 calories in a day. If I were to eat 2400 calories of good stuff like whole grains, vegetables, etc vs 2400 calories of sugar, fat, high glycemic foods, would I not gain any weight then?

So if you're looking to lose weight, why then avoid the bad foods if you are eating everything in the appropriate calorie range?
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Remember is you have a high ( bad ) fat diet that makes up your diet of 2,400 calories, you'll be taking a less amount of food than if you opted for a lower fat diet of 2,400 calories. And if you go from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet, you would tend to eat less food IMO....thus, less calories, thus you'd lose weight indirectly as a result.

Take snacking - on walnuts - as an example. btw - Walnuts are excellent for you, and I'm only using then to illustrate a point :) Let's say you snack on 1 oz of walnuts ( about 28 grams ) each day- something which I do each day. It's about 175 calories, of which 150 calories comes from fat. Now let's say I want to replace that 175 calorie snack it with a low fat 175 calorie alternative - like grapes. To get 175 calories from grapes, I'd have to eat something like just under 100 grapes..of which only 10 calories comes from fat. I'd be lucky if I had 15 or 20 grapes as 100 would be too much for me, so I'd eat less and if I only snacked 3 times a day, my calories from snacks would probably drop if replaced higher fat snacks with lower fat snacks.

However, you are right....... regardless if you eat a healthy or unhealthy diet 2,400 calories is 2,400 calories. :)
 
Thermodynamics at its finest. Funny how this nasty bugger is part of nearly every single discussion that is related to calories. ;)

Energy is energy. Calories are energy. Fat, muscle, and all other things that comprise your body is energy (stored).

Follow me?

Can't create something out of nothing.
 
genius2687 said:
Yes I do know this. I was just trying to know exactly how consuming sugar, fat , etc will lead to people becoming obese when it's calories that matter.
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Calories do matter - that is the point.

People often become obese because of the quantity of calories they consume - not the source ( ie, fat, carb, protien ) of the calorie.

It's excess calories consumed (beyond what your body needs ) that get stored as fat....regardless of whether it is a simple carb calorie, complex carb calorie, fat calorie or protien calorie.
 
I think the quality of calories is important. Quality calories give you energy to use to actually burn calories.

Do you feel differently after eating a twinkie than after eating a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat?
 
Nobody is saying, "Eat whatever you want to optimize your physique and health." We are saying, the direction your weight is heading is directly related to the amount of energy you are feeding it, no matter what the source of that energy might be.
 
indigoiis said:
I think the quality of calories is important. Quality calories give you energy to use to actually burn calories.

Do you feel differently after eating a twinkie than after eating a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat?
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Perhaps.

But it's the excess ' quantity ' of calories that makes you gain fat.
 
Another thing about Junk Food vs. Good Food.

You can probably eat more good food than junk food based on calories.

For ex (I'm just making numbers up) a slice of pizza has 300 calories and a steak has the same amount. What would "fill you up" more? Probably the steak..

Am I correct with this logic ?
 
Another aspect of changing from unhealthy to healthy foods (at least this is what I have found) is that you stop eating things because you just fancy eating them. There are lots of things in my new healthy cupboard that I enjoy eating and they taste really nice, but I never think, "I really fancy one of those yummy cereal bars right now." Instead, I'll get to the point where I feel that I need food, so I'll think about what would be the best thing to eat at this point, and I might end up thinking, "Good, I can have one of those yummy cereal bars."

I guess what I'm trying to say is that since I've started eating healthily, I eat because I need food, not just because I want it.
 
I'm probably going to get shot down for this one, but I'm going to say it: calorie counting is sometimes bunk. There, I've said it! How I understand (or misunderstand it), we don't just burn foods for energy. Calorific calculations are based on that alone. Some essential nutrients are needed for body maintenance - not energy. Additionally, some foods are passed through the body. Some calories are 'free'.

It is still very worthwhile eating healthy foods within a calorie controlled diet rather than just less junk food. Most people do not get all of the essential nutrition that their body's need to remain healthy, avoid disease, digestive problems, degenerative illnesses etc. Cutting calories on such a diet is probably going to restrict that nutritional intake even further.

In addition, there is the subject of satiety - the feeling of fullness. Many modern people lack enough fibre in their diet, because they subsist on too much refined white carbs, sugars, red meats, and not enough fruit, vegetables, and wholegrains. Fibre not only keeps you in good health, but gives you that feeling of fullness.

If calorie counting puts you off eating certain 'high calorie' foods - such as good oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, etc - then I would suggest that its a bad thing. If calorie counting makes someone (probably with a certain nature) obsess - then that is also a bad thing.

Calorie counting is a useful tool that everyone could use during some part of their weight loss journey, certainly far better than any other fad-bound 'slimming diet' method, and sure it keeps things simple. But people, please don't turn your backs on good eating!

/me stands by a waits to be shot down ;)
 
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