What you eat VS. calories

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phix95

New member
If calories are the most important, then do you think someone who, for arguments' sake and to make it easy, ate 1400 cal. of cookies a day would stay the same weight as someone who, with all else equal, ate 1400 cal. of fruits, veggies, good carbs, etc? I really don't think so. I think if you eat 1400 cal or a lot of the wrong thing, you WILL gain weight vs if you ate the same amount but of good stuff. I like sweets but I never eat over my calorie limit and I exercise...and I've gained 10 lbs.
Any arguments? Because I hope that's the case. Otherwise I will never lose weight.
 
Thanks. But..
I know that when your blood sugar spikes after eating sugar/bad carbs, it ends up being stored as fat regardless of calories. So you'd be storing more fat than if you did not eat the sugar, and thus, gain weight. That's all I can think of b/c NOTHING else would make sense, unless I had an under/over? active thyroid. I do everything else right.
 
My 'argument' with it is
1400 cals of cookies seems like a lot of food but it isn't. So in 2 or 3 hours, you'd be wanting to eat again.

1400 cals of fruits and veggies (is a lot of food) trust me. I have trouble getting to 1500 calories in a day (vegan). I eat about 300 cals of fruits and veggies in a sitting and I can barley move after. It takes about 5 hours for me to get hungry again. The fiber fills you up, and you eat less often.

If anyone doesn't belive me, I challenge you to try it.

A banana is about 130 cals. An apple about 60. A serving of cabbage can run about 30 calories. Go ahead. Make it to 1400 in one shot. I dare you. :D
 
I think it would require more energy to digest the healthy stuff than the cookies so your net calorie balance would actually be lower if you ate 1400kcal healthy stuff than 1400kcal cookies (though probably only slightly). Hope it doesn't make too much difference anyway because recently I've been eating q unhealthily... lol never mind.
 
I have trouble getting 1500 calories period. From what I read I should be getting 1800. Regardless of if it fills you up or if you get hungry, my point is that both situations are 1400 cal. If you ate 1400 cal of each category and didn't eat anymore that day, I think you'd GAIN weight w/the cookie diet.
And yes it would probably take more calories to digest the good stuff. Plus the blood sugar spike w/the cookie diet would make you store more fat.
So 1400 cal of different things is NOT the same. I wish that was made more clear to people. At least that makes sense to me, considering my situation.
 
Oh I see what you are saying.

Yes I suppose 1400 is 1400 if it is 1400cals in cookies or veggies.

But man, I would be miserable for the rest of the day if all I ate was 1400 cals in cookies.

:svengo:
 
I just had this conversation with a guy who was convinced his recent weight (fat) loss was purely from cutting carbs. He was convinced he wasn't able to lose fat in a calorie deficit if his diet included bread, rice and other "white" foods. No matter how I argued that a calorie is a calorie he wouldn't buy it. I even posted several articles written by experts, doctors at the Mayo Clinic and several fitness guru's. His answer was "you are incorrect" and that there are newer studies, though he couldn't offer any proof.

Personally I don't get huffy if someone buys into what I call "diet voodoo". If believing a certain way of eating is beneficial to them and its working then cool I'm all for it. However I think that kind of thinking can be dangerous, it doesn't do much to change the way a person eats and lives unless they have the willpower to avoid whatever it is they think is putting fat on them for a lifetime.

Funny thing is the guy I spoke with was avoiding carbs, mostly breads and starchy stuff, but wasn't counting calories. When I suggested that his "diet" was likely "working" for him because the high carb foods he was avoiding were also high calorie foods and that he was simply consuming less calories by accident he still thought I was crazy.

But yeah, put me down for "calories are calories" concerning fat loss with nutrition being a completely different thing.
 
That guy is not entirely wrong; however, he shouldnt attribute it to the diet so much as his own bodies defect. My friend is the same way. He cant lose any weight with any type of bread or pasta because his body cannot breakdown something that is in them (I really wish I remembered what it was, maybe a type of sugar or something). Anyway, that guy wasnt wrong but he is giving credit to the wrong thing.
 
busy91 said:
But man, I would be miserable for the rest of the day if all I ate was 1400 cals in cookies.
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1400 calories in a really good cheesecake - wiht a graham cracker crust and maybe some fresh strawberries on top... oooh while it'd be a mightly small cheesecake -and I'd proably be hungry again in a few hours but for the moment -that's make me really happy.. way happier than a wheelbarrow full of broccoli (and I like broccoli..._ but cheesecake.... oooooh...
 
Ok, maybe I'm speaking latin here but my point is:
Calories ARE NOT calories. The examples I gave was to illustrate that 1400 cal of cookies WILL MAKE YOU FATTER than 1400 cal of fruits, veggies, and carbs or whathaveyou.
In fact the reason I posted this was that I like sugar stuff BUT I still eat UNDER my calorie allowance; YET I'M STILL GAINING WEIGHT AND FAT. So it must NOT be the calorie intake but the TYPE OF CALORIES (eg, type of food). I hope I'm clear this time.
 
but you've already said you eat healthy, never go over your calorie limit and exercise but yet are gaining. soo..what is your point? and we already established in your other thread that you are not fat. i don't understand what kind of feedback you are wanting.
 
I'm just trying to get validation. I need someone to agree with me that eating 1400 cal of sugar is more fattening than eating 1400 cal of good stuff. B/c otherwise, I have no hope of losing weight, which is very depressing. I WISH I could change something and ACTUALLY SEE results. I've seen a personal trainer and 3 dietitians. And I'm really feeling like there's no hope. I'd love to make changes, wait a couple months, and see some results. It might be hell, like what everyone else trying to lose fat has to go through, but at least there'd be a change. I don't even get THAT. I feel like I have no control over this.
I really don't want to buy a whole new slew of jeans b/c of my fat. I only have a part time job. I've weighed 112 all my life except for the past few years...up to 125. And it's b/c I'm "eating healthier"? What a joke! It's like the more I try to eat and exercise better, the fatter I get. So it must be the sugar I eat, since I've had a sweet tooth all my life. What the hell else could it be?
 
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phix95 said:
I've weighed 112 all my life except for the past few years...up to 125. And it's b/c I'm "eating healthier"? What a joke! It's like the more I try to eat and exercise better, the fatter I get. So it must be the sugar I eat, since I've had a sweet tooth all my life. What the hell else could it be?
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You're getting older, your metabolism is probably slowing, and I'm sure there are all kinds of hormonal changes that are also going on. It sounds like you're saying that you've cut down on the sugar and gained weight which is in direct contradiction to your saying that you're gaining weight because of sugar. If you think that's the case maybe you should try your old habits and see where that gets you, I doubt you'll be happy with the results. You also have to think that all your exercising is putting on muscle, which may account for the weight gain and even possibly the increase in clothes size. Perhaps you should calculate you body fat percentage and see if there really is any weight to lose.
 
yeah, it seems like you are contradicting yourself. are you eating healthy or no? if you feel like you are doing well with your food intake and exercise and its just not working, then you need to see a doctor to have blood work done. if you don't feel you are doing the best you can, then change what you are doing and see how that works. but also remember you are at a perfectly healthy weight.
 
I think I am eating healthy except for the sugar thing. There was a few times I went off any sweets but nothing seemed to happen.
 
so you stopped eating sugar and you still didn't lose weight? then i think you have your answer. either you are not counting your calories correctly or you have a medical issue.
 
phix95 said:
I'm just trying to get validation. I need someone to agree with me that eating 1400 cal of sugar is more fattening than eating 1400 cal of good stuff. B/c otherwise, I have no hope of losing weight, which is very depressing. I WISH I could change something and ACTUALLY SEE results. I've seen a personal trainer and 3 dietitians. And I'm really feeling like there's no hope. I'd love to make changes, wait a couple months, and see some results. It might be hell, like what everyone else trying to lose fat has to go through, but at least there'd be a change. I don't even get THAT. I feel like I have no control over this.
I really don't want to buy a whole new slew of jeans b/c of my fat. I only have a part time job. I've weighed 112 all my life except for the past few years...up to 125. And it's b/c I'm "eating healthier"? What a joke! It's like the more I try to eat and exercise better, the fatter I get. So it must be the sugar I eat, since I've had a sweet tooth all my life. What the hell else could it be?
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Check out website, this is pretty much what you are wondering about.

Your problem probably lies in food miscalculation or not enough exercise.
 
Cams Habs said:
Check out website, this is pretty much what you are wondering about.

Your problem probably lies in food miscalculation or not enough exercise.
Click to expand...

Man he ate a lot of calories :eek: I can't even imagine eating 5000cals in one day...though I suppose it was McDonald's food, so it may not have been a lot of actual food. I wish he would have posted other stats like cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. to see what kind of effect they had (unless i missed that somewhere). Nevertheless, very interesting experiment.
 
About that website you posted. This dude is consuming 3 to 5K in calories a day, all fast food. OK, if you looked like him or Steve and worked out like that, yeah, you can eat Mcd 3 or 4 times a day. But the average female cannot and not get fat. Sorry, when I see this study done by your average non heavy weight lifting female, then I'll take heed.

Sorry, just had to get that out. And besides, my cholesterol would be through the room (like it isn't already) if I did that.

But thanks for sharing the site, it was interesting.
 
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