A calorie is a calorie?

[betty1]

Any opinions here on calories? Is a calorie a calorie or do you think it makes a difference? I have been consuming 2000 calories per day due to advice form my CPT....he says do 1/2 carb 1/2 protein or a little more carb and very little fat. Some people here have talked about'trans fat' etc. What references do you read to find out this sort of information?
Thanks B1

[DKing]

A calorie is a calorie tends to be really outdated info. I read a good quote the other day on another message board, it was something to the effect of "Eating below maintinence will determine if you lose weight, what you eat during the diet will determine where that weight comes from". In other words, certain foods can promote fat gain or storage, or muscle gain or loss. For reading on the subject check out these links.
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/...aneating_1.htm
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/...aneating_2.htm
http://www.t-mag.com/nation_articles/175app.html
Those should get you started. And as a side, I would suggest you add much more fat into your diet. A good diet would include around 30% of calories coming from fat.

Danny

[betty1]

Thank you, I really learned alot from those articles. Now I just need to make a food plan!

[bryanc]

Let's get one thing straight here. The fate of food molecules is NOT the same thing as caloric value. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie--unless you want to get into some sort of Jean-Paul Sartre-esque debate about the nature of the existence of a calorie, in which care neither you or I actually exists either.

[DKing]

Apologies to Bryan about the terminologies. I really hate when people screw stuff up too, its just always been easier for me to express it as a calorie isn't always a calorie because the average person understands that better than they do the rate of the food molecule.

Danny

[Adam Campbell]

Experts for years have said that a calorie-is-a-calorie-is-a-calorie when referring to the "fate of the food molecules", in order to argue that macronutrient composition is irrelevant in energy balance. So I think Danny was correct in doing so in trying to relay a basic concept.