Does it make a difference where the calories come from?

Question

say one day you eat 1500 calories..

breakfast - 300 kcal

lunch - 500 kcal

dinner - 700 kcal

one day

then the next day you eat

breakfast - 150 kcal

lunch - skipped

dinner - 600 kcal


would it be ok to make up for the 750 calories you missed out on by eating chocolate or something like that?

At the end of both days you've eaten the equal amount of calories.


I dont know if you understand what im on about?

I think a better way of explaining what i mean is like this...


Say some one's on a diet, where for dinner they eat 500 calories.

well say one night instead of dinner they pig out and eat a 500 kcal bag of potato chips.

would it make any diff in the diet? or weight? because they have still obeyed there dailly allowance, its still the same amount of calories they would have if they had 500 kcal of pasta/salad.

Answer 1

Hey, proper diet and nutrition is nothing to be taken lightly. It affects your mood, your intellect, your energy level, your looks, your sex life. If there is anything you research in your life, you need to research this.

There are many books on fitness out there, but the most I learned was from consulting a dietician concerning my particular needs. Cost me a couple hundred bucks, but I lost a ton of weight, gained as much muscle, and my energy levels and mood have changed like I'm on drugs.

You can't get the answers you need on yahoo answers, you need serious research into this subject. Would you dump sugar water in the engine of your car? sugar has energy, but it's the wrong energy for your auto. Same with you, gasoline is energy, but you wouldn't drink it.

You can survive on sugar only, but you operate at your best by putting the right fuels in your body at the right times.

I recommend eating 6 meals a day, with protein and fat in every meal. For me, I like a breakfast with about twice the carbs as the other meals, but I keep the fat and protein balanced for the rest of the meals.

Don't skip meals, and if you do miss one, DONT skip breakfast, keep some hardboiled eggs in the fridge, eat one on the go if you have to. Your body AND brain require energy to function at their best.

OK, go get a dietician, you don't need one for life, just to help you get started on whats best for YOU!

Answer 2

Yes, it makes a difference. When watching what you eat, it's important to count other things besides calories.

You should be getting no more than 30% of your calories from fat (10% each from unsaturated, poly-unsaturated, and mono-unsaturated). If you have too much fat in your diet, no matter how many calories you are eating total, you will still have a hard time losing weight and keeping it off. Plus, it's bad for your heart and arteries.

About 40-50% of your calories should come from carbs (preferably good carbs like fiber, not bad ones like sugar) and the other 20-30% from protein.

So if you have extra calories to use up, choose a healthy snack. It's probably okay to have some chocolate, especially if you've not had much fat that day, but 750 calories worth is way too much (and will probably give you a bad headache from all the sugar).

Answer 3

There is a difference between calories and nutrition.
Nutrition is the balance of food types needed to have a healthy diet.
Calories are a method of measuring the amount of energy consumed that is available to the body.

In your scenerio about the two days eating, It only matters that you take in the same amount of calories every day that you expend in a day for living.

If your body needs 1500 calories for living, you need to take in 1500 calories, If you take in less you will lose weight, if you take in more, you will gain weight.

The calories for actuall living can be vegetables or straight sugar, calories are calories, nutrition is different from this conversation.

Also, when you put gas into your car, it does not matter if you fill it up at night or in the morning before a trip...it works the same
It is the same with your calorie intake of your body, Eat when you are hungry (tank is low) not a specific time.

Answer 4

In terms of weight loss, it doesn't make much difference where you cut your calories. However, you should eat a well balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, adequate protein and calcium, and a tiny amount of unsaturated fat (eg. olive oil). What you describe on your second day, would not be very healthy on a regular basis. It is also a good idea to consider taking a multivitamin (buy the cheapest generic, there is no such thing as a magic weight loss combo).

Answer 5

Please...I rather not worry about how many calories I'm eating. It's mind-racking. We are all born with common sense on how much food we should or shouldn't eat. Use it. I was caught up as well years ago on the diet and fitness craze of counting calories, exercising more, eating less, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. I do what I can regards to physical fitness, (lifting weights, walking, and a physically active job), but only when I feel it's absolutely necessary, in the mood, and/or have no choice. Food? I don't hold back on anything or prohibit certain foods out of my life. I let my conscience be my guide on how much to eat and when I should stop eating.

Answer 6

You get nutrients (protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals) from what you eat in addition to calories.

For the 750 calorie day, you're probably missing some of them, so chocolate wouldn't be helpful.

Answer 7

if you skipped it just let it go...you skipped it...but i would suggest moving the larger calorie intake to lunch instead of dinner and having two smaller dinners...one around 5 and then around 8...kepps metabolism running smoothly

Answer 8

yes it does matter, try to eat cholate and desserts usually earlier during the day.